Writer: Sean McKeever
Pencils: Fernando Dagnino

“Deathtrap” has arrived! Okay, more like it’s still sneaking up on us- Part 1 won’t actually start until Titans #12, but who says this annual can’t join in on the fun and give us a prelude?

If you haven’t been following any of the Titans books lately, Jericho has joined the dark side (NOT Darkseid) and currently is in control of Cyborg’s body.

Hot on the heels of Teen Titans #69 (*giggle*), we see our updated Teen Titans roster chillin’ like Mr. Freeze at Titans Tower. Some of the new members get a few pages devoted to them, and then there’s an little argument between Blue Beetle, Miss Martian and Red Devil which came off really awkward and out of character. Chalk it up to hormones?

That aside, throughout the issue, we see blurbs of what appears to be a computer program talking about “target”, “security protocol” and all that good computer stuff. Guess what? It’s Titans Tower. Guess what else? It’s attacking the Titans, one by one, and “containing” them.

Cyborg/Jericho appears via video screen (well, actually the bathroom mirror) and tells Static this is training exercise and to absolutely not interfere. Static is not allowed in on the “training” because Cyborg says he doesn’t have any intel on him. We continue to see the Titans struggle against their home in an updated version of The ‘Burbs and Static starts to wise up to something fishy going down.

As Cyborg watches on from a video screen, Static is captured and Cyborg/Jericho plans to use Static’s powers to kill the Titans. Too bad he didn’t account for Static’s control over electricity and Static sends quite a jolt to Cyborg (who is connected up to Titans Tower) and thru the Tower as well. With the day saved, the team recoups and is off on their way to New York to track down the older Titans and find out what the heck is going on. Remember how Jericho is controlling Cyborg’s body? Not anymore. Hiya, Beast Boy!

This was a fine issue. I’m a big fan of annuals in any form, but it’s good to see an annual account for something and contribute to a storyline other than just being a collection of filler tales.

2 1/2 teen sidekicks out of 5.