Convergence: Titans #2 Review

Trapped on an alien world, fighting for the life of their city, Roy Harper and his friends must save his young daughter, Lian, from the clutches of the murderous Extremists…  Will it end as badly as ‘Cry For Justice?’  Your Major Spoilers review of Convergence: Titans #2 awaits!

CONVERGENCE: TITANS #2
Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Penciler: Ron Wagner
Inker: Jose Marzan, Jr.
Colorist: Chris Sotomayor
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Marie Javins
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99

Previously in Convergence: Titans: After his run with the Justice League of America, Arsenal ran afoul of the villain Prometheus, who cut off his right arm (problematic for a bowman/martial artist) and killed his daughter, Lian.  After a year under the dome, though, Roy had started to heal, even finding a little bit of peace working with kids, thanks to a grant from the Wayne Foundation.  When the dome dropped, only he, Donna Troy and Starfire were left of the Titans, and immediately rose to the threat of the evil Extremists (who may or may not resemble the major bad dudes of the Marvelous competition).  Things went entirely pear-shaped, though, when Dreamslayer offered Roy his fondest wish, the resurrection of his daughter Lian.  All he had to do was betray his oldest friends.

That issue ended with two gunshots…

A TOUGH LINE TO RIDE

…but not, as it seemed, into the hearts of the Titans.  Roy quickly takes the upper hand, and snatches his daughter away from the villains, making a run for his safehouse.  This whole plot is a difficult one, dealing with one of DC’s most off-putting and unnecessary stories of recent years, and trying to give Roy Harper some redemption after the utterly dumb clusterschmozz that was “The Rise Of Arsenal.”  On this one hand, this is a pretty good story, save for some wobbles in characterization, and I am gratified to see Arsenal’s daughter back.  On the other hand, when you’re trying to fix the errors of a dumb story, you risk getting dragged into the quagmire of dumb that created it in the first place.  This issue has some good things going for it, like the sudden reappearance of Victor “Cyborg” Stone and Garfield “Changeling” Logan, each of whom has spent the year incommunicado, reuniting most of the core Titans again.  (Nightwing, you may recall, is off fighting Thanagarians and getting married.)  Some of the back-and-forth between Arsenal and Dreamslayer gets tiresome, but the big return to form for a founding Titan is nice…

THE BATTLE FOR ROY HARPER’S SOUL

There are some issues with the art as well, with inconsistencies in character size and some issues with story-telling that pop up here and there.  (Beast Boy looks particularly weird under this art team, but I have to say this version of Arsenal has never looked as good.)  With so many of the other titles this week (Superman, Nightwing/Oracle and The Question, notably) ending on a big up-note, I was utterly shocked when the final issue of this story promises to be continued in the pages of next week’s issue of Convergence, with the Titans flying off into the sunset to fight the good fight, while Roy stays home to take care of his kid.  It’s a happy ending for him, I suppose, which leads to the question of what made this a Titans story and not “Convergence: Arsenal.”  I honestly can’t come up with a good reason, other than superior branding for the Titans name, but the limited screen-time for most of the Titans might be a little bit off-putting for someone who was looking for a full-on team book.

THE BOTTOM LINE: TO BE CONTINUED???

The biggest question of this issue, though is simple:  Did they overcome the stupidness that was ‘Cry For Justice’ and it’s follow-ups?  The simplest answer is, though it’s not a terrible issue, the slight wobbliness of the art and story, combined with the fact that it’s a sorta/kinda alternate universe tale, not entirely.  Still, Convergence: Titans #2 is a pleasant enough diversion, perhaps a bit short of detail and heavy plotting and possessed of a pretty maddening last page, but likeable in its intentions, and successful in at least reminding us how cool Roy Harper can be, earning 2.5 out of 5 stars overall.  The Titans’ bit of next week’s Convergence had better be meaningful stuff, though…