Teen Titans 23.1
Special “Villains Month” Title: Trigon 1
Marv Wolfman, Cafu
Forever Evil Crossover
Spoiler alert! You have been warned!
The first Villains Month Teen Titans tie-in features a villain that I have never really gave much attention to one way or another. I’ve never really had an opinion regarding Trigon because, quite honestly, I only read those classic Marv Wolfman/George Perez comics for Robin and Deathstroke. I eventually grew to care more about various Titans as they grew up and matured, but never Raven. And, that being said, never her father, Trigon. So it was nice to see the New 52 rekindling the flame of a character that I had all but written off. And it was an even nicer touch that they brought back one of his original creators to write it. Wolfman is joined by artist Cafu in this issue that is reminiscent of the Teen Titans cartoon, but in a good way. It’s cartoony in style, almost mangaesque (which is usually a big “no-no” in superhero comics), but for some strange reason, it totally works here.
Trigon’s origin is pretty simple. He’s a demon. He was meant to be eaten alive by a bigger demon. He survived and then had an insatiable hunger for causing pain and suffering by taking over world after world, galaxy after galaxy, and universe after universe. He also realizes, as all good leaders do eventually, he needs an heir. Or, you know, multiple heirs. So after enslaving each new realm, he kills all of the males and tries to impregnate all of the females. Most die during the process, some die during childbirth, and even then, some choose to take their own lives rather than be the vessel for the demon’s legacy. Except for a few, one being Teen Titan Raven’s mother, who is now on Earth warning our team that Trigon is on his way to take over the planet. Just in time for the heroes of the Justice League(s) to have been declared dead by the Crime Syndicate. Great timing.
Probably not worth the extra dollar for the fancy cover, so you can go ahead and save yourself a buck. But definitely a good read. Wolfman successfully wins back fans of the 1980s style he’s so famous for writing in as well as fans of the original Raven/Trigon saga. And with the one-shot special format, he also wins over reluctant fans of the more fantasy-inspired elements of the superhero mythos. I’m pretty excited to see how this plays into Forever Evil in the pages of the upcoming Teen Titans crossovers. I’ll be picking them up for sure.
My Rating: 3/5
