Titans: Beast World Evolution #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of January, 2024. It was published on November 21, 2023.
Synopsis for "The Fifth Titan"
This story is reprinted from Teen Titans #6.
The Beast Boy once more makes an attempt to try and convince the Doom Patrol that he is worthy of their membership by using his shape-changing powers to try and trip them up. All he succeeds in doing is annoying the Patrol members who once more reject his request for membership with the group. Since he has once more been rejected by the Doom Patrol, Beast Boy decides instead to try and get membership with the Teen Titans, sending out a message to the group to meet with him.
Revealing his identity as Gar Logan, Beast Boy explains to them that the Doom Patrol has refused him membership because he cannot get his guardians consent to join the group and hopes the Titans will take him him. Robin regretfully informs him that the Teen Titans also operate in the same fashion and that he'd still need parental permission to get into the group. Once more rejected, Gar calls himself a freak and angrily flees the scene. Later he comes across a truck owned by animal trainer Baltzer the Beast Master, who's hit bad times and cannot afford to buy decent animals. Hoping to make use of his powers, Beast Boy reveals himself to Baltzer who agrees to make him part of his show.
As expected, with Beast Boy a member of the circus Baltzer's act becomes a hit and Beast Boy gains the recognition he craves. However, things are not all well at the circus as Baltzer is less than on the level and has his mystic Vorna hypnotize Beast Boy into becoming a rare Albino Baboon that has mesmerism powers and is able to put the entire audience into their thrall and allow the circus to steal all their possessions. They then send out the crowd to loot the nearby town for them before restoring Gar back to normal, Gar has no memory of the incident and Baltzer exploits the boys feelings of acceptance.
Meanwhile, the Teen Titans are called in to deal with the hypnotized masses and learn that they are under a hypnotic spell. Snapping the crowd out of it, they note that the circus troupe which Beast Boy has joined up with is in town and find it a little convenient. Disguising themselves as acrobats known as the Masked Mazeppas and get hired by Baltzer who is none-the-wiser that they are really the Teen Titans in disguise. When Baltzer and Vorna try the same attempt the Titans hide in an safe used by an escape artist so that they are immune to its effects. However, Baltzer, having grown suspicious of the Titans overhears them and traps them in the safe and commands Beast Boy to toss the safe into a pool of water.
However, the Titans manage to get free when Kid Flash vibrates through the wall of the safe with Aqualad who breaks open the safe so that Wonder Girl and Robin can escape. Baltzer and Vorna send the hypnotized Beast Boy against the Teen Titans. Baltzer inadvertently brings about his own defeat when he tries to enter the fight. Launching himself out of a cannon and spinning torches in his hands, the spinning flames snaps Gar out of his hypnosis and he easily captures Baltzer and Vorna, who are fail to command the audience to forget what happened and they are turned over to the police.
Afterwards, the Titans realize that Gar was exploited because nobody accepted him and debate on if they should wave the parental consent clause in their membership, however instead of making a decision the Teen Titans appeal to the readers and ask them to write in and make the decision for them.
Appearing in "The Fifth Titan"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Baltzer
- Nicholas Galtry (Mentioned only)
- Vorna
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Changeling"
This story is reprinted from Tales of the New Teen Titans #3.
While roasting wieners around the campfire (and burning most of them inadvertently while talking), Changeling recounts his origin and early life to his Teen Titans teammates. He explains how his medical researcher father accidentally gave him his shape-changing powers and green complexion while curing him of a jungle disease, how his parents later died in a flood, and how, after many adventures, he was eventually taken from the cruel guardianship of Nicholas Galtry and adopted by Steve (Mento) and Rita (Elasti-Girl) Dayton and allowed to join the Doom Patrol (all told in greater detail in Doom Patrol #112-115 and #99-110). He then goes on to relate his exploits after the demise of the Doom Patrol (in Doom Patrol #121). After a brief adventure with the earlier Teen Titans team (told in Teen Titans #50-52), he had returned to his acting job with the Space Trek: 2022 TV series, during which an old Doom Patrol foe, the Arsenal, made an unsuccessful attempt on his life. Out of work after the series' cancellation, Gar was reunited with his high-school girlfriend, Jillian Jackson, only to have the Arsenal return and kidnap her. Trailing the armored villain to his castle hideout, Beast Boy (whose dual identity, it should be noted, was known to the world by this time) discovered that the Arsenal was actually his former guardian, Galtry, who had hired the original Arsenal to eliminate the Doom Patrol (in Doom Patrol #113) and who had now usurped that costumed criminal's identity himself. His goal: to hold Jillian for ransom and regain the money he had lost when Gar Logan's guardianship had been taken from him. Beast Boy contacted Vernon Questor, who was in charge of Steve Dayton's finances while Mento searched for the killers of the Doom Patrol, but was unable to attain the needed ransom money. Galtry then left him trapped in an airtight room while he attempted to get the ransom paid by Milan's father instead. Escaping, Beast Boy battled Galtry/Arsenal, shattered the villain's armored costume, and defeated him.
Appearing in "The Changeling"
Featured Characters:
- Changeling (Origin)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Arsenal (Nicholas Galtry) (Flashback only)
- Mobu (Flashback only)
Other Characters:
- Doom Patrol (Flashback only)
- Jillian Jackson (Flashback only)
- J.S. (Flashback only)
- King Tawaba (Flashback only)
- Marie Logan (Dies in flashback)
- Mark Logan (Dies in flashback)
- Rocky (Flashback only)
- Tiffany (Flashback only)
- Tim Bender (Flashback only)
- Titans West (Flashback only)
- Aqualad (Flashback only)
- Speedy (Flashback only)
- Vernon Questor (Flashback only)
- Batman (Mentioned only)
- George Lucas (Mentioned only)
- David Banner (Mentioned only)
- Kermit the Frog (Mentioned only)
- Darth Vader (Mentioned only)
- J.R. Ewing (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Lamumba (Flashback only)
- United States of America
- Arizona
- California (Flashback only)
- New York (Flashback only)
Synopsis for "Head Like a Whole, Part One"
This story is reprinted from Action Comics #1051.
Power Girl uses her new psychic powers to help Omen counsel Beast Boy, who has been stuck in the form of a calf due to trauma since the Dark Crisis.
Appearing in "Head Like a Whole, Part One"
Featured Characters:
- Power Girl (Kara Zor-L) (Also in a vision)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- King Deathstroke (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Great Darkness (Corruputed) (In a vision) (Cameo)
Other Characters:
- Titans (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Astral Plane (Flashback only)
- Beast Boy's Mindscape
- Earth 0
- Metropolis
- Lilith Clay's Counselling Office
- Metropolis
Items:
- Lazarus Rains (Mentioned only)
Concepts:
- Dark Crisis (Mentioned only)
- Lazarus Planet (Flashback only)
- The Red
Synopsis for "Changeling Who's Who Profile"
This story is reprinted from Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #4.
This issue is a reference index providing biographies for characters in the DC Universe.
Appearing in "Changeling Who's Who Profile"
Notes
- In "The Fifth Titan", reprinted from Teen Titans #6, the inker is credited as Sal Trapani, but in this issue it is attributed to George Roussos.
See Also