Teen Titans #3

The third issue of the Teen Titans was released in May/June of 1996. Titled “The Revolt at Harrison High,” those who are fans of the popular TV series based of the 80s incarnation of the team will recognize the villain too.

The Commission of Education summons the Teen Titans and ask them to investigate a rash of dropouts, with a lead to an ex-student named Danny Robinson. He tells them they’re making a money by working as mechanics for a man named Ding Dong Daddy, who appeared in the Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World-esque episode of the show. The Titans drop by for a visit and while he’s not stealing anything, he’s making weaponized cars. Suspecting something, the team cooks up an idea to find out what’s really going on.

To be completely honest, this is quite a strange comic. Makes sense though, considering it’s the Silver Age.

The cover is fine, albeit kind of busy. As a mashup of what happens to the characters and since Ding Dong Daddy never actually appears inside a car, except for a robot decoy, the nitpick about the cover of #2 doesn’t apply.

There’s not much characterization here. The villain is a complete goon and the dropouts seem to change their minds rather quickly. Furthermore, the heroes were taken out in really obvious ways that weren’t fitting to their characters. For instance, Aqualad got hit by surfboards when he could have easily dodged them. On the other hand, Robin does have a radio watch he’s smart about using and quickly hatches a plan.

As said above, the story is strange. The episode of the show starring the villain was more enjoyable too. The government basically asks the team to do their job for them and it just gets weirder with a weaponized gas pump and surfboards. And the villain doesn’t even try and is just sort of there to act like a boss and fail. The villains of the previous stories tried, one even tried to shoot Wonder Girl with a shotgun.

Teen Titans #3 “The Revolt at Harrison High” – 2/5