Like many of DC's most popular superhero teams, the Teen Titans has a long and storied history. In real-world publication, God knows what in-universe anymore. The team has gone through many changes, and quite a lot of heroes have called themselves members over the years. Many have gone on to become popular stalwarts of the DC Universe, while others have fallen into obscurity.
In 1998, the DCU was without a Titans team. The second volume of the series had been canceled, but there was always a need for a place for teenage superheroes in the DCU to belong. So, Devin Grayson and Phil Jiminez provided the world with a three-issue story that would not only set the stage for the rebirth of the Teen Titans, but also feature them clashing with the Justice League. This is JLA/Titans #1!
The cover is a Phil Jiminez piece, and it's really good. It depicts the Teen Titans clashing with the JLA. Tells you what to expect in this miniseries, really.
"One of Ours"
Writer: Devin Grayson
Penciler: Phil Jiminez
Inker: Andy Lanning
Colorist: Jason Wright
Letterer: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Executive Editor: Mike Carlin
The story begins with Starfire flying her way through space. However, she's not doing it for pleasure. The Tamaranian princess is fleeing for her life.
What exactly has gotten the Titans' resident warrior princess all freaked out? Well, she is being pursued by a large silver sphere. As she tries to blast and evade it, we see her thoughts about her time in the New Teen Titans, glimpses of battles with the likes of Baron Sebastian Blood, Deathstroke, Trigon. The group had gone through its fair share of good times and hard times, but the Titans always came through. After all, the Titans were a family first and foremost.
On Earth, Garfield Logan, aka Beast Boy/Changeling, is thinking the same thing. With him is Antonia "Toni" Monetti, aka Argent. Like Logan, she was a former Teen Titan, from the 90s-era Titans. She was part of a group of half-alien superhuman teenagers.
Logan laments that there are no more Teen Titans, and thanks to that, both he and Toni are now alone and feeling rather directionless. Argent recalls that Garfield traveled with his best friend Victor "Cyborg" Stone in space for a while. He did while reminding her that Vic now went by Cyberion. And he returned to Earth because his friend started acting really weird. But before Garfield can elaborate, the two hear an alarm. It turns out the two have a pair of guests.
Meet Prysm and Fringe, two of Argent's ex-teammates in the 90s-era Titans. Last time she saw them, they had decided to stay in space with the H'San Natall, the alien race that fathered them and Argent. They came to Earth to give a warning. Something wrecked half of the H'San Natall's empire, and it's coming to Earth. As they speak, Starfire is captured by the silver orb. And former Titan Lilith Clay, aka Omen, senses a disaster with her precognitive powers.
On the JLA's Moon-based Watchtower, members of the JLA are making some upgrades to the Watchtower's power core with some New Genesis tech provided by JLA members Big Barda and Orion. Among the JLA members there are the Wally West Flash and the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern. Kyle is still weirded out by the events of DC One Million, so Wally goes to visit the Hall of Heroes, the place where fallen JLA members are immortalized...like Wally's uncle Barry Allen and Hal Jordan, Kyle's predecessor as Green Lantern.
The Martian Manhunter telepathically hears Omen crying out about danger, and an explosion hits.
Thankfully for the JLA, this wasn't caused by Orion eating baked beans. Again.😬 The explosion knocks out all the electronics on the Watchtower. Wally spots the silver orb outside.
"J'onn, this is why you never order appliances on Temu!"
Orion and Green Lantern go check it out. The Martian Manhunter senses that the sphere is not a living being. Meanwhile, Starfire finds herself back on Tamaran with her family...and her children. But something seems off.
Starfire points out this can't be real, as everyone else looks washed out. But seriously, Tamaran was destroyed, she has no children, and her parents are dead. Yeah, her homeworld got blowed up real good in New Titans #128 (December 1995).
A computer hears this and updates its files accordingly. On Earth, Barbara "Oracle" Gordon's computers go bananas. And it's not just hers. Electronics all over the planet are going crazy. Back in space, Orion and Green Lantern see the orb sending out objects all over the Earth. Superman in Metropolis and Zauriel in San Francisco report that panic is erupting thanks to said electronic devices going crazy. In Gotham, the Helena Bertinelli Huntress and Tim Drake Robin are working to keep things calm when a strange machine appears before Robin.
"...did the Martian Manhunter order an appliance on Temu again?"
The machine scans Robin, then leaves. The robot was after someone, and Tim was not the target. Another probe captures Green Lantern. Two more manage to get inside the Watchtower. One captures Atom and another goes after the Flash.
In New York City, a probe appears before Sarah Charles, Victor Stone's ex-girlfriend and his grandparents. However, it leaves, presumably looking for Cyborg himself. A S.T.A.R. Labs space station reports something coming from Mars's orbit. And it's big.
In Themyscira, it's learned a probe captured Donna Troy. In Boston, Wonder Woman reports that natural disasters and extreme weather is erupting. Another probe gets the second Terra in Markovia. Beast Boy, Argent, Prysm, and Fringe are captured next. Wally West seemingly fights off his probe...and ends up greeted by his (at the time) late uncle Barry. Yeah, he got caught, too.
The League tells Orion to follow the probes, but not to fire on them. They want to know where these things are going. Orion points out these things are converging on a point on the East Coast of North America. He also spots a golden light following them. Steel also spots something, the source of all the disasters on Earth. Some big technological thing is trying to eat the Moon!
Atlantis is also being affected, and it's revealed the probes got Tempest. In Arizona, Arsenal is captured. Same with Red Star, Pantha, and Baby Wildebeest in Russia. Off of Manhattan Island, Batman calls for all JLA members who are on Earth to gather on his position. Plastic Man appears, revealing he found what Batman sent him to find.
Out in space, Orion finds that the mechanical monster trying to eat the Moon is actually composed of parts of various ships it likely encountered in the past. An enraged Orion fires on the hulk with his Astro-harness, and it causes the disasters on Earth to get worse. Nice work, Orion.
Supergirl (the Linda Danvers/Matrix incarnation) is captured in Leesburg, and Cameron Chase reports the same's been done to Damage. As Barda and J'onn stop Orion, Max Mercury calls in, revealing that Impulse has been taken, as well as Rose Wilson. Max notes that as Bart was taken, he said that this was just like something called the "Omegadro-".
Elsewhere, the holographic Barry Allen tries to talk to Wally, but like with Starfire before him, he knows something is very off. He starts to vibrate at superhuman speed, and he is free of the illusion. And there's something else waiting for him. Or someone.
Nightwing spots Batman leaping down towards him...to give him a hug. He then grins at the confused Bludhaven-based vigilante, only for the former original Robin to realize "Yeah, you ain't Bats, I'm out."
He finds Beast Boy on a film set, with members of the Doom Patrol and in his original purple appearance. Yeah, when he debuted originally, Beast Boy was purple. He turned green later on. With the help of a Tibetan mental technique, Dick gets himself and Garfield back into reality. The two, alongside Wally and Raven, find the missing Titans.
“Man, this hotel sucks!"
Nightwing looks over the people trapped, including the likes of Herald, Flamebird, and Bumblebee. Back on Earth, the JLA gather, and discuss what to do next. Batman points out that they are on Titans Island, the former location of the old Teen Titans HQ. More ex-Titans vanish. Mirage. Risk. Joto. Jarras Minion. Captain Marvel Jr./CM3. Batman reveals he found the missing Titans. They're under the island, hostages of the being who is currently trying to eat the moon. Back underground, the four try to figure out who is responsible for this. But Garfield Logan knows who it is. And it's someone they did not expect...
Yes, the kidnapper...is Victor Stone, the former Cyborg himself. That big mechanical mess is him...what's presumably left of him, anyway.
This is a really fun story, and one that I think is one of DC's more underrated works. One of the reasons I love this story is that it's a celebration of the history of the Teen Titans up to that point in time. I admit, I chuckled a bit when Nightwing instantly realized that he was in an illusory world when Batman smiled at him.
You can't really tell a story like this with modern DC, as a story like this needs a long history and canon to draw from, and the current DC Universe really doesn't have a solid backstory or history anymore.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 1999 trade paperback JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off!
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