New Member for the Team (Spoilers)

And the winner is:

The fight for the soul of the Teen Titans continues as S.T.A.R. Labs and the team find themselves bonding over a new common enemy, just as the Titans bring in a new member: Power Girl.

Hah I knew it'd be Power Girl she had to go somewhere.

Holy crap is that Manchester Black?

I think this is a very bad thing. Even though the new series has been heading uphill (well, this weeks issue was pretty meh) one of the things this series needs is recognizable, well established, legacy characters. For example, Emiko or Wally West would make great additions to the team, both have acted (well Wally wil have acted very soon) as side kicks to their mentors, and have become part of a legacy, as well as well established and liked characters. The new Power Girl has none of that, and in a book that needs to make us care for 5 other characters, she will slow the book down. I hope she only makes a guest appearance and the Titans get members who are better established, and will help lift the series up.

@captainmarvel4ever: Let me just point out that no one knows who Emiko is and Un-Wally is completely unrecognizable to anyone that used to know him.

@outside_85: They have both been in popular books, so readers do recognize who they are. If people liked either character from either series and they appear in Titans then that helps the book in the long run.

@captainmarvel4ever: I would say GA has, even under Lemire, a niche book and while I dont currently know, it wasn't exactly a chartblazer. I'd say you might have been onto something if Emiko appeared regularly on Arrow, but seeing as the new GA team punted the established support cast as soon as they took over, that doesnt sound like it. Same is true of the Flash... and Un-Wally appears to be one of the most hated changes in the New 52.

NPG (New Power Girl) ofc has no support behind her, no fanbase to boost the book. And I suspect that is really the point/difference, this is done to boost NPG, you are arguing from the point of boosting Teen Titans.

Bumblebee? Seriously?

I certainly would like to see him brought back.

Well, in a book with a good number of characters we already know, a new character could be a breath of fresh air on a team that's already pretty well known as a group, anyway.

@outside_85: Doesn't matter, it had a strong fanbase, and a lot of people who read the series would probably be more interested in the Titans if they knew a character they really liked was joining to be further developed. Also not everyone who reads comics watches Arrow (I sure don't).

Again, doesn't matter. Wally is still being very well developed, and has a growing sense of legacy, which the Titans really need right now. I know I would certainly love to see Wally back with the Titans. Also if we're going by the logic of being in a show to boost sales, Wally has already been confirmed for the Flash's show.

Also this new Titans series is a book that needs to build itself up, it cannot afford to spend time building up another character right now, that would be a step in the wrong direction.

@scouterv said:

That's just it though, this team is not well known/established. The whole point of giving the team a new book was for a fresh start to draw in new readers. What the book needs now is characters that have been better established and have a sense of legacy to help lift it up. Adding on a character like this will only slow things down in a book that needs to pick up.

@captainmarvel4ever: You mean, they might be interested, if Emiko is a character they feel is worth following outside of the Green Arrow setting. For example, I quite like Tim Drake in the Teen Titan setting, but I don't actually care to follow him over into the bat-books.

A) thats the first time I've heard anyone say that considering how little he actually seems to appear. B) no they don't. they already have Tim and Cassandra, they had Superboy and KF, and nothing is being done with their legacy in that book, so another to the pile is just going to be waste. Yes... as a grown man from what I hear.

Considering this book has a team of 5 where 4 of them do not appear anywhere else, this book has ever since Johns balanced itself between building up it's cast and the team itself. The really well done issue from last week for instance builds on nearly everyone's character and manages to build on the team as well. The only problem I have with NPG joining the cast is that she seems a little redundant with Cassandra already present.

Can anyone inform me on who is a Teen Titan currently and Manchester Black looks cool on this artwork. His Tatt is so much better. (+)

@yung_ancient_one: Red Robin, Raven, Wonder Girl, Beast Boy and Bunker.

@outside_85 said:

Yes, I said they might be interested, I never said at any time it would be a 100%, but a lot of people were sad to see her go, so chances are a few would defiantly want to pick up this book if it meant getting to see her again.

It's been a slow burn but they are still developing his character. Also Wonder Girl has spent absolutely no time with Wonder Woman, so she has no legacy. When you get down to it, Tim being the only member to be developed outside of the book is not enough legacy for the Titans, which has always been an important part of the series.

I personally didn't like last week's issue, but that's just me. At the moment this book still needs to feel more like what the Teen Titans should be, and since there is a distinct lack of sidekicks in the series, it would only help to have characters like Emiko or Wally.

@captainmarvel4ever: But then how can you have a fresh start if you don't introduce some fresh characters? Or at the very least mix it up.

@scouterv said:

For new readers, every character minus Tim basically is new to them. This book has to build 4 of them (Tim is featured plenty in the Bat books, so he's been well established) already, and another won't help. One of the best attributes of the Titans, was the legacy that sidekicks could bring, as well as the fact that proper sidekicks (sidekicks who we have seen with their mentors be developed) don't need a great deal of focus or development.

Maybe, but again if it is lasting also depends if these people like an Emiko not written by Lemire.

No, actually it's been the opposite since New Teen Titans (which is the reason the book is still here), it's been about finding out who you are besides your parents child (or mentor's sidekick in most cases). Young Justice was the book that went into the legacy-focus; they lived in an old JLA base, they had JLA support and even had JLA mentoring. TT however has told the League to stay off the island unless asked to come.

Again, you seem mistake Teen Titans for Young Justice (or the very first TT team that most people seem to forget... unless you are an Allred).

@outside_85 said:

Well that goes for every character in the Titans. Chances are some may not like her in the book, but some may like her, and get into the Titans while reading.

That is what the Titans are about, but a part of that was the legacy, because it's where the characters come from, and it helps determine who they are. That and it just helps draw more attention to the book, which this series needs.

I do remember the original Teen Titans, but that's not what I want from this series (even though I really like Teen Titans Year One).

@captainmarvel4ever: But then, if all the characters are essentially new, this is the perfect time to bring out a new character anyway. Sidekicks have the benefit of appearing in other series, but maybe some characters are Titans only because they aren't sidekicks.

@scouterv: No, it's not a good time because then that derails the character development of the other characters. Bringing in other established characters who don't need to be developed helps keep the plot on track, while allowing the writer to continue building up the characters who don't appear in any other books.

And some may like this new Power Girl, who knows?

Only in the sense of: "What makes you different from your mentor?" The rest is pretty much just name recognition, which you can't live off unless you are Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman.

And that's really the problem; what should a book named Teen Titans feel like? For me New Teen Titans is it, and it only had 2 actual legacy characters as recurring characters and 3 original creations and Beast Boy.

@captainmarvel4ever: But why are we developing characters that are already well-known and appear in other books, instead of new characters who only appear in The Titans? I don't think people would be opposed to something a little different, instead of Justice League Lite. I don't want to learn little tidbits about Drake, but I would be interested in slowly, organically learning tidbits and background on a new character.

@outside_85 said:

We could, but between everything this book has to juggle it's going to be a difficult task for the writer.

It may be what makes the character different from their mentor, or the things they get from them that they feel is important.

Exactly, 3 legacy characters (Robin, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl) and 4 undeveloped characters (BB was in the Doom Patrol, but he was never very prominent in that series). One of the things this book could benefit from is a similar formula. Having one pre developed character, and 5 other who are not is not a good ratio. That was one of the flaws with Lobdell's run, and it's why it was difficult to feel invested in that group of characters.

Seems to be going well for him so far, with 1-2 characters being the main focus of the issue with a little thrown to the others. Last issue it was pretty much Bunker and Beastboy, this issue it was Raven, next month it's Tim's turn. It's a little like the old pre-FP system with 4 issue arcs that focused on a single member, now it's faster.

Well Kid Flash I don't count as he was only there for the first couple of issues before he buggered off to be an on/off member like Roy and occasionally Gar. To be fair, Lobdell had no pre-developed characters to begin with and only Tim had any relation at all to his mentor.

@outside_85: Exactly, I like that (even though I didn't like this month's issue) but I don't think adding another unknown character will help. I want the Titans to be rebuilt up to their former glory (and hopefully surpass that) but to do that they need to start adding better established/well known characters, with a lot of potential, and I honestly don't see that in this new character (at least not here).

@captainmarvel4ever: TBH I don't think they need more established or well-known characters, they just need time and a solid creative team to steer them in a direction people want to read about, like Green Arrow did. Lemire kept 1 character that Krul created, killed the others and then proceeded to nuke everything else that had been used or established. When Lemire brought Emiko in, she was in the same position as this PG, the only difference: she existed before FP and thats basically it.

At first I thought it was Bumblebee and got excited, then I realized, "oh, it's just Black Power Girl..."

So, is "White Powere Girl" gonna be Superwoman??

new powergirl is in college isnt she? i dont like this

She's one of Karen Star(r)'s interns I think, haven't been keeping up with Worlds Finest. That said, it does appear a little odd if she was in college since the others are at best high schoolers?

Really? I never really cared for Bumblebee as a character, but my only reference was the TT show from 03.

@outside_85 said:

Well that's a given, but this new run has clearly been started solely for the purpose of getting the book back on track. To do that they should not add on characters that will slow the book down.

Which at this point, we have no idea if it will do or not. Likewise, we dont know if adding a pre-established character will derail the book or not.

@outside_85: I think it will pump things up, but you do have a point. At any rate even if she is bad for the book (which I really think she will be) I'm sure things will still work out at some point, after all the Titans are defiantly on the right track.

@captainmarvel4ever: I have to say that I think that just adding big names without the proper reason isn't the way to build something enduring. Adding someone like Batman, Superman or WW for an issue, thats fine, could be progressive even. But a staying character will only 'pump' things up for a while before the air has gone out.

I'd rather have the team as it is and just really build on it for a while before adding new blood to liven up the place. But atm I get why Phifher wants a new face now, since he's otherwise just using an amputated version of the previous one.

@outside_85: I'm not saying without proper reason, Emiko needs a place to go, and Wally's a natural choice for the Titans.

I would also prefer that the writer focuses on these 5 for now as well.

Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to do this for me. (+)