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Teen Titans #95: "How the Mighty Fall"
J. T. Krul (writer), Nicola Scott (penciller), Doug Hazlewood (inker), Jason Wright (colourist), Carlos M. Mangual (letterer). The cover is by Scott, Hazlewood, and Wright.


This issue opens with Cassie and Rankor. Cassie's weak from being affected by the magic of the demon realm, but Rankor's somewhat impressed that she can even lift her head. The reason? The cages he has her - and Helena, Vijay, Rani, Rose, and Tim - in is the sort that drains a person's energy.

Bart, who was told in the last issue to scout ahead, doesn't return when he finds the people he's looking for. He tries to free them himself instead and it doesn't go well.

Meanwhile, the others are still looking for their friends. Gar and Kiran chat, Raven walks along still unsettled, and Kon gets distracted by the Rose-demon, who leads him away from the rest of them and gets him ambushed. As the others come to his rescue, the demon who impersonated Rose impersonates Raven - taking control of, reveling in, and releasing her dark side.

Demon: "Don't you know which side to fight for? The light burns, does it not? Why inflict such pain upon yourself? You belong with us. At heart, we are the same. Demons."

Ultimately, Raven's overpowered as well. The demons escape with her and Kon, leaving Kiran and Gar defeated for the moment.

Meanwhile, Rankor seems ready for his big triumphal entrance.

Rankor: "And so it comes to fruition. The victory of the gods lies in the past, as my reign comes once more. ... Now these mortal vessels shall empower my wrath. With them, I shall cross over and mete out vengeance and death to all. It is time. ..."

And there's a big reveal - the "cages" he has his prisoners trapped in are actually the tops of nine of the ten heads of a golem, with Rankor's throne being the tenth.


My thoughts:
Interesting issue! I loved the last-page reveal - I think it's a brilliant take on the mythology in this story. It was, for me, really a "whoa, wow" moment. In addition, the explanation about why exactly Rankor needed prisoners (quite apart from the fact that he's this story's villain!) was an interesting one when added to what the final page revealed.

However, I think that Kiran seems a bit too eager to say that ultimately, 'fate' will take its course, no matter what. Especially since this comes right after Gar tells her (and I'm paraphrasing here) that he admires her emotional strength during the time her parents are missing.

Also, I'm not sure about the point of part of Bart's scenes. He sets something in motion that he hopes will help the others, but if they're not going to acknowledge that at all, what's the point of even having him do it?

The issue's artwork is, as usual on this title, nicely done by Nicola Scott. Some readers might like that there's a bit of a 'fanservice-y' moment too, concerning Kon. :P
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