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The classic Teen Titans welcome back Roy Harper, though Arsenal’s journey back to rejoin his old friends has been far from an easy one.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Teen Titans Academy #9, on sale now from DC Comics.
The dawn of the Infinite Frontier era, the veterans Titans reassembled to open Teen Titans Academy, an academic institution designed to train the next generation of DC Universe superheroes. And while many of the classic Teen Titans served as instructors at this academy, there were two glaring omissions from the roster when academy first opened its doors: Wally West and Roy Harper. And while Wally’s children have begun attending the academy to follow in The Flash’s superhero footsteps, Roy’s return to the Titans carries far more emotional baggage and tragedy as he continues to search for his place in this brave, new world.
Roy has had a particularly tumultuous go of things in recent years, from losing his daughter Lian to a fiendish plot by the supervillain Prometheus to enduring his own death during the 2018 crossover event Heroes in Crisis in a freak accident caused by Wally unleashing raw energy from the Speed Force. Rising from the grave as a zombie during the 2020 crossover event Dark Nights: Death Metal, Roy resurfaced apparently alive and well at the start of the Infinite Frontier era only to discover that his new lease on life came from him being chosen as a new Black Lantern. While Darkseid intended to use Roy’s new power for himself, Roy was freed from the Black Lantern Power Ring’s insidious influence and evidently fully resurrected without any strings attached.
Wally and Roy had an awkward reunion when The Flash personally escorted his kids to the academy to begin classes, the first time the two really had the time to speak with one another since Roy’s death. This overdue conversation takes place in Teen Titans Academy #9 (by Tim Sheridan, Mike Norton, Hi-Fi and Rob Leigh), and it’s an especially heartfelt one though without the drama that one might expect. Instead of delving into his guilty conscience over his role in Roy’s death, an overjoyed Wally embraces his fellow Titan before the two reconnect with the rest of their old friends over lunch as Roy is officially welcomed back into the Titans’ ranks.
For Wally, the Scarlet Speedster worked through his guilt and grief by helping save the entire DC Multiverse during Death Metal, reassured by the superhero community that he was still very much a hero. This was underscored by Barry Allen personally handing back the reins as the main DCU’s Flash to his best friend and protege Wally while he explored the reborn multiverse. As for Roy, he has no real memories of his time as one of the undead but is instead happy to see his friends leading the next generation of superheroes and effusive over the news that his daughter has also been resurrected by the reality-altering ending to Death Metal.
The old adage is that time heals all wounds and, between the Titans, this axiom also applies to mortal ones. Roy is still unsure of the full nature of his resurrection but, among friends and with his daughter also receiving a new lease of life, Roy isn’t particularly burdened by the whys of this second chance so much as he is ready not to let it go to waste. And with Roy now recognized as a prospective professor at Teen Titans Academy, hopefully he can impart this new found wisdom to his students.
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