Review: Teen Titans #52

So, Teen Titans #52. Get the 52 jokes out of your system now, because there are none in this book. Even though I swear that Booster Gold coming out of nowhere and then kidnapping Jaime would be a great way to end this arc. But I never claimed to be unbiased.

We open with Jaime staring that the JLers, complaining that he misses out on all the cool imprisonments. This is not a bad thing, Jaime!

I like how Jaime looks on the top panel of page two. And, lollers, Flash pun.

I do not, however, particularly like how Tim looks on the next page. Something about the hair, I think. Personally, I think Tim!Bats has some good points, but eh. I kinda don't really care for the idea that with most heroes it's either you never, ever, ever kill ever, or else you kill all the crackpots you can. Why can't we have more heroes like Diana, who killed because she didn't have any other choice, but isn't exactly kicking herself over it (or, at least, shouldn't be)? One of the many things I like about Booster, if you'll forgive this temporary tangent, is that, while he hasn't killed anybody yet, he has threatened it several times, and made it very clear he wouldn't have any qualms about it, but he isn't running around trying to kill everybody who crosses him. It's just one of many viable options. I like that. And it makes me anxious for Booster trying to save Ted, because of course Booster's going to aim to kill Max, and, well, Ted is very, very much one of those never, ever, ever kill ever type of heroes. That's practically drama in a can, folks!

I like evil!M'gann's skirt. The wrappy thing is cool. And that she's invulnerable to fire is extremely interesting. How does that work? Tell me more, McKeever! I'd like it if we could decide whether or not M'gann's shirt front is open or not.

I feel vaguely worried that that firefighter got M'gann and J'onn confused. They don't look that similar!

Interesting how future!Tim and M'gann seem to be at least kind of sort of trying to help their past selves. With Bat!Tim's "think about it" thing and White!M'gann's talk about potential and warrior heritage and stuff.

And then Red Devil's just kind of a douche. And seems to have quite the particular hate-on for Rose. Hrm.

The "no problem with hitting a girl" and "neither do I" make me smile. :D I do so like it when Kara is written as smarmy instead of elitist/whiny/what-have-you. Smarmy's likable in a character, elitist/whiny/what-have-you is not.

Cassie is another future Titan that's being helpful/supportive/whatever to their past counterpart.

Also, Cassie needs to get a tougher shirt, it seems.

Bat!Tim, loving somebody who's in love with somebody else is hardly a new kind of torture. It's pretty much one of the oldest ones in the book, really. There have been so many country songs written about it, you'd think it was the only subject the genre had sometimes.

The absence of Cassie on the page of the Titans getting their collective rears handed to them is a telling one.

I think Booster's new series has forever ruined the phrase "The greatest ____ the world will ever know", even if the actual tagline of the series was "The greatest hero the world will never know!" (And they've swapped it out now for "The greatest hero you've never heard of!")

Scarab Speak Translation: "Trap him."

Note that as soon as Jaime listens to the Scarab, he takes Bart out like a little punk. This is why I figure that Jaime's going to be on more of a reserve status once this arc is over than a regular member of the team. He's just vastly overpowered, really, and it's only his own inexperience that is keeping him from being able to take all comers. (Not that being vastly overpowered is really a bad thing, of course, I mean, this is superhero comics, y'know, every third character is vastly overpowered. It's just that Jaime's vastly overpowered compared to the rest of the Titans, so I wouldn't say he's really conducive to a team book, usually.)

I'd like to know how Rose managed such a perfect, exact cut with a blow that shattered her sword. Where's the sense in that?

I do kind of like that Eddie has to double-check his impression of the rules of time travel with Rose. Vaguely amusing.

J'onn leaves as soon as being freed. How sad. :(

I question the accuracy of Jaime's mouthiness at Supes here. He was raised better than that! And I'm not sure why Diana's so irritable about it, either. But, awww, wookit Wally being woobieful about Bart.

I understand that they needed to get the JLA out of here, but I do wonder if they're going to explain exactly why the JLA had to rush out. (Also, don't they have a Hall instead of a Watchtower these days? Whoopsie!)

Jaime's flailing amuses me in its Jaimeness. :D And then Kid Devil calls him "bug butt." I really am getting a buddy feeling off these two. But Red Devil's "kill you twice" and the January solicits make me think that McKeever's aiming in the opposite direction. Crying shame!

Also, Red Devil must've gotten a helluva power boost from Neron's collection of his soul, considering Jaime's previously mentioned vastly overpoweredness.

Check out that smile on Bat!Tim's face as he leaves. That is freaking scary.

Interesting how the future Titans memories change as their past changes, but that they're aware that they've acquired new memories. Possibly this mostly interests me because it's pretty much the only theory of time travel that hasn't been applied to Booster Gold.

That last page is quite the oh, snap!, is it not? What sticks out the most to me, for no particular reason, is that we've got a Hawk with no Dove, which is never a good thing. (Do we ever end up with a Dove with no Hawk? Because that wouldn't be a good thing, either.)

I don't recognize all of these Titans, but I do recognize a good chunk of them, and I'm vaguely proud of that. I'm mostly confused about the rocky guy, the green chick, and the chick with the fire visible in between Luthor's legs.