"The Culling" is a 2012 DC Comic crossover story arc in their relaunched The New 52 line of superhero comics. It involves three titles: Teen Titans, Legion Lost and Superboy,^[1] which is the conclusion to story arcs in all three titles involving the villainous organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E. It begins in Teen Titans Annual #1, and runs through the ninth issues of each of the three series.

In its wake, a new series titled The Ravagers was launched on May 30, 2012.^[1]

Plot

Legion Lost characters in the plot arc include Beast Boy, Kid Flash, Superboy, Tim Drake, Wonder Girl, and the Titans.^[2] During the plot arc, the organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E. captures Legion Lost, the Teen Titans, and Superboy, forcing them to fight amongst each other to weed out the weakest of them. With Harvest refusing to give up, one of the teen superheroes ultimately has to make a sacrifice for the others.^[3]

Release

In May 2012, Legion Lost #9 was sent to MTV to be previewed, with Tom DeFalco as the issue writer and Pete Woods as artist.^[4] The graphic novel released in 2013 includes Teen Titans #8-12, 0 and DC Comics Presents #12.^[3] The graphic novel Legion Lost Volume 2: The Culling, which collected issues #0 and #8-16 of Legion Lost, had writing by DeFalco, art by Aaron Kuder, Pete Woods, and others, and the cover by Tyler Kirkham.^[2]

Reception

IGN described The Culling story arc negatively, writing that the Teen Titans "pulled us through the muck that was The Culling."^[5]

Collected editions

• The Culling: Rise of the Ravagers (Legion Lost #8–9, Superboy #8–9, Teen Titans #8–9 and Teen Titans Annual #1)
• Teen Titans Vol. 2: The Culling (Teen Titans #8–14 and DC Universe Presents #12)
• Superboy Vol. 2: Extraction (Superboy #0 & #8–12 and Teen Titans #10)
• Legion Lost Vol 2: The Culling ( Legion Lost #0 & #8–16)

References