Warning: contains spoilers for Teen Titans: Endless Winter Special #1!
DC Comics’ nine-issue Teen Titans become glorified babysitters in DC’s Endless Winter.
This cataclysmic crossover event kicked off earlier this month in the pages of Justice League: Endless Winter #1. The introductory issue depicts Stagg Industries in the Arctic Circle pilfering Kryptonian crystals from the former location of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. As the heavy equipment delves deeper into the ice and snow, the research and development firm inadvertently uncovers and awakens the fearsome Frost King. Since then, the Justice League has been battling this ancient Norse monster with cryokinetic abilities who has, for reasons unknown, unleashed his wintery wrath upon the entire planet.
Teen Titans: Endless Winter Special #1 serves as the sixth part of this nine-issue arc. The recently reconfigured team is confined to Titans Tower in Manhattan and tasked with taking care of youngsters displaced by the mounting crisis. While this seemingly mundane assignment may be due in part to lack of experience, it is just as likely that the Titans are being punished for mind-wiping Mammoth and Shimmer in Teen Titans #33. Fallout from this scandal caused Damian to depart and nearly resulted in the dissolution of the team altogether. Routine babysitting duty becomes more complicated, however, when Donna Troy and Beast Boy arrive and enlist Crush, Kid Flash, Red Arrow and Roundhouse to save refugees stranded on the Brooklyn Bridge.
The Teen Titans were created in 1964 by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani. Since their first appearance, the team has undergone a number of reconfigurations. The recently released Teen Titans: Endless Winter Special #1 was written by Andy Lanning and Ron Marz with art by Jesús Merino and Marco Santucci. After the Teen Titans have dispatched several of the Frost King’s frozen monstrosities, they find an unconscious young lady on the Brooklyn Bridge named Summer Zahid. Summer seems to exhibit cryokinetic powers very similar to the ice creatures she’s been battling. The Teen Titans go from babysitting children to protecting a potential ally.
The Teen Titans have walked a tumultuous road over the last year. With Batman recently tracking down Damian in the pages of Detective Comics #1032, the stage may be set for Robin’s redemption and return to the group. In the meantime, the future of the young woman found on the Brooklyn Bridge remains unclear. Her warm-weather name may be a clue as to her role in events. Still, only the final three issues will reveal if Summer holds the key to thawing the Frost King’s Endless Winter.
