Rawwwwr!! Yes, DC dearies, we're living in a new world now and it's beastly! Those dastardly masterminds Tom Taylor, Ivan Reis, Dani Miki and Brad Anderson have thrown the DC Universe into disarray with Titans: Beast World #1 and now their legion of vital spinoffs have been unleashed. That's good news for us as it means we can stay abreast of all the animal antics.
Breaking: Beast Boy Saves the World, Then Dooms It. Great Job!
I've long been beating the drum that Beast Boy is one of—if not the—most powerful hero in the DC Universe. I mean, he can literally turn into anything, darling. And yet no one listened to li’l old me. They should have and maybe we'd have avoided a small problem called Garro???
Unless you've been living under a rock or crushed by one—and let’s face it, these days it could go either way—then you'll have heard that in an attempt to save the world Beast Boy transformed into Starro, via a whale of course, so he could defeat a nefarious Star Conqueror. In a shocking turn of events, though, things went sour quicker than a milkshake in the LexCorp cafeteria and our sweet green boy was transformed into Garro (someone give Taylor a raise for that moniker), an all-conquering cosmic star creature with the power to transform anyone its spores touch into a beastly monster!
Item: Amanda Waller Dreams…and Schemes
If you thought that things couldn't get any worse, you'd be wrong as due to the important archival work of Chuck Brown and Keron Grant in Titans: Beast World – Waller Rising #1, I have some bad news to report. Amanda Waller is involved in the current status quo and that only means terrible things for the DC Universe. While I've always been a fan of the Wall—love those powersuits—the fact that she's enlisted a new super-villain called Doctor Hate into her roster and has lost control of him doesn't bode well for any of us.
There's good news on the horizon, however, as I'm hearing rumblings that a new super team could be in the making with some of my favorite heroes like Batwing, Vixen, Val-Zod Superman and Black Manta. (Okay, “hero” is more of an aspirational term with that last one.) Could this mean there's a new Justice League? Don't quote me (unless I’m right), but the odds are looking good!
In other Waller workings, if you want a glimpse of what 2024 might hold for the residents of Metropolis, then who better to turn to than Dreamer herself, Nicole Maines? Along with Steve Orlando and Fico Ossio, she’s foreshadowed a major shakeup thanks to the Action Comics #1060 story, "Squad Dreams." It seems that along with getting her Hate on, Waller's also got her eyes set on Nia Nal, which means we might be living more of a nightmare than a dream in the coming year.
Rumor: Jimmy Olsen in Turtle Transformation Shocker
The DC Universe is a vast place and the impact of Garro has been felt from Star City to Gotham and everywhere in between. That might make it hard for some people to keep up with this all, but not me as I have the inside goss on what's going on in Titans: Beast World Tour – Metropolis #1. Though in fairness, this particular story isn’t that hard to keep up with. In fact, you could say it’s slow as a turtle!
What am I getting at? Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, of course! Yep, thanks to the Garro spores, he's now a giant kaiju-sized turtle…or at least that's what I've heard. And thanks to that big-headed hunk Martian Manhunter, we also know that the spores are specifically attracted to metahumans, which surely won't cause any big problems going forward...
Eyewitness: Good Boys and Bad Bunnies Take Over Gotham
When there's something as chaotic as Beast World going on, you have to make sure you have eyes and ears everywhere, and of course your favorite gossip monger has that sorted…even if it means those eyes and ears have to be in Gotham. (At least the food around town is good.)
Gotham’s streets have rarely been safe since the death of Bruce Wayne's parents in Crime Alley all those years ago, but we've not seen anything like the current calamity. Even worse, if you're looking for Batman to save you, then you better have some dog treats at the ready. Yep, thanks to Titans: Beast World #2 and the maniacal minds of Taylor, Reis and Miki, Batman is now Bat-Wolf and I heard his caked-up cutie ward-turned-heartthrob-hero Nightwing had to use the shock-collar to get him under control. Electrifying stuff!
The Caped Crusader isn't the only member of the Bat-Family to have gone to the dogs, though. Everyone's favorite bad boy Red Hood is also looking a bit hairier than usual these days having joined the canine-side along with his adoptive dad. Just as long as the Bat-Fam can keep his hungry jaws away from Harley Quinn! I’ve heard she’s shape-shifted into a very buff gym bunny who's been scaring crooks across Gotham at the behest of her plant-loving girlfriend, Poison Ivy. That's a furry-specific sandwich in which a fair few folks would like to be filling, but we'll leave that for my soon-to-launch late night radio show, DC Dish After Dark.
Notice: Peacemaker 4 President?
Before I wrap, I have one last Waller scoop for you. Now, I don't want to jump the giant oversized gun here, but rumor has it that the Wall showed up at the White House making demands of the Commander in Chief and took that shiny-helmeted himbo Peacemaker with her. Hopefully the President realizes that the Titans are better at handling heroics than the woman who thought anything good could happen from working with Captain Boomerang because otherwise we're in for a rough couple of months.
Sigh… Can't we ever catch a break? My car insurance is only just paying out for that whole "Sorry, Rosie, Superman threw King Shark at your Prius" situation in June. Regardless, I better skedaddle before the Wall tries to enlist me and my sources into the Suicide Squad. I wouldn't want to break my newly manicured claws! Until next time, readers, this is Rosie Knight reminding you to spread the word…as long as you tell me first!
Rosie Knight is an award-winning journalist and author who loves Swamp Thing, the DC Cosmic and writing the monthly gossip column here at DC.com. You can also listen to her waxing lyrical about comics, movies and more each week as she co-hosts Crooked Media's pop-culture podcast, X-Ray Vision.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Rosie Knight and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
