Posted by darren in Comics
For the Supporting Cast of Wonder Woman and Aquaman our examination will move heavily towards those outward forces that have influenced our heroes.
Wonder Woman is first and foremost a product of her character’s origins.
After all, it is the Greek Goddesses who create the Amazons, a race of women warriors so brutalized by men that they seek to live alone in peace and harmony away from the warring men.
The basic Greek pantheon includes the following Gods and Goddesses who show up from time to time to help and/or hinder Diana:
- Zeus – Father of the Gods, the Sky, and the Ruler of Olympus, Husband of Hera and the sire of many lesser Gods and heroes. His Symbols include the lightning bolt and the eagle.
- Hera – Mother of the Gods, Marriage, and Jealousy. Hera is constantly on guard for her husband’s dalliances and acts upon them with great vengeance. Her symbol is the peacock.
- Poseidon – The God of the Oceans. Poseidon rules over the seas, the creatures of the seas and earthquakes. He is also the patron god of sailors and those who travel by ocean. His symbol is the trident.
- Demeter – The Goddess of the Harvest. Demeter is the ruler over agriculture More >
Posted by darren in Comics
Revisiting our Titans we see that the Titans are being hailed as heroes after they vanquished the interdimensional demon known as Trigon.
Raven however has disappeared and Kid Flash, now retired again, has returned to Blue Valley hoping his powers do not wind up killing him some day.
This brings us to the point of replacing Raven on the team, and wait just a second, we have a precognitive groovy chick hanging around already in Lilith Clay.
And who would not love the Titans? Come on, they just saved your souls people.. not just Earth mind you, but your very souls from an eternal torment.
So New York City holds a huge parade in their honor and this issue becomes a slice of life moment for a team that does not get a lot of “down time.”
The winged alien Azrael revisits his love for Lilith and well, things get a wee bit out of hand in their romance.
Azrael kidnaps Lilith, but does not really mean to do so, he is being held in the sway of The Children of the Sun, who happen to answer to Thia, the Greek Titan of Fire. Yes, those Titans.
And in a twist that no one saw coming.. at least I didn’t at More >
Posted by darren in Comics
The Titans fight for their souls.
Raven holds the Titans’ psyche in her grasp. Toying with them.
Lilith and Arella fight on.
Hello Evil Titans!
Arella looks on in horror at the rocky hell the Titans are now enveloped inside. Lilith speaks not as herself anymore and attempts to convince Arella that Raven, is no longer her daughter, nothing of the heroic Raven remains inside the demonic shell that now walks as Trigon’s daughter.
Around the world scenes of other heroes, the JLA, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman all trapped within the rock of Trigon’s sway.
In their own personal hells, Nightwing and Cyborg each battle their evil selves, swearing to kill the taunting red eyed versions of themselves. Raven gets increasingly angered by Lilith and Arella’s attempts to save the Titans and intervene on behalf of the souls in jeopardy, yet when Raven attacks the women are shielded from her. Some unknown force is keeping Raven’s demonic energies at bay, most likely the Rings of Azar are playing some unspoken role here.
Wonder Girl, Changeling, and Starfire continue to battle their evil dopplegangers while Kid Flash deals with his feelings of love for Raven and the taunting of never getting what he wanted. He runs after the More >
Posted by darren in Comics
Raven is missing.
The incoming evil is palpable.
The Titans know Trigon is coming.
In the fight against Trigon, Raven’s mother, Arella, served on the front lines it is through her that we see where Raven is.. walking a column of rocks and bodies writhing in eternal torment. Arella catches up to her daughter to try to prevent what has already occurred, but it is too late. Raven is now Trigon’s daughter, body and soul.
Wonder Girl flies from New York to Titans Tower to join her teammates. In Raven’s room, Nightwing is gathering clues including Azar’s rings that have been left behind by Raven. She always wore these rings, and now without them, the last of the remnants of Azarath are now gone.
Cue Lilith Clay to enter the story. As the earlier Titans’ precognitive Lilith offers her assistance in order to help the Titans locate Raven. Azar’s rings go to Lilith and the world goes fairly mad for a bit. Raven’s quarters attack the assembled Titans and it is only through the evil energies dissipating that the Titans escape the room.
Lilith offers to do a seance to contact Raven using the rings as the contact point for her soul, however Lilith needs the connection point More >
Posted by darren in Comics
So its time for one of my favorite stories ever in the DC Universe. The Terror of Trigon is a five part story in the Baxter Run of The New Teen Titans. This story has been building up since the beginning of the New Teen Titans when a mysterious empath named Raven decided she would seek out assistance from heroes to assist her in fighting the evil that is her father.
In the creation of the Titans, writer Marv Wolfman was creating a lot of different relationships, amongst the women there was the fiery emotion of Starfire, the middle ground of Wonder Girl, and the unable to feel Raven. While creating Raven, there was a sense not only of needing an emotional balance, but a balance in a magical character that did not do magic and had an interesting origin. Well Raven’s story is akin to something one would expect of a mix of Rosemary’s Baby, The Omen, and Carrie all wrapped up into one.
So lets recap… Arella is a young frightened girl seeking acceptance in a world not very accepting and she gets into a satanic cult and is offered as Satan’s bride. Arella sees the evil deity appear to her and More >
Posted by darren in Comics
And here we go.. these stories are what I consider some interesting stories but not where a lot of the good stuff in Titans was happening at the time. You see, The New Teen Titans had started its Baxter run, and both Marv Wolfman and George Perez were doing double and some triple duty on a big project that we are going to be spending a long time getting to in a bit.
So I am really going to be Cliffs Note versioning these comics because for whatever reason the stories just did not stick with me compared to what was going on in the other title.
Lilith stayed around the Titans along enough to find a new love interest in a mysterious frozen angel/alien named Azrael. Azrael would grow to become an erstwhile ally of the Titans, though his love for Lilith and his general naivete would get in the Titans way in some pivotal moments later on.
Azrael’s design is very angelic in origins it seems. He can fly, is fairly strong and extremely agile while in flight, but beyond that has no additional powers that we saw when he appeared.
The Trial of the Terminator has begun and it becomes a big media circus, More >
Posted by darren in Comics
We are gathered here today in this fine house to recognize the comic book union of this man and this Wonder Girl…
After all the Titans have gone through it was time for a bit of a rest and to enjoy a happy event. Donna Troy weds Terrence Long in their anniversary 50th issue which features some guest appearances from some surprise guests.
The groomsmen are all Terry’s family and friends, and his sons acting as ring bearers. Donna’s entourage include Sharon a former roommate and her newly found half-sisters, along with ex Titans Lilith Clay, current Titan Starfire, and Diana Prince, Wonder Woman.
Amongst the company we see Dick Grayson (Nightwing), who gave Donna away, Wally West (Kid Flash), Frances Kane, Garfield Logan (Changeling), Victor Stone (Cyborg), Garth & Tula (Aqualad and Aquagirl), Roy Harper (Speedy), Bette Kane (Bat-Girl), Joe Wilson (Jericho), Mal & Karen Beecher (Guardian & Bumblebee), and Duela Dent (Harlequin).
We discover that Mal & Karen have since retired from super-heroics and gotten married and Lilith’s old flame Gnarrk has died. Dick Grayson actually confronts Duela Dent who has gotten quite old and portly in the time between now and when the old Titans were together, he claims that she is far More >
Posted by darren in Comics
So, i should have said this in the last post, but, Happy 100th post, last post… So Happy Nightwing to everyone!
Now, back to the action in the final chapter of The New Teen Titans in The Judas Contract!
Nightwing and Jericho wing their way to the Grand Canyon as Adeline Kane has provided the location of the H.I.V.E. hideout in order to rescue the captive Titans.
Deathstroke has handed over the Titans to the H.I.V.E. and they are all placed in a contraption called an Enervator which uses the Titans own strength against them, all except Raven, who is being kept unconscious but alive somehow as her powers are immune to the effects of this particular contraption.
It is at this point that the captive Titans learn of the betrayal that occurred in their midst.
As the Titans take it all in Terra explains to Logan “Your Pwetty Widdle Giwlfriend isn’t all true blue and pure…. Mister, you don’t know the HALF of it!” And that’s all she wrote for Terra and her morality and her future as a Titan.
Nightwing and Jericho arrive at the headquarters and make their way in with Jericho inhabiting one of the H.I.V.E. goons while Nightwing knocks one unconscious and steals his More >
Posted by darren in Comics
The story continues in what presumes is the next morning.
Dick Grayson is sitting in his apartment at his desk when Deathstroke the Terminator crashes through the window.
As Terminator attempts to capture Dick it is Dick’s natural inclination to trick his opponent into thinking he is doing one thing when he is actually wanting the bad guy to do something else. Dick tricks the Terminator into knocking him near the open window which gives him the easiest out as he lands in the garbage dumpster below.
Hobbling Dick Grayson makes his way into the midst of a race going on, one could presume this is the New York City Marathon, and Deathstroke loses his quarry. It is at this point where we run across a woman with medium brown hair with a huge flower in her hair and her chauffeur, a young blond man with mutton chops who are observing the events.
After Dick loses the Terminator in the crowd, he signals for the other Titans, no one answers.
Dick Grayson is alone.
He enters detective mode determined to discover what happened to the other Titans.
Heading first to Donna Troy and Koriand’r's apartment he discovers the apartment a smoldering mess and a package that says More >
Posted by darren in Comics
For the length of this blog I have resisted mentioning other comics companies except when discussing those characters acquired by DC Comics such as Fawcett, Quality, and Charlton.
But now I find myself forced to mention Marvel Comics.
Not because I have any inherit disdain about Marvel, far from it, they’re characters are arguably grittier and less god like than those in the DCU and therefore more accessible due to their humanity. Even those wielding God-Like powers in the Marvel Universe have flaws and every day problems.
I mention Marvel Comics for one reason alone, Kitty Pryde.
Kitty Pryde is a character in the X-Men line of comics from Marvel and she joins the X-Men as their youngest admitted member at the time. Kitty undergoes a trial by fire including one of the classic comic book time traveling/alternate history stories “Days of Future Past”* which tells the tale of how mutants (such as the X-Men) are slaughtered by all mankind because of their powers.
Kitty becomes a beloved and trusted ally and an X-Man for many years.
Now, what happens when you take that formula of the sweet little super heroine and turn it upside down?
You get Terra.
The Judas Contract is the culmination of a plot that started back More >
