That's right a three for 1 deal!
Of course it's not because I didn't have enough to say about each individually!
So I get all completionist when I'm reading a series and there's a crossover arc. I just won't pick up a series at 10. It seems unfair to the characters (although some would benefit if I did since they started with shitty writers). I had little to no interest in Superboy and had never even heard of Legion Lost. But hey, Teen Titans is part of the bat-verse, and the crossover was with those so away we go!
Legion Lost
So this is a team book about several heroes from the future who have gotten "stuck" in our past. I'm not a huge fan of time travel in comics because it almost seems silly. Wouldn't the fact they came back in time alter the course of History? Doesn't them coming back mean they were always meant to and therefore nothing they do is relevant as its all history? It just creates no holes and no development for the characters you couldn't get from a present-day setting. I don't need another panel saying "The technology here is so primitive! I cant wait to get back to our own time." The team does have a few cool characters with interesting powers, but most feel like ripoffs of others. Timberwolf straight up feels like Alien Wolverine. He even has "berserker mode." Gates is Nightcrawler right down to the teleporting and weird looks. Anyway, the stories aren't great here. They came back in time to stop a disease from being released but oops they were too late. Its a time travel book, how is too late a thing? Also they have a psychic telepath fishman who also occasionally receives prophecy. Couldn't he see they'd be too late? Ugh let's go to the next.
Superboy
Superboy has no ACTUAL relation to Superman aside from some DNA. Wait..well, he's not Superman's son in a post copulation way. He is a half human half kryptonian clone grown in a lab to be the ultimate weapon. He has tactile telekinesis, plus a bunch of superpowers from the "boy scout" as Batman/Green Arrow would say. Only been alive a few months/weeks and has an odd moral compass. Could be interesting but whoever's writing it is leaving it pretty boring.
Teen Titans
In the old DCU Tim Drake was my favorite Robin. He was the balance of light and dark, the regular person in the Batfamily. Just as great a detective as Batman (something Dick never took to), but just as capable of compassion and light-heartedness as Dick, Tim was a great character. So that's what drew me to Teen Titans (regardless of it's tie-in to Batman's big arcs). Tim's trying to protect all the young heroes from the powers that be, but specifically a mysterious organization called NOWHERE (original don't ya think?). Has some interesting elements (Solstice and Bunker fascinate me). But none of the stories have really popped yet. I'm still waiting on something to happen and I've read each one published.
So that brings us to their grand crossover The Culling.
I'm not a big fan of any of these comics. They've been boring and slog along.
But I actually really dug their crossover.
What?
There was something about the shady organization pitting all young metas against each other to make their own army in a hunger games caliber tournament that was interesting to me. The way the different characters interacted during the Culling and their motives for their actions for the first time made the characters feel like heroes. The main baddies (The Ravagers and Harvest) were just evil bastards looking for their own gain. Thats how I like it sometimes. Clear cut. Here's the good guys, and here's the bad guys. Now fight. It was simple cape comics. At their best? Probably not. But at their core elements: for sure. Its a quick enjoyable read and worth a look.
Another quickie because I read this several weeks ago.
-Oz
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