Teen Titans #35 Review

What's A Hero?

Written By: Adam Glass
Art By: Bernard Chang, Marcelo Maiolo, Rob Leigh
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: October 16, 2019

After the big reveal that Roundhouse was using Djinn's ring against her will and seemingly going against his own team, I couldn't wait to jump into this issue to see if we got a "say it ain't so" moment because I was crushed at last issue's cliffhanger because against everything I originally thought about Roundhouse...... that beautiful blue ball went and stole my heart and I can't see him being the evil figure that he looked like at the end of last issue.  Let's jump into this issue and see who Roundhouse really is.  Let's check it out.

Now that the cat's out of the bag about who stole Djinn's ring, it's this issue that we see why Roundhouse went and turned heel on our heroes and while you never want to see a character that you end up liking going bad....... the explanation and backstory that Roundhouse gives us this issue is actually quite compelling, informative and spotlights a lot of things that a lot of readers have been having problems with in this series.  The main focus of this issue really comes down to, are the Teen Titans actually heroes with what they've been doing with first having a dungeon for criminals and now magically changing their minds?  

The biggest problem I have with this whole thing is that we're getting back to what we've gotten over and over with the different Teen Titans series, where they're always bickering and barely acting like a team, let alone liking one another.  I miss that aspect to this title and with the events in this issue it doesn't look like we're going to get back to something that resembles that dynamic for awhile.  Thankfully, an origin story for Roundhouse, showcasing the different powers he possesses and giving us the reasons for his current actions left me satisfied with this issue, but now it's off to fight Lobo coming up next.

All in all, I enjoyed the art this issue, but for some reason the big mouths of all the characters has been throwing me off lately, but this is still an art team that I'm a fan of and for the most part we get all of the characters looking great.  The story of Roundhouse and his moral objections is where this issue really shines though and while I don't know how the team is going to continue to actually work together after everything is said and done with this arc, I was a fan of this issue and continue to love Roundhouse and everything he brings to this series.

Bits and Pieces:

Even with his heel turn last issue, Roundhouse and his morals shine in this issue, while he spotlights what's wrong with the Teen Titans.  The art is great and while I wish we could spend more time with what we're dealing with here, it looks like we're going off to another round of the Year of the Villain next month, which is actually kind of disappointing for how personal and intimate this issue felt. 

8/10