Though they’ve only been together for four issues, the New Titans have had to deal with a lot. First, there was separating Cyborg from the Heart of Apokolips. Now, they have to deal with the fact their new home base of Happy Harbor has been taken over by an actual demon, who’s about to engage in the age old activity of human sacrifice. And as if that wasn’t enough, Terra’s discovered that Cyborg is still working with the Heart…but that a dragon is living under Mount Justice, and now it’s broken free!
That is a lot to pack into a single issue, but the creative team of Tate Brombal and Marcus To handle things with surprising grace. For starters, the demon ruling Happy Harbor is named Nebirios…who happens to be the demon that landed Red Devil, aka Eddie Bloomberg, in his current state. Brombal sets New Titans #37 within Eddie’s point of view, showcasing how his seemingly endless fury is a result of his despair at losing his soul when he turns 21. It’s also backed by To using the first page to recap key moments in Eddie’s life, serving as a reminder to longtime fans and an introduction to the character to new readers – and showing that both creators know their Titans history.
That doesn’t mean that the rest of the Titans are left on the back burner, though. Brombal quickly solidifies their new team dynamic, having Stephanie Brown take the reins of leadership and Jon Kent trying to form a friendship with Eddie. Both of these are great choices: Steph’s tenure as Spoiler and Batgirl means she knows how to work within a team, and the idea of the son of Superman trying to befriend a demonic figure is one of those ideas that sounds ridiculous yet manages to work. Even Nightwing gets a good focus, as he’s struggling with events taking place in his solo book and whether he really has a place on the Titans.
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The character work is balanced by some incredible artwork from To and Adriano Lucas. The dragon under Mount Justice is a prime example: it’s a massive mountain of scales, wings, and fire, and when it bursts out of the mountain, it immediately stands out against the sunny sky. The same level of detail is given to each character and their respective color schemes/powers. When Terra uses her powers, her hands glow golden yellow, and Eddie’s powers take the form of blazing red hellfire. His word balloons, on the other hand, are a reddish-yellow courtesy of Lucas and Tom Napolitano.
Probably the element that’ll draw readers to New Titans #37 is a four-page backup story titled “The Spark” by Brombal, Sami Basri, Lucas, and Napolitano that puts the spotlight on Virgil Hawkins, aka Static. It builds on the fallout of New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident and DC K.O., showcasing that Virgil is struggling to find his place in life after hanging up his Static costume. The story hints that he might find that purpose with the Titans, and by extension a new generation of comic readers might discover what makes Static such a compelling character. At least, that’s my hope given how much Static means to me personally.
New Titans #37 solidifies its team dynamics while going all out in a fight against devils and dragons; it also sets the stage for Static’s long-awaited return to the DC Universe. If you are looking for a new DC title to pick up, this should be on your radar.
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