Titans #4 Review – Run Wally, Run!
With the new Titans comic releasing the same week as The Flash where Wally tells Flash about Kadabra, I assumed that this issue ended that battle. That makes sense, right? Titans releases monthly, whereas The Flash releases bi-weekly. For Wally to show up in The Flash to talk about a battle that has already ended stands to reason that the following issue with that battle ends the battle.
But that’s not the case. Even though we already know it’s over and Wally appears to come out of it completely unscathed, the actual battle in the Titans series is not yet done. With the final page, it’s suggested that Wally will not come out alive, but thanks to The Flash, we know that’s not true. The wind is already sucked out of the sails in this story, one that could be really intense. Then again, those who don’t read The Flash will be able to fully enjoy this story. Lucky bastards.
And the thing is, the story is pretty darn great, which kills me that I already somewhat know the outcome thanks to The Flash not lining up with Titans. Kadabra whisks Linda away, which causes Wally to go rather berserk. He’s ready to run off to a location he knows not where to get her back. Thanks to Nightwing actually having a cool head, he talks Wally off the ledge and they form a plan to find Kadabra and Linda. Kadabra, of course, finds a way to split where he could be in three different locations, forcing the group to split up.
While he sends the Titans on a wild goose chase, Kadabra sends his puppet Teen Titans to meet them at these locales. In the meantime, he explains to Linda exactly what he is doing and why he is using her. She does deserve that. She has no idea what is going on, barely knows who Flash is, and she may never want to know him if she survives this ordeal. Can’t blame her for that either.
Kadabra may also be the king of elaborate traps. He sent out his puppets with even more heightened abilities to pin down the Titans to their execution. Then he shows Wally how all of his friends, and Linda, will die, forcing him to run at the fastest speed of his life to try to save all four groups. Why? He hopes that by getting Wally to run at such high speeds will trap him in the speedforce and/or timestream again. This elaborate of a scheme would make Bond villains green with envy.
Obviously that does not happen to Flash, but we still don’t know how he does it and if he’s able to save anyone or anything. I’d assume so, because the last I checked, Nightwing was pretty healthy. There’s at least one person he saved.
Once again though, the best part of the writing are the witty references Dan Abnett slides in.
Tell me that doesn’t bring a smile to your face. I dare you.
Okay, maybe this will.
Author: Dan Abnett
Artists: Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, Andrew Dalhouse
Publisher: DC Comics
Acquired via Purchase
