TEEN TITANS #20
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art and cover by EDDY BARROWS and EBER FERREIRA
1:25 B&W Variant cover by EDDY BARROWS and EBER FERREIRA
On sale MAY 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.
“Light and Dark” continues as the fallout of last issue’s attack threatens to drag the team into darkness!

The Joker’s Daughter and Dr. Phosphorus wait for Catwoman in August’s issue #23:

As soon as the Penguin story wraps, you have Selina locking claws with the new Dr. Phosphorus and the Joker’s daughter — what’s it like introducing new versions of these characters to the New 52, and what can you say about them?

There is a hint at the end of “Catwoman” #19 that there is something lurking underneath Gotham. Catwoman falls into a hub of endless tunnels and spiraling stairs to nowhere. I was thinking of M.C. Escher and Möbius strips. Tunnels so twisty complex it gives you vertigo just to be there. Rafa Sandoval drew this beautifully, with such intrigue and mystery and a few Easter egg hints of whats to come. In my neighborhood in NYC, they’re digging deep trenches down to ancient rusted pipes that tangle and twist, and not even the city workers I spoke with seemed to know what it was all for, which lines were still live or dead. Gotham is built on top of its own history. What’s down there?

So Catwoman is intrigued by the Hub. She heard a rumor from Black Mask when she was locked up in Arkham Asylum that there are things of value down under.

Catwoman begins exploring the Underground, and meets Dr. Phosphorus. I see him as a man who has burned for too long. He burns for eternity, and his endless pain gives him a sadistic streak that is unquenchable. What I like to do when “re-inventing” an existing character is to first think about them just based on the visual. What kind of feeling do I get from this character as drawn? Phosphorus, to me, looks like he’s in agony and wants to share that agony with others. A terrifying character. A burning man.

Joker’s Daughter, to me, looked like a funhouse inversion of beauty. But she’s smiling. Is that the Joker’s false smile, or does she enjoy her strange beauty? I started thinking about girls that have anorexia, of the fashion perfect templates of Twiggy, Kate Moss, where unhealthy skinny is seen as beautiful. The design of Joker’s daughter is so sassy, so ornery, you just know that even though you might see her as ugly, she doesn’t care a whit how you see her. She likes what she sees in the mirror. She seems to be reveling in a feeling that ugly is beautiful. I think she’s got terrific sass. Twisted, yes, but sassy. And just what is that cane for? I decided it had to be for something very, very special.

So, after finding the core attitude of a these villains just by how they look, then I look at the pre-52 stories to find the essential DNA of the characters — and try to weave together something new, fun, and yet respectful of the past.

Read the full interview here.

Just a few weeks ago, I recapped the first-ever Wilson family gathering from Deathstroke #19. There were many changes in the DCnU versions of the familiar characters…. as Rose was revealed as Addie Kane’s daughter and Jericho’s possession powers got an upgrade. And oh yeah… Joseph Wilson was a power-mad crazy-pants. His plan? To harness the might of the super-powered Majestic for his own nefarious purposes.

This week, Deatshstroke #20 continued this story in the series’ final issue. It was quite a bloody end, with a few casualties and surprises.

First up: Addie dies as a result of Jericho’s Majestic-powered rampage.

Next, a completely new reveal concerning Rose’s powers. Instead of an adrenaline-fueled precognitive power that allowed her to “see” her opponent’s next move…. Rose can “dampen the invulnerability of  these unstoppable types.” Which is…. an odd power choice.

And, here’s how the story ends:

So…. Grant Wilson is dead, again.

Jericho is dead, again.

And Slade Wilson is once again a tortured merc who is partly responsible for the deaths of Adeline, Grant and Joey.

And just like that, I think a lot of New 52 story opportunities were inexplicably squandered.

“Last week, we showed you the design for Bronze Tiger and teased that he’ll be somehow tied to the unraveling of Jason Todd’s memories. Today, take a look at another person from Jason’s past who’ll be appearing in the pages of RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS soon to shed a little bit more light on Jason’s origin. But can Jason trust Cheshire? And what’s her connection to Bronze Tiger?”

In a story that involved time travel and the villain Harvest, Superboy #19 by writer Scott Lobdell revealed that Superboy is a clone created from the DNA of Superman, Lois Lane and their son, Jon Kent (from an alternate future).

While the inclusion of DNA from Superman and Lois Lane was revealed on the gatefold cover for the Superboy #19, the “third” source wasn’t. So it was a bit of a surprise to see that Harvest is actually from the future, and he had kidnapped a young Jon Kent, the son of Lois and Clark. (And to be clear, the kidnapping succeeded because Lois and Clark already thought Jon was dead.)

Harvest trained Jon Kent in the future to become evil, but the boy had unstable DNA. The villain hoped the new Superboy would provide a cure. And at the end of issue #19, it was revealed that Jon Kent is apparently alive in the present day of the DCU, although in some type of stasis.”

Got that?

Here’s a recap:

Newsarama sat down with Lobdell to clarify the details:

Newsarama: Scott, there’s a lot of talk about this origin story for Superboy, and how it’s linked to time travel. Just to clarify, is Superboy a clone, like H’El and Supergirl thought he was? Or is he something else?

Scott Lobdell: As we saw in Superboy #19, he is very much a clone. Harvest needed to take Jon Lane Kent back to a time where Harvest could get the original genetic material of Lois Lane and Clark Kent. He then used that DNA strand of Superman, the DNA strand of Lois Lane and the DNA strand of Jon Lane Kent to create Superboy.

He did this because he felt he could use Superman and Lois’ separate DNA to support and counter the effects of the Jon’s trans-alien DNA. His results have been successful, for now, which is how we got the clone named Superboy.

Nrama: Does this explain the “third” source of the DNA that makes up Superboy?

Lobdell: Yes, the third source is Jon Lane Kent.

Nrama: Why did Harvest use that third source?

Lobdell: He used it specifically because his entire goal was to find a cure for the genetic disorder that was afflicted his surrogate son, Jon.

[...]

Nrama: And just to clarify, is Lois Lane and Clark Kent’s “birth son” Jon still alive in the present day, and available for future stories, as long as his DNA becomes stabilized, as you hinted?

Lobdell: Hmm… that last page with Harvest looking at Jon Lane Kent in that stasis tube? If he were dead it would seem very creepy to me that Harvest would be leaving Jon’s body to float in a canister. This is Harvest, not the Governor. So, without spoiling anything, I’m going to guess that he will some day be available for future stories.

You can read the full interview here.

As expected, the DCnU put some new spins in the mix. First up, Rose’s mother is Adeline Kane, not Lillian Worth:

Which also means Rose is no longer half Cambodian.

More shocking are the changes to Joseph Wilson. The once-gentle hero is now quite villainous, using his possession powers to brutally execute a group of soldiers. His plan? To harness the might of the super-powered Majestic for his own nefarious purposes.

Also, the nature of his powers are quite different. He no longer body-hops or needs eye contact to possess people.

I think I much preferred the original recipe of all the characters. They were much more nuanced and complex.

For more about the “original” Duela Dent: http://www.titanstower.com/jokers-daughter/

CBR News: Scott, starting off with the revelation from “Teen Titans” #19 of reintroducing Trigon to the DCU, what’s the challenge of re-integrating that character into the New 52 continuity?

Hmmm. I don’t really see it as a challenge as much as I see it as an opportunity. While I think Trigon has certainly left his imprint on the DC Universe on more than one occasion since his original debut — I confess to remaining a little curious about his master plan. I get that he wants to rule over Earth, but was never sure what was preventing him from doing so over the centuries (if not longer).

So, issue #20 really focuses on Trigon, who he is, what he wants and how he plans on getting it — exactly why is Raven so important to his plans and why he has apparently been involving himself in the lives of the Teen Titans at all.

We’re going to see a very long lived Trigon who is playing the “long game.” Everything he does he does for a very specific reason: he is a planner, a builder. Sometimes he uses seduction (like with Raven’s mom and Psimon) and other times he uses the sheer horror of the promise of Eternal Damnation. The guy has range.

Read the full interview here!