Animated Discussions: Teen Titans Go! Appetite for Disruption (Season 2, Part 1)

More than 30 years ago, Marv Wolfman and George Perez gave The New Teen Titans, a mix of sidekicks and new characters that were essentially a younger version of DC’s Justice League. Many of the original Titans grew up over the years, joining the League (Cyborg), changing codenames and patrolling their own city (Robin/Nightwing) or inheriting the mantle of their mentor (Kid Flash/Flash).

But on Cartoon Network, they’ll always just be a pack of goofy kids having Meat Parties and watching Pretty Pretty Pegasus while being all goth.

On a network of quality shows (Adventure Time, Steven Universe, etc.), Teen Titans Go! is easily one of the most watchable, both by my 3-year-old and by his 34-year-old father.

Each of the Titans is a clearly distinct character. Robin, the team’s self-appointed leader, is uptight, tactical and obsessed with Starfire. Cyborg is excitable, afraid of the dark and obsessed with meat. Raven is sarcastic, loves a My Little Pony-like show and rebels against her demon-lord father. Starfire is a sweet, naïve alien with a pet prawn who inserts “the” in front of more nouns than is needed. Beast Boy is a lazy vegetarian and best bros with Cyborg.

The cartoon isn’t so much about how they fight supervillains as what they do in their downtime, like throw a dinner party or practice going on stakeouts or help Starfire learn about popular idioms. So it’s not heavy on violence, but maybe a little heavy on bathroom humor. And food humor. We also learn lessons like if you eat too many vegetables, you get abs of steel but turn green. Or that if your friends are all turned into old people and die, if you go to the underworld to try to resurrect them, they will come back as zombies. OK, maybe these are mixed messages.

And sometimes things happen that are never intended to be resolved or explained, such as the time Robin eats Beast Boy after BB transforms into an insect, or how when Cyborg is aged he suddenly has three grandchildren.

TTG has a respectable pedigree in co-creator Michael Jelenic, who previously worked on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the official second-best Batman cartoon ever created, in which the Dark Knight teams up with random DC heroes to fight villains from the Joker to Gorilla Grodd to space pirate Kanjar Ro. Titans also occasionally features other DC characters, such as Flash villain Dr. Light, classic Titans baddie Brother Blood, and the Brain, a brain attached to a robot body whom the Titans keep calling Brian. Raven’s father, Trigon, also shows up regularly, less so as a scary demon as a father struggling to bond with a daughter who is embarrassed by him.

Batman also shows up, but very, very sparingly and without dialogue, which is great because he has a tendency to pull focus from other characters, intentionally or otherwise, and it’s not his show.

The Appetite for Disruption set is more than four hours long and contains 26 episodes over two discs, which translates to a lot to watch for about $20.

Favorite episodes include “Salty Codgers,” about the team being turned into old people, with the exception of Raven, who finds the aged Titans endlessly adorable; “Vegetables,” in which the team first battles “meat gut” from eating too much meat, then gets addicted to vegetables, gets rock-hard abs and turns green; and “I See You,” in which they practice going on stakeouts and Starfire dons a mask that turns her into a middle-aged man called The Jeff.

Teen Titans Go! Appetite for Disruption comes out this Tuesday, April 14th.

Dan Grote’s new novel, Magic Pier, is available however you get your books online. He has been writing for The Matt Signal since 2014. He and Matt have been friends since the days when making it to issue 25 guaranteed you a foil cover.

DC Comics New Series Announcements Make for Some Good News on a Friday.

So, I go onto the internet this morning, and what do I see? A whole slew of new DC titles announced! I'm going to put on hold what I normally would do on Friday so I can gather the list here and comment on the books I'm excited for, which look like quite a few of them. The list has been confirmed over a couple sites, so I feel safe running with it.

Bat-Mite by writer Dan Jurgens and artist Corin Howell

I love Bat-Mite. That might be an unpopular opinion, but when you look at Alan Grant's amusing Dark Mite stories from the 90s, Grant Morrison's darker take from his run on Batman, and Paul Reubens's bonkers portrayal of the character on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, you can see there's potential for something fun in Batman's universe.

Batman Beyond by writer Dan Jurgens and artist Bernard Chang

New 52: Futures End has turned out to be a far better series than I had anticipated, and part of that has been its use of Terry McGinnis. I'm not entirely sold on him interacting with the DCU, but that series has made me curious to see what could happen. I don't know exactly how this series will spin out of Futures End, whether Terry will arrive in the present, still be five years in the future, or back to his own time, and what that will look like, but I'm curious enough to check it out.

Bizzaro by writer Heath Corson and artist Gustavo Duarte

Black Canary by writer Brenden Fletcher and artist Annie Wu

The new run on Batgirl has been very well received, and I've enjoyed it for the most part. Barbara as a modern 20-something wasn't on my list of things to expect, and I was already acting like I was in my 30s in my 20s, so her experience doesn't speak to me as much, but it's smart and well written. The main surprise for me was the surly, grouchy Black Canary as supporting cast member, and how much I like Fletcher and Cloonan's take on her. The idea of Black Canary as the singer in a band is so natural an idea, I'm shocked no one has done it before, and making Black Canary an on the road, rock n roll action superhero comic is brilliant. Annie Wu's art on the Kate Bishop Hawkeye issues were gorgeous and gritty, so I think she's a perfect fit for the title.

Constantine: The Hellblazer by Ming Doyle and Riley Rossmo

I never felt like Constantine worked in DC's house art style, so Riley Rossmo, one of the kings of modern horror/monster/action comics (Proof, Green Wake, Bedlam, Rasputin) drawing Constantine? Sign me up.

Cyborg by writer David L. Walker and artists Ivan Reis and Joe Prado

This one is a long time coming. A Cyborg monthly has felt like a gimme since his addition to the Justice League in the post-Flashpoint world. It feels like DC is really giving this a push, by putting one of it's A-List artists on the book. And getting an African American writer for the title will help with DC's creator diversity issues. I'm not familiar with Walker's work, but I'm willing to see what he'll do with Vic.

Dark Universe by writer James Tynion IV and artist Ming Doyle

Doomed by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Javier Fernandez

Dr. Fate by writer Paul Levitz and artist Sonny Liew

Earth 2: Society by writer Daniel H. Wilson and artist Jorge Jimenez

Green Lantern: Lost Army by Cullen Bunn, Jesus Saiz & Javi Pina

Harley Quinn/Power Girl by writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, with artist Stephane Roux

After the recent team-up arc in Harley's ongoing, this combo is going to be one to watch for sheer madcap joy. They fought supervillains, alien warlords, and each other, as well as performing a burlesque act. What more can they do? Plenty, if Palmiotti and Conner's past stories are any indication.

Justice League 3001 with the same creative team of Keith Giffen and Howard Porter

Justice League of America by writer/artist Brian Hitch

Martian Manhunter by writer Rob Williams and artists Ben Oliver and Paulo Siqueira

I love the Martian Manhunter, I've never hidden that. But I've not warmed to the dark, manipulative Manhunter of the post-Flashpoint world. It seems that, since Superman has been doing the Stranger in a Strange Land thing that was always part of J'onn's character, J'onn has gone darker. There have been some light spots, particularly his relationship with Stargirl (once more proving J'onn is DC's Wolverine, mentoring young heroines), but mostly he's been a mind-wiping mastermind type of character. I don't know if this title will change that, or will simply flesh it out more, but either option is the least a great character like J'onn deserves.

Midnighter by writer Steve Orlando and artist ACO

 Mystic U by writer Alisa Kwitney and artist Mauricet

Omega Men by writer Tom King and artist Barnaby Bagenda

Prez by writer Mark Russell and artist Ben Caldwell 

Thanks to Neil Gaiman's use of the original Prez, a character from a 70s comic about the first teenage president of the USA, in The Sandman, the character is not completely forgotten, and well, it's just so weird an idea I can't resist seeing what the concept will look like so many years after it's initial conception.

Red Hood/Arsenal by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Denis Medri

Robin, Son of Batman by writer/artist Pat Gleason

Taking the place of Batman and Robin, it looks like Damian is getting his own title, along with a giant Bat demon looking thing, and they're in snowy mountains. That sounds good on its own, but when you think about the fact that Talia is out there somewhere near Nanda Parbat, which is in snowy mountains, I expect we'll be seeing some of the threads from the current title followed up and a continued evolution of Damian as a character.

Section Eight by writer Garth Ennis and artist John McCrea

Oh, good lord, I never thought I'd see this! Ennis and McCrea created Section 8 for their run on Hiitman, a team of homeless and insane super heroes, including, but not limited to, Six Pack, who was the world's greatest hero in his own dreams, Dogwelder, who welds dog to his enemies, Defenestrator, who throws people out of windows, and Bueno Excellente, who fights evil with the power of perversion. are some of Ennis's most bizarre creations. Only one things I can say about it... Bueno.

Starfire by writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, with artist Emanuela Lupacchino

Starfire has been a problem character since the dawn of the pre-Flashpoint world, but I think breaking her off from her current Outlaws teammates and letting her have her own adventures in Miami (or somewhere in Florida. Palm trees and old folks make me think Florida) seems like a good chance to let her grow back into a more balanced character. Factor in the funny Harley Quinn writing team of Conner and Palmiotti and Emanuela Lupacchino, whose work on X-Factor I remember fondly, and you have a winning creative team. Also, the new costume is a vast improvement, closer to her animated Teen Titans look. I would have included the little skirt too, but it's more practical than her gravity defying current costume, so I'll take it.

We Are Robin by writer Lee Bermejo and artists Rob Haynes and Khary Randolph

Another brand new title with very little information, I can assume from the image that we're dealing with a group of kids inspired by Robin working together. I'm wondering if this might become the home for Duke Thomas, the future Robin who has appeared as a teenager in the current Batman story. It's interesting to see Rob Haynes return to mainstream comics. 

Of the creative changes to current books, three artist changes and one writer change jumped out at me. Juan Ferreyra, whose art of Colder has been astounding, will be taking over Gotham by Midnight, a perfect fit. Dale Eaglesham, who introduced Gail Simone's Secret Six in the Villains United mini-series, will be taking over as artist on that title, which is great to see, as I feel like he should be a superstar and never quite reaches that point. And Carlos D'Anda, another vastly underrated artist, will be the new artist on New Suicide Squad, a book that has suffered under multiple artists per issue, so hopefully D'Anda can add a nice unified feel to future issues.

The most exciting change is Gene Luen Yang on Superman. Sure, I would have liked more Geoff Johns Superman, but he did his part of setting up a new status quo for Superman in the current DCU. I recently read Yang's Shadow Hero, the origin of the first Chinese super hero, the Green Turtle, and it was such a brilliant mix of action, humor, and myth that I was blown away. I'd been waiting for the right week to do a recommended reading for it, and now it looks like June will be the time, to line up with the release of this new project. I hope he brings out the humanity in the Man of Steel, and does it with as deft a touch as he did in his other work.

So that's what's coming up from DC. I love my DC Comics, always will, and I hope that this breathes a new life into the line. If the creators and titles are any indication, it's going to be an interesting summer.

’Borg, ’borg, ’borg: Comics’ Best Cyborgs

Today marks the debut of a new go-round of Deathlok by writer Nathan Edmondson and artist Mike Perkins, starring a new version of the character spinning out of the events of Marvel’s Original Sin.

Comics are a great medium for tales of half-men, half-robots. Especially ones that carry guns, have blades for fingers, skulls for faces and look like total badasses. With that in mind, let’s pay tribute to those characters who blur the line between human and machine.

Deathlok: There have been many Deathloks. Many, many, many Deathloks, to crib from Commandant Lessard. The original Deathlok, Luther Manning, was introduced in Astonishing Tales 25 in 1974, about a year after the government rebuilt Col. Steve Austin faster, better, stronger, to create the Six Million Dollar Man for television. Future Deathloks would include John Kelly, Michael Collins, Jack Truman, Larry Young, Rebecca Ryker (who went by Death Locket) and the latest, Henry Hayes. Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD TV show created yet another Deathlok, Mike Peterson, played by J. August Richards. Hordes of half-superhero Deathloks ran amok in the second arc of Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force. The point is, anybody can be Deathlok. You just have to believe, and be a cybernetically enchanced corpse.

Cyborg: Boo-yah! It’s the guy who kicked Martian Manhunter out of the Justice League. Some 

people know Victor Stone from the old George Perez New Teen Titans comics. Some know him as one of the founding members of the New 52-era Justice League. I know him best as one-half of the comedy tag team of Cyborg and Beast Boy on Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans Go!

The Reavers: Australia used to be lousy with half-robot thugs who had a mad-on for Wolverine just because he sliced many of them to ribbons in their pre-cyborg lives. The most famous of the Reavers may be Lady Deathstrike, who frequently seeks vengeance on Wolverine for the theft of her father’s adamantium-bonding formula, despite the fact that he had nothing to do with it. But my personal favorite has to be Bonebreaker, not just because he rolls around on tank treads, but because he has a Mohawk that looks like a fluffy bunny tail, sunglasses with thin slits for lenses and wears a bondage vest. If that’s not 1980s cyberpunk/Mad Max fashion at its finest, I don’t know what is. For more on the Reavers, consult your local library. Or read this.

Metallo: While Wolverine seems to attract the most cyborg enemies for Marvel, Superman appears to fill that role at DC. Some version of Metallo has existed since 1959, back when cyborgs were still powered by steam (and lest you were worried, there are whole Etsy shops dedicated to fulfilling your steampunk cyborg needs). Metallo’s backstory has been tweaked as many times as there’s been Crisis crossovers, but the general gist is that he’s a cyborg, he hates Superman, he’s got the hots for Lois Lane and he’s powered by a Kryptonite heart. Serious question: If kryptonite can be used to power killer half-bots, could it also be used to power, say, people’s homes? And if so, does that mean Lex Luthor could theoretically build, say, a kryptonite-powered Lexcorp employee Levittown that Superman would have to avoid, giving him an inconspicuous base from which to plot evil? Also, has somebody already written that story? 

Cable: Nathan Christopher Dayspring Askani’Son Pryor-Grey-Summers has the honor of being the only cyborg baby on this list. Apocalypse infected baby Nate with a techno-organic virus in a 1991 Chris Claremont-Whilce Portacio X-Factor storyline, and poppa Cyclops tried to save him by giving him away to a complete stranger claiming to be from the future. Cable’s telepathy keeps the virus in check, but he still is generally drawn with a metal arm and cybernetic eye.

Silvermane: Crime boss Silvio Manfredi (What if the Kingpin’s real name were Kingsley Pinman?) was so obsessed with reversing the aging process and finding immortality, he had his head grafted onto a robot body. His noggin was later used as a living MacGuffin in Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber’s Superior Foes of Spider-Man, one of my favorite titles of the Marvel NOW! era.

Hank Henshaw: Henshaw was one of the faux Supermen to rise up in the wake of the real deal’s death. He became a half-metal man after he, his wife and two others suffered a horrible accident in space. So essentially he’s a composite rip-off artist.

Cameron Hodge: Hodge started out as Warren Worthington’s friend from college whom he hired to act as the P.R. guy for the pre-Peter David version of X-Factor. Hodge worked behind the scenes to destroy the team, leading an anti-mutant group called The Right that hunted down mutants in egg-shaped smiley-face suits and making a pact with the demon N’Astirh for power. After being decapitated by Archangel, Hodge shows up on Genosha, leading anti-mutant efforts there in a robot body that artists increasingly drew like a creepy cybernetic spider. Defeated yet again, Hodge becomes part of the Phalanx, the techno-organic alien race that was cool for like a split second in 1994. He was also one of the mutant haters resurrected by Bastion around the time of "Messiah Complex."

Lucia Von Bardas: The Latverian prime minister cyborg-ed up to get revenge on Nick Fury and his superhero covert cops team during Marvel’s 2004-05 Secret War miniseries, turning scores of Marvel’s tech-based villains into a giant bomb.

Robocop: That’s right, kids, you actually used to be able to buy that for a dollar! Peter Weller’s cybernetic cop of the future has had series at Marvel, Dark Horse, Avatar, Dynamite and Boom.

Darth Vader: Emporer Palpatine turns Anakin Skywalker into the Sith Million Dollar Man at the end of Episode III. Sadly, I tried to Google what the buttons on Vader’s chest plate do, and all I came up with were a bunch of message boards asking the same question. For more on Star Wars’ legacy in comics, click here.

Post-Extremis Tony Stark: Iron Man may have started out as a dude in a metal suit, but Warren Ellis’ 2005-06 Extremis story bonded man and Iron Man on a molecular level. The Extremis formula allows the armor to become a part of Tony, part of it living just under his skin. It also apparently turns him into a gigantic tool in the upcoming Superior Iron Man book.

 Dan Grote has been a Matt Signal contributor since 2014 and friends with Matt since there were four Supermen and two Psylockes. His two novels, My Evil Twin and I and Of Robots, God and Government, are available on Amazon.