With DC All In the direction for the Titans has changed. Back in the Dawn of DC it was the Titans who took over as the main defenders of the DC Universe after the Justice League did not return in the wake of Dark Crisis. During that time the team proved themselves leading the heroes through the Knight Terrors, Beast World, and Absolute Power events. But now that the Justice League Unlimited has formed the question was where that left the team of Donna Troy, Nightwing, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Arsenal. The team’s status quo was answered in a questionable way in Titans #19.
TITANS TENSION WITH JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED
When DC All In started Donna Troy did not hold back feeling like the Justice League Unlimited direction would limit the Titans. This feeling was justified. Afterall, the Titans have more than proven themselves during the Justice League’s absence as being able to carry the premiere team title. No matter the intentions the return of the Justice League in their Unlimited form would impact how the Titans are viewed.
This concern showed itself to be warranted as at the end of Titans #19 that Donna and her team don’t make final decisions when dealing with villains. Batman tried to word it in a way that made it seem the decision on Killer Frost’s heel turn would be decided democratically. But when looking at Batman’s words that democratic process appears to be more performative.
Afterall when Donna raised concern over how Killer Frost would be judged Batman said “That’s for us to decide.” There was a clear emphasis on “us” differentiating the core Justice League members and Titans. No trying to clarify that Donna and the team have a vote could take back what Batman clearly meant.
This shows that while the Justice League Unlimited is a direction meant to unify the DC Universe hero community that does not mean everyone is equal. Especially when it comes to major decisions Batman appears to indicate that the core Justice League members carry more weight than others in the JLU program.
Now this is the first time we see this being shown in such an obvious way during the DC All In direction. But given that Donna already previously voiced concerns about the Titans standing this conversation won’t alleviate concerns. If anything, what this does is set the stage for Justice League vs Titans crossover, a story we’ve only seen once before a little over 25 years ago.
DEATHSTROKE BUILDING NEW CRIME SYNDICATE
Their standing within the DC All In direction isn’t the only thing the Titans should be concerned about. Though what is likely their greatest concern is the thing they don’t even know is going on at all. That is the fact that the returning Deathstroke is using his “death” to secretly build a new version of the Crime Syndicate in the shadows.
Deathstroke’s Crime Syndicate is something that was immediately started in Titans #17. There Deathstroke started by first recruiting Clock King to use his new memory manipulating powers to get villains like Mammoth and Shimmer on their side. Utilizing manipulative tactics don’t end with Clock King’s new powers.
As shown in Titans #19, Deathstroke has also recruited Psycho Pirate to manipulate various characters emotional state. That is how Killer Frost doubts about her spot in the JLU was manipulated to force her into a heel turn. With the success of this Deathstroke is now directed Psycho Pirate to target Raven, who is going through her own emotional instability in the fallout of the Dark-Winged Queen story arc.
Recruiting Clock King and Psycho Pirate shows that Deathstroke is being much more measured in how he is building the Crime Syndicate. He is not waiting around for the Legion of Doom to return. It appears he learned from the events of Dark Crisis that working from the shadows is the best way to battle the JLU and Titans. This is a method that worked for Amanda Waller before she got to overconfident for her own good.
With Deathstroke hitting all the benchmarks in building the Crime Syndicate from the shadows there is no telling what is next. The power swaps that happened at the end of Absolute Power that we don’t know the full scope of looks to play a role in Deathstroke’s planning.
Combining their status quo within DC All In and the rise of Deathstroke’s Crime Syndicate creates a lot of questions about the future of the Titans. That creates even greater sense of an unknown for the team.
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