DCU Comic Book Reviews

TEEN TITANS #63

Pawns & Kings, Part 1:  Preemptive Strike

November 2008

Written by Sean McKeever

Pencils by Eddy Barrows with Allan Goldman

Inks by Ruy Jose and Julio Ferreira

Cover by Eddy Barrows

Synopsis

Then…At Belle Reve Prison, federal authorities check on the attempted prison break and death of Airman Amy Allen (aka Bombshell), a member of Project Quantum.  They decide they no longer need Bombshell and order her corpse to be cremated.  Except Bombshell is still alive.  Now…Wonder Girl visits Wendy in the hospital.  In California, Bombshell visits her mother in an attempt to find her father.  Her mother tells her that her father was in charge of Project Quantum and is the one who wants her dead.  Just then, soldiers attack. The Teen Titans arrive to help apprehend Bombshell.  In the middle of the fight, Ares’ son attacks Wonder Girl, which gives Bombshell the chance to get away.  At the JSA headquarters, Doctor Mid-Nite tells Wonder Girl she is physically fit.  In Colorado, Bombshell finds her father and prepares to kill him.   

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I am at a loss as to what the hell is going on with this book.  And I am not talking about the plot, which I can follow, but the basic approach to telling stories.  I can’t recall in recent memory a story that actually, you know, featured the Teen Titans.  Most of the time the book features alternate Teen Titans or Terror Titans or whatever, usually from the other characters’ point of view.  It just seems as if the Titans are taking a back seat in their own book.  This book needs a multi-issue story in which the Teen Titans examine a mystery, fight a bad guy, and win the day.  Seems simple, but that is not what we are getting (and why aren’t we getting Robin and the rest looking for the killer dog?).  Instead we get characters other than the Teen Titans, such as this issue, which features a character that was though dead 20 months ago but now occupies the majority of the book.  Yes, we get more of Wonder Girl and Ares’ son and I like the JSA section, but there is not enough of the Titans.  I am not opposed to Bombshell, I just wish that we could have these events unfold from the Titans’ point of view.

Based on this issue, it is soooo obvious that Bombshell will be joining the depleted ranks of the Teen Titans that I have got to hope it doesn’t happen.  First, we have an issue dedicated to making Bombshell a sympathetic person (she was a pawn in her father’s name).  Second, we not only have her contrite about the things she has done, she also says she did it under orders, so it wasn’t really her fault.  Plus, even though she vows to kill her dad, I suspect at the last minute she won’t.  Third, this issue features more Bombshell than Teen Titans and she will appear in the next one (at the very least) as well.  If you are going to feature a little used character like that, then that character will be part of the new roster.  As I said, all of this is so obvious that I hope McKeever has a swerve in mind. 

The events at Belle Reve Prison took place at the beginning of the Titans East arc (from issue #43 as the editor’s box indicated; nice touch!).  So I am guessing that between then and now, Bombshell was laying low and healing from the beatdown she received from Batgirl (as an aside, another sign of DC’s attempts to make her “bad” side not as bad as it first seemed).  What bothers me is that McKeever doesn’t really bother to try and explain this.  One minute she is nearly dead, the next she is searching out her mother.  The transition is sloppy and it took me a little bit to figure out what was going.  I think some explanation from Bombshell as to what she has been doing would go a long way to explain the time factor. 

Here is a question:  how did the Teen Titans know when and where Bombshell was going to strike next.  Yes, the mall is in California, but it still seems fairly quick, if you ask me.  I can understand how Project Quantum would know; I would assume they would be keeping tabs on the mom in case Bombshell decided to show up.  But the Teen Titans?  It doesn’t make sense, especially when you realize Project Quantum wants to get rid of the Teen Titans.  Very odd.

 

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