shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jan 19, 2021 13:53:23 GMT -5
New Teen Titans #22 (August 1982)  "Ashes to Ashes" Script: Marv Wolfman Pencils: George Pérez (breakdowns); Romeo Tanghal (finished art) Inks: Romeo Tanghal Colors: Adrienne Roy Letters: Ben Oda Grade: C+ You know, as excited as I was by the Brother Blood premise last issue, it's already beginning to wear thin, here. Beyond the cool looking visuals that don't actually make any practical sense:  Wolfman and Perez have an opportunity here to explain the mentality of the guy running a church built on pain and graft, and this is the best they can give us:  He's just bad and wants power. This is exactly what Wolfman did for Trigon too. In a title that is getting so much acclaim almost entirely because of its emphasis on characterization, it's inexcusable to keep making the villains so one-dimensional. Even Deathstroke lacks a comprehensible reason for seeing the Titans as antagonists, or for selling a doomsday weapon to terrorist nations who want to use it to blow up the very country he lives in. Actually spend five seconds offering a believable villain's perspective, Marv. But really, it's abundantly clear that all of this exists just to create conflict for the Titans. Sequences like this one don't even try to hide it:  Throwing Robin down that pit would cause him to break his back, but when Wally and Raven got thrown down it (while unconscious) they apparently landed just fine? And, let's be clear, Brother Blood decided Donna, Raven, and Wally were too powerful to mess with, so he had them knocked out right away...only to leave them lying at the bottom of a pit until an enormous spider would get around to eating them (who, conveniently enough, didn't until Dick finally showed up after countless hours of being tortured elsewhere in the castle). I'd buy this kind of crap in a book written a decade earlier, but it just doesn't fly here. Too much suspension of disbelief required. Wolfman and Perez at least try to create more tension between team members in this issue, having Gar and Vic go at it over whether to barge in on Brother Blood, ready to kill, but they make up with each other pretty quickly after. Marv and George then try to give us this desperate moment for Vic:  a blatant nod to this infamous moment in X-Men history, published seven years earlier:  but, in that situation, the stakes were real. Here, we learn only a handful of panels later, it was never what it appeared to be:  Rip-off. So, in the end, all this issue really did that was at all worthwhile was tarnish the team's public image.  Not exactly new territory for a superhero team. How many times had this happened to the Avengers by this point? I had such high hopes after last issue, but this one just isn't delivering. Fortunately, we've got the introduction of Blackfire at the end  and a promise of a whole new conflict next issue while the team still has to deal with the fallout from their appearing to murder Brother Blood on live teleivision. I don't recall having been invested in the whole Starfire/Blackfire conflict in the past (felt like a blatant rip-off of the Lilandra/Deathbird conflict in X-Men), but maybe I'll see it differently this time around. Important Details:- First appearance of Bethany Snow - The Titans appear to murder Brother Blood on live TV, tarnishing their image. - I'd missed it when it was mentioned last issue, but Brother Blood's nation of Zandia is the same nation of escaped convicts that we saw (briefly) in NTT #14 and #15. - Blackfire was previously referenced in NTT #10:  even though she was neither mentioned nor shown in Starfire's initial origin in NTT #3. Minor Details:- What is the point of Vic's training exercises?  His cybernetics can't grow or lose muscles, right? |
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Post by Prince Hal on Jan 19, 2021 14:20:44 GMT -5
I dispute the idea that they need to be trained; both manga and many young adult fiction titles use the same panel progressions to tell stories (manga just does it in the reverse direction) and kids have no issues with that. Heck, manga requires them to read in a way opposite of what they are taught to do with Western language; so, it can't be that difficult. I fault more the layouts of some artists and the fact that the material just does not engage their interests. I think there is more merit in the idea that they are drawn more to animated images, rather than the still images of comics for the same type of storytelling. I did mention what shaxper is referring to. I guess I should have said that it wasn't all kids who needed to be taught how to read a comic. Oh, wait... I did... "Most loved [Gaiman's "A Midsummer Night's Dream], though some found it confusing, as they weren't familiar with how to "read" a comic. classiccomics.org/thread/2664/said-opinions-on-comic-books?page=494Of course, I was only going on my firsthand experience of having seniors in high school read that story -- I probably used it over the course of 10 or 12 years -- as a supplement to studying the play. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 19, 2021 20:51:47 GMT -5
Maybe Cyborg's robot parts multiply his natural strength? Yeah, that's it.
I remember reading that for the first time and being floored that Vic had just killed such a cool bad guy (this was back when I didn't know better)... totally agree that Raven saying he knew he wasn't on the plane was a total cop out.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 19, 2021 22:15:00 GMT -5
I dispute the idea that they need to be trained; both manga and many young adult fiction titles use the same panel progressions to tell stories (manga just does it in the reverse direction) and kids have no issues with that. Heck, manga requires them to read in a way opposite of what they are taught to do with Western language; so, it can't be that difficult. I fault more the layouts of some artists and the fact that the material just does not engage their interests. I think there is more merit in the idea that they are drawn more to animated images, rather than the still images of comics for the same type of storytelling. I did mention what shaxper is referring to. I guess I should have said that it wasn't all kids who needed to be taught how to read a comic. Oh, wait... I did... "Most loved [Gaiman's "A Midsummer Night's Dream], though some found it confusing, as they weren't familiar with how to "read" a comic. classiccomics.org/thread/2664/said-opinions-on-comic-books?page=494Of course, I was only going on my firsthand experience of having seniors in high school read that story -- I probably used it over the course of 10 or 12 years -- as a supplement to studying the play. I wasn't referring to anything specifically that you posted, merely that I found the suggestion that kids have to be taught to "read" a comic is contradicted by their easy and wider acceptance of other forms of sequential storytelling, such as newspaper strips and manga titles, which were embraced in far greater numbers by Millennials and Generation Y, than American comic books. I don't doubt your experience with your particular students; I am basing my thesis on my previous 20 years of bookselling with Barnes & Noble. I saw vastly larger numbers of kids read non-comic book forms of sequential storytelling than comics books and trade collections; so, when presented by a statement by an individual that they do not understand how to "read" a comic, when I have seen them read other forms with no issue, I then question their assertion that the trouble lies in the mechanics of the medium rather their reluctance or disinterest in the particular work. No disrespect intended or implied; merely a difference of anecdotal evidence and conclusion.  |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jan 19, 2021 22:35:11 GMT -5
I think the fault was mine, here, as I turned hal's assertion into a blanket statement, which is more what cody appeared to be responding to.
Mea culpa, my dudes.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jan 19, 2021 22:37:24 GMT -5
Maybe Cyborg's robot parts multiply his natural strength? Yeah, that's it. I tried to rationalize it as Vic's organic body learning to work with his cybernetic body in more and more intense ways, but the reality is probably that Wolfman and Perez saw how bada$$ Colossus and the Thing looked while lifting incomprehensibly heavy machinery in their training sessions and decided to follow suit. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 19, 2021 22:50:42 GMT -5
New Teen Titans #22 (August 1982) "Ashes to Ashes" Script: Marv Wolfman Pencils: George Pérez (breakdowns); Romeo Tanghal (finished art) Inks: Romeo Tanghal Colors: Adrienne Roy Letters: Ben Oda Grade: C+ You know, as excited as I was by the Brother Blood premise last issue, it's already beginning to wear thin, here. Beyond the cool looking visuals that don't actually make any practical sense: Wolfman and Perez have an opportunity here to explain the mentality of the guy running a church built on pain and graft, and this is the best they can give us: He's just bad and wants power. This is exactly what Wolfman did for Trigon too. In a title that is getting so much acclaim almost entirely because of its emphasis on characterization, it's inexcusable to keep making the villains so one-dimensional. Even Deathstroke lacks a comprehensible reason for seeing the Titans as antagonists, or for selling a doomsday weapon to terrorist nations who want to use it to blow up the very country he lives in. Actually spend five seconds offering a believable villain's perspective, Marv. But really, it's abundantly clear that all of this exists just to create conflict for the Titans. Sequences like this one don't even try to hide it: Throwing Robin down that pit would cause him to break his back, but when Wally and Raven got thrown down it (while unconscious) they apparently landed just fine? And, let's be clear, Brother Blood decided Donna, Raven, and Wally were too powerful to mess with, so he had them knocked out right away...only to leave them lying at the bottom of a pit until an enormous spider would get around to eating them (who, conveniently enough, didn't until Dick finally showed up after countless hours of being tortured elsewhere in the castle). I'd buy this kind of crap in a book written a decade earlier, but it just doesn't fly here. Too much suspension of disbelief required. Wolfman and Perez at least try to create more tension between team members in this issue, having Gar and Vic go at it over whether to barge in on Brother Blood, ready to kill, but they make up with each other pretty quickly after. Marv and George then try to give us this desperate moment for Vic: a blatant nod to this infamous moment in X-Men history, published seven years earlier: but, in that situation, the stakes were real. Here, we learn only a handful of panels later, it was never what it appeared to be: Rip-off. So, in the end, all this issue really did that was at all worthwhile was tarnish the team's public image. Not exactly new territory for a superhero team. How many times had this happened to the Avengers by this point? I had such high hopes after last issue, but this one just isn't delivering. Fortunately, we've got the introduction of Blackfire at the end and a promise of a whole new conflict next issue while the team still has to deal with the fallout from their appearing to murder Brother Blood on live teleivision. I don't recall having been invested in the whole Starfire/Blackfire conflict in the past (felt like a blatant rip-off of the Lilandra/Deathbird conflict in X-Men), but maybe I'll see it differently this time around. Important Details:- First appearance of Bethany Snow - The Titans appear to murder Brother Blood on live TV, tarnishing their image. - I'd missed it when it was mentioned last issue, but Brother Blood's nation of Zandia is the same nation of escaped convicts that we saw (briefly) in NTT #14 and #15. - Blackfire was previously referenced in NTT #10: even though she was neither mentioned nor shown in Starfire's initial origin in NTT #3. Minor Details:- What is the point of Vic's training exercises? His cybernetics can't grow or lose muscles, right? The problem I always had with this two-parter, aside from feeling like it interrupted the flow, was that, as we see, it really is just a prologue to Brother Blood's (always want to call him Baron Blood, the vampire from The Invaders) later story and establishes his cult as having powerful connections, throw some problems into the Titans lives, and then simmer in the background, while the previously previewed sub-plot finally plays out: Starfire's exile from her home. Just like the Gordanians in the launch of the series, Brother Blood is meant to lurk in the background, while other things occur, then jump back into play. Same with Deathstroke. Marv's not quite as facile with running subplots, like Claremont, though I could also argue that Claremont dragged them on well past their sell-by date. By the time Marv gets to the Judas Contract, I think he ably demonstrates that he has learned how to handle it better. Deathstroke's motivation is not just he's the bad guy; he's a professional mercenary who took a contract. There is also the problem of the death of his son, Ravager. He still thinks the Titans are as responsible as the HIVE, for that one, though I think it is more submerged guilt, based on steering his son in that direction. Now, some of the other villains; yeah, I would agree that Marv was a bit light on motivation or characterization, though I think he has a lot of company for that fault. I kind of see this time period as a sort of transitional phase, where we see some of the more experimental storytelling and characterization of the 70s turn up in more mainstream works. Some writers were trailblazers; but, I suspect others followed the directions they had been given and the lessons taught, until they gained more freedom and started to incorporate what contemporaries were doing in their own work. Marv trained at DC and then under Stan and Roy, which had to color his approach to his work. After his EIC stint, he had a certain autonomy in his books, thanks to the writer-editor contract; but, he still reported to Stan. Marv did some great work at Marvel; but, I do think the atmosphere at DC, under the new regime there, allowed him confidence to move beyond. Sadly, I think Crisis brought a lot of fatigue on him, leading to his later writer's block and I don't think he really got to spread his wings as much as he would have liked. As it was, he picked up better paying work in Hollywood, though writing for formulaic shows, which certainly didn't help his evolution, as a writer. Really, I think Tomb of Dracula is his real masterpiece, of everything he did, in comics. I never had the Deathbird/Lilandra issue with Starfire and Blackfire, though I never particularly cared for Deathbird, as a character or a villain. I also found Lilandra to be rather a bland character with a good visual look. I always felt there was more Cockrum than Claremont in the Shi'ar. In terms of Blackfire and Starfire....well, it gave Perez an excuse to draw bosomy women restraining, torturing and fighting each other. I think his "directing" career shows where his interest might have been in that story element. To me, it was just an extension of the age old "evil twin" cliche. It's serial storytelling and that's an old trope. Getting back to Brother Blood, we do need to remember that George is co-plotting; so, maybe he hit on a cool design, but he and Marv hadn't quite cracked who the guy was yet. Deathstroke seemed to go through that, too. Leaving that aside, I think there is more than a little bit of a statement about the times going on, as this was the period where Jerry Falwell and his Moral Majority group were exerting a lot of influence on politics and getting a lot of media attention for their agenda. Marv & George do make quite a few points about the manipulation of the media by a supposed religious group, who seem to be more concerned with politics than spirituality. That's the way I always took it, at the time. It also reflected relatively recent history, with cults like Jim Jones and the Jonestown tragedy. |
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Post by brutalis on Jan 20, 2021 6:40:38 GMT -5
Think of Cyborg lifting weights as part of his mental/physical health. He is/was an athlete and exercise is a natural daily part of athleticism. He would need that routine for the parts of his body that he still has. You are only as strong as your weakest part so to say. And the cybernetic portions connect to his arms and legs so if those lose muscular tone/strength then all of the cybernetic parts are useless if he cant lift his arms or move his legs.
Amputee's tend to have wounds and blisters where mechanical parts attach from all the rubbing and chafing where flesh is tender and weakest. Sometimes requiring further corrective surgery or amputation as the only recourse. The old saying of use it or lose it really applies with amputee's in that many give up mentally or emotionally when losing mobility. Vic as a young man and athlete would be highly susceptible to depression and amplified pain, so daily exercise is therapeutic for his entire well being.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jan 20, 2021 10:14:12 GMT -5
The problem I always had with this two-parter, aside from feeling like it interrupted the flow, was that, as we see, it really is just a prologue to Brother Blood's (always want to call him Baron Blood, the vampire from The Invaders) later story and establishes his cult as having powerful connections, throw some problems into the Titans lives, and then simmer in the background, while the previously previewed sub-plot finally plays out: Starfire's exile from her home. Just like the Gordanians in the launch of the series, Brother Blood is meant to lurk in the background, while other things occur, then jump back into play. Same with Deathstroke. Marv's not quite as facile with running subplots, like Claremont, though I could also argue that Claremont dragged them on well past their sell-by date. By the time Marv gets to the Judas Contract, I think he ably demonstrates that he has learned how to handle it better. While it's certainly not as subtle as Claremont's work, it's probably still the aspect of this issue that I enjoyed the most. I love when multiple plot lines are up in the air. It's such a no-brainer of a sales strategy. "Don't like the current plot line? Stick around for three others on the horizon!" It also makes the title seem so much more exciting, bursting with ideas. I'm bored with Brother Blood and I don't give a damn about Blackfire, but both looming on the horizon?? Suddenly, I'm thrilled. I more agree with you here than I don't. Marv made it clear that Deathstroke's motivation was the unfinished contract, and yet Deathstroke just tried to murder the hive after blatantly trying to trick them in full view of a number of world leaders. Clearly honor isn't the adjective he's most concerned with keeping attached to his reputation. He also knows the Titans were not responsible for his son's death, as well as the fact that he could probably kill them with his eyes closed and that they pose no serious threat to him. He's a great villain concept, but he makes no logical sense in these pages. Blaming the Titans as a way of dispelling his own guilt could totally work if Wolfman explicitly went there, but I think you've given this more thought than he has. That's a fair assessment of his career. I would counter that, with so many of those Bronze Age properties where writers were left to their own devices because the property was not well known and didn't carry major marketing licenses, the writers that ended up pouring their hearts and souls into these properties (Wolfman on Titans, Claremont on X-Men, Moench on Shang-Chi, McGregor on Black Panther) sort of pulled a once-in-a-lifetime trick that they couldn't emulate again elsewhere. There was no repeating or outdoing the completely REAL characters and sagas they'd created there. In literature, we find it surprising when an author can start a second series of books featuring a character or characters every bit as vivid as the first. In comics, we expect it. Imagine J.K. Rowling writing for Vertigo and trying to come up with ideas for a second title. Totally agreed. Nevertheless, Wolfman is stealing from Claremont more than Cockrum with Blackfire. Oh, I thoroughly agree. My true frustration with this approach, though, is that: 1. It conflates the teen cults with the born again mega churches with political ties. Two different types of cults with two entirely different goals and power bases. 2. It has nothing interesting to say about them beyond "they're bad, and they manipulate the media". Giving Brother Blood an actual perspective would have added so much more to this. What goes through the mind of a Falwell or a Tammy Fay Baker? It would have been a hell of an exploration. I much prefer what DC ultimately did with Glorious Godfrey. The focus was tighter, the message clearer and more emotionally investing. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jan 20, 2021 10:16:45 GMT -5
Think of Cyborg lifting weights as part of his mental/physical health. He is/was an athlete and exercise is a natural daily part of athleticism. He would need that routine for the parts of his body that he still has. You are only as strong as your weakest part so to say. And the cybernetic portions connect to his arms and legs so if those lose muscular tone/strength then all of the cybernetic parts are useless if he cant lift his arms or move his legs. Amputee's tend to have wounds and blisters where mechanical parts attach from all the rubbing and chafing where flesh is tender and weakest. Sometimes requiring further corrective surgery or amputation as the only recourse. The old saying of use it or lose it really applies with amputee's in that many give up mentally or emotionally when losing mobility. Vic as a young man and athlete would be highly susceptible to depression and amplified pain, so daily exercise is therapeutic for his entire well being. This is brilliant. |
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Post by String on Jan 22, 2021 22:45:46 GMT -5
It's interesting that you've asked about Vic's weight-lifting exercises.
For in reading the new reviews you've done, I was inspired to crack open my Judas Contract TPB for the first time in what seems like quite awhile (my favorite NTT story and the story that brought me onto the title when I was kid). And 'lo and behold, in #42, Wolfman and Perez give voice to the exact reason(s) why Vic performs these types of exercises.
I don't know if you want to jump that far ahead in the reviews so I won't post those reason(s) unless you wish otherwise. However, I do think it's noteworthy again of their strong characterization in this title and group that Wolfman and Perez did offer up such personal motivations for Vic eventually.
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Post by shaxper on Dec 31, 2021 15:04:19 GMT -5
Tales of the New Teen Titans #3 (August 1982)  "The Changeling" Script: Marv Wolfman Pencils: George Pérez (breakdowns); Gene Day (finished art) Inks: Gene Day (finished art) Colors: Adrienne Roy Letters: John Costanza Grade: B+ It's taken three issues, but the true charm of this limited series is beginning to show as, between the origin plot points, we see so many moments of the team genuinely bonding like real human beings.  It is, by far, the most outstanding aspect of this series, and there is no shortage of it within these pages.  though it's almost entirely among Gar, Kori, Donna, and Dick. Wally is still clinging to Raven, and Cyborg feels very much like the odd man out when not explicitly paired with Gar. Incidentally, are Wolfman and Perez trying to suggest something is happening between Dick and Donna, here? They sure spend a lot of time in this issue with Donna lying on or near Dick, gazing at him with affection:  It's a little surprising that Gar was one of the four Titans selected to get an issue devoted to his origin. I suppose he is the only other Titan who didn't begin as a sidekick in someone else's comic, but we just got his origin retold last year in New Teen Titans #10. Wolfman and Perez managed to condense that origin into a single page, so blowing it up to twenty five pages here seems unnecessary. Still, it mostly works by focusing on a portion of his backstory that wasn't really essential to the character until this retelling -- his romance with Jillian Jackson, and the revenge of his former step-father, Galtry. Wolfman and Perez do an excellent job selling us on the importance of the Gar/Jillian relationship by undercutting Gar's usual bravado with images that tell a far more depressing truth:  In a way, these panels show us that Jillian is the first and only person to break through that hollow ego and find the true, vulnerable Gar Logan at its core. I get it. However, focusing a full half of these 25 pages on the (totally new to this retelling, unless I've missed something somewhere) revenge of Galtry, kidnapping Jillian and demanding a ransom from Gar, seems entirely unnecessary.  especially since it sure seems like someone demanded a last minute rewrite. I mean, we see Jillian, locked in a cage and looking terrified multiple times, and then, when Galtry is unable to stop Gar, he activates a last-resort death trap, filling the castle with poison gas.  Gar looks after his own survival as the narration foreshadows "how stupid I can be" right before he goes on to pursue Galtry outside of the castle, completely bent on revenge. As we watch the two struggle for two and a half more pages, the dramatic tension is unmistakable because we are waiting for the inevitable moment where Gar realizes his thirst for revenge has blinded him to the fact that Jillian is still trapped in that cage, surrounded by poison gas. I was all set for a heart-blasting tear-jerker of an ending, only for Jillian never to get mentioned again. The big finale is Gar deciding that revenge isn't the right course of action; that's it. So...what the hell ever happened to Jillian? It just doesn't make sense as an ending and sure seems like a last minute rewrite. After all, when we return to the present with Gar finishing up the story, he sure looks like he is explaining something painful and not making the wisecracks that Wolfman has coming out of his mouth:  Assuming I'm right, I wonder why a change was made, and at who's request. Maybe another dead girlfriend story felt too repetitive of what had just happened with Vic two months back? Important Details:1. For a title that seldom ever even mentioned there having been a previous Teen Titans team, we get a lot of history here. First ever acknowledgement by the NEW Teen Titans of Teen Titans West (see my reviews of Teen Titans #50, #51, and #52), as well as of long-forgotten Teen Titan members Aqualad, Speedy, Mal, Lilith, Gnaark, and Bumblebee.  Incidentally, Harlequinn, Hawk, Dove, and the original Batgirl all appear to be purposefully omitted from this memory. I never liked any of those characters either, but that would mean Titans West was just Gar, Golden Eagle, and Gnaark, which doesn't make much sense. 2. While Wolfman and Perez acknowledge some past Titans continuity here, they seem to purposefully omit the biggest moment longtime readers would have expected to have seen here: Gar's first run-in with the original Teen Titans from waaaay back in Teen Titans #6 (December 1966). In fact, Wolfman's attempt to explain why Gar is no longer the angry kid that he used to be  implies that Gar didn't first experience anger issues until after the Doom Patrol had died, a pretty clear contradiction of his characterization in that first meeting with the Titans while the Doom Patrol was still very much alive:  Of course, Gar also appears to be the same age as Dick, Donna, and Wally in that story, so maybe Wolfman is right to pretend it never happened. 3. We finally get an explanation as to why Gar is now "Changeling" instead of "Beast Boy":  4. Perez stumbles upon a shot he really likes.  He'll be using it again for what is arguably his finest New Teen Titans cover:  5. We have no idea what the final fate of Jillian Jackson was, nor why she and Gar are no longer dating. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 31, 2021 15:30:43 GMT -5
Comic books are stupid.
That’s not a criticism so much as an observation.
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 31, 2021 16:03:05 GMT -5
Have to keep in mind that you had a couple of audience turnovers between Gar in Teen Titans #6 and the new book; and it was not unusual to tweak things for a new generation. We are still catering to a mass audience that is unaware of past stories, in general. Readers didn't sweat it that much; only hardcore fans who kept up. New Teen Titans was a fan book; but, it was also a big mainstream seller, which means a lot more casual readers. From my perspective, 1984/85 (maybe give or take a year or two) is where we cross the divide of trying to connect to a general audience and connecting to a more specific audience.
As for retelling the origin, with newsstand distribution in the era, it wasn't always easy to find the next issue of new Teen Titans, speaking from personal experience. I couldn't always afford to buy comics, since I usually had to earn my money, or wait for birthdays and Christmas. So, I had gaps in my Titans collection, despite jumping on with the first issue, including #10 and the whole Doom Patrol storyline. For me, this was a chance to read it, plus additional stuff. I had only seen one Beast Boy appearance, with Titans West; never in the earlier Titans series or any with the Doom Patrol (or a single DP story). So, this was one of the issues I cherished. The Cyborg one seemed more redundant than the others, since I had the reappearance and death of his father, which went through that, in more depth. I missed Trigon, other than seeing one of the issues on the stands (and no money to buy), so Raven was mostly new to me, as was most of this. Starfire was almost entirely new, to set up what was coming, with Blackfire.
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Post by lordyam on Feb 24, 2024 6:56:21 GMT -5
I actually liked the Doom Patrol storyline, and issue 15 I felt had a real instance of actual ambiguity. All too often people try to spin the expedient action as the "hard decision" when really it's what's convenient for them personally.
Beast Boy making his deal with the Brotherhood ensures that they will be free to commit more crimes and hurt more people....on the other hand the only reason he was able to stop Zahl was because he made an alliance with them, and they DID help the Titans escape the floating city before everything went to hell (Brain could have easily left them all to die). Not making the alliance would have not only caused the death of the Titans, it would have also allowed Zahl and Rouge to hurt far more people. So it was really the only option.
Beast Boy realizing that vengeance is just empty and pointless by acheiving it is also better then the "if you kill them you'll be like them." He got what he wanted....and found it a bitter prize.
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