Warning: contains spoilers for Titans #1!For all of their power, the Justice League have their share of problems, and Nightwing and the Titans are making an effort not to recreate them. A new day is dawning in the DC Universe, and with it, the Titans have stepped up to take the Justice League’s place. In Titans #1, their leader Nightwing explains that he knows the Justice League wasn’t perfect, and he has no intention of recreating their approach to major events.
The issue is written by Tom Taylor, drawn by Nicola Scott, colored by Annette Kwok and lettered by Wes Abbott. The Titans have officially replaced the disbanded Justice League, fighting against the giant super-ape Titano. After the Titans defeat Titano and cleaning crews move in, the Peacemaker pays a call on the team. He offers them a chance to work for the government, but they refuse. Peacemaker protests but Nightwing assures him – and the rest of the world – that the Titans will be much different than the Justice League. Nightwing says that he is “not Batman,“ and the Titans will not have the “usual secrecy and simmering tension” that were hallmarks of the Justice League. He concludes by saying that the Titans will freely share any intel they find with the government.
The Titans Reject the Justice League’s Secrecy
The Titans are former teen sidekicks, who have now grown up and stepped out of their mentor’s shadows – and in some cases maybe even surpassed them. During the events of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Justice League fell to the combined onslaught of Deathstroke’s Dark Army and Pariah, who was manipulating the Great Darkness. The event climaxed with Nightwing leading the charge, proving once and for all that he is one of DC’s born leaders. The League decided to take a hiatus, and in their absence, the Titans are now Earth’s premiere superhero team.
The Titans and the Justice League are Very Different
A new era calls for new ways of thinking, and Nightwing and the Titans are leading the way. The Titans will be a much different team than the Justice League, and their conflict with Titano shows that. The Titans defuse a critical situation with minimal damage – much like the League would have done. The aftermath, however, is where the differences can truly be seen. Nightwing tells Peacemaker the Titans are an open book, and will not exist above other groups like the Justice League (especially under his mentor’s leadership.)
As a member of the League, Batman’s paranoia, and the knowledge he is outclassed, have driven him to perform some questionable acts, such as creating protocols to defeat his fellow Leaguer behind their backs—which then fell into the wrong hands. The League has secrets of its own as well, such as the non-consensual mind-wipings of villains seen in 2004’s Identity Crisis. Nightwing’s Titans are making it an explicit aspect of taking over not to fall into the same traps.
Nightwing Is a Better Leader Than Batman
And it is these secrets that also highlight another issue with the League: the tensions between members, which the Titans vow to avoid. The Titans have known each other since they were teenagers, they have all grown up together and even lived together. This creates a deep bond, more than the Justice League have after banding together as adults. Because of this bond, the Titans are much more open with one another, which was on display all throughout the issue. Nightwing’s leadership is part of this dynamic, and it has allowed him to fix the problems that have continually plagued the Justice League.
Titans #1 is on sale now from DC Comics!