Warning: Spoilers for Primer: Clashing Colors (2024) #1 ahead!Primer has been an absolute delight since her debut, and her second outing promises even more wild misadventures now that the Teen Titans are in the mix! With her trademark irreverent charm and at times painfully honest depiction of what it’s like to be 13 years old, Primer: Clashing Colors does more than succeed as a sequel on its own merits; it also gives 2003’s animated Teen Titans series a much-deserved second wind.

After coming to terms with her powers and making her official start as a hero, Primer: Clashing Colors #1 by Jennifer Muro, Thomas Krajewski and Gretel Lusky lays out Primer’s next adventure: joining the Teen Titans. Notably, this isn’t just any Teen Titans lineup; the characters are specifically their 2003 animated counterparts, sporting the same instantly-recognizable designs.

From there, it’s the usual mix of shenanigans married with surprising emotional honesty from all involved that makes Primer such a joy to read, with the older, more experienced Titans acting as the perfect (but non-adversarial) foils to the fledgling heroine.

Primer Heralds A Beloved Team’s Return

Primer: Clashing Colors #1 by Jennifer Muro, Thomas Krajewski, Gretel Lusky

Cartoon Network’s 2003 Teen Titans series was a smash hit, leaving many fans disappointed by its unexpected cancelation in 2006. While nods have been made to the series now and then (including a touching final tribute in Teen Titans Go! #51), it has not been continued in any meaningful way. While the 2013 Teen Titans Go! animated series uses the same cast, character designs and voice actors, the more slapstick-oriented series has made it very clear that it is not interested in resuming the dynamics of its predecessor and has gone as far as to mock fans of the original series.

As for Primer, those unfamiliar with Ashley Rayburn’s misadventures can catch up with Primer: A Superhero Graphic Novel (2020). After accidentally becoming chemically bonded to a set of super-powered paints, Ashley discovers that she can mix and match up to three powers together at a time to become a superhero. Ashley’s story is told with heart and honesty, taking care never to condescend to its characters nor its young audience; the graphic novel pays as much attention to the emotional struggles of Ashley and her foster parents as it does to superheroic drama and antics.

Primer Is A Perfect Addition To The Animated Teen Titans

Reading Primer: Clash of Colors #1 feels like coming home for both Primer fans and fans of the Teen Titans animated series. The Titans don’t just resemble their animated counterparts, they’re clearly informed by their personalities as well. From an overly-serious Robin trying desperately to avoid abbreviating the ridiculous name of the latest MacGuffin, Starfire cooing over miniature versions of the Titans, to Beast Boy instantly being won over by Primer turning into an animal, these are the characters fans of the animated series know and love.

Primer herself plays off the Teen Titans so naturally that it’s easy to imagine this issue as just another episode of the show. Teen Titans was known for not being afraid to introduce niche characters like Jericho, Kole, and Gnarrk into its lineup, or even introducing new characters of their own, like the speedster duo Más y Menos. To this end, Primer fits right in as the focus of her own “episode,” making this issue feel like it slots in effortlessly into the animated series’ canon.

Primer Is One Of DC’s Standout YA Titles

All in all, Primer’s second outing is a triumphant, promising start. Primer herself manages to be completely relatable in her day-to-day life: the importance she places on having fun, the struggles she has with homework and the social crucible of school, how she struggles to relate to her foster parents and how they, at times, struggle to relate to her. Primer is a deep character with a lot of promise, and her second series starts off strong – the fact that it resurrects a fan-favorite iteration of the Teen Titans is just the cherry on top.