Deathstroke leading the Titans? How will that work?
OK, here's my take, "If I Ran The Titans":
The mysterious Mr. Orr approaches Deathstroke to lead his secret government-sponsored black-ops team on specially picked missions. Slade will be paid hansomly, but the real enticement is that Orr promises Slade that he can restore Jericho - both mind and body - through a combination of therapy and cyber-surgery. His team is a mix of unwanted, lost and morally questionable characters.
Ravager: Rose Wilson joins the team with the sole purpose of bringing back her brother. She doesn't trust her father or Orr, so she's there to keep on eye on them both. And she really hates taking orders from her father. So many time, she rebels against them.
Bombshell: Amy is chosen for her military training. She's Slade's second-in-command - a role that infuriates Rose, who still holds a grudge against Bombshell. Ultimately, Bombshell finds herself in the surprising role of the galvanizing leader - taking the responsibility of making sure everyone's personal agendas don't effect their missions.
Risk: Cody Driscoll signs up with Deathstroke's team for two reasons: First, Orr outfits Risk with cybernetic arms. Second, Risk wants to atone for his crimes and start a road to redemption. It's a tough journey ahead, as Cody is a danger-junkie with some self-loathing going on. But Bombshell becomes an odd source of strength and inspiration for Risk. And he may need it - because - can you really trust a gift from Mr. Orr and expect no strings attached?
Gemini: Captured from the Brotherhood of Evil, Mr. Orr forces Gemini on Deathstroke's team for her stealth skills. Gemini claims to have changed her ways, but the girl has deep-seeded psychological issues. This makes her a target for Deathstroke's manipulations, but also makes her extremely dangerous and untrustworthy.
Molecule: Thought dead after being sliced in half by the Terror Titans, something strange happened... Molecule replicated into two bodies. It was at that moment teen genius Jon Levine learned that in addition to his shrinking abilities, Molecule could create a seemingly endless amount of duplicates. Now, when Molecule needs to brainstorm his newest insane science theories on robotics and tech, he replicates and creates his own mini-science team - all of himself! Molecule was drafted for his genius-level intelligence in the area of cyber-technology, but he finds himself at odds with his morally-compromised members. His real goal is to fnd his long-lost twin sister: Carrie Levine.
Dreadbolt: Once a Terror Titan, Dreadbolt finds himself completely lost. Still reeling from killing his father, he has yet to decide if he's a cold-blooded killer - or if he has a shot at redemption. It's not helping matters than one of his teammates is Molecule - who he tried to murder with his Terror Titans comrades.
Sungirl: A complete and utter opportunist, Sungirl will do whatever she needs to get what she wants. Her plans are never vast world-conquest ideas, but more about whatever selfish needs she desires at any given moment. She often pits her own team member against each other - sometimes for the sheer thrill of watching misery unfold. She takes an interest in both Risk and Dreadbolt - and they should probably be careful not to get too close to her - lest they get burned.
Red X: A complete and utter mystery, no one knows why Red X is member of the team of who lies beneath the mask.
Deatshtroke: Initially taking the Titans leadership role for his own reasons, Slade ends up becoming strangely protective of his lost and lonely brood. He also starts to see the team as a way to bring Rose and Jericho close to him - and perhaps have a chance at family again.
Upcoming Stories:
Deathstroke and his Titans are charged with taking down the Wildebeest Society, who are performing wild experiments based on the old Wildebeest tech. They cross paths with an all-new wild and feral Pantha, the sister of the original who wants revenge on the Wildebeest. Can even Red Star reign her in? And with Mirage hot on the Wildebeest trail as well, could Carrie Levine be one of the Wildebeest's captives?
When Deatshroke's team of Titans needs to rescue the surviving Phantom Limbs from Zandia, will Gemini betray the team to the Brotherhood of Evil? And when Cyborgirl shows up, what role will she play?
Clues indicate that Sweet Lili Worth, Rose's mother, may still be alive. Can Rose believe it? Or is a cruel trick of one of the Titans' adversaries? Or even, one of Rose's own teammates?
Regular readers of titanstower.com know I'm a big fan of Donna Troy. A few months ago, I gave her origin a lot of thought, and discovered a good way to streamline it in post-Infinite Crisis continuity (with Wonder Woman back as a founder of the JLA). This new approach keeps the best of the Pre and Post Crisis stories with the Amazons and Titans of Myth - while removing some more confusing baggage like the cascading multiple lives.
My Plea to Titans fans: Let's get DC to embrace this origin! It's simple, easy to understand, and gives us the best amalgamation of Donna's history without any ret-cons. It's a soft ret-con, which is the best kind of ret-con.
Let Dan Didio know we want this origin on his myspace: link
Back already? Great. Reading Didio's replies, I couldn't help but have some visceral reactions:
ON TITANS FUTURE: Didio says, "Jericho was revealed as that book’s villain, we found out that Jericho, in leaping from body to body has also been picking up character traits and memories of the different people he’s been in, so it’s been leaving his mind a little shattered and rambling."
In DC DECISIONS (as I understand it) Jericho specifically tries to assassinate one of the candidates. Over in TITANS, he's confused and wants to do evil things. So, he's NOT "acting" like Slade or any villain in particular. He's just acting like a psychotic crazy person. And, what about all the heroes he's possessed? They have no sway on his psyche? And again, with this idea that Slade out and out "hates' the Titans. He NEVER hated the Titans - it was a contract he was FORCED to uphold. Then abandoned, and even became the Titans' ally. Everyone keeps claiming they revere the Wolfman/Pérez era Titans - as they proceed to ignore all the great things Marv and George built.
ON TITLES FOR "ALL AGES" and TWEENS: By Didio's response, it's almost like he doesn't understand the difference between "all-ages" and "for kids under 8 years old." Something like THE INCREDIBLES is all-ages, providing fun adventure for the kids, and some sly references and intelligent scripting for older folks. And while "all-ages" isn't specifically geared towards tweens, it would at least appeal to them.
Books like TINY TITANS and SUPERFRIENDS are only appealing to small children (and maybe some fun-loving fanboys). Tweens would grow out of those series by the time they were 7 or 8. And DC Comics has nothing for tween consumers. The mainstream DC titles are took dark for Tweens, with harsh language, sexual references, rape and violence.
Didio says, " I think people sometimes forget what brought them in when they were kids. An Uncanny X-Men by Claremont and Byrne, or a New Teen Titans by Wolfman and Perez and even the Legion of Super-Heroes by Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen – a lot of those books are books that current fans now point to as being what brought them to comics when they were kids. "
Yes, those books brought me into comics when I was 9-12 years old. But I must have missed the issue where Cyclops called Wolverine an a--hole (language used in FINAL CRISIS). Or the one where Cosmic Boy tore someone's body in half on-panel while Lightning Lad decapitated some woman (se several DC titles, like INFINITE CRISIS and 52). Or the issue where Professor X mind-wiped the team after Magneto raped them all (like in IDENTITY CRISIS). Or the issue where Starfire was lying naked in bed handcuffed, waiting for Robin to come in and have kinky sex with her (like in an issue of TEEN TITANS). Yeah, I missed those.
The sad thing is some of those books - IDENTITY CRISIS, FINAL CRISIS, INFINITE CRISIS, TEEN TITANS - feature mainstream DC characters like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Robin on their covers. Is Didio really suggesting this content is appropriate for a 9 year old?
Didio states that tween readers like "to read up." That is true. But so do younger readers. They will outgrow TINY TITANS and SUPERFRIENDS sooner than you think. And the content of the mainstream DC universe is too adult for them.
The real answer would be to tone down the adult content of the mainstream DCU to make it appropriate for tweens. But that's not the flavor of the day at DC. Their bread and butter is from the older fanboys, and I'm sure DC would live in fear of alienating them. So, short answer? DC really isn't interested in acquiring new, young customers. They'd rather try to get older long-term fans to buy more books.
Marvel, on the other hand, is more "all-ages" friendly for the most part. Stuff like MIGHTY AVENGERS, UNCANNY X-MEN and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN contain similar content as the books I grew up reading. The language may be a little coarser and the suggestiveness may be a little more, but it does track with what you see on TV these days compared to 20 years ago.
Marvel also has a "tween line" with their MARVEL ADVENTURES. Does Didio really not understand the gap in DC's product line?
THE MULTIVERSE: Didio says, "Let's go through the idea of the Multiverse first. Grant has a very clear, concise interpretation of so many of the worlds that inhabit the Multiverse – that's one of the reasons I say it's Grant's playground, because he really understands it, gets it, and knows what the full potential is. So, realistically, I'd rather work with Grant on exploiting the potential as he sees it, and I think the fans will react very positively to it."
So, it's Grant's playground because "he really understands it, gets it, and knows what the full potential is"... unlike John Broome, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, and Marv Wolfman? Yeah, those hacks just didn't get it.
It's parallel worlds. It's a pretty simple concept. I dunno, I enjoyed a ton of parallel world stories, and Earth-2 and Earth-C stories - before Morrison came in. We don't need Morrison's acid tripping to tell parallel world stories. I feel DC has ruined the fun and wonder of the Multiverse. They brought it back, and then squandered every potential it offered.
LEGION OF 3 WORLDS: Asked about the status of LEGION OF 3 WORLDS, which has been running exceedingly late, Didio replies, "We decided that, even though it's connected to Final Crisis, the story's events take place in the future, and therefore it didn't have to run lock-step in conjunction with the main series. Legion of 3 Worlds is essential to the DC Universe and tied to Final Crisis, but because stories take place in a future timeline, it doesn't need to come out in the same way that Revelations did."
So.... when the heck is it coming out? Just about everything surrounding FINAL CRISIS has been a monumental clusterf--- of scheduling. "Status" means "what is happening with the series right now?" That's part of the question. I'm disappointed Newsarama failed to press for any answers.
It's no wonder my DC pull list has dwindled to almost nothing....
UPDATE: I was chatting with Phil Jimenez about Donna Troy (as I often do!) and he liked my solution for "Making Donna Troy's Origin Easy". I can't think of a higher compliment!
Phil writes (on this blog response, if you look...):
"I love this version and for what it's worth, I'm trying to get DC to adopt it as canon!
Phil Jimenez"
Thanks for the support, Phil! LOVE that you love it! :) Means alot coming from you
I figured out a very simple way to fix Donna Troy's origin. Now, don't run away... really. And it's extremely simple. It occured to me as I was updating Donna Troy's page, restoring Donna's connections to the Amazons in "New Earth" continuity, as revealed in recent events. Yes, I used the words "Donna Troy's origin" and "extremely simple" in one sentence. Read on!
There are two things "essential" to Donna: 1. She was raised by the Titans of Myth and 2. she is Wonder Woman's little sister and a Amazon. Donna's simple origin: Infant Donna Troy was saved from a fire by the Titan Rhea, who brought her to New Chronus and gifted her with amazing abilities. After growing up on New Chronus with the Titans of Myth, Donna was sent to earth at age 13 and left in the care of the Amazons, who would teach her humility. Donna was adopted by Queen Hippolyta, and thrilled to the exploits of her sister, Wonder Woman. Deciding to follow in her sister's footsteps, Donna became Wonder Girl and soon joined the Teen Titans. Later, Donna reunited with the Titans of Myth and embraced her original Titanic heritage as the heroine, Troia.
This is actually supported by events depicted since INFINITE CRISIS, where it was established that Wonder Woman was one of the founding members of the JLA in the new, restructured reality. This restored Wonder Woman as pre-dating Wonder Girl, which has been the problem plaguing Donna since the first Crisis. We have seen young Donna living with the Amazons in WONDER WOMAN #1 (2005) and TEEN TITANS: YEAR ONE (2007-2008). Diana is also restored as Donna's maid of honor at her wedding, as shown in JLA #0 (2005). I think we can safely assume Donna was adopted by the Amazons and became Diana's little sister in the post INFINITE CRISIS continuity.
Yes, there's Donna's SUPPOSED "new origin" in WONDER WOMAN ANNUAL #1 (2007). But it comes with a new host of problems. It eliminates the rescue from a fire, which eliminates "Who IS Donna Troy?" -- it also keeps Donna as an identical twin... it glosses over the importance of the Titans of Myth by stating that Donna is raised (jointly? shared custody?) by both Titans of Myth and Amazons. It's terrible and I reject it utterly. It's already been contradicted, if you look carefully.
See? Donna's Pre-Crisis Amazon connections have been restored.
Now, Donna's Titans of Myth origin has become as important as her Amazon origin at this point. So that is still firmly in continuity. As readers may remember, the Titans of Myth originally sent their Titan seeds back to their homeworlds at age 13 to learn humility, after stripping them of their memories. Donna was given false memories and lived at Kanigher Orphanage. So we'll tweak that a bit in new continuity, and just assume the Titans of Myth left her in the care of the Amazons (who, remember, would worship the Titan of Myth like gods). It would make sense that they would entrust Donna to the Amazons.
So having Donna spend half her life with the Titans of Myth, and the other half with the Amazons makes perfect sense. It also restores all the important Pre-Crisis Diana-Donna-Hippolyta stories and interactions. It also keeps virtually every story detail concerning the Titans of Myth.
If you think about it, Donna's childhood on New Chronus is very important (but her childhood on Paradise Island less so). Donna's teen years on Paradise Island are more defining, since its always been very vague where she lived while she was a member of the team during the Cardy era. So her initial days of venturing into Man's World (untold, mostly) are somewhat similar to what we are seeing in YEAR ONE. Or, if you prefer, Early Donna is somewhat similar to TV Wonder Girl Drusilla, who was intrigued by Man's World.
Don't worry: The Titans of Myth stuff is still all true, Donna.
Now, what needs to be wiped away is the Bryne revisions of Donna as Diana's "mystical twin" and the whole angle of Donna's "multiple lives." These two elements seem to be the most confusing aspects of Donna's origin, and they are no longer needed.Byrne made a nice-try attempt to restore Donna as Diana's "sister" and sort of make all of Donna's myriad origins "true." But we no longer need these band-aids when we have the very simple Titans of Myth and Amazon upbringings. I would dismiss these "revelations" as a mystical ruse of Dark Angel, who is an insane trickster with a deep hatred for Donna Troy.
Dark Angel would still be an alternate Donna Troy who escaped her own reality, but was driven insane as a result. So her recollections and ramblings cannot be trusted. She may be misremembering realities throughout the multiverse... or just trying to torture Donna, who she hates as her opposite number.
Dark Angel: She's just a crazy bitch. Don't believe anything she says.
This simple fix would make Donna's origin ridiculously simple again, and we would lose no stories in the process. Dark Angel still tortured Donna in WONDER WOMAN #130-136 and TITANS #23-25. But all her ramblings are that of a madwoman. Byrne's band-aids were a "made sense" fix at the time, but now they just weight the character down. File them under "Punisher as avenging angel" and 'Guy Garnder as part alien" and other such wrong-turn character moments. We shall never speak of it again.
I'm not a fan of constantly trying to "fix" Donna's origin.... but restoring WW as JLA founder solves many things, and eliminates the need for the absolute most confusing things that trip up new fans -- the "mystic twin" and "multiple lives" -- where fans have trouble grasping the cascading-happening-at-same-time multiple lives, the reasoning on why Donna isn't Diana's identical twin (or is she?, as some writers even confuse that fact), why they aren't the same age, etc...
If DC is very careful with this ret-con, they can eliminate Donna's confusing backstory and retain most of her important, defining character moments. Donna Troy: Fixed!
