Teen Titans #5 Review and **SPOILERS**

Titans West

"Damian Knows Best, Part Five"

Writer - Benjamin Percy
Pencils - Khoi Pham
Inks - Wade von Grawbadger
Colors - Jim Charalampidis

Welcome to the finale of Damian Knows Best.  I know what you're thinking... Chris, you devilishly handsome fool, we're only at issue five... YOU always say that these story-arcs go six issues!

Well, I'm as surprised as you are!  But here we are, five-issues in... and ready to wrap up the opening arc of Teen Titans (volume 6).

Let's see how it all shakes out.




We pick up right about where we left off, with the Titans... Together.  We get the impression that this fivesome is in it for the long-haul, and it's a well done scene.  Without saying it outright, we get the impression that each member feels a measure of responsibility for each other.  This comes across as organic, and natural for all characters involved.  This crew is starting to gel... and I think we can safely say they are fr-frie... okay, we're not quite there yet... but we will be!

The Teen Titans head into Damian's old digs... now here is where some of the dialogue gets hinky.  Raven gets an eyeful of the abode, and begins to think she didn't have it all that bad.  Sorry, Rav', your dad's still Trigon... you still win.  We also do get a bit of teen-speak... however, thus far it has been kept to a minimum, so I guess I can allow a "frenemy" or two.

It isn't terribly difficult for Robin and the gang to convince the Demon's Fist members that the man they follow may not be all that great a dude.  This was a bit disappointing, as I had always figured that Ra's al Ghul had pretty decent control over his followers... especially those in the inner circle.  This either speaks to Ra's poor showing as a sorta-kinda cult leader, or to Robin's strength in persuasive prowess.  I'm hoping it's the latter... otherwise, nobody looks all that great coming out of this.

The resultant team-up and battle is brief, and not only shows how apt the Demon's Fist are at fighting, but shows how easily the Titans can adapt to team-based battle.  This early into the series, I feel a scene like this is pretty important.  As Wally says, he's new to the heroing game... but he's a quick learner.  Puns aside, I think this could apply to the whole team.

Ra's is portrayed as a bit more fragile than I'd pictured him.  When his underlings rebel... he kind of implodes, even lashing out at his lone loyal follower Mara.  I'd always seen him as a bit cooler under pressure, however, it could just be that he'd piled all of his hopes for the future into Damian... and seeing that future all but wiped out may be too much for him to handle.

We get a decent resolution... Damian finally says the dreaded FRIEND-word, and our status quo is, at least for now, set.  The Titans go west, and establish a Tower in San Francisco.  This isn't the first time that city played home to some Titanic Teens, so they're hopefully prepared for the craziness to come.

Bits and Pieces:

A satisfying conclusion to a pretty fun opening arc.  Mostly a fight issue here, however one that facilitated character-development and proper plot advancement.  Now, our players are in place... and we're ready to face the Titan-ic future to come.

8.0/10