New Teen Titans (1984) 3

New Teen Titans (1984) 3

Nov 1984

Souls as White as Heaven…

…as Black as Hell

by Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Romeo Tanghal, Bob Lappan, Adrienne Roy

The Teen Titans (Nightwing, Starfire, Wondergirl, Cyborg, Changeling, Jericho) plus Wally West, Lilith, and Arella arrive back in New York City. Everything has changed. Titans Tower has been turned to stone. Trigon is seated atop the tower, sleeping. The Titans are confronted by Raven. She is too powerful for them.

Jericho tries to take over Raven’s body once again but she is ready for this ploy and quickly expels him. He goes into shock. Raven forces the other Titans (Nightwing, Cyborg, Wonder Girl, Changeling, Starfire, Wally) to confront gray-skinned doppelgängers of themselves. 

Thoughts

Trigon is awake when this issue begins but he is asleep when the Titans return to Earth. He does not awaken before the end of the issue. Is it really Trigon or is just a manifestation of Raven’s powers? I am starting to wonder. 

Romeo Tanghal returns to ink this issue. Todd Klein is replaced as letterer by Bob Lappan. The difference is noticeable to my eyes. 

The borders of the pages where the Titans are confronted by the doppelgängers are red.

I’m still not sure what to expect in the last two installments in this story. The Titans don’t have the sort of power needed to deal with Trigon and Raven. How can they hope to defeat them? The Ultimate Nullifier? I can’t see anything less than such a weapon doing the trick. 

Titans Tower 

Five letters plus Marv’s responses to them are spread across two pages at the back of this issue. All five letters are in reaction to the first issue of the new series. They are for the most part positive. The only criticism is of the brief view of Dick and Kory in bed together. Marv writes four paragraphs apologizing to those who were offended it.

Let’s get one thing straight: Kory doesn’t wear a lot of clothing but there was nothing provocative about the panel of her in bed with Dick. I think she may have even been wearing more in that panel than she normally does.