When writer Will Pfeifer joined Teen Titans, DC Comics felt so strongly about it that they restarted the series with a new #1 issue. It was supposed to be a new beginning, but somehow, inexplicably, Pfeifer seemed to drown himself in the exact same problems that buried Scott Lobdell’s tenure on the book. Rather than breath new life into the series, Pfeifer simply continued all of the worse traits of the Teen Titans in the New 52. But it’s over now…maybe. New writer Greg Pak takes over with the next issue. Will he be cursed with the same problems? Or will Pak, who has been writing a very excellent Action Comics recently, somehow find a way to make this series good? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Teen Titans #16

As for Pfeifer’s final issue, apparently he got the memo that he needed to clean as much house as humanly possible. He cleans out Teen Titans so quickly that you’d think he’d thrown a party while his parents were on vacation, only to find out they were coming home early.

Comics Rating: 3/10 – Bad.

Based on the solicitations for upcoming issues, it looks like Pak is going to keep the team relatively the same, and try to find new stories with them. I’m fine with that. I like the lineup just fine. The characters have potential. It’s the stories and the premise that need to be worked on. It remains a marvel to me that DC has kept Teen Titans the way it is, despite all outside influences in comics these days. When books like the new Batgirl or Ms. Marvel are getting so much attention, when the DC animated shows focus so heavily on vastly different versions of the team, why then is the comic book Teen Titans still a team of random characters fighting random supervillains with little to no continuity or consistency?

Teen Titans Go! has better consistency and character development.

This final issue is no different. Once again, the Titans go up against completely random bad guys for an issue full of gratuitous fighting. Once again, this comic is just a bunch of action figures being smashed together. The writing is pretty wretched as well, with Pfeifer embodying the worst superhero comic traits when it comes to the characters explaining what they’re doing on the page. It’s like Chris Claremont’s worst X-Men habits. And on top of that, someone at DC told Pfeifer to clear the slate a bit for Pak, so he finds several quick and dirty ways to shuffle characters out of the book. And considering how he brought those characters in, this has to be painful for him as a creator.

Teen Titans #16 reads like DC told Pfeifer not to let the door hit him on the way out, but they didn’t really mean it.

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