Tales of the Teen Titans #44
Published and © by DC, July 1984
Title: “There Shall Come a Titan”
Synopsis: After learning the origin of the Terminator, Dick Grayson dons his new Nightwing persona and teams with soon-to-be-Titan Jericho.
Writers (co-plotters): Marv Wolfman and George Pérez
Writer (script): Wolfman
Penciler: Pérez
Inkers: Mike DeCarlo and Dick Giordano
Review: “The Judas Contract” rolls on with another jam-packed issue. This one features the origin of Terminator, Dick Grayson’s adoption of the Nightwing identity, and the debut of the newest Teen Titan, Jericho. Not everything works – Nightwing’s “ta-da!” introduction is odd given the situation – but, overall, this arc maintains its excellent standard. Marv Wolfman and George Pérez had been laying the breadcrumbs for this story for months, even years. This issue fills in more detail and puts the last players on the board. Now it all comes down to the finale in 1984’s Teen Titans annual.
Grade: A-
Second opinion: Recommended by The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide (second edition), 2003.
Cool factor: Terminator’s backstory is expertly told.
Not-so-cool factor: Jericho’s perm-and-mutton-chop hairdo has not aged well.
Notable: Origin of Terminator. … Introduction of Nightwing. … First costumed appearance of Jericho.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a 95¢ Canadian variant of this issue, as well as a 2024 facsimile edition. … According to MyComicShop.com, there is also a Mark Jewelers variant.
Character quotable: “A mutant, eh? Well, we’ve got aliens, witches, shape-changers, and cyborgs. So why not a mutant.” – Nightwing, welcoming Jericho to the fray
A word from the co-creator/artist: “Joseph, or Jericho, was the first Titan I ever designed solely and as such he was more of an artist’s character than a writer’s character. By making him mute (and forbidding poor Marv the use of thought balloons for the character), I was forced to convey Jericho’s personality through body language and facial expressions.” – George Pérez, in a 1998 essay reprinted in The New Teen Titans Volume Seven, 2017
Editor’s note: This review was written May 21, 2025.
