I'll be honest... when I first heard of this team-up limited series -- which serves as a bridge from the title teams' regular titles into two new series -- I wasn't all that thrilled. But then I saw that Judd Winick was on board to write it, and given the strength of most of his work on a Marvel team book, Exiles, I thought there might be some potential in it. Though this isn't Winick's most captivating work, or even his strongest super-hero storytelling, he offers an exciting story with some brief but intriguing moments of characterization.
The Titans, led by Nightwing, are summoned to San Francisco and the corporate headquarters of Optitron. It's one of the largest and most powerful corporations on the planet, and they've got a proposal for the heroes. It turns out they've extended an offer to another super-hero team as well, though. Meanwhile, a mysterious cybernetic woman from the future begins a frantic search for a being like herself that can help her, and Troia is experiencing visions of bloody and nightmarish battle.
Ale Garza's work tends to run hot and cold for me, and I'm pleased to say that his effort on this comic book was a strong one. He captures the youth and energy of the title characters quite well, and he conveys the cybernetic woman's fear and desperation quite effectively. I was pleased to find that there was not an emphasis on the female characters'... assets, so to speak, unlike some of Garza's previous work. Cox's colors do an excellent job of maintaining a dark, foreboding atmosphere.
What I enjoyed most about this book are the character-driven moments. Nightwing's stubborn streak and the rest of the team's aggravation was a welcome development. I also enjoyed how we got to see that Nightwing and Robin think a lot of alike. Winick takes a more flip approach when it comes to Omen. She's much more playful, and it makes for a nice change of pace with her usually enigmatic and distant personality.
Essentially, the plot revolves around some pretty standard super-heroics, but Winick manages to elevate it just beyond the range of ordinary. The cybernetic woman's intense emotions manage to come through her digitally dominated dialogue incredibly well, and a brief appearance by some classic non-teen heroes from the Silver Age reinforced the epic feel of the story. This is the strongest of Judd Winick's offerings this week -- look to Blood and Water #3 for that -- it is a fun and action-packed diversion.
