Warning: Spoilers for Teen Titans Academy #3 ahead!
Life must be hard for Lobo's daughter, Crush; but after a recent snafu at Teen Titans Academy, Crush is quitting and may soon be heading to space in order to confront her megalomaniac of a father. This turn of events sets both of the Czarnians up for their very own tag-team adventure: the Crush & Lobo miniseries kicking off on June 1st as a part of DC's Pride Month celebration.
Crush, real name Xiomara Rojas, is the half-Czarnian daughter of DC's infamous sometimes villain, sometimes anti-villain, Lobo. Unlike her father, she's a much newer addition to the DC universe, having made her debut in Teen Titans Special #1 back in 2018. Her origin is similar to Superman's, as she found herself on Earth as an infant and was brought up by adoptive parents. Although, the Burning Man hippies who adopted her probably didn't provide the same cookie-cutter upbringing the Man of Steel got. They were also, unfortunately, murdered. Plus, her real dad turned out to be a crazy alien who killed his entire race. So her life is certainly less than conventional, even by superhero standards. Nevertheless, the Teen Titans took her in and she became a full-fledged member of the team... until now.
In Teen Titans Academy #3, Titans Tower was infiltrated by the Suicide Squad with the assistance of the mysterious Red X. The original Titans, or as Crush refers to them, the "big Teen Titans," are all away on a meta-teen refugee rescue mission, and the only people there to protect the students are the students and the more modern Titan recruits. Already frustrated by the fact that she doesn't know where she stands in the Teen Titan hierarchy anymore, Crush lets her rage out on the unwelcome intruders. As the tide turns in their favor and the Suicide Squad begins to retreat, Crush gets one of them by the neck and looks close to losing her restraint just as the adults return. Taking offense to everyone insinuating that she looked like she was going to kill him, as well as their interference allowing him to get away, and feeling like Donna was comparing her to her bloodthirsty father, Crush quits in a fit of rage.
Cussing out Donna and throwing her Teen Titans belt to the wayside, Crush leaves. Although Roundhouse wants to stop her, no one follows. No one knows why she snapped, but Red Arrow thinks she'll come around in time. It probably doesn't help that Roundhouse caught her listening to a voicemail from her father, Lobo earlier in the issue, most likely stepping into something he shouldn't have. Nevertheless, a brokenhearted Roundhouse knows that nothing will be able to fill her void in the interim. This rather sudden turn of events might be sad for those who have become like a second family to Crush, but it also means that, fortunately for fans, the catalyst that paves the way for the Crush & Lobo miniseries has finally happened.
The miniseries is a spin-off of Teen Titans Academy and is set to pick up right where it left off with Crush in this issue. As the title alludes, it'll follow Crush and her dear old dad, Lobo, on what can only be a bizarre, and probably violent, father-daughter adventure. Of course, it's not just their relationship that is set to be highlighted in this story; Crush's shaky relationship with her girlfriend Katie seems to also be a major plot point. Teen Titans fans can only hope that Crush doesn't learn all the wrong lessons from her deadbeat dad, Lobo. The miniseries will be rolled out between June 2021 and January 2022 and will launch DC's Pride event: a celebration that will continue long past the month of June, just as it should.