TEEN TITANS #33

In which Nightwing and Superboy fly north and get their gay on.

by Frank Pittarese

Well, we’re in the thick of INFINITE CRISIS, and this issue is labelled as an official crossover—but it’s obviously one of those situations where, if you don’t already read this book, you don’t really need it to follow the main story over in the IC mini-series.

At any rate, this issue finds at Titans Tower, where Nightwing (Dick Grayson and ex-original Robin, for you newbies) and Superboy (not young Superman, but a clone) decide to go it alone and head north where a “golden tower” is opening dimensional doorways and allowing multiple Earths to appear in the sky. As complicated as that sounds, it’s really just an excuse to write a buddy story as these characters work together and bond on their trip.

Superboy has been dealing with some crap lately. For starters, he learned that he’s not only Superman’s clone, but his human DNA comes from Lex Luthor. So he has issues. Nightwing knows from issues. Both of these guys have big shoes to fill, in size “Super” and “Bat,” respectively, and there’s something to be said for the fact that, in the thick of this epic, DC saw fit to explore their relationship.

But things get a little weird in the middle.

See, early in the story, Nightwing decides to wear a costume he hasn’t worn since the ‘80s (which now allows him to glide, which allows me, in turn, to call b.s.). On they way north, he falls into some freezing water. So Superboy…um…tears his clothes off. Then we find out that the reason Nightwing wore it in the first place was, well…he wore it for Superboy…so, you know, Superboy could conserve his strength. Or something. It’s all very ho-yay, if you know what I mean. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, because Superboy is clearly straight. After all, he just made love to Wonder Girl.

“What’s that?” you say. Yeah. Apparently they did the business. But I’ve never missed an issue, and it’s news to me. This is some sloppy, sloppy storytelling right here because it’s not presented as a revelation, but mentioned very matter-of-factly in a narrative caption, as if we’re already meant to know.

(As an aside, back when I was editing the SUPERBOY series in the mid-90s, the book’s writer and I wanted Superboy to sleep with (and lose his virginity to) his girl-crush, the super-strong, mega-sexy, and hella-crazy Knockout. This involved several written requests and meetings with everyone from my group editor to DC’s publisher. I got a big fat ‘no’ to my request, because a story like that, I was told, needed to be explored with some degree of tastefulness and depth. And here we are, ten years later, “tastefulness and depth” having been reduced to a single caption. Nice.)

Anyway, there you have it. Next month, we jump forward a year in time for DC’s “One Year Later” event. Let’s hope it isn’t lame.