Teen Titans – Review: Lightspeed

With Titans dispatched across the globe, members of the HIVE FIVE figure they
have it made. Unfortunately their city-wide crime spree is cut short when a new
hero in town spoils the fun. Handing him over to the BROTHERHOOD OF EVIL may
score the Hive Five points, but actually catching this lightning-fast do-gooder
is much harder than it seems.

Reviews by Nightwing
Media by Bird Boy

Note: This episode aired with a special "Hive Five" intro. The
Hive Five cut into the Titans theme song because it was now "their show." The main five Titans were not featured at all in this episode.

Titans Voices
Jason Marsden as Billy Numerous
Kevin Michael Richardson as Mammoth
Michael Rosenbaum as Kid Flash
Lauren Tom as Gizmo, Jinx
Hynden Walch as Madame Rouge

There’s nothing that gives a Batman/Superman fan more giddy energy than a Flash episode that does Flash "Justice." Even if you aren’t a fan of season five’s overall plot, this episode can at least give you some fun Flash moments. The beloved Kid Flash of decades ago makes an appearance while our Titans are out of town. And, as if that alone doesn’t induce the giddy happiness, the Fastest Boy Alive is voiced by Batman/Superman fan universe golden child, Michael
Rosenbaum. That isn’t the only reason I enjoyed this episode, but after all Michael has done for the world of Batman/Superman with his talent, you’ve just gotta love him.

The Hive Five, which has curiously grown to 6 members, thanks to a very odd and very gross Cyclops boy of some kind, believe they can own the city since the Teen Titans and the Titans East are all currently unavailable. Like a flash, Kid Flash shows up to interrupt their crime spree attempts in a fast, efficient, witty, and teen-sarcastic way that only he can. There’s some comfy character conflict in the Hive Five members as the group’s frustrated leader,
Jinx, wants more order and discipline for the sake of crime, and to capture Kid Flash in an attempt to prove the group’s worth to The
Brotherhood of Evil. The rest of the Hive, however, can’t seem to think that big.

I think the story was delivered well in terms of Kid Flash, Jinx, and the Brotherhood of Evil. Kid Flash picks up on Jinx being the group’s outcast, and tries the old sympathy act, which I think came off as very charming and funny. I think the main reason he stuck around for the episode’s duration was because he was curious as to why Jinx wanted to waste so much time and energy to get the cooperation of the Hive 5, and the accepted of the Brotherhood of
Evil. It flowed nicely, but the only confusing part might be that in the original big pan of super villains from "The Homecoming Part 2," we already see said Hive 6 members in the line-up. Maybe that was just an informal office party for villain types. It feels like the more we go on with the season’s plot, the harder it is to follow. It is possible, however, that puzzle pieces will be given to us later on and that will help make things click. But for right now, this episode is more enjoyable without the whole Brain and Brotherhood aspects.

The action and animation was also nicely done, being solely based around Kid Flash dealing with the Hive 5, and Madame Rouge. Kid
Flash makes a good use of his powers, while also remaining a kid and therefore not being too unstoppable. His moves, his triumphs, and his mistakes in all of the sequences were fun to follow and believable for his character and powers from a general fan’s standpoint.

Overall, I think the episode gave me the same general impression of
Season 5 itself: enjoyable and strong in some ways, but not lacking its weak spots. The broader aspect with the Brotherhood of Evil still feels a bit hard to follow and swallow at this point, but I have hope they can pull things together. If nothing else, we got Kid
Flash out of the deal!