Titans #7 is written by Tom Taylor and published by DC. Artwork is by Travis Moore and colours by Tamra Bonvillain. Letters are by Wes Abbott. Main cover art (left) is by Clayton Henry and Marcelo Maiolo.
Titans #7 is available now, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology right here.
Synopsis
The battle for Tempest’s soul rages on! Brother Eternity shows his true self as the Titans battle for their friend with the hope of freeing him from the enigmatic cult leader’s spell. Will exposing the Church of Eternity and their ulterior motives turn the tide of the war for Earth?
Review
Time for this week’s chapter of the Titans: Beast World event storyline. This tranche of the storyline continues to focus on events at Titans Tower with Brother Eternity and Tempest. For those avidly reading the Titans first headline event at DC, this issue takes place before Titans: Beast World #4 which hit comic book stores last week.
As with today’s issue of Nightwing, Titans #7 is a more insular story, focussing on a subset of characters rather than picking up with global events. Here it’s – rightfully – the core Titans themselves, currently rapped in the tower alongside Batgirl. Picking up directly after the reveal that Brother Eternity is in fact Xand’r, a Tamaranean in disguise. Instantly that pulls focus towards Starfire, particularly with revelations for what this means about the loss of her parents and her home.
Taylor is well known for crafting complex and heavily nuanced plots and this is no different. It’s refreshing that in the midst of an Earth-wide conflict like Beast World we’re still able to have stories like this. Those emotional stakes are what really sells this story and set it apart from other events. Whilst the title obviously relates to the Beast Boy connection, there are real personal stakes for Starfire and the rest of the Titans. Having a space to explore that here deepens our connection with these characters as people.
What’s also refreshing is the ability to pick up this book without needing to have read every issue of the Beast World storyline. Taylor keeps things well connected, but also gives us enough information about what is happening elsewhere that the story never loses context or meaning.
There’s a lot of fun to be had with Titans #7 visually. Travis Moore and Tamra Bonvillain are a cool duo to have on artwork duties. A gag within the book about Nightwing’s transformation in to a fox (not a spoiler, it happened last issue) has a multitude of meanings. Firstly, yes Nightwing is a fox. Secondly, he does have a lot in common characteristically with the wily creatures. I’m intrigued to know if any time will be spared to explaining why characters transformed in to the creatures they have. There’s some cool body horror moments in this issue. The spores give plenty of opportunity for something different in the visuals. They factor in to two key moments in this book which both look really cool on the page.
But fun visuals aside, there’s a darker meaning to Titans #7. The book’s conclusion may see Xand’r dealt with. It may be a turning point in the Beast War. But the method by which is happens has far reaching consequences. Titans is a book which doesn’t stray away from the impact of being a hero. We saw that in the reason for Beast Boy sacrificing himself to save Earth. So with another Titan now balancing on a knife-edge it’s going to be exciting to see what comes next.
Verdict
Titans #7 has the titular team on the back foot and in need of a win. But despite their ever growing problems and a wider global catastrophe, Tom Taylor never loses sight of what means the Titans a fan-favourite team. Their humanity and their connection to each other.
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