Well, here we are back in the New Teen Titans world for a little bit.

We’re going to buzz through New Teen Titans #18-20. Keep in mind we’re in 1982.

 

In New Teen Titans #18, a Russian woman is infected with a disease that could infect and kill millions. Her boyfriend is the Russian hero named Starfire, who after this story is rechristened Red Star. Red Star is Leonid Kovar and he becomes an on again off again supporting player for the Titans. He appeared first in the original run of Teen Titans.

Wait. What did I say just then?

“the original run of the Teen Titans.”

Well that makes sense right, if these are the “NEW” Teen Titans then there must have been an original set of Titans right? Well there were an original set of Titans and we’ll be covering them soon.

Needless to say, Leonid is trying to help his girlfriend and misunderstanding runs amok, especially as Leonid and Kid Flash have a large ideological difference. Imagine sitting down Reagan and Lenin, and expecting them to play nice…and frankly in 1982, no American seemed to have a pleasant view of the U.S.S.R. or at least was not that brave to publicly voice it.

Unfortunately, despite all the best efforts Raven’s healing abilities are unable to cure the woman and she dies in Leonid’s arms. Informing Kid Flash and the other Titans that this woman was not a KGB spy, but his fiancee. Cue the sad walking away music from The Incredible Hulk while Kid Flash is forced to eat his slice of “damn, I’m an American jackass” pie.

 

In issue #19, we get a guest appearance from Hawkman, the Winged Wonder who is working as a curator for a tour of idols of the Hindu Gods. Well, not so easy you see the old mainstay villain Doctor Light is crashing the party and he’s here looking for some easy cash.

Let’s take a second and talk about Doctor Arthur Light. He started off as a fairly important Justice League villain. Then as time went on he began to face the Leaguers in single adventures or in team ups. Eventually the Teen Titans wiped the floor with him and he went from dastardly villain to criminal joke. And there is a very good reason for that change, and I will explain that much, much later.

Hawkman ambushes Dr. Light and Dr. Light’s laser refracts some light onto some statuary that becomes… ALIVE!!!!

The statues are Matsya, the fish; Varaha, the boar; Narasimha, the man-lion; and Parasharama, the man with axe. The Titans and Hawkman manage to defeat the deity avatars and apprehend Dr. Light in the process, further humiliating the mad scientist gone costumed villain.

 

So, The Disruptor. This is probably the issue of New Teen Titans that I liked the least. Well, they can’t all hit 100% on all points all the time. That’s asking a lot of anyone in any job, isn’t it? I think part of the reason is that I managed to get this book later. I didn’t have the money so I missed it on the rack. I swore I wouldn’t miss another one and so I started mowing lawns for some extra cash. To this day, I hate yard work. I have a brown thumb. Plants hate me. It’s not entirely mutual, I can appreciate a good plant, I just can’t grow one.

So the Disruptor is a guy with a suit that disrupts super powers so they no longer work. It would be a big problem to deal with except that the Disruptor was a bit of a nimrod and inexperienced and the Titans, well, most of them have been kicking butt for some time now. Boom! Done! Jail sucka!

Three very easy done-in-one stories, not bad eh? Well that’s cool because the next two villains the New Teen Titans introduce are truly bad ass and go on to this day to cause significant troubles in the DCU.

Next up: Time for a Time Warp as we see what’s going on with the Legion.