Review: Teen Titans Vol. 2- The Rise of Aqualad

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is fun and the second story arc is exciting. The character-focused pieces of the story are great and work as an introduction to the new Aqualad. The artwork is positive and pairs well with the tone of the story.

Cons: The first arc isn’t very exciting.

Overall: This Teen Titans volume is not quite as explosively positive as its predecessor but is still a solid read. The volume centers around a great cast of characters and does a wonderful job in introducing a new one. Plus, it offers up an exciting conflict in the volume’s second half, even though the first half isn’t as exciting. Overall, this is a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in this iteration of the Teen Titans team.

Story

Teen Titans Vol. 2: The Rise of Aqualad, by Benjamin Percy, is a slightly above average Teen Titans story. It sees the Teen Titans fight villains, struggle with internal problems, and simply have a little fun. Watching this group of young heroes grow as individuals and as a team provides moments of sincerity, while watching them joke around provides moments of humor. Together, it ensures the characters shine throughout the book. Meanwhile, the action is strong in some places but not that exciting in others. However, for those who care about the characters, this is still a positive reading experience. 

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The main conflict in The Rise of Aqualad starts with a threat from King Shark, who is turning former prisoners into his own personal army. There is some brief tension when the threat is still unclear and the fight against King Shark gives the Teen Titans a brief opportunity to show off their powers, particularly in the case of newcomer Jackson Hyde. However, King Shark’s plan seems pretty ridiculous, especially in the way it simultaneously seems to rely on secrecy and attention, and ultimately does not inspire much excitement.

Luckily, the following story arc reads much better. It pits the Teen Titans against Black Manta in a fight for an incredibly powerful weapon. Here, the young heroes are far more creative with their powers, both in and out of battle. Plus, the threat posed by Manta is far more obvious and the tension is greater.

However, the more consistent positives in The Rise of Aqualad do not come from the conflict, they come from the characters. It is interesting and entertaining to see the individual members of the Teen Titans struggle with their personal problems while also attempting to juggle the demands of working together as a team. This leads to an exploration into Jackson’s inability to grasp his own identity, Damian’s problems with serving as a leader, Starfire’s doubts about taking up leadership, and moments of contention from Beast Boy and Raven. Meanwhile, it is just as great to see the team having some fun as well, with lighthearted jokes and humorous situations forming a big part of the read. In general, the team dynamic is awesome throughout this book.

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Art

The artwork in The Rise of Aqualad looks nice and does a solid job in effectively presenting the events of this book. Phil Hester’s layouts, Khoi Pham’s pencils, and Jim Charalampidis’ colors look wonderful throughout the book. They present a uniquely stylized version of the Teen Titans and their adventures that is filled with a youthful energy. The book is bright and the colors ensure that this is not a drab superhero affair. However, the quality of the inking is a bit varied as the second half of the book, where Trevor Scott’s inks are on display, looks noticeably better than the first half. This is not a huge problem but it did leave me wishing the whole book had the second half’s level of quality. Overall though, the entire book still looks good and helps make this an even better read.

Continuity

Teen Titans Vol. 2: The Rise of Aqualad continues the story from Teen Titans Vol. 1: Damian Knows Best (Review).

The story here continues in Teen Titans Vol. 3: The Return of Kid Flash (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• Black Manta began associating with N.E.M.O. across Aquaman Vol. 1: The Drowning (Review).
• The events of Titans: The Lazarus Contract (Review) (Reading Order) take place between Teen Titans #7 and Teen Titans #9.