First off, let me say that Terror Titans has been a solid series so far. The art has been tight, and the characterizations have been, for the most part, very good.

But, I’m afraid, Issue 3 must be vying for a last-minute addition to the Greatest WTF Moments in Comics.

We’re given a juicy set-up: Dreadbolt is forced by Clock King to try to kill his own father, Bolt. During the scuffle, Dreadbolt defeats his father by phasing him halfway through a brick wall.

You have to be a real comics geek, like me, to know that Bolt (the father) has a teleportation device wired into his suit. Otherwise, you’d just assume that they’re both standard electricity-based meta-humans. But nowhere in the comic — visually or verbally — does the storytelling team relate how the son is able to override his father’s control of the suit. It’s a stunning scene, but it’s poor storytelling. It’s accomplished with yet another ZAP — exactly like the other half-dozen seen in the preceding panels.

So, for the experienced reader, it’s a bit confusing. And for the standard-issue fan, it’s a completely baffling turn-of-events.

Aside from the occasional misstep, though, the series has been a good read. I’m not really a follower of the Teen Titans, but I’m really enjoying learning more about some of these characters. For example, I was thrilled to see that Wendy and Marvin (Yes, the Wendy and Marvin from the early episodes of Superfriends) are caretakers of the Titans Tower. That’s beautiful!

And now, on to the important stuff: The bad guys. The stand-out bad guy in this issue is clearly Dreadbolt. Knocking over one’s own father is undeniably evil. Doing it in such a gruesome way is a slam dunk for his VQ rating.

Dreadbolt rises to a respectable six. It’ll be a seven if he has a decent explanation for how he did it in issue 4.