TALES OF THE THE TEEN TITANS #48 & #49

"THE RECOMBATANTS!"
Co-Creators/Co-Editors: Marv Wolfman & George Pérez | Writer: Marv Wolfman
Guest Penciler: Steve Rude | Guest Inker: Al Gordon
Penciler (epilogues): George Pérez | Inker (epilogues): Mike DeCarlo
Letterer: Todd Klein | Letterer (epilogues): Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy

The Plot: A group of genetically engineered artificial teenagers named the Recombatants escape from a Dayton Industries facility near Las Vegas. In New York, Cyborg mulls over some new procedure S.T.A.R. Labs is developing which could change his life, but is soon summoned to Titans' Tower.

Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, Wonder Girl, and Jericho head to Nevada to round the Recombatants up. The Titans bring the Recombatants back to the lab, where the scientists who created them explain their intention to destroy these "prototypes". The Recombatants make a run for it and the Titans pursue, but the teenagers choose to take their own lives, destroying the power core that would have allowed the Dayton scientists to create more Recombatants, in the process.

Back in New York, Changeling shows Jillian around Dayton Manor and is reprimanded by his stepfather over his offering Donna and Terry the use of the house for their wedding. Meanwhile, Terry receives word that his ex-wife wants to speak with him and worries about her intentions. At Titans' Tower, Jericho attempts to visit Raven but she forces him to leave.

My Thoughts: There's not much to this story. It reads like a fill-in, with a group of throwaway adversaries and minimal sub-plot development. Apparently it's one half of an unofficial inter-company crossover with a series called THE DNAGENTS, created and written by Mark Evanier at Eclipse Comics. I just hope the DNAGENTS side was a little more interesting, at least.

On the plus side, the artwork by Steve Rude is quite nice, especially his depiction of Nightwing. He spots a lot more black into the character's costume than does George Pérez, and the result is very impressive.

The epilogues, penciled by Pérez, provide check-ins on some sub-plots, but do little to further any of them. All in all, TALES #48 is an issue that could easily be skipped without a feeling of missing anything.

"THE LIGHT THAT FAILED"
Co-Creators/Plotters/Editors: Marv Wolfman & George Pérez
Script: Marv Wolfman | Pencils: Carmine Infantino | Inks: Mike DeCarlo
Letters: Bob Lappan | Colors: Adrienne Roy
Framing Sequence: Editors/Co-Creators: Marv Wolfman & George Pérez
Inker: Mike DeCarlo | Letterer: Todd Klein | Colorist: Adrienne Roy

The Plot: Terry Long and his groomsmen, including Dick Grayson, are fitted for their tuxedos the day before the wedding. Donna and Starfire drop by to say hello and collect Terry's daughter for their dress fitting. Meanwhile, Cyborg asks Sarah to be his date for the wedding and she agrees.

Elsewhere, Wally West and Frances Kane are waiting to meet the Flash outside of Central City when Dr. Light attacks the nearby metropolis. Wally and Frances go into town to stop light, and Francis uses her magnetic powers to defeat him. Light surrenders to the police after being beaten by inanimate objects and decides to retire from villainy.

Later, Wally, Frances, and the Flash run some tests on Wally to figure out why his powers are causing him pain. Flash has no answer and is unsure if there's even a cure for the condition, and Wally worries he will die.

That evening, Donna and Terry go over last minute wedding details as Wally calls to leave a message for Donna, telling her he'll be there the next day.

My Thoughts: A second fill-in that's not exactly a fill-in, as George Pérez presumably gears up for the double-sized issue 50. But at least this time we get a more memorable opponent in the always chuckle-worthy Dr. Light. Thanks to Wolfman and Pérez, Light continues to fill the role of comic-relief villain perfectly (I still hear THE VENTURE BROS.' Monarch in my head whenever he speaks).

Otherwise, there's not much to say about this issue either. We're still in a holding pattern as we await the big wedding. I suppose it's notable that Frances says she and Wally visited Titans' Tower "the other day", meaning it's not been very long since issue 45, which makes sense timeline-wise since 46 and 47 followed immediately from 45. Plus Terry's bachelor party was in 45, and it's logical that would be only a few days before the wedding.

Lastly, it's nice to see Carmine Infantino, the man who first committed the Barry Allen Flash to the printed page, illustrate the character here. Infantino seems to have lost a step since his Silver Age apex as far as illustrating action scenes, but his characters' faces are all very nicely done.