The Teen Titans Have a NEW Leader in Lobo’s Daughter

Damian Wayne’s sudden departure has left a leadership vacuum in the Teen Titans. Can Crush, the daughter of intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo, fill the void left by Robin? And just how far will the rest of the team follow their impulsive new leader.

That’s what the solicitations set up for Teen Titans #45, written by Robbie Thompson with art by Eduardo Pansica and Bernard Chang. Robin’s decisions over the past few months came to a head after his confrontation with his mentor Batman, leading to unexpected exit from the team. This leaves the big question: where will the Teen Titans go from here, and who will lead them?

Xiomara Rojas is a popular recent addition to the DC Universe, having appeared in Teen Titans Special #1 in August 2018. The half Czarian daughter of Lobo, Xiomara crash-landed on Earth, where she was adopted by two nomadic hippies. Xiomara took the name Crush in illegal fighting pits to make some money, but after her parents were murdered, Xiomara was recruited by Robin to join his fledgling Teen Titans. Since then, Crush has operated as the muscle of the team, directly confronting some of the most powerful threats the team has faced. Whether she’s leadership material, however, remains to be seen.

Xiomara has to been known to brash, rude, and downright abrasive. It’s not known if she is simply taking after her father Lobo, though her adoptive parents raised her on the run with very little socialization outside of fight clubs probably didn’t help. She has, in the past, berated Kid Flash for grieving for a fallen teammate and even took pleasure in scaring nearby bystanders. While Crush might be a chip off the old block as far as her father is concerned, she’ll have to develop some empathy if she wants to grow in the role of leader of the Teen Titans.

Then again, Damian Wayne’s tenure of leadership was far from perfect either. After all, Damian constructed a secret supervillain prison, leading to a dust-off between him and Batman, hastening his decision to leave the team altogether. This is so say nothing of the numerous secrets Damian has hidden from the team in the past. While Xiomara is many, many things, deceptive is likely not one of them. Crush might be a flawed leader, but if her predecessor can grow from spoiled brat to established Robin, maybe Crush can undergo similar growth leading the Teen Titans into a new era.

Teen Titans #45, written by Robbie Thompson with art by Eduardo Pansica and Bernard Chang, hits stores on September 15th.

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