New Teen Titans #7 (May 1981)



"Assault on Titans' Tower!"

Script: Marv Wolfman
Pencils: George Pérez
Inks: Romeo Tanghal
Colors: Carl Gafford [as John Drake]
Letters: John Costanza

Grade: B

Whereas the first few issues of this series worked to build and develop long term conflicts, both external and internal, by issue #7 we're suddenly rushing to wrap up everything still left unresolved post-Trigon. We're going to find out who built Titans Tower (Vic's dad), get the two of them to put aside a lifetime of resentment within two pages, work out any remaining distrust among teammates (largely between Vic and Raven), and get rid of ol' whining Wally:



It's done quite well, and yet Wally will be coming back (fan demand?) only to quit again shortly after. Knowing how Wolfman hated writing speedsters, I wonder if he pulled a Thunderbird, intentionally introducing a team member that he knew he'd be losing early on as a means of making the team's drama seem more dire and real right from the start. The X-Men's Thunderbird was killed off within the first three issues, but the threats to this team are more emotional and internal in nature, so a member quitting instead of dying within the first few issues seems far more appropriate here (and no, X-Men fans. I don't think Sunfire counts in quite the same way).


Accepting the fact that Wolfman and Perez are playing all their remaining trump cards only seven issues into the series (well, Deathstroke and The H.I.V.E. are still out there, but otherwise...), this is a reasonably good issue otherwise, beginning with the premise of "why not have this new team fight intruders within a lair that they still know precious little about, the reader learning the layout along with them?"



It's no Four Freedoms Plaza, and Perez isn't Kirby-level yet, but I respect this effort with Titans Tower all the same.



And, along the way, we see the team forge closer ties through repeatedly saving each other's butts:









And yet the characterization is feeling forced in places, especially in moments like this one:



Okay, so how are Starfire and Cyborg different from one another in their responses? And "what to do first?" doesn't seem consistent with anything we've seen from Gar thus far. Admittedly, he's more complex than he lets on. This just doesn't match what we've seen.

I DO like that Wolfman and Perez gamble that we haven't even noticed Donna is missing -- a warning not to overlook the member of the team they've spent the least time developing thus far.


And, speaking of problems I'm having with this issue, the Fearsome Five are KILLING ME. Their motivations make no sense in this issue (save Psimon even though we hate and can't trust him. Sure, let's break into Titans Tower just to help him out!), and even Gizmo can't keep his characterization straight, complaining that he doesn't want to fight "supers"; he's only in it for the money one moment, and then thirsting to kill Titans in the next. At one point, it's noted that Mammoth could make great money honestly with his powers -- so why DO he and his sister resort to high-risk crime? These characters are still woefully under-developed and annoying after far far too many appearances.


I admit to being a little moved by Vic's final reconciliation with his father:



though it doesn't entirely make sense. Vic blames his father for messing with dangerous science that cost his mother his life and cost Vic the life he knew. His dad's story about what occurred doesn't really change any of that; it just puts the blame on a dead mother who can't defend herself for accidentally hitting the buttons that unleashed the danger Dr. Stone was already toying with.

Of course, the fact that Raven played a role in this reconciliation helps, and it also helps to solidify the bonds being forged in this issue:



But what aspect of that truth eases his pain?



Important Details:

- Revealed: Dr. Stone built Titans Tower

- Death of Dr. Stone

- Full origin of Cyborg (though it doesn't tell us much that we didn't already know)

- Kid Flash quits the Titans

- 3 months pass in this issue



Minor Details:

- Definitely the funniest moment of the series, thus far:




- Okay, this kind of lazy writing always bothers me:



HOW did the NYPD "secure" five super-powered villains that the Titans barely brought down? There are ways, sure, but take the time to show/explain them.


- More lazy writing:



Okay, so this process saved Vic's life...but it took weeks? How did Dr. Stone keep him alive during that time? He isn't a doctor, and that isn't a hospital. In fact, it's STAR Labs. Like, no one walked in at all during those weeks, noting that Dr. Stone was performing an unauthorized surgery?



- Waaaay back after I reviewed DC Comics Presents #26. Icctrombone asked if the events shown in Robin's dream ever end up occurring after the team actually assembles. Clearly they don't, but are we supposed to note a similarity between the inter-dimensional danger Dr. Stone unleashes in that nocturnal simulation and what had actually just occurred that we are first shown in this issue?






Mixed issue all around, but the characterization is mostly soaring, and that's always been this title's enduring legacy.

I bought that issue for this panel alone and I liked the way they did it. I have that in my safety deposit box at my bank for safe-keeping.

Robin orders Kory to get in a cheap shot and knock him out before he can do anything.

Here we are at issue 7 and it would be around the time that Wolfman and Perez start hitting their stride and finding their way. With any initial issues both are just tossing everything they have at the wall as they attempt to make a comic book that will draw in readers. Any start up is chaotic and hit or miss for several months as writer and artist find their connection as creators and their own personal connection to the characters. By now both Marv and George are beginning to be comfortable with the team and creating all of the dynamics and interactions of the members while working to find/create villains and stories to suit the team. Going to expect some hits and some misses along the way but overall the series starts with a bang and sales are building and the comic is gaining readers quickly. At the LCS I used at the time the Titans started rather quietly and most were going oh look; another Teen Titan's attempt from DC. By the 3rd issue you couldn't get a copy off the shelf and the only way you did get copies was by having a pull box in the LCS or waiting and shopping at the Circle-K and 7-11's later on. 

High heels.

Partially joking, partially not.  Perez was inconsistent, at first, depicting Raven in heels and flats; but, heels became the standard, especially when they began showing her more with the hood down.

The one aspect of her costume I really dislike.