Titans: Beast World has been delivered the big epic scale you expect from a big DC Comics event. There has been pure chaos caused by the Doctor Hate-corrupted Beast Boy Starro. Things took a more dramatic turn in the last issue with Amanda Waller making the executive decision to kill Beast Boy. That game changing decision by Amanda Waller will certainly have a large ramification. Let’s see what happens next with Titans: Beast World #5.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artists: Ivan Reis and Lucas Meyer
Inkers: Danny Miki and Julio Fereira
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Wes Abbott
SOLICITATION
“WALLER VERSUS THE WORLD! After the shocking events of the last issue, the world stands divided: half with the Titans and half with the woman whose vicious methods have saved them for now. All this and more as Dr. Hate returns to revel in and spread their own unique brand of chaos!” – DC Comics
REVIEW
For as chaotic as Titans: Beast World #5 continued to make this event this had an air of calm before the storm. That storm came with an ending that served as a shocking ending for the reader and more specifically Raven. It is exactly what you want from the penultimate chapter of a story.
Amanda Waller not wasting time to publicly take control of the Beast World event is exactly what is expected. Tom Taylor has done an excellent job at portraying Amanda Waller as a character with a multi-stage plan. She didn’t kill Beast Boy without knowing what her next ten steps were. Her announcement to the world about having her military group kill the millions still effected by Garro showed this. Every word during her press conference was purposeful. She positioned killing millions of infected as the only option.
This effectively worked against the Titans, who still wanted to hope there was a way to avoid death. Unlike Amanda Waller’s solitary solution, the Titans went through multiple options. All their discussion led to the only viable option of Cyborg shutting down the military’s tech as a bad one. Because while they did save millions, Amanda Waller already convinced the public her decision was the best one.
This is what made Nightwing and Amanda Waller’s meeting even more effective. The scene was reminiscent of a similar scene between Batman and Amanda Waller in the Justice League cartoon. Nightwing ultimately represented the heroes of the DC Universe. The superheroes aren’t going to resort to killing as they want to save everyone. This attitude in turn is ultimately what led them to walk into Amanda Waller’s plan.
While Amanda Waller was certainly the big winner, the Titans had a lot of great development to further position them as the DCU’s premiere team. The team continued to be united provided the hope needed. Nightwing defeating Peacemaker and Cyborg easily shutting down military tech showed why Amanda Waller went with her plan. She knows going the typical villain route would just lead to the Titans defeating her. She needs this complicated plan to overcome the powers and skills the heroes have.
In the middle of this we see Donna Troy further established as the heart of the team. While Nightwing is the leader, Donna provides an important emotional support role. How she talks Raven out of killing Amanda Waller showed a great degree of empathy. It helped to further establish why Donna is the second-in-command for the Titans.
As all this happens Raven gets the biggest spotlight outside Amanda Waller. With each issue of Titans: Beast World we’ve seen Raven positioned as a lead character. The reveal that the crystal she has been wearing on her head had no power was a big surprise. This made the Doctor Hurt reveal of being the evil side of Raven even more effective. This recontextualizes a lot of what we’ve been seeing go down with Raven over the last year. The reveal also helps to elevate Doctor Hurt as the end boss villain of this story.
While Ivan Reis and Lucas Meyer shared art duties in Titans: Beast World #5 that’s something you wouldn’t be able to tell. Before this Meyer’s showed he can keep up the art style Reis utilizes to maintain the consistency for this event. That experienced helped make Reis and Meyer a strong art pairing as their styles matched very well. They continued to make everything look like a big event is going down.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Titans: Beast World #5 does a great job acting as the penultimate chapter of the DC Universe’ latest big event. Amanda Waller’s anti-superhero agenda is shown in full force. She forced the Titans into a corner where they were left in a no-win scenario. It led to a great surprise reveal that elevated Raven to be front-and-center for the finale of this event.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10