Titans #16

Starfire is one of those characters that I like the potential of far more than I like the actual character. An alien warrior-princess freed from slavery to be a hero on Earth. That's a great high-concept. Yet she is usually relegated to crowd shots and pin-ups, or being Nightwing's girlfriend when she's lucky. I was pleased to see that she'd be featured in an issue of Titans. Unfortunately, while it is an effective recap of her story, there isn't a ton new here to like.

Christopher Yost handled the story here, but I don't remember seeing his name with other Titans material in the past. He certainly handled the many elements of Starfire's past well though. He tied the story into Infinite Crisis with a thematic connection with Starfire's slavery to the anti-life equation and her childhood slavery. Unfortunately, the way the story is presented, with Starfire telling her dreams and memories to a psychiatrist, I'm not sure we get anything new. Starfire doesn't really seem to have a breakthrough or anything, she's still mopey and crying at the end of the issue. The neatest thing about the issue is that Vixen asked Starfire to join the JLA. Perhaps this is a hint about James Robinson's upcoming lineup? Maybe an appearance in the JLA will enable Starfire to live up to her potential.

Angel Unzuetta's art is solid. There are many callback panels to big events in Titans and Outsiders, so clearly the reference is solid.

Fair