Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jan 5, 2018 | 2 comments

Titans together — all in one Funko package…

I’ve written before that the Teen Titans are comics’ greatest team. I’ve got 13 reasons, actually, and you can check them out here if you’re looking for affirmation or an argument.

Now, within the Titans’ 54-year history, they’ve never been better than they were under Marv Wolfman and George Perez. Their New Teen Titans — particularly from 1980 to 1984’s classic arc The Judas Contract — was one of comicdom’s all-time finest runs.

I was reminded of this the other night when I opened Funko’s latest Legion of Collectors subscription mystery box of DC Comics merch. The stated theme of the shipment was Teen Titans — but as it turns out, it’s a glorious tribute to that team from the early ’80s.

For starters, there’s the requisite exclusive Pop! figure — and this one’s a flat-out favorite: Nightwing in his original, so-called Disco outfit.

There’s also a patch featuring Cyborg and a reprint of The New Teen Titans #1, featuring a fancy new tribute cover by Phil Jimenez, whose style of course evokes Perez’s. (There’s also a Beast Boy T-shirt, but it’s his modern comics design.)

The highlight, however — and it’s not even close — is a selection of two 3.75-inch action figures in their classic Perez stylings: I got Cyborg and Raven but Nightwing and Starfire are also out there. And even though the pretty packaging art is not by Perez, it’s still fantastic, with clean and sharp characters by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, a sterling stand-in.

Here’s a closer look:

These are two of the best Titans figures I’ve ever seen.

Of course, having only four characters in the selection is an exercise in frustration: I would absolutely love to get my hands on the other original team members — Kid Flash, Wonder Girl and Changeling (aka Beast Boy) — but Funko’s comics figures like First Appearance Superman (click here) have been confined to the mystery boxes. It’s not like I can run out and track them down. (TV and movie versions like Batman ’66 are another matter. Click here for plenty on that.)

Nevertheless, I’ll take what I can get. Because anything that so lovingly celebrates the greatest version of the greatest team in comics is a good thing.

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Funko’s Legion of Collectors mystery boxes are $25 each and are available directly through the company. Click here for more info. They also have Marvel and Star Wars offerings.