Teen Titans, Vol. 14: Team Building

Teen Titans (2003) #14

by J.T. Krul, Fabian Nicieza, Various (Illustrator)

There's a new hero in town, and while Damian might not want to join you, he's more than happy to lead you! There should always be a Robin on the team, but if Damian is their only available option, maybe they'll pass on having a Boy Wonder. Robin and Ravager stand alone against the Feral Boys as Raven makes one last, desperate attempt to rescue Headcase.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Action, Young Adult

168 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2011

About the author

J. T. Krul is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on Aspen MLT's Fathom comic series. He is a graduate of Michigan State University, holding a Bachelors in Film and Video Production.

Reviews

[Kuroi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Breaking News - The Damian Wayne Robin is a major sociopath and needs immediate fixing before he breaks Batman's patience (which, considering it's Dick Grayson, is no mean feat). It has been decided that the best way to deal with this is to drop him into a group of teenage heroes with their own issues. Stay tuned to see how well this does not work.



Admittedly, it wasn't that bad of an idea to have Damian interact with people his own age to learn something about teamwork. It does beg the question of how a boy with genius level intellect cannot see the benefits of having back-up, but let's suspend disbelief for a moment. The thing Batman did not account for, possibly because he didn't know, was that:
(a) the team leader, Wonder Girl, is struggling with the debate about general welfare vs. personal goals
(b) there is another psycho-misfit on the team - Ravager
(c) the team as a whole really want the old Robin (Tim Drake) back

So. Bats is a bit slow on the uptake now.



But there's no use crying over spilled milk, so we get to watch as Robin stays an upstart brat all the way to the end, not experiencing any character growth whatsoever, while Superboy and Wonder Girl break up because she couldn't get a sentence in before he did, and everybody else just sort of hangs around in the background. They may have fought a ridiculous villain somewhere along the way, but I wouldn't know, I wasn't paying attention. Anyway, all of this makes the volume pointless to read. Also Red Robin's outfit just makes me laugh:



as compared to



In summary, it ends with Robin having learned next to nothing and returning to Gotham, while Red Robin returns to the Teen Titans. At this point, we might as well bring up the issue of the movie. For everyone who grew up with or liked the Teen Titans animated series, don't read this. Go watch the DC Animated movie instead, it's way better.



You get all the old beloved characters and a nicer Robin - a brat but still human. The film combines both the bratty Damian plotline and the Trigon arc to create a Civil War-esque scenario where the Titans end up briefly battling the Justice League. Notice that Batman had to be put out of commission, both because he would quickly solve problems and thus end the movie, and also because there's no taking down an evil Bats.

Differences:

- Grayson is still Nightwing, Bruce is stil Bats, because the comics are terrified of making Bruce seem like he has a heart
- The Titans are closer to the cartoon line-up, with Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Blue Beetle. Cyborg briefly joins in.
- Damian actually becomes a team player, and decides to stay with the Titans
- The movie ships Raven and Robin a bit, instead of Ravager being the one to mentor Damian
- It is implied that Terra joins the Titans
- Raven has less arbitrary (read: convenient) powers



The art in the comic is nothing great, it has some weird proportions at times. In contrast the movie has this really weird magical girl transformation:



and a very attractive Nightwing:



Swoon.

All in all, I'm not a fan of this volume. You'd be better off watching the cartoon or the animated movie which are more cliched but in the spirit of the thing. Also, who could pass up gems like these?

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I'm incredibly surprised.

I haven't read any of the prior volumes of this run but it wasn't at all hard to follow. I read this on DC Universe's comics app as part of my quest to read all of Damian Wayne's appearances.

In this book (quite similar to the Teen Titans v. Justice League animated film) Dick drops Damian off at the Titans Tower because he thinks Damian needs some friends. He understands that mentoring Damian can only go so far - if all he shows Damian is how to fight and take down the lowest of the low, Damian will never see the bright spots of life. So, he drops Damian off for a playdate with the TT.

Of course, they're all reluctant. Damian isn't great at making first impressions. He's arrogant, rude and he's got a big chip on his shoulder. Quite frankly, he's a little shit to everyone at first. But, they end up going on a mission anyway. Damian is clearly trying to prove his usefulness and mucks it up a lot.

In the end, it's Rose Wilson that comes to Damian because she knows what it's like to be judged based on the awful things your parents have done. She and Damian bond over how hard it is to be "normal" and how it feels to be surrounded by shiny happy heroes like the Titans. To be honest, I am bummed this relationship didn't last longer because here was a friendship I would have gladly read an entire series about. It made a lot of sense.

Also, I'm in love with Rose Wilson.

The end is a mission where Tim Drake contacts the Titans because he needs their help. Upon finding Damian, he's less than pleased. It's clear he misses his team so, I think this ends with him agreeing to come back. If anything, Damian agrees to leave and that little scene broke my heart.

Tim tells Damian he's not easy to get to know and Damian asks, "I thought you all joined up so you could be yourselves?" and... that really hurt. Essentially, that's all Damian's been looking for. All this time: people that let him be himself and understand when he's really trying. You want to get at the heart of why the successful relationships in his life have panned out: Jon, Dick, Pennyworth, Maya and Colin - it's because all of these people accept Damian for who he is and they know when he's really trying. They didn't try to change him or abandon him when he didn't live up to their expectations.

Surprisingly, the relationship between Tim Drake and Damian Wayne has turned out to be one of the most interesting. I'm surprised because I'm not a big Tim Drake fan at all.

So, this was surprisingly well done character wise for Damian Wayne. The bits with Cassie and Conner were enjoyable enough, as well and honestly, this is a pretty solid recommend from me. I'm honestly just bummed I haven't seen this volume in print at any local stores. I'd love to buy it for keeps.

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some things in this book series were definitely strange, but the overall presentation blows any qualms one may have completely away.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a huge improvement over the last few volumes. Part of that is because there's finally an effective team. I would say that I felt bad for Bombshell and Aquagirl getting shuffled away off the page, but honestly? I don't miss them. The team dynamic here is much better than it'd been in ages. And then Damian gets added to the team, and that's sure to be fun for all.

This is a fun read. Good action, proactive storylines, actual character development. The scenes with Damian are, of course, the best. Here's here because Dick thinks he needs to make friends. Guess how well that's going? When he isn't irritating, he's a very fun character to read about, and I think Krul nailed it. I especially liked the few scenes he has with Rose, one of the few people in the world who might be able to get him.

There are some problems here, mostly things that happen off the page that are actually sort of important. Somehow, between the first issue of this collection and the last issue of the previous one, Ravager rejoined the Titans. How? Why? I have no idea, it's never covered or even hinted at. She just did. Is this something that happens elsewhere, or was Krul taking a shortcut? And then there's poor Kid Eternity. He was abducted in #74, and neither he nor his disappearance is ever mentioned until here, in #92, when he shows up again apparently having been murdered by Calculator long since. That's 18 issues where, by all appearances on the page, nobody knew or cared where he was. This isn't entirely Krul's fault. There was more than one writer ignoring him. But it sure drives home how little anyone cared about the poor guy.

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Snooze fest. Damien is way too annoying here. He's always a bit of a dick but he's SO dumb here it's insulting to the character. I really didn't like the plot either, too typical high school boy gets picked on, gets powers, fights back. BORING. Art decent.

[Maurice Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having faced many dangers, trials and tribulations, the Titans now face their greatest challenge ever: Damien Wayne.

Dick Grayson brings the newest Robin to the team in hopes it will do both of them some good. Damien is an arrogant little jerk who needs to learn teamwork and Wonder Girl just finished saying they needed more experienced warriors (and brought back The Ravager as a result). Damien's assassin training makes him just what the team needs.

It was interesting to see Damien try to fit in, and even more so to see the Ravager reach out to him in friendship. I enjoyed this one, especially when Red Robin came by to ask the team for help on a mission that was too much for him alone.

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The actual Teen Titans issues were great, definitely better than the previous ones collected in "The Hunt For Raven." But I wasn't a fan of the Red Robin and Wonder Girl issues they shoehorned into the second half of the book. It was cool to see Tim again, but I had no clue what was going on in his story since I never read his solo series when he became Red Robin. And the Wonder Girl issue they included was just a total bore for me, which is a shame because I do like Cassie, but the story just fell flat for me.

[Jadyn❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a better volume than the previous few had been. While the focus isn’t on every character, it feels a lot more even than previous volumes. They make use of smart Bart, which I appreciate. The portrayal of Damian isn’t even so bad— they highlight the fact that he’s not as bad as he makes himself seem, and he can learn from others. I liked the way this was portrayed through the way he plays off of Rose. It humanizes both of them. It sure took them long enough to address Kid Eternity, though. Nobody even seemed to notice he was missing for too long before they learn what happened to him.

[H.L. Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly read these to see if they are too intense for my 10-year-old, so this is my "parental perspective" review. There's a little blood including one panel with a wrist being mid-chop. Some decapitation, but they're of robots. A lot of expected super hero punching. One damn. One image of a couple kissing while sitting on the edge of a bed but they don't do anything else on the bed.
I think if your kid could watch a Marvel movie they can handle this.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, Nicola Scott is a national treasure. She's an amazing artist and needs to get more attention. Her work here was very good and I love her Damien. On that note, adding Damien to any book seems to make it more interesting and that's the case here. While the overall story is far from new or original, its fine and served its purpose which was to get back to basics with this team book. Overall, a decent Titans book that is made so much better by Damien Wayne and Nicola Scott.

[ziad · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was definitely my favorite out of all the volumes it was cool seeing Damian fighting with the titans but Tim is still the better Robin and I’m glad he’s back

[Kamen Rider Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siempre es fácil olvidar porque Damián Wayne fue un personaje polémico al inicio, pero esto me lo recuerda

[CC]

3.5 ⭐️

[machado · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was beginning to forget what a good Titans arc felt like.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started this I had no idea that it was volume 14 in a series. I only figured that out afterward when I came on to add it to my Goodreads. That explains why I was so confused in the beginning. It helped that the Teen Titans members were listed near the beginning so I knew who they all were. It took me a while to remember all their normal names and connect that with their superhero names.

If I paid any attention to the cover I would have known that these are not the same Titans as the ones on Cartoon Network. Raven, Beast Boy, and Robin are here, but they aren't like the ones in the show. Of course I only glanced at the cover so I didn't realize this until I started reading.

Besides all my confusion this was actually a really good comic. I loved that parts of it were set in SF. The characters are rounded out and they all have their own back stories. The story wasn't overwhelming and unlike a lot of comics there wasn't too much going on at once.

Now that I know this is a series I kind of want to go back and read the ones before this one and then move forward with the series.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though at first I was thrown by a few things – why did Wonder Girl's costume change again? Where is Miss Martian? – I think this is the strongest volume post-Johns. The team is more proactive than they have been for some time - and significantly, the TTs actually seem like a "family". There is enough friction to keep the story dramatically interesting, but not so much internal conflict that they seem like a team in name only.

There is a lot to like about this one, but I'd like to single out the dynamic between Ravager and Damian Wayne. They are simply a delight. I'd say I wish for another teamup with them, but Rose Wilson may be too different in the reboot for it to be as fun. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting with the not-so-good. The art isn't to my liking. I'm not going to say it's bad, but I don't personally like it...

That being said, I love the story we got in this volume. The team dynamics and individual growth going on is what has always made the Teen Titans stories work for me.

The introduction of Damian Wayne as Robin to learn a little bit about being...well...a human being...that was cool. In fact, it makes me all that much more interested to see where the Rebirth stories are going to take the character. I mean, in the current run, Damian has been soul-searching and atoning. What could that mean for his potential as a Titan?

[William Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of the recent TT books. I am still irritated that they keep rotating out characters they just recently introduced to the team for old ones. It seems that instead of building a new history, these writers are more comfortable with building on top of what was already there. As if the newer characters couldn't be as interesting. And where is Blue Beetle?

[Rochelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually quite enjoyed this volume of Teen Titans, Kiran/Soltice is a cool new character. Just one problem...Damian Wayne. He's impossible to like, especially when Tim (who really shouldnt have been turned into Red Robin)has always been there, and I really like him. Damian Wayne is ajust a little know it all shit

[Aishuu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This features Damian Wayne's stint on the Teen Titans, which was hysterical as it was predictable. Damian does Not Play Well With Others, which this story brought out.

There's also a good Cassie-centered story at the end.

In short, this was fun and humorous, just the way Teen Titans should be.

[Roselyn Blonger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gustó que Damian tuviera un poco más de protagonismo en este tomo y que siga manteniendo su personalidad egocéntrica ya que le da mucho más realismo a su crecimiento. Me sorprendió la extraña complicidad que logró con Ravager, pero me encantó su dinámica ¡Damian está aprendiendo a hacer amigooos!

[Annice22 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damian makes it soo hard for people to like him when it's obvious that he really wants friends. He tries too hard to be tough. What I like about this is, it reminds of the old comics with all types of weird stuff happening. I enjoyed reading it.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely Damian's book. Dick sends him to the Titans to make friends and perhaps learn to mellow out a little bit. Damian definitely isn't into joining the Titan's but he does find some kinship with Rose. Lot's of action and adventure and an interesting group dynamic.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Damian's story, but he is a welcomed addition to the Teen Titans dynamic. A lot of fun action, kid zombies, and straightforward villains. Wondergirl's one off issue at the end was unimpressive, but I like the main arc just fine.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Public library copy.

[P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

now I want to know more about the Teen Titans. But I could read this and not feel lost.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adequate but not amazing.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adding Damien's Robin sure added an interesting dynamic to the team.

[Anne Barwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story and artwork. I enjoyed the dynamics of the different characters, especially with throwing Damian, and then Tim into the mix.