Justice League Dark Gets a Shocking Twist in DC's New Team
Warning: contains preview pages for Teen Titans Academy #13!
The newest team in the DC Universe is a teen version of Justice League Dark. In a preview for Teen Titans Academy #13, on sale in print and digital March 22, readers meet the off-shoot of the new Titans Academy: Young Justice Dark, and they share more than a few similarities with the JLD. The issue is written by Tim Sheridan, drawn by Tom Derenick, colored by Peter Pantazis and Matt Herms and lettered by Rob Leigh. It is part 4 of the “War for Earth-3” event.
The first incarnation of Justice League Dark formed at the beginning of the New 52 era, comprised of characters once relegated to the Vertigo imprint. DC was in the process of consolidating its characters into one universe, and upon integrating the likes of John Constantine, Shade the Changing Man and Swamp Thing, they were brought together as the Justice League Dark. At first a completely unofficial team, the Justice League Dark has since become an outgrowth of the main League, with headquarters in the basement of the Hall of Justice. And now, in the halls of the Titans Academy, a younger version of Justice League Dark is forming.
The preview opens at the temporary headquarters of the Titans Academy. Donna Troy, one of the Academy’s instructors, is taking role, asking after magic-using student Stitch. Readers learn that Stitch is cutting class, meeting in the building’s basement with some of their classmates, including Tooby, Megabat and the Chupacabra. Stitch warns them that Donna is looking for them, and they had best get back upstairs. As Tooby protests their meeting location, they begin to scatter, and readers learn this new “unofficial school club” has a name: Young Justice Dark. In the background is a mysterious mirror, and the scene ends with a green, gloved hand coming out of it.
Readers will have to wait until March 22 to see Young Justice Dark in action (likely against the Mirror Master, who has already been active in the War for Earth-3), yet it is clear they are modeling themselves after Justice League Dark. Much like their adult counterparts, Young Justice Dark meet in a basement - one loaded with mysterious objects. Some team members even echo current and former Justice League Dark heroes, with Stitch having an as-yet-unrevealed connection to Doctor Fate, and Chupacabra having been empowered by the Man-Bat serum. Finally, the two teams operate largely in the darkness, off the radar of the mainstream superhero community. But while the main team do so to keep others blissfully unaware of the dark, magical threats they combat, it's clear the Young Justice Dark students have lost faith in their teachers.
Unfortunately, this potentially dangerous assemblage comes at a time when the Academy's tutors are at their lowest ebb, and the final moment of the preview sees Raven facing a difficult choice regarding the injured Cyborg and Beast Boy. DC's Future State: Teen Titans saw them combined into one form as Cybeast, suggesting Raven may be about to decide to use her own dark magic to fuse her friends, saving their lives at the cost of their independence.
As the next generation of DC's heroes lose more and more trust in mentors who are facing their own impossible decisions, their distrust is proving to be the catalyst for an entirely new team. There is a new, and unlikely group forming in Teen Titans Academy; a secretive teenage version of Justice League Dark.