Teenage Wasteland
Brett Booth's art looks a lot better than usual in this issue, aside from certain exceptions like the bizarrely awkward posing of Batgirl on the first page, and the worst rendition of Joker's face. It doesn't look like it's stapled and fishooked on at all, it looks like his face was never removed in the first place. Also Starfire's costume is.... well, completely wrong. It doesn't look at all like it does in Red Hood and the Outlaws.
Tim will not shut up. This issue is extremely wordy, Red Robin narrates the entire opening scene quite extensively for someone who's simply guessing at what's going to happen. This issue really makes Tim and The Joker feel impossibly omniscient. Like, he REALLY knew EXACTLY which old hideouts Barabara was going to show the Teen Titans so he put traps just for them in places she was only guessing he'd be at? And one of the traps was set specifically for Kid Flash with no guarantee he'd be the one to investigate that specific location. THIS is when crazy prepared hits ridiculous levels, it just isn't believable, even in a comic book setting. I can buy him having the time to do all these plans, since he has a 72 hour window as established in Batman #14; but THIS? This is way too prepared for a very niche protagonist.
And Red Robin and Joker also both appear to be mind readers. Red Robin is very prepared and analytical, but to know exactly how the conversation will go down with exactly who they'll call so he can narrate the entire thing with 100% accuracy is just cheesy. And then The Joker has apparently worked out Red Robin's entire though process down to knowing what he's thinking word for word as Joker rambles on to him. Sure he's known the rest of the family deeply, but he's never been able to finish the sentences they've been thinking before, and it seems especially unlikely it'd be Red Robin out of the entire family that he'd know the best because he states that he considers his perfection to be boring compared to the other Robins.
The rest of the Teen Titans get some damn good portrayals though. This is the first time they've really been able to interact with the rest of the DC Universe, and despite being heroes in their own right, they're still a lille in awe over the more famous heroes; Bunker especially, which really fits his personality. Cassie plays the cool-headed yet pragmatic leader, asking Batgirl, out of earshot of the others, what the chances are that Red Robin is already dead. Kid Flash gets a lot of spotlight, and his relationship development with Solstice is downright adorable.
In Conclusion: 3.5/5
This is one of the better issues of Teen Titans in terms of artwork and character interaction; Fabian Nicieza's input on dialogue is REALLY helping smooth things out and keep them from feeling a little wooden; but this is one of the weakest Death of the Family tie-ins. I can believe Joker could be in all these places in the space of 72 hours, but I just can't believe he'd know Kid Flash would be exactly where he goes, or be able to predict Red Robin's thoughts word for word.
