Just standing around - Teen Titans (vol 5) #7

One Brief, Shining Moment, part 1

Teen Titans #7

Cover Date: April 2015

Released: 18th February 2015

Confusingly this is really the third part of the story, I assume it had something to do with the pace of the story but it still seems a little sketchy. We'll see if part two makes more sense as a follow on, or is really part four. 

We start with the Titan's getting together and rushing to the island to help, it makes a big deal (rightly so) of both Beast Boy and Raven are willing to risk themselves to help the janitors from the last issue. I'm used to a slightly more selfish Beast Boy, so it's nice to see him be more caring, though he's still the wise-ass we know and love.

We also have the first appearance of Tanya's Power Girl costume, and it's the first time I've realised that the golden oval on her chest is a... homage to Kara's famous boob window, the artist here even adds shadows to make it even more obvious. We have a moment, and just a moment of Tanya being a little overwhelmed with dealing with the whole event, though it's really a chance for Cassie to have another moment of being the cooler older sister. Actually, that is really almost it for Tanya as the issue is mostly a chance for Cassie to show what she can do.

Which she does almost straight away, capturing one of the attackers whilst shrugging off a hail of gunfire without any cool bracelet action. The interrogation isn't that long complicated and he quickly spills that they plan to wipe out New York, the leader of the gang then does a massive hologram to explain that they have a weapon called the Eraser which they'll use to get rid of the city completely. Tanya gets a moment to be the cabbage head (a character who plays dumb so the protagonist can explain the plot) so Manchester Black can explain that they're using super-science to set the device up in minutes their time whilst it would have taken weeks for the terrorists.

Apparently, the time dilation means only Raven and Gar can go into the area to stop them, and they get a few pages of a pretty cool fight scene, ending with Beast Boy turning into a Blue Whale and dropping on the goons. The big bad is captured and the Teen Titans all appear on the holo-display to show that they're all big damn heroes!

We end with the baddies being carted off in a van, only for the leader of the group to defeat the guards and escape crashing the vehicle and getting burned up in the process.

This is a fighting issue which as I've mentioned are not my favourite, but it takes its time to give several characters (Cassie, Raven and Gar) their chance to shine. But this obviously means that most of the other Teen Titans are reduced to just standing around, and that includes our focus here Tanya. Still, it keeps the plot moving thing along for whatever is to come and is managing to keep me interested in what's to come.

⋅ Writer: Will Pfeifer ⋅ Penciler / Inker: Kenneth Rocafort ⋅ 

⋅ Colourist: Daniel Brown ⋅ Letterer: John J Hill ⋅ 

⋅ Editors: Rickey Purdin, Mike Cotton & Eddie Berganza ⋅