Teen Titans #33

What's up with Damian and the team?

SPOILERS AHEAD


They pulled an Identity Crisis which never goes well. Is Damian (and the others) going to get in trouble over this? I ask because the Waynes in general have a nasty habit of avoiding consequences for their actions.

Somehow after the team being split over the secret prison, Damian triggering their prisoners to die if they got too far and Emiko killing Deathstroke they all came to an agreement. Emiko chose to leave. Everyone else were fine with Damian remaining as leader (really) and having Djinn mindrape the criminals into reforming. Didn't Djinn protest imprisonment because she was forced to do what others wished because of her ring? Why did she agree to this? Who's idea was it?

The question of who the traitor is comes up and I decided to look at this from a different perspective.

I've been wondering ever since I read the back issues if there really is a group or person called the Other. Damian and Emiko believe there is and all the bad guys they gathered are connected. Black Mask thinks it's all a myth that dates back centuries. None of the criminals except Black Mask even heard of the Other.

I reread the sections where Jason showed up to see what he found about the Other. He didn't seem to find anything but he kept a look out for crime that could be connected, like the attempt on Jim Gordon's life. We get no new information just the fact that Jason had agreed to help and was. The only thing that proves that the Other exists (besides the marks on the crime scenes) is the person watching the footage of the Robin vs. Red Hood fight.

If Black Mask was right about how old the Other is supposed to be Djinn seems like the only one with a connection that far back. She's not, the Al Ghuls have been around for awhile. Maybe they are part of this plot. Damian's family has come up a few times in this run. His issues with his mother were transferred onto Deathstroke. Alfred called Damian out on thinking like Ra's Al Ghul. In the special he admitted that he didn't feel the same way about Gotham as Bruce does but felt more at home at a cafe that served the same soup Talia made.

During the cross over with Deathstroke, the Terminus arc, we see Slade test Damian's morality. He has nightmares, one of which seems to happen near the time the prisoners are released.

It's bugged me for awhile that Damian isn't just messing up but that he's doing it all the time. Now this could be totally wrong but I think that it would make a great story if Damian was unknowingly working for the Other. It might not explain every dumb choice he's made but it would go with some of the themes. The ties of family and choice. Djinn had her freedom stripped and now they did the same to their enemies. It would be a great irony if the same was true for Damian.

It would also help to explain why he accused Jason of wrong doing twice with no evidence. It's also the only way Damian could technically get away with all the bad calls he's made instead of the usual handwaving. If this doesn't happen I want to see actual consequences because this is some messed up stuff.




Questions Asked?: I didn't read the Black Mask one shot so how did he escape?

Is Identity Crisis canon? Or at least parts of it? If so Bruce REALLY won't be happy. In fact the team should know it's doomed to fail.