Crossroads

You know, it’s kind of funny. I feel like I’ve been here before.

If nothing else, being a fan of the comic pairing of Beast Boy and Raven has been quite a rocky road. We had a great build up towards something great at one point, all culminating in the magic moment. Then, it was all downhill. After the longest time in the darkness, it feels like the clouds have opened up to let loose sunshine on our ailing ship.

I’m referring, of course, to the resolicited cover of Titans #5.

Before I discuss it, let’s recap the turbulent and often quiet past of this ship.

By the early 2000′s, it had been a long time since the Teen Titans had played a large role in anything. The most infamous age, the era of Marv Wolfman as head writer, ended on notes incredibly sour. What followed did little to return the Titans to prominence. In fact, there was relaunch after relaunch, directions seeming to change all the time; none of them even remotely successful. For the longest time, it seemed like the Teen Titans were doomed to remain out of the limelight, only a few scattered projects worth the money, one of them by a name we would come to know well.

Move on to 2003 and we find a true resurgence in the franchise. Both Devin Grayson’s original “Titans” series and the title Young Justice came to an end with the shocking crossover “Graduation Day”, which saw both teams break apart after a mysterious robot from the future, damaged and confused, kills both longtime Titan members Donna Troy (later to return in the buildup to Infinite Crisis) and Lillith; by a laser through the heart and a neck snapping, respectively. The crossover ended on a somber note, with longtime Titans dead, which some would claim became a theme for the team, both series cancelled and both teams dissolved in the aftermath.

But it was only the beginning. Following that, a new “Teen Titans” series launched under the pen of writer Geoff Johns; whom had been making a name for himself writing one of the longest and most popular runs on The Flash and wrote the earlier Beast Boy miniseries that had helped mature the character even further beyond his earlier years as an immature jokester. It was a blend of the old and the new, with long time members such as Beast Boy, Starfire, Cyborg and eventually Raven accompanied the new, younger Titans brought from the ashes of Young Justice, Impulse, Robin III, Superboy and Wonder Girl. The series was by and large a great sales success; the kind the Titans had not seen in many years.

It’s here where the ship this site is founded on truly made it’s start.

Even early on in the series life, one can see the seeds planted for a relationship of some sort for Beast Boy and Raven. After Raven returned to the team following her resurrection, necessary because of her death in the twilight of the Wolfman era, many different hints and moments seemed to pop up here and there. Like the truly great writer he would prove himself to be, Geoff Johns built towards the relationship from scratch, slowly moving towards the consummation of such.

The new comic was not the only significant thing that started that year. A little later on, the venue of the ship most will be more familiar, the Teen Titans Animated Series, made its debut. While arguably a butchery of the source material it drew on, with some radical changes to some of the classic characters, it nonetheless became popular among the younger sect. Shippers in particular latched on to perceived “moments” between two of the regular cast members, Beast Boy and Raven. While such had its ups and downs, largely with the coming and going of Terra, it arguably became one of the most popular ships of the show, alongside the only one truly canonized within the space of the show, Robin and Starfire.

Both continued on independently of one another, both very popular. But eventually, the time of the animated show began to wind down. In late 2005, despite still being in the height of its popularity and only five seasons in, word had started filtering through that the show might not live to see another season. In mid-November, the series was officially announced as cancelled as of its fifth season. Fans were justifiably upset, but there was little that could be done; popular series Justice League Unlimited was also axed amidst shakeups at Warner Brothers.

Of course, even better news would soon follow. In mid December, issue number thirty of Teen Titans would hit the newsstands. Within it would be the biggest shock BB/Rae shippers could have received, a kiss between the two characters in question, a culmination of the running plotline throughout the title. It seemed that as one venue closed, another one opened forward to fans of the ship. Often ridiculed and looked down upon by other shippers, BB/Rae fans finally had their day. Their pairing had become canon; maybe not in the show, but in what all series and media are based on, the comic books.

Unfortunately, good times didn’t last. Barely a month later, on January 16 of 2006, the very last episode of the animated series, Things Change, aired. It has been argued by many to be the worst of the show, a story for another time. Things only got worse. Only two months after that, after scant few more hints of their growing relationship, everything seemed to simply end. In issue number thirty-four of Teen Titans, the title skipped ahead a year in universe time. By this time, Beast Boy and Raven had both left the team and their relationship had been left largely in the air; it was never truly defined whether they had actually broken up or otherwise.

So it continued as such, for over two years. The Teen Titans title moved on fairly quickly to other plots. Before long, the creator of the relationship, Geoff Johns, left the title; cutting it to focus on his numerous other titles. DC in general kept mum about the storyline, giving no hint that they would be using it, yet not nipping it in the bud as they so easily could have at any point. Even when a new Titans series launched, with both characters among the regular cast, it seemed like bad news kept piling on and on.

Which brings up to where we are; the resolicited Titans #5, with a new cover featuring Beast Boy and Raven presumably on some sort of date, and a new solicit with no mention of the storyline that had previously been scheduled for that issue, “Date Night”. It is the first sign of light peeking through the clouds.

We’re at a crossroads.

What does this mean? Why now? Well, it’s not hard to see when one looks at the facts. The new ongoing Titans series, written by Judd Winnick, has thus far flopped in public opinion. Sales are high as of this writing, but with critical reception overwhelmingly negative, such is highly likely to change quickly. The book has a great many problems that have been as glaring as a bleeding gash on someone’s forehead. Between the atrocious writing, which includes unbelievably out of character depictions of Beast Boy and Raven that make the animated series look like the best characterization either had ever seen, and the awful art, which has seen artists shift at least three times on this arc alone, the book seems on the road to failure, there was no shortage of things fans were irritable about.

Senior Editor of DC Comics, Dan DiDio, has been well aware of the criticisms. He’s actively recognized that the ongoing Titans series failed to live up to fans expectations upon its launch. At some point after Titans #3 hit stands, when fans e-mailed him, he made mention of big changes to the title and that he was on fixing it. Speculation had run that he was perhaps ordering a rewrite of issue #4, which was now pushed back into August’s bracket.

Until June 16th, what he had in mind was but a guess. But with the September solicitations for that month’s comics, came a huge surprise. Titans #5, previously slated to contain the “Date Night” story, had been resolicited under the September comics with a new story blurb and a new cover, explicitly showing Gar/Rae. The storyline involving Trigon’s return, originally slated to end in the fourth issue that was also pushed back to August, had been extended to issue #5. Date Night was absolutely nowhere to be found.

Why is this significant? Why now? Well, we have to look at it from DC’s point of view. They obviously want the “Titans” ongoing to succeed. They’ve bent over backwards trying to make sure the Wolfman/Perez era Titans, now brought back into prominence thanks to the popularity of the animated series, had a home in their comic line. One of the reasons it’s been speculated that the Gar/Rae subplot was never completely swept under the rug by DC was that they were hoping to use it again someday, perhaps seeing some potential.

Back when the issue with “The Kiss” happened, something somewhat unexpected happened; it was very well received, not just among comic fans, but in general. Even reviewers were making nods to it in a positive way. Aside from the usual negativity from the animated series opposers, some of whom had moved into the comics by this point, it was a well received plot. It has sales potential for certain; and DC is a business. The fact that the relationship was one of the best received elements of Geoff Johns run on the Teen Titans caught their notice. It’s all about the dollar signs.

It’s very possible we have a second chance now with the ship thanks largely in part to it being well received. But is it time to party quite yet? On this I’m not so sure. We’re far from without worries.

As of this writing, Judd Winnick is still head writer of the Titans ongoing. This is bad news. His characterization of the Titans, not just Beast Boy and Raven, has thus far left a great deal to be desired. Beast Boy practically insulted Cyborg under the pretense of joking or trying to keep things light; even the animated series never went that far. Plot and pacing has been downright atrocious, with at least issues #2 and #3 completely spinning their wheels and adding nothing to the plotline as a whole. Winnick has also said before the series launched that he enjoyed writing Gar as a smartass and had little intention of exploring his serious side; which is completely ignoring what made Geoff Johns’ depiction of the character so enjoyable.

This begs the question of how he is going to treat the relationship if he is still the ongoing writer past issue #5. This is indeed something to worry about. After all, the relationship post-kiss did not get enough definition. Its likely Winnick’s depiction would be a large part of what it is remembered for. If it’s remembered badly, there’s the possibility it could turn people off of the pairing. Something we absolutely do not want.

So, we’re at a crossroads. On the horizon, a return of the pairing many of us love so much. But it could be good news and it could be bad. So what do we do?

Well, one has to look at another pairing. Anyone familiar with the X-Men is likely familiar with its most legendary pairing, Gambit/Rogue. It’s a pairing so strong in fans’ minds and hearts that no matter how many writers try to kill it, it always comes back due to the inherent popularity of it. It’s possible to get that sort of popularity, but BB/Rae would need a positive base portrayal to look back on.

Make no mistake, the comics are very important, even to people who are fans more of the now defunct television show. After all, any other media based on them draw from the comics. If Gar/Rae becomes prominent in the comics, there’s a high chance it will be explored in future media, whether they be movies, video games, cartoons or otherwise. The old animated series has ended, but if the comics move forward, there’s hope for the future. Look at Robin and Starfire. At the time the animated series had come around, the two hadn’t been paired together in the comics for over a decade; yet they were the sole truly canon, lasting pairing on the show. Eventually, the relationship even started bubbling towards the surface again thanks to such too.

What the pairing needs is support. It’s going to come down to me and you, all the fans of Beast Boy and Raven. If the storyline returns, we need to buy the issues and show support for it. A sales spike sends a message to the company that there’s interest. DC already obviously has a sneaking suspicion that the pairing would be good for sales. That needs to be solidified.

What about the possibility of mishandling of the characters? Well, in that case, we need to contact DC with our concerns. Head Editor Dan DiDio has his own Myspace, easily accessed. He usually reads any e-mails he receives through the site and is often good about responding to them. What I recommend is e-mailing Dan DiDio through MySpace with concerns over the portrayals. Calming and nicely talking about fears over how Judd would characterize the pairing and characters. How you hope he doesn’t twist Beast Boy any further too. Even if you don’t really care much for the comics, it’s worth it to chime in. There isn’t a reason not to.

If enough people were to talk to him, perhaps he would understand where we’re coming from and get the message. It’s not that hard to send an e-mail through Myspace. The support would be much appreciated. Dan recognizes fans concerns with Titans. But a little nudging on how they’re portrayed can’t hurt.

Once again, we’re at a crossroads. It’s been a long time. Where we go from here we have a chance to make a difference in. We look like we’re coming back, like there’s hope on the horizon. Maybe we can make a difference in whether it’s a bright one.

One can only hope.

Article by dl316bh

dl316bh likes Batman. A lot. Expect him to talk about it often. He also has a blog where he reviews things.