Review - Titans Volume 2: Made in Manhattan

In order to better control her nascent metahuman abilities, Karen Beecher-Duncan seeks out the aid of Meta Solutions. Unbeknownst to Karen, the organization is run by the nefarious Fearsome Five. When her husband discovers the truth, he enlists the help of the Titans to investigate Meta Solutions’ true motivations before his wife can be drawn into their web.

Titans Volume 2: Made in Manhattan collects Titans issues 7-10, Titans Annual 1 and material from DC Rebirth Holiday Special. It is written by Dan Abnett, with art by Brett Booth and Minkyu Jung.

While the first arc of this Rebirth series focused exclusively on Wally West, Abnett hits his stride by recalibrating the title to make greater use of its ensemble cast. The interpersonal relationships of the Titans are the focal point of this collection and there are many fantastic interactions between the characters, especially between Donna Troy and Roy Harper. Their flirtatious dialogue acts as a way of grounding the book. This emphasis on the interpersonal is ultimately what drives the overarching plot as well. On a superficial level, it’s a pretty standard superhero beat-‘em-up storyline wherein the Titans face off against their long-time foes the Fearsome Five. The catalyst for this conflict is personal. Their friends, Mal and Karen, are directly affected by the Fearsome Five’s actions. To the team, they are family and what does family do when their loved ones are in danger? They go all mama bear.

The fact that Made in Manhattan revolves around Karen Beecher-Duncan (AKA Bumblebee) is bittersweet. I love that she’s finally given some shine after being relegated to the background for so long in comics, but Abnett fails to understand the appeal of the character. She seems to have no prior history as a superhero and her only connection to the Titans is through her husband (ugh). Furthermore, the manifestation of her powers and reliance on the suit Meta Solutions gives her to control them erases her status as the earliest black girl genius in comics. She went from this bad ass inventor who built her own suit in order to fight crime to being someone’s generic wife who is unable to deal with her metahuman abilities. Hell, even Brett Booth’s art lets her down. It’s clear from the way he draws Mal that he has difficulty drawing black hair, so it’s no surprise that he’s basically given Karen a fairly generic vaguely wavy hairstyle. That said, the scene in which Bumblebee takes on the Fearsome Five is worth the price of admission. She kicks ass. Sadly, Karen isn’t the only character that Abnett misses the mark on. Wonder Woman appears in the annual and her treatment of Donna Troy is ridiculously out of character.

As I previously mentioned in my review of the preceding volume from this series, I’m not a fan of Brett Booth’s art. It’s dated and unattractive. It really lowers the quality of what could otherwise be a really great book. This is made all the more evident when it’s contrasted against Minkyu Jung’s gorgeous artwork for the annual collected here. Jung’s art is cleaner and infinitely more dynamic.

Titans Volume 2: Made in Manhattan is a vast improvement over the first trade. It’s action-packed and more deftly handles its ensemble cast. I appreciate the effort that Abnett has put into ensuring that this group reads like a family as that is central to the appeal of the Titans. Unfortunately, the characterization of Bumblebee and Booth’s art chipped away at what would otherwise be a nearly flawless follow-up to the mediocre Rebirth relaunch of the Titans.

RATING: B