[[“value”:”Titans #17 cover, via DC Comics.
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The kickoff to this new era of Titans saw a lot of upheaval, with Wally and Dick leaving the team, Roy rejoining, and Donna Troy stepping up as the new team leader. But they didn’t have much time to get used to the new status quo before they came under attack from an unlikely source – Clock King, the z-list Bat-villain obsessed with timepieces. But he’s undergone a major upgrade, thanks to the power reshuffle from Absolute Power. He’s now absorbed the ability to alter perception of time, letting him get the drop on the Titans, and his ego now fancies him the most powerful and dangerous supervillain in the world. Never mind that pesky mass in his brain that’s causing this. This story reminds me a bit of Underworld Unleashed, where the demon Neron have lower-tier villains some dramatic upgrades and turned nobodies into nightmares – just with a sci-fi twist instead of horror.
It’s not long before Clock King has the Titans strapped into a machine, plumbing their darkest fears for material he can use against them. We’ve seen plots like this before, particularly in the recent “Knight Terrors” event where heroes were confronted with their darkest nightmares. The horrors here are only seen in brief flashes, and mostly seem to be based on the heroes’ past rather than anything aggravated or supernatural. This is a great opportunity for Donna – the Titan with the most confused past and memories, to take advantage of an opening and trick him into uniting the Titans once again. This is a very fast-paced issue with some great visuals, and it ends in a way that hints that Clock King’s threat is far from gone – and may be about to combine with one of the deadliest foes the Titans have ever faced. This is a solid follow-up to Taylor getting the band back together so far.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
“]] How did Clock King become one of the deadliest villains in the DCU – and what does it mean for the Titans? Read More