DC Comics reviews 11/28/23 – Titans: Beast World #1, Green Arrow #6

Cyborg #5

Writer Morgan Hampton has a comfortable familiarity with Cyborg. Enough to know that if he’s facing too tough a challenge to defeat on his own, he’s calling up his Titans pals for backup. Hampton might not be threatening Titans writer Tom Taylor just yet, but he shows a clear understanding of the team dynamic. While the Titans tangle with the new Fearsome Five, Cyborg tries to stop Solace and rescue Markus. The man in the machine angle has an interesting twist with Solace resenting Markus for uploading his consciousness into a robot body. In essence it’s Markus fighting himself.

The art is a letdown. Tom Raney only tackles the first five pages. Travis Mercer handles the rest with more of a Teen Titans Go! cartoonish style that doesn’t fit the tone of this penultimate issue. Michael Atiyeh’s colors and Rob Leigh’s lettering were fine, but it’s hard to take this dramatic showdown seriously.

Cyborg has made for a solid mini-series with a writer who truly gets the complexities and opportunities of the character. With more consistent art, this would be a viable candidate for an extended run.

Rating: 7 out of 10