After all the hype, I'm a little underwhelmed by the original Titans' big recurring villain. The Mad Mod is a fashion designer who smuggles such things as diamond powder and "chemicals" (does Speedy know about this?) into and out of Europe inside clothing. He's got some colorful gimmicks and clothing (if checkered leotards are indeed stylish) as you can see from the cover, and a crazy attitude, but... well, you know... he's still a villainous fashion designer.But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Our story starts where most of these stories do: the Titans' lair. It's quickly becoming my favorite part of Haney's Titans: Just looking in on what they do when they're just hanging out. This time, it's a look at their bulletin board:
Does Robin often forget his belt? Does he ever lose those little green shorts of his? Did Batman really call? Cuz what it looks like is one of the other boys poking fun at him. Here's what I'm imagining: Kid-Flash wrote the first two message ("Haw haw!") and then Robin blew a fuse and wrote the third one. Hey, I can't stand slackers either.The kids are then called to Washington again. Is it to...
a) Force them to join the Peace Corps? (again)
b) Make them record Public Service Announcements on teen pregnancy?
c) Accompany Wonder Girl's teen rock'n'roll idol on a tour to find possible evidence that he's behind all the diamond dust and "chemicals" smuggling that's crippling the U.S. economy.
If you noticed the Holley Hip autographed photo on the bulletin board, then you've correctly guessed (c). Congratulations!
Being a teen, he is of course... (wait for it)... guiltless of any crime. But the Brit that designs his clothes definitely isn't. Not only does he have style, he's a criminal mastermind to boot. He starts out by capturing the snooping Kid-Flash with his patented sign, then disguising him as a mannequin before throwing him in the river. Good thing Aqualad was along for the ride!
Poor Garth, when you get your license, I'm sure Aquaman will lend you that ginchy jetski he used on Superfriends. Until then, hold on tight!Aqualad saved Kid-Flash, but the Mad Mod escapes on his robot fish. The guy changes into scuba gear in no time at all. We can never say he came unprepared.
It's Robin and Wonder Girl's turn to be played for chumps when they board the Mod's plane and get caught. He throws them out the door, and when he realizes that one of the Titans can fly (doh!), he does the most logical thing. He throws himself out of the planet after them to make sure they don't escape with proof of his wrong-doing. Uhm... ok. He does manage to escape via parachute and Robin's camera is destroyed, so I guess it made sense at the time, but still... Prepared, yes. Stylish, yes (in Haneyland anyway). Smart? Not so much.
In Paris the next day, Holley Hip is wearing a diamond dusted suit on stage and the Mad Mod decides to blow the lights and get his merchandise right off the singer's back. In the middle of the show. In front of a crowd of thousands. One guitar smashed over the head later and the Mad Mod is in French custody (I say he breaks out easily) and all the clothes impounded. But with the guitar smashed, what is Holley going to do???
And voilà. One power you didn't know Wonder Girl's magic lasso had: Strap it to a wooden board and it plays just like an electric guitar. The panel gets bonus points for having Robin hiding his boyhood in a barrel after lending Holley his uniform.
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