Review: Titans Vol. 4- Titans Apart

Quick Summary

Pros: The main conflict is built up well and leads to an exciting conclusion. The Titans experience some great development and go through some compelling emotional moments. The artwork pairs well with the story.

Cons: Some of the plot points are generic and predictable.

Overall: This is a worthwhile continuation to the Titans’ ongoing story. Here, the Titans are forced to contend with internal and external problems that threaten the stability of their team and the stability of reality. This leads to a compelling story with plenty of rewarding moments, though a few plot points are admittedly generic. Readers who have been enjoying the series thus far or who are interested in seeing the team’s continued development may want to check out this volume.

Story

Titans Vol. 4: Titans Apart, by Dan Abnett, is a satisfying return to form for the Titans series. After the previous volume’s deep dive into relationship drama, this volume comes across as far more measured and focused. The book’s main conflict is clear the whole way through, the Titans are written with less sensationalism, and the team’s development feels earned rather than chaotic. There is still some relationship drama, but it is more natural and realistic, rather than over-the-top and dramatic. This is a worthwhile volume for fans of the Titans, especially those who want to see the team grow in the face of adversity.

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Half of the conflict in Titans Apart comes from the Brain’s attempt to transcend physical form and conquer all of reality. At first, this threat is built up in the background, allowing the narrative to focus on the Titans’ reaction to the fallout of the previous story arc. Then, it takes over the spotlight and becomes the Titans’ primary objective. This allows suspense to build throughout the reading process and then pay out in a triumphant conclusion.

The other half of the conflict comes from the potential shutdown of the Titans as a team. The fallout from the previous story arc left the team battered and bruised, to the point where the Justice League began to regard the team as a threat. Throughout this volume, they recover from this point and manage to come together as heroes once again. Witnessing this recovery is great and makes for a great follow-up to the previous volume.

While these points of conflict comprise the majority of this volume, Titans Apart still manages to find time for some relationship drama. Arsenal and Donna are still struggling with their romantic feelings for one another and the rest of the team is still struggling with making friendships work alongside superheroism. However, in this volume, none of these points feel unrealistic or sensational. Instead, they feel like natural issues that would arise in a group of real people, which increased my personal investment in these characters.

The only real downside to Titans Apart is that some of the plot points are pretty predictable and generic. Mallah’s betrayal, the Justice League’s inability to handle the Brain’s plan, and the reunification of the team are all telegraphed in the first few chapters. How all of this goes down is unexpected but how it all wraps up is exactly what one would expect.

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Art

The visuals in Titans Apart change up the style for the series but still end up being mostly positive. Paul Pelletier’s work, which comprises most of the collection, is crisp and clean. It specifically does well in presenting the individual characters of this book in a way that highlights their facial expressions. This allows the book’s more emotional scenes to resonate a bit better and generally helps out the story. In addition, action scenes are typically as energetic as one would hope but there are a few places where more cluttered compositions make the action less appealing, though these pages are definitely in the minority. Overall, the visuals in this collection are positive and serve as an asset for this book.

Continuity

Titans Vol. 4: Titans Apart continues the story from Titans Vol. 3: A Judas Among Us (Review).

The story here continues in Titans Vol. 5: The Spark.

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

• Wally spent time in the timestream until the events of DC Universe: Rebirth (Review).
• Nightwing’s first mission with the Justice League (Reading Order) was originally shown in Justice League Vol. 2 #51, collected in Titans Hunt (Review).
• Donna Troy’s origin as a weapon likely refers to the origin presented in Wonder Woman Vol. 4 #37, collected in Wonder Woman Vol. 7: War-Torn (Review).