New Titans #90 (1992)

New Titans #90 (September, 1992)
"Total Chaos, Part 2: That Which Lurks Within a Star!"
Writer - Marv Wolfman
Penciller - Tom Grummett
Inker - Al Vey
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Editor - Jon Peterson
Cover Price: $1.75

Okay... more Total Chaos.  If you need... or want to catch up, check out part one!

--

We open with the Titans rushing into action... like, literally... they just burst outta Dayton's place and off to their helicopter.  They're all rather confused about the sudden appearance of a second Starfire... but know they gotta get to S.T.A.R. Labs before Donna's life is (further) endangered.  Dayton is none too pleased that they decided to leave Baby Wildebeest (who just bursts through a wall... which will become a theme today) in his care, but, whattayagonnado?

Aboard the chopper, Pantha really starts stirring the crap between Starfire and Nightwing... even going so far as to inform Kory that Dick... slept with the other one!  Starfire, naturally, isn't pleased... though she seems more bothered by Dick's new mullet.  Not sure I can blame her there!

As they approach S.T.A.R. Labs, they find themselves attacked by a... glowing blue man?!  Well, we already know him to be Team Titans, Killowat.  Also worth noting, New York Mayoral hopeful (and Titan-thorn-in-the-side) Elizabeth Alderman is watching from her high-rise office.

Killowat shocks the hell out of the chopper... and it begins to plummet, right down into Times Square.  Killowat is pleased because, get this, he doesn't intend to kill anybody... just slow the Titans down.  Yeah, buddy... tell that to the thousand New Yorkers on the street below.

We shift scenes into the sewer, where Deathstroke collapsed last issue.  He is awakened by some rats crawling on him... and he blasts them with his shock-stick.  Then, from behind, he's kayoed by some Morlock-looking fella wielding a pry-bar of sorts.  Thinking he's dead, they're looking to basically sell Deathstroke for parts... not that they even realize just who this masked fella is.

Slade gets up, and takes the fight to the pry-bar-guy.  It doesn't take much to overwhelm the baddie... and when he does, the other Morlock-looking fella (named Frog) appoints Deathstroke as the salvagers' new leader.  Wow, that same thing happened to Storm back in the long ago.  Deathstroke decides to trade his leadership status for help getting to S.T.A.R. Labs...

... where, at this very moment, Donna Troy is about to give birth!  Feeling what is about to occur, Lord Chaos springs into action... he must ensure that he is born... however, vows to kill his mother immediately after, for whatever reason.

Back in Time Square... or above it, Starfire fires some star-blasts into the ground to clear the area of pedestrians.  Gotta repeat that Mayoral-hopeful Alderman has been a thorn-in-the-side for the Titans of late, and is really trying to hurt their reputation with the average folk... sooo, of course, seeing Starfire fire star-blasts in their direction ain't gonna help.  All that really matters, I suppose, is that Kory was able to clear the area, and there were no casualties.

Worth noting that Mayoral-hopeful Alderman and her weaselly assistant Twine are johnnies on the spot here, and have photos of the entire debacle for their next Titans smear-story.

Deathstroke is escorted to the S.T.A.R. Labs sewer opening, and he tells his new follower to go back to his Morlock-lookin' people.  Once inside, he sees... Starfire stomping in.  Immediately, he can tell that this isn't the real Starfire.  For only having one peeper, this Deathstroke has some superb vision.

"Starfire" then heads over to Redwing's cell... and after revealing herself to actually be Mirage, frees her Teamer teammate....s.  Gotta mention that Redwing's invisible brother Jonathan "Prester John" Levine is also there.  Whether or not he's in the cell, however... I couldn't say... because, ya know... he's invisible.

Deathstroke, naturally, is watching this entire thing go down... and upon hearing that they're looking to kill Donna Troy, attempts to stop them.  All's well, until he gets belted in the belly with a chunk'a earth.  Deathstroke... meet Terra.

The Teamers then burst into the room where Donna's getting ready to pop.  Before they can kill the mother-to-be, the New Titans (and yeah, they call them the "New Titans") also burst into the room to put a stop to it.  Between all these walls, and Donna's womb... there's a whole lotta burstin' goin' on!

There's a skirmish... naturally, and Killowat makes a beeline toward Donna... and, get this... gets socked in the mush by Terry freaking Long for his troubles!

Then... if you can believe it, another wall bursts!  This must be the walliest room in all of S.T.A.R. Labs!  We close out with the arrival of... Lord Chaos!

--

Wow, but there was a lotta wall burstings going on here!  I'd hate to be a wall in Marv Wolfman's house!

Now... he say, somewhat nervously... two issues in, annnnnnd... so far, so good?!  This isn't bad at all!  I think the only "bad" thing so far is the fact that Total Chaos is crossing over into three different books, and would require a bit of legwork to track down (before the trade collection, of course... but, that sucker's thirty bucks!)

So, where to begin?

I think the high-point of this issue has got to be Deathstroke's reaction to seeing Terra.  It's one of those things that, we're so far removed from at this point, that it takes a moment for the actual profundity of the scene to sink in.  Of course, Deathstroke introduced Terra into the Titans' world back in the long ago, but even rereading this today, I'd almost forgotten how big a deal this meeting would (and, in theory, should) be.

Another high-point... Terry Long socking Killowat in the face.  Now, anyone whose followed this blog knows that the Red Menace is one'a my biggest bugbears in comics, but... gotta say, seeing him throw fists to protect Donna and his unborn child was a good look for him.  If he were a real dude, I'd give him a thumbs up.

Let's talk the Times Square scene for a bit.  I guess we can look at it in one of two ways.  Either Killowat was confident that the Titans would be able to get out of it without a single loss of life... or, he just didn't care.  Both ways... I dunno, kinda work.

Let's look at the confidence angle.  The Teamers did take their inspiration from the original Teen Titans... so, it might stand to reason that Killowat would think the Titans would save the day no matter what.  On the other hand, the Teamers are trying to stop the "Chaos-future" from unfolding... so, perhaps a few civilian casualties are just the "cost of doing business", ya know?

On the way to Times Square, we get sorta filled in on what went on (or might've went on) between Dick and fake-Starfire... with Pantha stoking those flames pretty well.  It's alluded to that Dick and Mirage slept together here... but, not outright stated.  I mean, Pantha outright says it, but she's an a-hole looking for a reaction... should probably take whatever she says with a grain of salt.  Not saying she won't eventually be proven right though!

Deathstroke's "solo" scenes certainly shine here (there's a lotta "ess" words in a row!).  Him beating up the Morlock leader... and finding himself becoming their new leader was pretty neat... but, the best was his noticing the difference in gait between the real and fake Starfires.  So simple... but, something that Dick Grayson didn't even notice!  This one bit made Deathstroke look more like a badass than beating up the mafia last issue.

Overall... can't believe I'm saying this, but... really digging it!  Of course, I'm still waiting for that other show to drop.  I know there has to be a reason why I disliked this so much the first couple of times... and why I haven't been able to get through it in its entirety in so many years.  Have I softened that much?  Was this just never as bad as I thought?  Have I been affected by the hive-mind?  I guess we're just going to have to wait and see!

--

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898

Deathstroke the Terminator #14 (1992)

Deathstroke the Terminator #14 (September, 1992)
"Total Chaos, Part 1: Child's Play"
Writer - Marv Wolfman
Penciller - Art Nichols
Inker - Will Blyberg
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Tom McCraw
Assistant Editor - Frank Pittarese
Editor - Jon Peterson
Cover Price: $1.75

We really gonna do this?

Ya know... I feel like we've been brushing up against this one for a while now... and to be honest, it's been so long since I've read this, I can't remember much outside of the main "Lord Chaos" beats... and something about a food additive (I think).

Yesterday I wrote about how folks are quick to write off Team Titans as trash, sight unseen because "hurr hurr, nineties".  I fear my unfamiliarity with Total Chaos might make me fall into that sort of column as well... and, I'd really like the humble blog to be better than that.

Can't promise we'll be covering this every day... because, as we've learned, burnout is almost an inevitability when it comes to a project like this... also, because this Wednesday is our NINE-HUNDREDTH daily discussion... so, there might be something special planned for that entry... if I can think of something special to stick there, that is.

Anyhoo... let's hit it and git it, Total Chaos starts... now.

--

We open in New York City, and the Titans are trying to hunt down Deathstroke... the fugitive!  Ya see, Slade allegedly caused some chaos (no relation to the "Total" variety) during an earlier adventure that caused him to be thrown in jail by Superman... he's busted out, and he's currently on the run.  That's where the Titans come in.  We are just post-Titans Hunt, as well... which ended with (highlight to see spoiler) Slade being forced to kill his son Joey "Jericho" Wilson.  Sooo, the Titans are kinda of mixed feelings on the man right now.

As a disguised Nightwing and Starfire head down the street... and, I mean... Starfire is still a seven-foot tall golden woman with a giant four-foot ponytail... she's just wearing street clothes (and glasses)... but, I suppose we'll allow it.  Anyhoo... as they head down the street, Kory gets her pocketbook swiped by a skateboarding kid.  As Dick hops into pursuit another kid trips in front of him.  Ya see, the whole thing was a con.

Nearby, Slade watches the whole thing go down... and realizes his chances for escape are pretty slim at the moment.  Lucky for him, he just so happens to be standing outside a clothing store... and so, he goes "incognito".  Oh, and it's worth noting, he knows this is Dick and Kory because, as mentioned, Starfire is still a seven foot tall golden alien goddess.

Slade packs his arsenal into a duffel bag and heads down the mean street... where, he too falls victim to the skate-rat purse thief gang.  As he gives chase, another kid falls into his path.  Slade is a little less polite about this obstacle than Dick was.  Worth noting, these kids are currently on the run from the Mafia... and yeah, we'll be coming back around to that.

The girl that fell on Slade starts causing a scene, claiming that he robbed her.  This draws a crowd, and eventually... the attention of a still nearby Nightwing!

Nightwing and Slade fight for a few pages.  Dick tries to reason with Slade, and tells him that the Titans will have his back if he's truly innocent.  Slade's all "nuh-uh", and even at his halved levels of power, manages to beat the hell outta the former Boy Wonder.

Starfire runs to Nightwing's side (calling him "Dick" in front of a large crowd).  As Deathstroke makes a run for it, Dick orders Kory to use her star-bolts... but, for whatever reason... she can't.  We'll be coming back around to that as well.  When she fails to act, Dick writes it off as her having been weakened during Titans Hunt.

Dick and Kori reconnoiter with Changeling, Red Star, and Pantha... and have an odd little chat about the situation... likely only to facilitate some comments Gar makes toward Kory about how she's "changed".  The team decides to head back to Steve Dayton's, hopeful that Donna might've returned.

We shift scenes to those thieving kids... and we learn that one of the bags they'd swiped belonged to the mafia... and was packed full'a computer disks.  For those unaware, computers used to come with these thin slits called "disk drives"... you'd slide a disk into it in order to access programs and whatnot.  Anyhoo, the Mafia is here... and they want their stuff back.  Lucky for the kids, Deathstroke is also here... and he wants his stuff back as well.

After dispatching the baddies, Deathstroke nyoinks the tots and tries to figure out just what the heck is going on.  When they finally come clean about the disks, he asks them to meet him at a hotel later on tonight.  There's a request that hasn't really aged well.

Then... dun dun dunnnn, Lord Chaos.  We get a quick and dirty on the future Son of Donna Troy.  He hails from the far-flung future (2001), and is the "Absolute Ruler of Earth", which I doubt is an elected position.  Those who stood in opposition were the... Team Titans, who ultimately threw themselves back in time in order to follow through with a "Would you go back in time to kill so-and-so-bad-guy in the crib?" situation... or in this case, would you ensure so-and-so-bad-guy was never born?  And so, Lord Chaos also came back to ye old 1992 to ensure the Teamers don't succeed!

Speaking of Donna Troy, we shift over to S.T.A.R. Labs where she and Terry Long are walking the halls... talking about her time as a superhero.  She decides then and there, that once she has the baby... she's retiring!  They are then confronted by Team Titan Redwing, who tells them that she cannot allow the baby to be born... because, he'll destroy the world.  Dang, I wonder if Terry and Donna wanted to be surprised about the sex of the child?

Just then, the baby begins to... grow, inside Donna's belly... like, big time.  The swelling is so out of control that Donna falls to the ground... looks like the kid wants out!

We pop over to Dick and Kory, having some touchy-feely time on the couch.  After Dick gets all hot 'n bothered (he refers to himself as a, ugh, "gland"), Kory leaves to check on Donna.  As this is all going down, we see somebody escaping from captivity... hmm...

Later on (at Jericho's grave site), Deathstroke meets with his associate, Squirrel.  He's doing that thing where it's "one more job, then out"... which, I swear Deathstroke does like every third issue.  He instructs Squirrel to divert all of his funds appropriately.

Then, over with the Teamers, Fake-Terra shows off her new 90's look... and tells her teammates that she's made them all new costumes as well (with stolen materials, natch).

You haven't forgotten about those street kids yet, have you?  Because they're back... at the hotel, waiting for Deathstroke.  Unfortunately, the Mafia goons are also there.  Deathstroke pops in, and throws all of the baddies out a window... right at the feet of Officers Abbott and Costello.  I guess that'll do?

Slade unmasks... and reveals a very sweaty face... he's definitely in a bad way.  He instructs the kids to deliver those disks to the F.B.I., but they are a little squirrelly (no relation) about that.  Then, police sirens start blaring... so, Slade knows he's rapidly running out of time (even though Officers Bud and Lou have been outside the whole time?).  He gives the kids an address and tells them to ask for "Sweet Lili".

Deathstroke flees into the night... and into the sewer, hopeful that he can make it to S.T.A.R. Labs and give himself an examination before his powers completely give out.  He doesn't make it far, collapsing in the sewer... just a few feet in front of a shadowy figure.

We wrap up this chapter back at the Dayton Estate.  The Titans discuss everything that's gone down... however, they don't chat all that long before a very angry Starfire bursts in wondering why nobody bothered to come looking for her.  Ya see, she's been tied up in a tenement for three days.  I know what you're thinking... that can't be possible, we just saw her like five minutes ago!  Well... don't adjust your comic book... we really are seeing double!

--

So far... so good?

Maybe I'm softening in my old age... in fairness, it's been several forehead wrinkles and more than several gray hairs since the last time I tried reading this, but... as an opening chapter, I gotta say... I liked this.  Keep in mind that I also enjoyed the first issue of Millennium... so, I suppose this isn't really saying much.

I'd totally forgotten about the street kids... and, even seeing them now didn't refresh my memory any.  I am expecting that they will grind on my nerves as we work our way through... though, perhaps I shouldn't be so quick to judge.  After all, that's what this exercise is really all about!

The two Starfires.  I'm pretty sure we've touched on this before, but I'll not spoil it just in case.  I mean, I don't expect people to dig through the Infinite Archives with any regularity... heck, I'm not expecting anyone to read this!  It's definitely a somewhat interesting beat... and I'm looking forward to re-experiencing the reveal.

Lord Chaos... well, we don't get a whole lot from him, and honestly... we didn't really need to.  We "meet" him, and learn a little bit of what he's all about here, and that's pretty much all we should've gotten here.  Donna jumping through her trimesters with the quickness is also handled well... rather than just have her suddenly be "ready to pop", they gave her brief pregnancy an in-story reason.  Well done.

Still not a fan of his design... which feels like an already-been-chewed George Perez image... that curly hair... that odd short skirt.  Asamattafact, anytime I think of Total Chaos, I picture super "busy" pages, like the one where we're introduced to his Lordship here.  I think that might just be the top reason why I haven't revisited this story for so long... 

Gar being a little so-and-so here.  It's annoying, yes... but, it makes sense.  I mean, first of all... look at his haircut... who could be happy with something like that on their head?  But also, he (like the rest of the team) is dealing with the fallout of Titans Hunt... and, he's never been the most mature... or most comfortable with his feelings, so it stands to reason that he'd be the first to sorta "lash out" at the situation.

Only bits I was kinda "ehh" about was Deathstroke tossing the baddies at the cops... then being freaked out that there were cops on their way.  Seems kinda weird.  Though, I suppose he is a wanted fugitive... just seems a little uneven.


Also... this issue might be haunted.  Hear me out... I snapped so many pictures of this issue, the panels... the cover... and nearly all of them came out blurry!  This book simply refused to be photographed!  I mean, I've taken tens-of-thousands of pictures (of varying quality) for this blog... but today... I dunno, it was a real challenge!  If you don't hear from me ever again, run (don't walk) to your local shop and pick up this issue... I might've been sucked in.  I'm counting on you.

All told... if I were to have read this back in ye old 1992, I'd have been all about it.  This is intriguing... and feels like we're headed to a great adventure... funny, back in ye old 1992, I did go to Great Adventure in New Jersey on a class trip.  Anyhoo, I'm now tentatively looking forward to checking out the rest of this... though, with the understanding that (just as with Millennium) the other shoe will very likely drop.

If you're down, Total Chaos has been collected in trade paperback.

--

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897

Team Titans #6 (1993)

Team Titans #6 (March, 1993)
"It Should Have Been a Wonderful Life"
Writer - Marv Wolfman
Penciller - Art Nichols
Inkers - Will Blyberg & Al Vey
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Gene D'Angelo
Assistant Editor - Frank Pittarese
Editor - Rob Simpson
Cover Price: $1.75

Welcome to another day of Christmas on Infinite Earths... in July!  Today's a special one because the (entire) book doesn't actually take place on Christmas Eve!  I mean, it ends there, but, at least this spoilery synopsis won't start with "It's Christmas Eve..."

Or will it?

--

It's Christmas Eve... Eve, and the Team Titans and the Longs are lamenting the fact that the Long family farm (and the "Teamer's" current digs have been destroyed in a battle with... I dunno, some rogue Titans team from an alternate future or something.  That used to happen a lot back in the day.  Also, there's a whole lot of characters to meet here... but, we'll stick to the ones that actually get story beats.  The Team Titans, if'n ya don't know, are also from the future... but the not-so-distant future, so there ought to be younger versions of themselves running around in the then-present of 1992.  You follow?

So, the Teamers decide to... head off and meet up with their circa-1992 families.  Kilowatt will head off to New Orleans, Dagon (also known as... Nightrider) will head off to London... fake-Terra will, I dunno, look for signs of who she used to be, and Mirage will... sit this one out.  She doesn't want to see her family suffer a second time.

And so, she runs off to go cry at a... random outcropping of rock on the Long farm?  Sure, why not?  After collapsing in tears, she is visited by... Phantasm, who claims to have been summoned by her grief.  She seems more bummed out that Dick Grayson didn't come with the ol' Sheet-Man.  They gab for a bit, but it's clear Mirage just wants to be left alone.

We shift scenes over to Kilowatt/Charlie, as he flies toward his hometown... which he is surprised to find is actually a rather large city on this Earth.  He lands and begins to investigate some of his old stomping grounds.

He pops into the old soda shack he used to take his girlfriend to and checks out a phone book... and finds out that his aunt and uncle still live at the same address.  And so, he heads "home"... only to find that his relatives... look just a little bit different on "our" Earth.  Uncle Jack is also packin' a piece... and isn't shy about blasting away at the weird, blue glowing man in the sky.  Charlie flies off, in tears.

Next, we join Battalion at Radio City Music Hall.  He is there to see his younger self and his wife leave the performance... and is shocked to find that, well... on this Earth his wife is married to some other mullet-headed jabronie.

Next stop, the friendly skies... looks like Mirage is actually heading... somewhere.  Also, she must have disposable income to grab a Christmas Eve Eve flight so suddenly.  Then again, the seat next to hers' is empty.  Can't say that's something I'd expect so close to Christmas either!  Anyhoo, she starts crying... then runs off to the lavatory... where her face starts to get funky, and she starts hearing voices.

Over in London, Morbius Nightrider watches his younger self do some Christmas caroling... outside a building... and nobody is watching/listening.  It's a pretty sad little scene.  Anyhoo, he thinks back to how he became a Living Vampire, how he was in an accident as a boy... and instead've being taken to the hospital, he was actually dropped off at Castle Dracula... yeah, really.  Well, turns out... this was the night of the accident!  Suddenly, his younger self decides to cross the street... right into the path of an oncoming dairy truck.  Nightrider swoops down and saves his younger-self from being hit... and, in theory, from being swept off to Castle Dracula.  At least I think that's what just happened!

Back on the plane, Miri is chatted up by... Phantasm... again.  She finally comes around and admits that she has no family... because in her past, she killed her father.  Phantasm comforts her... and tries to get her to see things a different way.  Meanwhile, the folks outside the lav think Miri's about to join the Mile-High Club... hell, for all we know... they might not be wrong!

Next stop... is the biggie.  Fake-Terra visits Real-Terra's grave site.  If'n ya didn't know... and nobody would blame you if you didn't... this new Terra was actually just some girl with similar powers to the original Terra, whose DNA was then mixed with the real deal so she could "pass" for the actual Terra.  I'm sure there was a clearer way to explain that... but, my head already hurts.  Maybe we'll do... Total Chaos here one of these days.  Then again... maybe we won't.  Anyhoo, Terra-Two is fully aware of all the badness the OG-Terra was responsible for back in the long ago.

She is approached by a groundskeeper, who... I would say "fills her in" on Terra a bit more... but, he really doesn't.  All he really says is she was a Titan... the Titans were sad when they buried her... and the green kid took it especially hard.  I'm wondering if there's some poignancy that I'm missing here?  I mean, he says something about the true meaning of family (blood being less important than love)... so, I guess there's that?

Next stop, the Titans Christmas Party... I'm gonna assume it's finally Christmas Eve at this point.  It looks like a rollicking good time... well, not really so much.  Starfire offers to help the Troy-Longs rebuild their farm... but Donna tells her that their home is a "power-free zone", which... I dunno, is pretty lame.  Especially considering that the bad guys who wrecked the place didn't really follow that rule themselves.

Then... the Teamers arrive!  Realizing that "home" is where the heart is... and all that blibbuh-blabbah.  Also, Mirage finally introduces herself with her given name of Miriam Delgado.  Merry Christmas to all... and to all, yadda yadda.

--

Now... Team Titans is one of those books I refer to as being "funny, ha-ha"... like, they're kind of a punchline unto themselves.  Seriously... folks online'll joke about 'em without ever picking up an issue to see what they're about (see also: most early 1990's books)!  Make no mistake though, Team Titans is definitely a result of 90's-excess... and feels mostly like sizzle without the steak.

This issue though?  Not the worst thing I ever read.  Hell, probably not even the worst thing I've read today!  It's far from perfect... and falls flat at moments where I'm sure the intent is for there to be a measure of poignancy... but, it's not bad.  Maybe I'm just a sucker for Christmas stories... because, I am a sucker for Christmas stories.

Let's look at "worked" here.  The premise is a solid one... the Teamers are from the not-too-distant future... and so, it stands to reason that their younger selves (or at least their closest relatives) are stomping around ye old 1992.  It only makes sense for them to want to "visit".  Why it took six-issues (or three, minus Total Chaos) to come to that conclusion... and why it's treated like such a stunning revelation here... that, I don't know.  Way I figure... if I were ever sent back to the not-too-distant past, the first thing I'd do would be visit myself.  Paradoxes be damned!

All that said... it's a good premise, and worth exploring... and makes for an interesting Christmas-type story.

So, did it work?

Let's look case-by-case.  Kilowatt finds that his New Orleans is quite different from "our" New Orleans... and that he's not related to "our" Jack and Annie Watkins.  Kinda heartbreaking... I guess.  Really feeds into the "home is where the heart is" theme the issue is working towards.

Batallion seeks to be either reunited with his wife... or maybe to just get a glimpse of her.  Well, he certainly gets an eyeful... only, she's marrying another dude... a mullet-head named George.  Izzat heartbreaking?  Sure, it's a bummer.  Worth noting, however, Battalion doesn't show up at the Titans Christmas Party at the end.

Nightrider winds up saving a boy from being hit by a dairy truck... and, perhaps from becoming a "Living Vampire".  This one... I mean, I get it... and it's always a good idea to push children out of the way of oncoming milk trucks... but, on "our" Earth, Lord Chaos isn't a thing, right?  So, even if the boy was hit by the truck (which I'm certainly not advocating for)... it's highly unlikely that he'd be  dropped off at Castle Dracula, right?  Then again... it's not even clear that this is a younger Dagen.  But, again... always cool to push a kid out of the way of oncoming traffic.

Mirage's story... ehh.  Is the implication that she was a victim of some sort of abuse?  That she killed her father in self-defense?  It's not really clear... though, if that is the case... it makes what she does to Dick Grayson later on a bit more off-putting.  I feel like we didn't get enough information for this revelation to really "ping" the poignancy meter... though, if it is what I'm suspecting... while cliche, I guess it's something?

Finally, Terra.  I think this was supposed to be the "big" scene of the book... and really "spoke" to Titans fans of old.  Buuut... I dunno, it kinda fell flat.  There were no revelations... Terra-Two didn't find out a single thing about herself... which was, at least in theory, the point.  It all built to that "home is where the heart is" spoo.  It actually reminded me of a Christmas episode of Golden Girls where they were snowed in, and couldn't go "home" for the holidays... and ultimately realized that, despite not sharing common blood, they were a "family".  Sappy, sure... but decent enough.  Not what I was looking for here, however.

I appreciate the Teamers' struggle to find "home" being juxtaposed with the literal destruction of the Long farmhouse.  Their arrival in this timeline... and their removal from their own "home" has resulted in the loss of "home" for their caregivers/babysitters.  Pretty neat little twist.

The concept of "home" is always an interesting one to explore.  Some equate it with their house or a place... some, with a time... I mean, it's an abstract concept that we could all discuss for eons... and I'll try not to waste much more of your time while I babble about it here... especially as I'm not entirely sure what my own thoughts on the matter are!  I guess it's kind of a "liquid" thing... maybe it's not something you can actually point to... or, it's more just something you only know when you've already left it.

Or... maybe it's just wherever you were when you were 12 years old.  That seems to be the age many of us remember most fondly when it comes to the world around us.  Just so happens, I was 12 when this bugger came out in 1992.

Overall... if you've ever been Team Titans-curious, this isn't the worst issue to pick up.  I'd probably suggest having a wiki open so you can check out who some of these folks are... but, it's not nearly as confusing as I remembered it being.  Truth be told, I still haven't read this entire twenty-odd issue run... and, what's more... I couldn't say for certain that I ever will!  This issue, however... worth a look.  Especially if you're (like me) a sucker for Christmas stories.

Issue is available digitally.

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896