Warning! Spoilers ahead for Teen Titans Academy #2!
With numerous sources already hinting at the tragedies that will befall the students of Teen Titans Academy, the nascent series is already one of DC's saddest stories ever. Future State provided the first and worst possible outcome that could ever befall these special youngsters. On its own, Future State: Teen Titans' death toll was quite substantial, but the dreary, heart-wrenching images depicting rows upon rows of tombstones may have a sobering effect even outside of Future State.
The fact that Spectre didn't show Wonder Woman what was about to befall the young Titan wannabes during his guided tour of Earthly happenings in Infinite Frontier #0 added yet another level of dread to the new DC Omniverse. The point of this excursion was to give Wonder Woman peace of mind so she could ascend beyond the mortal realm. It's telling that the only portion of the tour that he skipped involved Teen Titan Academy since it implies that what he would have shown her could have been so terrible that Wonder Woman would have decided to stay and help them prevent the mass graveyard seen in Future State. Though every grave in Teen Titans: Future State represents a tragedy, one stands out; the grave for a student named Matt Price.
By Tim Sheridan, Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Alejandro Sánchez, and Rob Leigh, Teen Titans Academy #2 focuses on the young hero named Matt Price and musters up the most poignant feelings in the reader as a result. Matt is essentially like the Connor Kent Superboy who has no memory of his past, and he struggles with this lack of identity and connections. It's tragic that he could die without ever learning about his origins.
Even the moments where the students are barely present have a sadder quality to them, such as during the conversation between Nightwing and Cyborg. In the scene, Nightwing tries to express his frustration to Cyborg about his relationship with Starfire and how she is jealous of him hanging out with Barbara Gordon while in Bludhaven. But, since Cyborg is currently teaching a class, they are constantly getting interrupted by students who have forgotten certain items in various places and need permission to leave. After each student departs, the two teachers can't help but discuss them for a few moments and once they finally get back to the original topic of discussion, they are interrupted once more by another student.
These interruptions are humorous, but humanize the children of Teen Titans Academy to a startling degree, since having to leave class to retrieve a forgotten item is a ubiquitous experience. Moreover, the fact that Cyborg and Nightwing can't help but talk about the students who just interrupted their conversation subtly conveys how even the students' most minuscule and insignificant actions cause an immediate reaction. If just a brief encounter is able to compel their teachers to talk about them, then the reader can't help but imagine how much of an impact these students would have made saving a person, a city, or even an entire world. But then the reader is suddenly reminded that maybe this is the most these students will ever be able to impact. And it's a shame.
Because of the two exceedingly unsettling instances in Future State and Infinite Frontier that foretell a dismal future for the Teen Titans, readers can't help but become more invested in every interaction between the students at Teen Titan Academy, knowing that they may very likely soon perish. Every joke, every quirk, every backstory is now tainted and impossible not to view through a more poignant lens. What makes Teen Titans Academy so effective is knowing that the lives of the children are doomed.