Pre-Crisis Primer: Gar is the LAW!

Tales of the Teen Titans 53-55

“Shades of Grey”

Bible or not, I wouldn't trust him.

He dealt the Titans their worst loss. He was responsible for the death of a member of the team: Terra. Now it's time for Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke the Terminator to pay the piper. Lady justice comes calling and if you think a slap on the wrist will suffice, well, Changeling has other punishments on his mind.

In the tradition of grand Titans story-telling (it really is the best straight-superhero comic series of the entirety of the Post-Crisis Primer; Swamp Thing being in a league of its own) the physical conflict is not the centerpiece of the story as much as the impact both Slade Wilson and Changeling have had on each others life as well as the similarity in their lives: Tara Markov. Both men loved her in their own ways, Slade on a physical level as part of his manipulation to use her to destroy the Titans from the inside-out and Gar loved who she was and really felt he had a real relationship with Tara. Because of this, Gar felt the most betrayed with the whole situation and had a harder time coping than the other Titans. While they tried to distract him and help him get over this, Gar is younger than the other Titans (he's probably 15 years old, not much older than Tara, where most of the other Titans are 18-19 years-old) and as such he never believed Tara betrayed the team of her own volition. He couldn't believe anyone could be cruel enough to pretend to like him, to pretend to be his friend; as such he blames Deathstroke unequivocally for the tragedy.

Hey, the judge is Vigilante! From DA to judge. Crossover goodness. Also, winged alien.

As Deathstroke's trial proceeds and the defense scores victory after victory on the prosecution most decidedly in proving that, since Deathstroke wears a full mask, and yes, we can prove it was him on the site when Tara went nuts and the Titans attacked him, that it's impossible to prove that Slade was the particular individual behind the mask any other time he attacked or fought the Titans and even when he threatened New York City. Which, for whatever it means for superhero law (pay attention Flash), how does one prove a masked man committed crime unless they're caught in the act?

As the trial goes more and more in Slade's favor, Gar, who's dedicated himself to attending every day, flips out and tries to provoke Slade to a fight. Not surprisingly this goes poorly and in fact Slade's reluctance to fight is one of the moments where the jury found it impossible to convict him for the crimes with which he was charged. It was enough to instill reasonable doubt. In the end: Deathstroke walks. Of course, young and naive he may be, Changeling is no fool; getting Deathstroke off the hook was all part of his plan because he doesn't want Slade going to prison, he wants him to die.

Gar doesn't care about the law.

First rule of classic super-heroing: no killing bad guys though. To the surprise of no one Gar does not kill Slade, but to the surprise of everyone it's not after some obligatory fisticuffs. In fact, Slade doesn't even move in their fight, he stands till as Gar lunges for him in the guise of a falcon, ready to tear his face off. Faced with the one thing he couldn't comprehend or expect, no resistance, not even the hint of self-defense from Slade, Gar of course dives into the ground, unable to kill in cold-blood. The two then retreat to a diner to talk of Tara, love and loss. Slade helps Gar onto the path to coming to terms with Tara's betrayal. No grand proclamations or oaths of revenge. Just two enemies talking, their fight over. A very satisfying climax to a long-brewing story and just one more feather in the cap of this fantastic series.

He just misjudged the jump.

What are the rest of the Titans up to in the meantime? Ex-member Lilith, a precognitive sensitive, has been staying with the team ever since Donna's wedding and she leads the team to someone who will impact their destiny in the future. Good for all sub-plots it turns out this being is a winged alien who's recently been rescued from the ice and is unconscious at a hidden research laboratory (aren't they all?). Unconscious at least until Lilith arrives on the scene; seems he's in love with her at first sight. Escaping his captors the alien escapes, promising to appear again. Mystery romance and intrigue! Future stories ahoy!

Just two guys rapping about the womens in their lives.