It's funny thinking back to the New Teen Titans in 1980...I remember my parents buying the comics for me and I kept reading them thinking the "real" Teen Titans would show up (Aqualad, Speedy, Lilith, Mal, and the others) and was quite disappointed when they only turned up from time to time, haha! I eventually became a fan and stayed with the title until it became such a mess in the 90s. I remember in the letter column, people speculating that Raven was Lilith until we finally saw her without her hood. I do have stories from the 80s era that I truly enjoyed, but the 66-78 run is my favorite and am very much enjoying reading all these posts and reviews!

We both agree that Mal was prevented from becoming a full-fledged hero because of his race. I disagree that this somehow makes him a stereotype, as your earlier post suggested. I don't believe his boxing skills ever come up again after his first appearance, FWIW.



Adams himself credits the Teen Titans #20 debacle with starting the conversation that ultimately resulted in the green lighting of John Stewart. Apparently, that conversation wasn't quite over yet.



I assume so. Plus perhaps a better sense of tact. Wolfman and Wein created both Jericho and Mal. They were new over-eager upstarts who, by Adams' account, were quite stubborn and uncompromising (Here's a source for much of this). Adams was a better schmoozer.

Interesting point about Cardy's inks,

Teen Titans #37 (February 1972)



"Scourge of the Skeletal Riders!"

Script: Bob Haney
Pencils: George Tuska
Inks: Nick Cardy
Colors: ?
Letters: Milt Snapinn

grade: D-


This one is bizarre on so many levels.


The scope of the series continues to waver as we once again have the team receiving orders from Mr. Jupiter



but, instead of promoting some sort of social change or even using the team to clean up the mess from one of his scientific experiments gone wrong, he orders them into the middle of a civil war to rescue a teen journalist being held by the rebel forces. Seems a little out of their purview, especially as only two of the team members possess any super powers.

Of course, amidst numerous instances of the team inappropriately aiding both sides without any real knowledge of the situation, there is (once more) a supernatural presence in this story. The team is confronted with the four horsemen of the apocalypse, and it's no illusion or gag -- it's really them. And that makes for a really odd story because, as Mr. Jupiter points out:




So the mission to rescue the teen journalist ends on an unexpectedly dark note:



And that might prove poignant and memorable if not for the odd decision made by Haney to pretend this character had been around before and should mean something to us:





These events never happened!


It's just a really odd story from beginning to end, so little of it forming a coherent plot or making much sense. How, for example, did Lilith crash the Titans' van head-on into a utility pole in the beginning of the story? Little details like this are presented throughout the story but never in a way that makes any sense.



Minor Details:

- No original backup content this issue. Just an old Superboy reprint.

- So is Mr. Jupiter now ordering official Teen Titans missions? In the past, the team performed his missions in anonymous civilian attire.

- Mal's presence on the team has become practically non-existent under Haney, and he truly gets to do nothing this time around. A letter indicating this problem is printed on the letters page, but that aspect of the letter goes unaddressed by Boltinoff.

- Wonder Girl appears to be sporting a long-sleeved variation of her uniform in this issue



...but I think it's just confusion on the part of the colorist. Robin certainly isn't supposed to be wearing tights in this same issue:





Sloppy, sloppy story that lacks all the charm of a good horror tale, even though the supernatural is involved, if there was some attempt to make a commentary on war beyond "sh*t happens," it fails to land, and even the death of the teen journalist we were supposed to believe we'd known for a long time now felt shallow and lacking in poignancy. Really didn't care for this one.

Teen Titans #38 (April 1972)



"Through these Doors Pass the Bravest Titans of Them All!"

Script: Bob Haney
Pencils: George Tuska
Inks: Nick Cardy
Colors: ?
Letters: Ben Oda

grade: C+


If that awesome cover got you hoping for a return to the mysterious parallel shadow dimension from back in Teen Titans #16, I'm sure sorry to disappoint. This story barely meets the criteria of a horror story as the Titans each somehow find themselves living their deepest desires and then coming face to face with their deepest fears, but the fears are very real-world, an explanation for how this all happened is provided at the end (spoiler: Mr. Jupiter hypnotized and gassed them...really), and the Titans don't even get into costume in this story. It's an extremely weirdly grounded horror story, especially following a front cover like that. Clearly, there is still vast indecision as to whether this is a horror comic, a superhero comic, or a realistic comic starring realistic teens.

And let's not move past what Mr. Jupiter did in this story so quickly. The character disturbed me from his very first appearance, where he was offering the Titans hypnotic lessons and instructions in their sleep. Now he's so damn smug about having had Lilith pry into the team's innermost fears and desires so that he could dupe the team into facing them. It's frankly creepy how smug he is about all this.




Still, it was interesting to watch each team member do such deep exploration.

Mal's deepest desire is to be an astronaut in a science fiction adventure. His worst fear (which he overcomes) is open spaces.

Donna's deepest desire is to be a secret agent in an espionage adventure. Her worst fear (which she overcomes) is losing her femininity.

Dick's deepest desire is to be a test pilot. His worst fear (which he overcomes) is admitting failure.


Interestingly enough, Speedy is inexplicably missing in this story. He was underused last issue, too. I've long speculated that Haney has something against Speedy. He held off on adding him to the team for years while fans repeatedly demanded his inclusion, and when Haney first got to write the team again back in Brave and the Bold #94, Speedy and Mal were the only two Titans left out. And We know Haney was avoiding using Mal until this story.

I guess that begs the question of why Haney is suddenly utilizing Mal so heavily in this one. Was it the outcry on the letters page, pressure from Boltinoff, or maybe some "red tape" concerning usage of an African American superhero was suddenly eased up for Haney. Whatever the case, it's good to see Mal being utilized again. I hope it continues.


Of course, Lilith's deepest desire never gets revealed as she is in on the stunt causing the Titans to have these experiences. She does indicate, however, that her deepest fear is never learning who her parents are, which sets up the b story for this issue.


Worth noting: there is no conflict to this story. Each character faces their worst fear but finds everything is okay without any real struggle. Nothing else really happens in this story beyond Mr. Jupiter's lengthy explanation at the close.



Minor Details:

- A nice connection could have been made between Dick overcoming his fear of failure in this story and what Mike Friedrich is doing with the character in the Batman backup stories right now, where Dick is repeatedly making mistakes and beating himself up for them. Too bad the DC of this era struggled so badly with coordinating across offices.


- I really like the sophisticated take Haney gives us on Wonder Girl's fear of seeming unfeminine.



Almost feels like he's apologizing for his earlier treatment of the character as a boy-crazy, mirror-gaping zombie. There's real depth to her obsession with boys and with outward appearance now, and she can finally put it to rest as of this story.




"Nameless, Wander I!"
Script: Bob Haney
Pencils: George Tuska
Inks: Nick Cardy
Colors: ?
Letters: Jean Izzo

grade: A-

Lilith continues to search for her past and gets manipulated by a circus duo who con her into believing one of them is her true mother. It's pretty easy to see coming and would have been largely forgettable if not for the supremely touching ending, after Lilith uncovers their plot and the woman decides to shield her fake daughter from the wrath of her boyfriend.



Wow.

I would hardly think that Robin's deepest desire would be to become a test pilot. He was a circus daredevil, used to already dancing with danger and life as a superhero would continue to feed that. S, what would be the attraction of being a test pilot? For Hal Jordan, it makes sense. It would seem more likely that Dick's greatest desire would be to have his parents alive and be with them again. I would also think his greatest fear would be disappointing Bruce, his other father. That got explored more in the 80s, though not as well as they could have, in the wake of Miller and Burton.

Same with Donna. I can see her greatest desire being knowing the truth of her past, as Marv Wolfman later explored, rather than be a secret agent. Why would you wish to be a secret agent, when you are already something more? The loss of her feminine identity I could see being her greatest fear, or, perhaps, having it submerged under male domination, denying the Amazon part of her.

Had Speedy been included, the greatest fear would probably be succumbing to drug addiction again. His greatest desire? I don't know, maybe having the attention from Ollie that he craved.

Too deep for Haney, to be sure.

I can't speak with any authority; but, my recollection of the bulk of Speedy's 70s appearances made few mentions of it.  I do recall a Green Lantern Green Arrow story (from the Mike Grell run) having a plot element that involved knowledge that Ollie gained from Roy's addiction period.


Marv Wolfman was the first I can recall addressing Roy's past and how it shaped his present; but, I would need to read through more late run 70s Teen Titans than I have in recent years, to be sure.