Blackest Night: Titans #2 (2009)
Blackest Night: Titans #2 (November, 2009)
Donna’s is so taken aback, that she doesn’t immediately seem creeped out that her ex-husband is very much undead… and her baby son, Robert has floated into her arms. She holds the baby tight in her arms, thinking this has to be a dream. Ya know that thing, where you ask somebody to pinch you to make sure you’re not dreaming? Well, poor Donna got a big chunk of her neck and shoulder bitten by the demonic child… who, despite last issue’s revelation, definitely has more than two teeth in his head.
Outside, the battle rages on between Gar, Kory and Vic and the Black Lanterns Terra and Omen. Starfire has some reservations over hurting their former friends and teammates, but Cyborg assures her that these are just their bodies… because, as he puts it… he don’t believe in no ghosts. Boy do I have an issue for you to read, pal. While we’re here though, I’m always tickled as to what a comic book character considers their bridge too far. I mean, Vic lives in the DC Universe… where Gods have walked the Earth and whatnot… and he doesn’t believe in Ghosts? I don’t feel like diggin’, but I gotta figure he’s shared a panel or two with a ghost over his three-decades.
Terra gains an advantage over Gar, and pins him down. She places her left hand into his chest… perhaps to tear out his heart, like we saw Hawk do to… Hawk, last issue. Luckily, Starfire is nearby, and nails Terra with a starbolt. Of particular interest, Beast Boy’s first instinct is to worry about Terra’s safety. Once he gathers his druthers, he admits that Kory did the right thing.
We shift scenes to Georgetown, and see Black Lantern Hawk pluck the heart outta the newly dead Hawk. Well, as you might imagine, this ticks Dove off a smidge. She pounces into action and starts beating on her former partner. Just when it seems that she might have the upper hand… the Black Lantern voice of doom calls for Holly “Hawk” Granger to RISE… and boy does she…
Back inside Titan’s Tower, Donna tries to wrap her head around the goings on. She has a very visible… and bloody mark on her neck from the li’l one’s love-bite. Terry and Robert approach her, with deadly intentions in mind. Luckily, Kid Flash is in the house, and runs her to safety. As Donna, Bart, and Cassie reconnoiter, we can see that Donna’s wound has turned black…
Outside, Lilith is screwing with the Titans… making them see their happiest dream. Cyborg is whole again, and Starfire is marrying Dick Grayson… hopefully without a visit from Victoria’s Secret model Raven like in New Titans #100. This gives Terra the time she needed to pull herself together after suffering the starbolt blast… and now, boy is she mad. She uses her powers to cause Titan’s Tower to crumble to the ground!
Bart, Cassie and Donna were able to escape before the walls came tumblin’ down… however, all is not well. Donna appears to go catatonic… and in her eyes, we can see the Black Lantern symbol.
Gar Logan attempts to stir his teammates from Lilith’s sweet illusions while Terra celebrates the fact that after such a long wait… she’s finally going to get to kill the Titans. Bad goes to worse when several more fallen Titans appear on the scene… and we are [to be concluded…]
I gotta admit, I chuckled when I saw ol’ curly-headed Terry. I was half-kidding when I first suggested he’d show his face here. Now that he has, I’m glad he did. Though I may consider him the worst kind of evil… for reasons I can’t seem to articulate, I kinda get that he’s a necessary evil… at least for me. He brings me back to a great time in Titans history… and the fact that they (literally) dug him up for a story well over a decade after his death, is something I can’t help but to like.
Donna’s not the only Titan being put through the wringer… we’ve still got Gar’s unresolved feelings toward Terra. I really liked how he seemed to be collecting his thoughts on the fly… trying to reconcile head with heart. Here he is nearly being “killed to death” by Terra… and when Starfire blasts her real good… his immediate reaction is to worry about Terra’s well-being. Such a broken, human way to be… and I really dug it!
The Hawks and Dove scenes are… well, not bad… but I never really associate them with the Titans. I often have to remind myself that they were part of the team for a cuppa. For what it’s worth… while I don’t have any kind of emotional attachment to them, I still thought it was pretty cool when the newly-dead Hawk almost instantaneously accepted her Black Lantern ring. Things going from bad to worse for Dove was an awesome way to leave them.
My only misgiving about this issue, and lemme tell ya… it’s a hyoooge deal (not really). On the last page… Pantha’s head is still attached to her body. Now, c’mon… we saw Superboy-Prime punch her head clean off her body during Infinite Crisis. I would have loved it if she was there holding her head… or if Baby Wildebeest was wearing it around his neck or something. Okay, okay… that’s not that big a deal. Still digging this story, still recommended.
Oh, and I neglected to mention it last issue… but the Ed Benes art in this miniseries is absolutely amazing! The scans don’t do it the proper justice. Just awesome stuff.
