The New Teen Titans Omnibus 5

Marv Wolfman has strength and weaknesses in his writing and when the New Teen Titans began, his strengths outshined his weaknesses. By this point, I’d say that his weaknesses were greatly overshadowing his strengths. Wolfman initially did a great job of humanizing the Titans but it’s become obvious over time that they are pretty one dimensional and don’t really evolve. Wolfman was kind of a one trick pony and after seeing the same trick year after year it became very predictable. It also felt like he was spent on ideas and the stories were really becoming quite forgettable and dull. I was reading the New Teen Titans back in the 80’s but I had given up on the series long before this point.So much of the banter is absolutely insufferable. For example, Changeling (Beast Boy) thanks Raven for some assistance saying, “Man, even if you’re not a round mint with a hole in the center…you’re still a life-saver.” Wolfman has always written Changeling as incredibly annoying but he’s at peak irritating in this volume. Cyborg is supposed to be a good guy who helps children, but he always treats Raven like garbage and calls her witch. For her part, she always seems unfazed by Cyborg. Cyborg is also very self-pitying, which gets old. Wonder Girl feels soulless and although a mute character may seem like an interesting idea, it’s real hard for Wolfman to give Jericho any actual personality. I didn’t mind Wolfman’s treatment of Nightwing and Raven was at least interesting. She gets a bit creepy with her manipulation of teammates emotions, but I didn’t dislike her.There are several new characters introduced in this volume. The first is Godiva, a ruthless crime lord who kills without remorse. Her powers are somewhat nebulous although she appears to be able to control people, similar to Jericho, except possibly more powerful because she can control multiple people at once. The big problem is that artist Mike Collins decided to draw her as a bizarre caricature. Maybe Collins was stumped as to how to draw a biracial Chinese/African, but she looks like a Disney villain from the 80’s with features that look jarringly less realistic than other characters. Even her murders are done for laughs creating a bizarre tone for the story. Godiva was the main villain of an Annual and made a second appearance less than a year later. Although Wolfman clearly set her up to return neither he nor any other writer ever used her again.The other new character was Danny Chase; a character so crappy that it prompted DC to install an editor over Marv Wolfman with the authority to override his creative decisions. It was as if Wolfman took the irritating personality of Changling, cloned him and then gave him telekinesis powers so strong that he might have become mightiest member of the Titans. The other Titans continually compliment the little brat on his cleverness and abilities as if Wolfman were trying to make Danny the new main Titan. It also became clear that Wolfman was well aware that comic fans HATED Danny Chase. We’re long past the days when Wolfman was creating enduring characters like Starfire, Cyborg, Raven and Deathstroke. Oh, and Danny looks like a nerd, dresses in street clothes and uses his own name.The upcoming Teen Titans Omnibus is all extraneous stuff including a three part PSA so I’m going to skip that one. In fact, I think I’m done with the series completely because it’s now such a pale shadow of what it had been. The stories here are dull to the level that I regret not ending this series one volume earlier. Even the art is mediocre and uninspired. There is a crossover with Infinity Inc where the art is some of the worst I have ever seen in a DC comic. I’m not sure how far the Omnibus are planning on going with this, but this isn’t even the halfway point of the series. Wolfman would continue to write almost every issue of the Titans all the way up to the finale with issue 130. I definitely can’t give this one a recommend.

It feels like Wolfman was starting to run out of inspiration with the titans on this one. Mostly forgettable stuff. I bought it because I was curious about how the Mento story arch wrapped up, but it was pretty anticlimactic if you ask me.Volume 4 was good enough to sell me volume 5. Not sure volume 5 will sell me volume 6. Maybe if I got extra cash and nothing better to read.

The Perez days are behind us and so Wolfman continues apace. Alas this ain’t a classic collection, although George does return eventually, only his Donna Troy origin is now defunct. Again.