New Titans #85 (April, 1992)
"Dirge"
Writer - Marv Wolfman
Pencils - Tom Grummett
Inks - Al Vey
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Adrienne Roy
Editor - Jonathan Peterson
Cover Price: $1.75
Ya know... I was planning on just leaving Titans Hunt behind. However, the more I thought about it... the more annoyed I became that the final part didn't give us a single bit of closure.
I mean, let's be honest... that ending was less "cliffhanger" and more "entrapment". After investing so much time and money into an arc... having it end so flatly and without resolution... what Titans fan wasn't going to come back for #85?
Let's look at this... New Titans #71 (Part One) shipped September 18, 1990. New Titans #84 (Part the Final) shipped January 21, 1992. That's a whole lot of time and energy to expect a fan to dedicate to a story without giving them an ounce of closure.
Whatta greedy arc.
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We open at the Titans Graveyard, where services are being held for Jericho (and maybe Golden Eagle too, there are two coffins). We join our solemn Titans as they discuss the finer points of whether or not Joe's spirit still existed inside his Azarathian-possessed body at the end. I think that was made crystal clear a couple of issues back, but what do I know? In the distance, Slade Wilson... the man who was forced to kill Joey (to save him from further corruption and/or corrupting) watches the proceedings... alone. He approaches the casket after everyone leaves. I always thought the casket went into the ground after everyone left... again, what do I know?
The next stop for the Titans is S.T.A.R. Labs to check on Vic. Garfield is especially anxious to see his pal. He is, of course, pretty shaken when he finds him. Vic is being worked on by S.T.A.R. staff, led by his sorta-kinda squeeze Dr. Sarah Charles. Logan looks into Vic's dead eyes, and kinda loses it for a bit!
He flips out, yelling at his fellow Titans for not believing him when he accused Jericho (the son of the Terminator, of course) of being a traitor. Donna responds by reminding him of just how many times the Titans have been turned on by one of their own... either via wicked deception, or mind-control. It's sobering... and one of those things that sounds absolutely ridiculous when you stop and think about it! Gar apologizes for lashing out, though... if you ask me, the real crime is his mullet. We also get a run-down on the Titans Hunt casualties:
- Joey-Dead
- Golden Eagle-Dead
- Aqualad-Coma
- Raven-Missing/Presumed Dead
- Danny Chase-Missing/Presumed Dead
- Arella-Missing/Presumed Dead
- ...and of course, Vic.
Dr. Charles informs the Titans that there has been advances in Aqualad's treatment. She guides them (sans Gar) into another area of the Labs, to show them what she means. Looks like Garth is on-ice... sorta. It's a super-cold liquid cryogenic thingie... to hold him over for now. Just then, Aquaman shows up... annnnnnd, really doesn't seem all that bothered seeing his sidekick in such a state. He also figures that Atlantis ain't gonna help him, at least at the moment. Thanks for comin', Artie.
Back at Dick's apartment, he and Kory are watching soap operas... Kory can't stand them because the people in them are "far too unreal"... nyuk nyuk, ya get it? Anyhoo, the program cuts away to a special news report, featuring our least-favorite "thorn in the side" Elizabeth Alderman. She's ticked at the Titans and all that jazz.
Just then... a weird... object appears at the ruins of the Wildebeest Warehouse (where Alderman is being interviewed). It looks... I dunno, kind of like an electrified clump of dryer lint? It begins spinning out of control... and actually draws the Titans to it!
From it springs forth... Phantasm! And he's holding that weird canister he picked up last issue. He tries to make it clear from the get-go, that he is no longer "the boy"... which is to say, he ain't Danny Chase no mo. This, naturally, doesn't stop everyone from referring to him as such.
Elsewhere, the Team Titans (who, for the moment are being called the "Teen Titans") are also watching this all go down via the news. Upon seeing Troia, they figure this might be a great opportunity to take 'er out.
Back on the street, Phantasm starts spillin' the beans. Danny's gone, Arella's gone... and in the best news ever, Azarath is gone! Whoo-hoo! Haven't felt this relieved since reading "The Last Morlock Story" in Uncanny X-Men #291(ish)! I'd hope Azarath would stay gone at least as long as the Morlocks did... but, we all know better than that.
While the Teamsters look on (Mirage drooling over Di.. err, Nightwing), the Titans are approached by Elizabeth Alderman. She's blibbuh blabberin' about her lawsuit, and her injunctions against them using their powers within the city limits. Yadda yadda yadda. Phantasm tires of her bellyaching, and ports the team away so they might continue their chat. This of course, only makes them look guilty as hell, right?
Upon arriving... elsewhere, Dick tells the team about how everything came together. The Wildebeest who attacked him... died, and so, Dick took his costume. Later, Danny was attacked... and Dick-the-Beest tossed him a Nightwing Tracer as a "calling card". This was, apparently "hidden in plain sight" during that issue... which, uh, congrats? You got me... by dropping a hint in a scene I couldn't care less about... you slid one past the goalie, Marv!
After a little more chatter, Phantasm gets weary of dealing with the team... and so, he leaves. However... he doesn't take that canister with him... and, just then... it opens! Deep breaths, everybody... it's time to meet: Baby Wildebeest!
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Well, we actually do get a bit more closure here. It's funny, today Titans Hunt would have been an event miniseries unto itself... and this would probably be issue #12.1 or some such nonsense.
It was nice to have the opportunity to see the Titans walk that tightrope of licking their wounds and reflecting while at the same time, attempting to move forward. It's probably an understatement to suggest that this is a very different team compared to the one that was about to celebrate their anniversary a year and a half back (in real time).
Some have changed physically... others emotionally. Some ain't there anymore... and we have a few newbies to boot. Even if I didn't enjoy Titans Hunt in full... there was still a good story worth being told hidden betwixt all of the exposition, tie-ins, and flashbacks. There was definitely a plan here to upend and update the franchise... and, at the end of the day... that's exactly what they did.
I feel like this sort of thing is missing from comics these days. I'm not talking about over-stretched arcs, because we've got those in spades. I'm talking about actually sitting down and writing a story to facilitate and explain changes. Nowaways, we'd just get a new #1... with an all-new team, and hopes that maybe, somewhere down the line, we'd get an explanation of how we got here.
Let's take a look at the lettercol... it's funny, I was just chatting with my pal Tom Panarese (name drop!) about the delays Titans Hunt experienced... and he mentioned that it was so out of wack that the climax was spoiled in another book. Sure enough, one of the letters mentions just that very thing! Here, take a look (As always, full Lettercol below, including the cop-out response from the Editor):
Overall... I gotta say, if you read through Titans Hunt... you're going to want to read this too. It might not rock your socks, but it does help to put a "cap" on the event.
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Letters Page:
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Martian Manhunter (vol.2) #24 (November, 2000)
"Revelations | Double Stuff"
Writer - John Ostrander
Guest Pencils - Doug Mahnke
Guest Inks - Pat Gleason
Letters - Bill Oakley
Colors - Carla Feeny
Color Separations - Jamison
Associate Editor - L.A. Williams
Editor - Peter Tomasi
Cover Price: $2.50
After spending the last several months (it's been months, right?) wading through Titans Hunt, it's pretty refreshing to read something just a little bit different.
Before we get into the issue itself, the Revelations arc that ran through Martian Manhunter was a handful of stories which showed J'onn throughout different eras of DC History, and depicted him rubbing shoulders with folks like Superman, Batman, Abin Sur... it provided (perhaps newer) turn-of-the-century readers with context to illustrate where J'onn's been and why he is so important.
I think we'll eventually cover it in full, but... there's just something about this particular issue that makes me want to put it at the front of the line!
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We open back in the days on the Justice League International. We're at the New York Embassy, and J'onn is sharing the story of the time he'd lost his... cookies! Being something of a Cookie Monster myself, I can see how troublesome this could be. Turns out he didn't so much lose them, as they were hidden from him by Booster and Beetle.
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| Hashtag-Villains |
After bragging to Guy, Fire and Ice about the theft (as well as buying up every Choco in a few mile radius)... they bolt outta the place. Just then, a fired up J'onn returns to the living room... and he ain't pleased.
The other Leaguers play coy... they sure don't want to be the ones to break the news and suffer J'onn's wrath. J'onn goes from positively psychotic... to "hey, it's all good" when he realizes he can just trudge up the block to the store and buy some more. Well... about that.
We rejoin Booster and Beetle as they tap into a camera at the local convenience store. J'onn is there trying to procure some Chocos... and is... ehh, a bit miffed that they're sold out.
Then... we get one of the best panels put to paper. J'onn "hulks up"... we definitely wouldn't like him when he's angry hungry.
J'onn rampages through the streets of New York... flipping over cars and everything! It's really quite the scene. Booster and Beetle finally realize their little gag might've gone a bit too far, and intervene. Beetle lets it slip that they were behind the cookie-heist... whiiiiich, might not have been the best idea.
J'onn doesn't react all that well. I mentioned he "hulked up" earlier, well... now we go full-blown Hulk!
Booster and Beetle do their damnedest to take to the air and flee. Elsewhere, Maxwell Lord is meeting with his contact at the United Nations. Looks like the U.N. has lost a measure of confidence in the Lord-led Justice League International... and is considering severing ties. Max doesn't like the sound of this, and so... his nose starts to bleed.
Just then, Booster and Beetle fly by... followed quickly by Hulk-J'onn. The windows of the U.N. shatter... annnnnd Max's nose bleeds again. Such a funny scene!
We rejoin the pursuit with J'onn crashing through the roof of a warehouse. Lucky for all of us, it's a Chocos warehouse! He digs into the loot, and regains his composure. He is soon cornered by Max and a bunch of "official-looking" fellas. It's really great, J'onn's just sitting there eating, like it's no big thing.
Back at the Embassy, Max holds a little intervention with J'onn. He suggests that the Martian Manhunter's cravings for delicious sandwich cookies might be signs of... addiction. Batman joins in via video-monitor, and actually goes as far as to refer to J'onn as a *gasp* "Chocos Junkie"!
J'onn ain't buyin' it... after all, he could kick the Chocos habit anytime he pleases. Max decides to put this to the test... whiiiiich goes exactly how you might imagine it would.
At this point, J'onn realizes that... yeah, he might just have a little problem when it comes to impulse control when in the presence of Chocos. And so, he focuses inward... to purge himself of this addiction. An addiction that takes the form of... a Venom-like symbiote?!?!
After J'onn evicts the beastie, it immediately looks to rejoin it's old host. Unfortunately, Tora hops in its way... and takes it into herself. It's revealed that her craving is for... delicious baby seal? Well, that's disturbing.
Guy Gardner blasts the beast... which only makes it hop into him! We learn that Guy craves... his mommy... specifically, his mommy's womb. We should'a known.
Then, the symbiote hops into Fire... and it's confirmed that she craves attention. Yeah, nobody could've seen that coming. Off to the side, Booster and Beetle are taking notes... this is definitely information they can profit off of later on down the line!
The symbiote makes one final stop... into the body of Maxwell Lord. He wants everyone to do what he says... particularly Wonder Woman. We... won't go any deeper into that.
J'onn's finally had enough of this... and so, he collects the symbiote in a glass canister and delivers it to Reed Richa... errr... um... no, he actually just uses his heat vision on it. Once it's gone, so too is his addiction. He walks over to Booster and Beetle to... thank them, for helping him save him from himself. Meanwhile, Tora is still crying over eating baby seals.
We wrap up with the realization that this entire issue has been a story told to Kyle Rayner. Once Kyle leaves, Wonder Woman reveals that she'd overheard it, and... really doesn't remember anything like that happening. Welllll... that's because it didn't.
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Well, dang... it's not that often we get to read something that flat-out fun! I haven't talked much about J'onn here over the years... but, the Martian Manhunter as part of the JLI has always been a favorite of mine. He's usually depicted as the only sane person in the room... though, there's also a feeling that if he's cool hanging around all of these nuts... he might just be the craziest of them all.
I usually refer to him as "Dick Loudon" from Newhart. He looks like the he's cool and collected... but you get the feeling he could fray at any moment... like say, if someone stole his cookies. Hey, I get it... cookies are important. I know I've had days where I looked forward to getting home and having a sweet snack... only to find that the wife had nabbed it by the time I get there! It's that weird, irrational anger... where I'm not sure if I'm more ticked that the snack is missing... or that I'll have to put my shoes back on and head out to the store.
It was cute that so many "Marvel-ous" elements were included in this silly story. Having J'onn "Hulk out" was a lot of fun to watch... and was especially antithetical to his usual demeanor. With the underlying issue being his missing cookies... it's almost too much fun. I mean, at this point, it was obvious that we were reading an "imaginary story", but I was enjoying myself too much to even care.
Another Marvel-ous touch... a craving symbiote?! Too funny... and helpfully facilitated revealing some of the other Leaguers' deepest-darkest cravings. Some were obvious... okay, all but Tora's were obvious... all told though, it was a pretty cute scene.
I'm a fan of Doug Mahnke... but, I gotta say, there were a few unpleasant-looking panels here. I know sunken and deeply-shadowed eyes are one of his hallmarks, but sometimes it's just off-putting. Overall though, I feel like he did a great job conveying this weird mix of action, emotion, and humor.
This issue comes with one of my higher recommendations... it's really just pure fun. You don't need to be following the Martian Manhunter (or even JLA) series to "get" this issue. You could just read this one, and have a blast with it. As luck would have it, this bugger is available digitally!
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Letters Page (Featuring Michael Bailey and Paul Hicks!):
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New Titans #84 (March, 1992)
"The Jericho Gambit, Part Three: Endings... and Beginnings!"
Writer - Marv Wolfman
Pencils - Tom Grummett
Inks - Al Vey
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Adrienne Roy
Editor - Jonathan Peterson
Cover Price: $1.75
It wouldn't feel right starting any bit of business today without first paying a bit of tribute to Stan Lee. I'm not going to try and make this all about me... but, this one's going to be a toughie.
We lost Steve Ditko some months back... which hurt. The thing with Stan though, is Stan always felt like family, know what I mean? He was just always there... and I don't think I ever thought there would be a time when he wasn't. I mean, we all know the realities of life... but, sometimes we choose not to pay them too much mind.
I hate to think of a comics industry that was never guided by his hand... heck, I'm not sure there still would be a comics industry if not for his hand. Ya know, at the risk of blabbering on, I'll tie it off here.
Rest in Peace... Rest in Power... Thank you, Stan.
Now, for today's piece... we're finally wrapping up Titans Hunt. You know what that means... we're also going to be adding it to our Collected Editions Page!
So, if you've missed any of our deep-dives on Titans Hunt, you'll be able to check 'em out there (in order, even!).
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We pick up right where we left off yesterday. Deathstroke has just run his son through with a sword in attempt to stop his corruption at the hands of the Trigon-afflicted souls of Azarath. Ya got all that? As the Titans look on, shocked... they are even more surprised to find, standing in the place of Phantasm... Danny Chase! *gasp* Also, it would seem that Dick was in on the Phanto-ruse.
Slade slumps down and cradles his son's body... when it suddenly turns to dust in his hands. The Azarathian Souls are angry... and since their host body is no more, they turn their sights to the Titans! And so, before long we have Gar, Starfire, Raven, Mal, Bumblebee, and that other Dial-H kid (Christopher King) staring down our heroes!
We focus on Danny and Arella who are facing off with a full-blown demonic Raven... who's just about to lose control, and she thinks she likes it! Raven lets fly with a terrific blast, which nearly kills young Master Chase.
She then fires a blast at her mother, Arella... which she is surprised to find is ineffective. Ya see, that's because Arella's body carries the soul of Azar herself... the former pacifist spiritual leader of Azarath. To give herself a boost, Raven summons all of the Azarathian souls from the other Titans, and into herself.
With Raven fully "darkened", Danny and Arella have the idea to head inside her to confront her soul-self. Just then, the rest of the Titans find themselves surrounded by... Wildebeests! Betcha forgot about them... I know I did!
Inside, Raven just absolutely unleashes on poor Danny... leaving half of his body very badly burned. That's when Arella has the idea of all ideas... it's time for the Care Bear Stareᵀᴹ... which totally does the trick, because... c'mon, it always does!
Outside, there's a huge burst of energy... and it looks like a portal opens. From the portal, the (now cleansed) souls of Azarath are summoned out.
With everything falling apart, the Titans attempt to make their way back to the dimensional door... which, gotta say, gives Tom Grummett one heck of an opportunity to draw some really cool stuff! Steve Dayton is holding the door open. Hmm... okay, I gotta ask... where the hell is Terry? Could'a sworn he came with.
Back inside the Wildebeest Lab, the Phantasm suit stirs back to life... and believes the hows and whys may lie with that former-frankfurter/former-cotton candy/current (dare I say) Baby Wildebeest.
The Titans in total make their way back to the real world... and in a flash, all the Azarathian stuff is sucked back through the portal where it belongs. There's no time to reflect because... well, we're out of pages!
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Annnnnd, that's that.
We end with... an issue long fight, more or less. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that... everything feels rather crammed. As a fake-ass synopsizer, it's a dream... I just get to say "they fought" rather than calling the blow-by-blow action.
I wanna start by jumping all the way to the ending... like the very last page. I know I've harped on (and on) about how poorly paced I found Titans Hunt throughout... but, this really feels like a case of just "running out of pages". I think back to all of the wasted pages we read through during this run... how much repetitive exposition... how many cutaways to the Team Titans... friggin' Pariah recapping Crisis on Infinite Earths #7... so many wasted pages... but, as we draw to a conclusion, there's suddenly no more pages left!
I get "leaving 'em wanting more", but here's the thing... I'm not left wanting more... the only reason I'd want the next issue is to get through it in order to put this entire thing behind us.
Now, yeah... I'm being pretty negative... but that's not to say there wasn't a good story here, because there was. Perhaps if Titans Hunt started in New Titans #71 and culminated in a giant-sized #75 (or Annual #7), we'd have a super-tight story, that didn't feel like a chore more often than not. Could you imagine if The Judas Contract (the "event") was dragged out for over a year? Dark Phoenix Saga? I mean, there's only so long even the most gifted of writers are going to be able to hold a reader's attention. For example, 95% of people checking out this post have already stopped reading by now!
I can't believe I'm saying this... but, if I had to choose between Titans Hunt and Total Chaos... it's Total Chaos, all day, every day. I'll give them credit for trying to update (and un-stagnate) the Titans... but, this story arc circled the drain for a few months too long. Dump about half of it... pull out from the "event" tie-ins... and we might have a story I'd wholeheartedly recommend. As it stands, I could only recommend as an important part of "Titans History", because it actually does alter the team moving forward. As a story? There are far better.
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