Reflections #22 - Teen Titans #36

Caulder seriously bothers me. I think Robin may be on to something, except he didn't go far enough. He said Caulder is trying to make them all so worried about being accepted they'll jump through his hoops, do whatever he commands. I think Caulder is probably going even further, lying about their need to stay with him for treatment of their conditions, so he has a super-powered army to do whatever he wants.

Mento can't take off the helmet because Caulder says Elasti-Girl doesn't want to be with Steve Dayton. Maybe that's because the "good" Doctor is making her feel that way. He told her she needs to let him do her thinking, because her "elastic brain" can't think straight. And it seems to be working, given she acts extremely subservient during the scene in the operating room, like a little child. Color me skeptical of Caulder's science. Beast Boy's not going anywhere because he's got his adoptive parents (does he mean legally adopted?) there, who look like they need him to take care of them. Which gives Caulder a hook to keep him there. "Oh Garfield, it wouldn't be good for you to leave with the Teen Titans right now. Mento and Elasti-Girl are in very fragile states, and your disappearence might exacerbate the situation." I can really feel my dislike for this guy rising.

Bumblebee has to stay or else her heart will go into cardiac arrest from being so small. Say what? The Atom doesn't have hat problem, and he's gone a hell of a lot smaller than she is in his career. I feel bad for Mal, I mean Vox (Vox? Seriously, what the hell kind of codename is that?), what with being turned into Black Bolt and all. I wonder if he's even tried speaking, or if he just took the Doc's word for it. I'd bet on the latter. But why would replacing his heart and lungs make his voice destructive?

Ultimately, this reminds me how the more we've found out about Xavier over the years, the less benevolent he's seemed. He kept the X-Men in this special school, because they needed to learn how to control their powers or else they'd get themselves into trouble. But at least the original five had parental consent, and could go out on the town. Of course, they weren't as freakishly deformed as the Doom Patrol either. But Xavier never did help Logan discover the truth about his past (thanks Wanda), or help Rouge control her powers, despite his promises to do these things. Has Caulder always been this shady?

I guess the lesson is, to never trust a guy in a wheelchair, regardless of whether they've got hair or not. I was going to make a joke about keeping a staircase nearby, but that's inappropriate, so on to other matters.

Could Bumblebee change size before? I get that she's stuck at that size now, but could she shrink and grow before? Why would Kid Devil lie about being in contact with Blue Devil all the time? Given how hard up for Titans Robin seems to be, that doesn't seem like the criteria that would keep Eddie off the team. I do like that Robin is taking a stand for him, and saying he's staying with the Titans. It's not going to help Kid Devil to be cloistered off in some castle in Prague. Of course, maybe Robin figures he can't afford to lose anymore team members.

I was thinking back over #35, and I can't figure why Cyborg would tell Wonder Girl they were going to get the 'real Titans' back. Isn't Cyborg like the Martian Manhunter of the Teen Titans? That guy who is sort of considered to have always been there, even if it isn't true? In which case, wouldn't he have had like 700 different teammates by now? Didn't he tell Speedy when she joined the Titans, that there were Titans allover the world? So why would he say 'real Titans'? I suppose he could just be trying to adjust to being back, and wants to surround himself with the familiar.

I wonder what it means, that there was the two-panel shot of Wonder Girl and Ravager facing off, and they chose to show Ravager from the side with no eye. It means something, I suppose maybe that she's still hiding her fear of being kicked to the curb - and having to run from her father - from the rest of the team. Or maybe it represents her hiding the depth of concern for Kid Devil, who seems to be the only Titan that really accepts her.

I think Robin is still going to steal some of that cloning equipment for his own use, and I still think Ravager is going to be the one who notices, and has to decide what to do with the information.

Ok, I admit it, the new squad has grown on me. My one caveat would be this: I did this post where I said Dr. Light needed to revert to being a total loser, to help bring back a lighter feel to DC. Putting aside -SPOILER FOR 52! - that Black Adam ripped a guy in half in this week's 52 being a pretty clear indication things aren't going to be cheerier, Len! mentioned in the comments that heroes are defined by villains, and the Titans versus this new more dangerous Dr. Light should be an ongoing struggle, with no clear winner, like a lot of Magneto vs. X-Men battles. That's fine, except looking at this team, I can't see how they last five minutes against the Dr. Light we've seen over the last year. They are just sorely lacking in power, which I guess would be part of the fun, but it feels like it would be the Riddler Effect in reverse, to the heroes advantage instead of the villains. That small, probably irrelevant concern aside, I think Johns is doing better now that he's back on something that's smaller scale, as opposed to the monstrous scale of Infinite Crisis.