Review — Tales of the Titans Starring Beast Boy #4: The Beast Inside

Tales of the Titans Starring Beast Boy #4 cover, via DC Comics.

Tales of the Titans Starring Beast Boy #4 — Andrew Constant, Writer; Brandt & Stein, Artists; Lee Loughridge, Colorist

Ray — 8.5/10

Ray: The final of the Tales of the Titans one-shots has maybe the most weighty material to work with — picking up with Beast Boy only months after he was shot and nearly killed by Deathstroke. He lost an eye in the attack, and while his animal forms have two eyes, he seems to still be wounded when he transforms back into his human form. This has left major psychological scars as well, as he’s still distant and traumatized, separating himself from the rest of the team and his girlfriend Raven to try to commune with nature and the animal kingdom. That leaves him in position to be captured by an obscure villain, Anthony Lupus — a tragic werewolf from an old Batman story. Lupus wasn’t an evil man, similar to Kirk Langstrom, but in his desperation he’s trying to find a cure for his affliction — and he’s going to take it out of Beast Boy’s bloodstream if he needs to. But not all is as it seems…

Haunted. Via DC Comics.
While Lupus is the main villain of the series — or at least, he gives off that impression — the main threat here is Beast Boy’s own demons. He’s haunted not just by Deathstroke’s visions, but by several of the people who abused him in his life as they try to convince him that he’s not worthy of breaking free. The eventual twist about Lupus and why he actually wants Gar’s blood is appealingly dark, but the character becomes a bit of an over-the-top “Republic Serial Villain” by the end for the final battle. The plot here, much like the Donna Troy and Raven issues, isn’t the most compelling, with a villain I doubt I’ll remember next week, but it does serve as a great spotlight for the character with an actual compelling explanation for why Beast Boy’s eye seemed to reappear between issues at one point. Overall, these one-shots did a good job at setting up some of the more underused members of the team for future adventures.

To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.

GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.