The Teen Titans, also known as the New Teen Titans and the Titans, is a comic book superhero team who appear in comic books published by DC Comics, often in an eponymous monthly series. As the group's name suggests, its members are teenage superheroes. The theme of teenagers learning to take on adult roles and responsibilities was common throughout the series.
The basis for the creation of the Teen Titans began in The Brave and the Bold #54 (1964) featuring a teamup of Robin (Dick Grayson), Kid Flash (Wally West) and Aqualad (Garth), the sidekicks of Justice League members Batman, the Flash and Aquaman respectively. The team was formed and made its first official appearance under the name of "Teen Titans" in The Brave and the Bold #60, joined by the 4th original member Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), Wonder Woman's younger sister. Later, Green Arrow's sidekick, Speedy (Roy Harper) replaced Aqualad.
After only modest initial success, the series became a hit in a 1980s revival under writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez. In 1980, the team relaunched as The New Teen Titans, aging the characters to young adulthood. Original members Robin, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash were joined by new characters Cyborg, Starfire and Raven, as well as the former Doom Patrol member Beast Boy, as Changeling. The group had several encounters with the original Titans of Greek mythology, particularly Hyperion. The series was re-titled Tales of the Teen Titans with issue #41 (April 1984). A second volume was launched in August 1984. Pérez left in 1985 to headline the DC Comics 50th Anniversary limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths. Tales of the Teen Titans was canceled in July 1988 after #91. The New Teen Titans Volume 2 was retitled The New Titans in December 1988 (issue #50) and was ultimately canceled in February 1996 after 130 issues.
The series was relaunched as Teen Titans in October 1996, with all-new members under Atom (Ray Palmer), who had been de-aged to a teenager. This series ended in September 1998 after 24 issues. A three-issue limited series titled JLA/The Titans: The Technis Imperative (December 1998 â€" February 1999) led to the March 1999 debut of The Titans, a series featuring select Titans from across the group's incarnations that produced 50 issues until April 2003. A new regular series titled Teen Titans began in September 2003, featuring Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy and Raven of the 1980s group joined by new teenaged versions of Robin (Tim Drake), Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) and Kid Flash (Bart Allen), as well as the Superman clone Superboy (Kon-El). By 2006, the team included only the younger members and some new additions. A concurrent series titled Titans debuted in April 2008 featuring some of the original and 1980s members, such as Nightwing, Troia, Flash (Wally West), Tempest, Arsenal, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven.
In September 2011, the franchise rebooted again as part of DC's The New 52 event with a new team consisting of Red Robin (Tim Drake), Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark), Kid Flash (Bart Allen), Solstice, Superboy and two new members - Bunker and Skitter.
A Teen Titans animated television series ran on Cartoon Network from July 2003 to January 2006 based on the 1980s team, but differed from the original. The series spawned two comic book titles, Teen Titans Go! and Tiny Titans. The series returned as a series of mini-shorts on the DC Nation block on Cartoon Network.
Publication history
Original incarnation
Robin (Dick Grayson), Kid Flash (Wally West) and Aqualad teamed up to defeat a weather-controlling villain known as Mister Twister in The Brave and the Bold #54 (July 1964) by writer Bob Haney and artist Bruno Premiani. They appeared under the name "Teen Titans" in The Brave and the Bold #60 (July 1965), joined by Wonder Woman's younger sister Wonder Girl (Donna Troy). After being featured in Showcase #59 (December 1965), the Teen Titans were spun off into their own series with Teen Titans #1 by Haney and artist Nick Cardy.
The series' original premise had the Teen Titans helping teenagers and answering calls. Comics historian Les Daniels noted that Haney "took some ribbing for the writing style that described the Teen Titans as 'the Cool Quartet' or 'the Fab Foursome'. The attempt to reach the youth culture then embracing performers like the Beatles and Bob Dylan impressed some observers." Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy makes guest appearances before officially joining the team in Teen Titans #19. Aqualad takes a leave of absence from the group in the same issue, but makes several later guest appearances, sometimes with girlfriend Aquagirl. Neal Adams was called upon to rewrite and redraw a Teen Titans story which had been written by Len Wein and Marv Wolfman. The story, titled "Titans Fit the Battle of Jericho!", would have introduced DC's first African American superhero but was rejected by publisher Carmine Infantino. The revised story appeared in Teen Titans #20 (Marchâ€"April 1969). Wolfman and Gil Kane created an origin for Wonder Girl in Teen Titans #22 (Julyâ€"Aug. 1969) and introduced her new costume. Psychic Lilith Clay and Mal Duncan also join the group. Beast Boy of the Doom Patrol makes a guest appearance seeking membership, but was rejected as too young at the time; existing heroes Hawk and Dove, a duo of teenaged super powered brothers, appear in issue #21; and time-displaced caveman Gnarrk aids the team in two issues.
The series explored events such as inner-city racial tension and protests against the Vietnam War. One storyline beginning in issue #25 (February 1970) saw the Titans deal with the accidental death of a peace activist, leading them to reconsider their methods. As a result, the Teen Titans briefly abandoned their identities to work as ordinary civilians, but the effort was quickly abandoned. Along the way, Aqualad left the series and the character of Mr. Jupiter, who was Lilith's mentor and employer was introduced. He financially backed the Titans for a brief period. The series was canceled with #43 (Januaryâ€"February 1973).
1970s revival
The series resumed with issue #44 (November 1976). The stories included the introduction of the African-American superheroine Bumblebee, the introduction of the “Titans West†team, consisting of a number of other teen heroes including Bat-Girl (Betty Kane) and Golden Eagle and the introduction of Joker's Daughter in #48. The revival was short-lived and the series was canceled as of #53 (February 1978), that featured an origin story. At the end, they realized that, now in their early 20s, they had outgrown the "Teen" Titans. In the last panel, without speaking, they go their separate ways.
The title appeared again in 1999 for the Teen Titans Annual #1, 1967 issue (ISBN 1-56389-486-6), a one-shot special that reprinted selected Silver Age stories in the 1960s-style 80-Page Giant format. An Annual issue was also published at that time.
The New Teen Titans (1980â€"1996)
DC Comics Presents #26 introduced a new team of Titans, anchored by Robin, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash and soon followed by The New Teen Titans #1 (November 1980). The series, created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, re-introduced Beast Boy as Changeling and introduced the machine man Cyborg, the alien Starfire and the dark empath Raven. Raven, an expert manipulator, forms the group to fight her demonic father Trigon the Terrible and the team remains together.
Wolfman and Pérez's working relationship quickly evolved to the point where they were plotting the series jointly. Wolfman recalled that "once George moved to the same town I lived in, only five blocks or so away, we usually got together for lunch and would work out a story over the next few hours. In many cases I would then go home and write up a plot based on it, or sometimes George would take the verbal plotting we did and take it from there."
The team's adversaries included Deathstroke the Terminator, a mercenary who takes a contract to kill the Titans to fulfill a job his son had been unable to complete. This led to perhaps the most notable Titans storyline of the era. 1984's "The Judas Contract," in Tales of the Teen Titans #42-44 and Teen Titans Annual #3 featured a psychopathic girl named Terra with the power to manipulate earth and all earth-related materials. She infiltrates the Titans in order to destroy them. "The Judas Contract" won the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for "Favorite Comic Book Story" of 1984, and was later reprinted as a standalone trade paperback in 1988. Robin adopts the identity of Nightwing, while Wally West gives up his Kid Flash persona and quits the Titans. and the introduction of a new member in Jericho, Deathstroke's other son.
Other notable New Teen Titans stories included "A Day in the Lives...", presenting a day in the team members' personal lives; "Who is Donna Troy?", depicting Robin investigating Wonder Girl's origins; and "We Are Gathered Here Today...", telling the story of Wonder Girl's wedding. Tales of the New Teen Titans, a four-part limited series by Wolfman and Pérez, was published in 1982, detailing the back-stories of Cyborg, Raven, Changeling and Starfire.
The New Teen Titans and the Uncanny X-Men
The New Teen Titans was widely thought of as DC's answer to the increasingly popular Uncanny X-Men from Marvel Comics, as both series featured all-new members and depicted young heroes from disparate backgrounds whose internal conflicts were as integral to the series as was their combat against villains. The two teams met in the 1982 crossover one-shot entitled "Apokolips... Now", which teamed Darkseid, Deathstroke and Dark Phoenix against both teams. The story was written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Walt Simonson and Terry Austin.
The New Teen Titans (vol. 2)
The New Teen Titans relaunched with a new #1 issue in August 1984 as part of a new initiative at DC informally referred to as "hardcover/softcover". The New Teen Titans along with Legion of Super-Heroes and Batman and the Outsiders were the first and only titles included in this program. The same stories were published twice, first in a more expensive edition with higher-quality printing and paper distributed exclusively to comic book specialty stores, then republished a year later in the original format, distributed to newsstands. The title was renamed Tales of the Teen Titans, while a new concurrently published series named The New Teen Titans (vol. 2) launched with a new #1. After both titles ran new stories for one year, the former book began reprinting the latter's stories, continuing until the idea was abandoned after #91.
Issue #1 of New Teen Titans (vol. 2) created controversy when Grayson and Starfire were depicted in bed together, although it had been established for some time that they were a couple. The initial storyline, "The Terror of Trigon", featured Raven's demon father attempting to take over Earth and Raven's own struggle to remain good despite Trigon's demonic blood inside her. Pérez left the series after issue #5. José Luis GarcÃa-López followed Pérez as the title's artist and Eduardo Barreto followed GarcÃa-López. Paul Levitz scripted and wrote several issues of the Brother Blood saga when Wolfman briefly left. Pérez temporarily returned with issue #50, when the series took the name The New Titans without the "Teen" prefix, as the characters were no longer teenagers.
Issue #50 told a new origin story for Wonder Girl, her link to Wonder Woman having been severed due to retcons created in the aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Pérez sketched through issues #55, 57 and 60, while only providing layouts for issues #58-59 and 61, with artist Tom Grummett finishing pencils and Bob McLeod as inker. Pérez remained as cover inker to issues #62-67. He would return for the series finale #130 (Feb. 1996) providing cover art. Wolfman and Grummett revitalized the series with new characters and put older characters through radical changes. Members during this time included Phantasm, Pantha and Red Star.
Other new members of the team in the latter part of the run included Impulse, Damage, Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), Supergirl, Rose Wilson Minion and Baby Wildebeest. As a result, the group that appeared in #130 had little resemblance to earlier lineups.
Teen Titans Spotlight On
Another new title was launched in August 1986, this time to focus less on the team itself than on individual Titans, hence "Spotlight". The series aimed to "put the spotlight on individual members of the Teen Titans, one at a time and let each story dictate how many issues it should run". Most storylines occupied a single issue, after the series launched with a two-part focus on Starfire and a four-issue highlighting of Jericho. One issue focused on another team, the Brotherhood of Evil. The series spanned 21 issues, culminating in a "Spotlight" on the 1960s Teen Titans team as a whole (April 1988).
Team Titans
The Team Titans were one of 100 groups sent back through time to prevent the birth of Lord Chaos, the son of Donna Troy and Terry Long. Their mission was to kill the pregnant Troy before she could give birth. Mirage, Killowat, Redwing, Terra, Dagon, Prestor Jon and Battalion made up the team.
Teen Titans (vol. 2, 1996â€"1998)
Teen Titans was written and penciled by Dan Jurgens. It began in 1996 with a new #1 (October 1996), with Pérez as inker for the first 15 issues. Atom, who had become a teenager following the events of Zero Hour, leads the brand-new team (of Prysm, Joto, Risk and Argent). Arsenal became a mentor about halfway through. The series ended in September 1998.
A contest was held in the letters pages to determine who would join the team. Robin (Tim Drake), won the vote, but editors on the Batman titles banned his appearance, forcing Jurgens to use Captain Marvel Jr. instead. His inclusion failed to boost sales and the series was then canceled.
Titans (1999â€"2002)
The team returned in a three-issue limited series, JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative, featuring nearly every Titan and showcased the return of Cyborg. This led into Titans, written by Devin Grayson, starting with Titans Secret Files #1 (March 1999).
This team consisted of Nightwing, Troia, Arsenal, Tempest, Wally West, Starfire, Cyborg, Changeling, Damage and Argent. One new member, Jesse Quick, joined. This team lasted until issue #50 (2002). The West Coast branch of the team, Titans L.A., appeared once, in the pages of Titans Secret Files #2.
Between Teen Titans and Titans, a new generation of young heroes formed a team in Young Justice, consisting of Superboy, Robin, Impulse, Wonder Girl, Secret and Arrowette. The two series concluded with the three-issue limited series Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day, which led to two new series: Teen Titans and Outsiders.
Teen Titans (vol. 3, 2003â€"2011)
Writer Geoff Johns' Teen Titans series began in 2003. Most of the members had been part of Young Justice. Johns wrote the book for forty-five issues. Adam Beechen then wrote four issues from #46 to #49. Sean McKeever wrote from #50 through #71. Following McKeever, Bryan Q. Miller wrote issues #72-74, followed by Felicia Henderson.
The series’ original lineup parallels the lineup of Marv Wolfman's New Teen Titans series: Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy return, joined by Robin, Superboy, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash. Johns was unable to use Static due to legal issues. Raven re-joins the team in issue #12 and the new Speedy joins the team in Green Arrow #46, first appearing in the Titans book in issue #21. Starfire left for the Outsiders. During the “Insiders†crossover with The Outsiders (issues #24â€"25), Superboy comes under Lex Luthor's control and attacks the team, afterwards taking a leave of absence that ends during Infinite Crisis. The team would rebuilt the titans tower again by cyborg back in the Hudson River. The new Titans Tower has a memorial hall with statues of the fallen Titans.
One Year Later: The new Teen Titans
One year after Infinite Crisis, Robin has returned to the Teen Titans while Wonder Girl has quit to fight the Brotherhood of Evil, Starfire is missing in action after going into space, Raven's whereabouts are unknown and Beast Boy has left to join the new Doom Patrol along with Bumblebee and Herald (now called Vox). Speedy is on an island with Connor Hawke. Kid Flash becomes the fourth Flash. Cyborg is damaged and has been inactive since his return from space, but 16-year-old genius twins Wendy and Marvin, repair him, giving him new abilities. New members include Kid Devil and Ravager.
During the lost year, at least 24 new members joined the team. Without proper leadership the new members were unable to work together.
Robin, Kid Devil and Ravager reform the Teen Titans along with Wonder Girl, Cyborg, Raven, Miss Martian and a resurrected Jericho. Robin tells Wonder Girl that he believes Raven could bring Superboy back to life, as she did with Jericho. Raven reveals that she cannot because Conner's soul has moved on. A memorial to Superboy is erected outside Titans Tower. Unknown to the other Titans, Robin has secretly been attempting to clone Superboy, making nearly 100 failed attempts.
The Titans face a group calling themselves "Titans East" led by Deathstroke. The team includes Risk, Sun Girl, Batgirl, Kid Crusader, Match, Inertia, Duela Dent and Enigma. Deathstroke manipulates Titans East by blackmailing Risk, drugging Batgirl and giving Inertia "Velocity 9", a drug which allows super-speed without adverse effects. Robin cures Batgirl and she, along with Duela Dent, defeats Deathstroke's team.
Soon after, events related to the Countdown story arc impact the Titans. Duela Dent and Bart Allen are killed. Cyborg leaves, Supergirl joins and Blue Beetle is invited to train.
The Titans Tomorrow return, allied with Lex Luthor, to alter the present to fit their future. During the fight, Miss Martian's future self reveals the rationale behind the Sinestro Corps and their war to subjugate the universe. The vision spurs Miss Martian to free Robin, who again confronts his future self, Batman. Cassie intervenes and changes the future by kissing Robin, causing the future versions to fade away. The Titans then join the fight against the Sinestro Corps.
After the encounter with future selves, Supergirl quits. Cassie and Tim begin a relationship, while Kid Devil pines for Rose. Miss Martian finds that her mind was implanted with a piece of her future demented psyche. Kid Devil is left in Titans Tower alone and throws a massive party for local Titans fans, which leads to him being captured by Dreadbolt.
Later Ravager and the twins are attacked inside the tower by Persuader and Copperhead, who are being directed by the Clock King. Disruptor is sent to capture Miss Martian. Clock King's group is the Terror Titans. He intends to sell his captives to the "Dark Side Club" to fight in the combat arena. M'gann frees Kid Devil from Clock King. Robin, Wonder Girl and Blue Beetle help defeat the Terror Titans. Following the attack, Kid Devil sets out to capture Shockwave and is helped by Blue Beetle. Although they argue the whole time, they eventually stop Shockwave. After the battle Eddie takes the name Red Devil, along with a new costume. Miss Martian suddenly leaves the team assuring them she'd return.
After the Batman R.I.P storyline, Robin leaves and Wonder Girl leads the team. Red Devil loses his powers after Brother Blood absorbs them. Miss Martian returns with several teen heroes liberated from the Dark Side Club. A new team is formed: Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle and the now powerless Red Devil are joined by Kid Eternity and Static, with Aquagirl, Miss Martian and Bombshell signing up. In Teen Titans #74, Red Devil is killed and Kid Eternity is kidnapped by the Calculator.
During the events of the Blackest Night crossover, some dead Titans are resurrected as members of the Black Lantern Corps. Static, Miss Martian, Blue Beetle, Raven, Bombshell and Aquagirl all have the day off, so an emergency team consisting of Donna Troy, Cyborg, Wonder Girl, Starfire, Beast Boy, Kid Flash and the new Hawk and Dove, is formed to defend the Tower. In the ensuing battle, Hawk is killed after her predecessor Hank Hall tears her heart out.
Starting in the May 2010 issue, a new back-up feature called The Coven began running, featuring Black Alice, Zachary Zatara and Traci 13.
In #83 Blue Beetle leaves to visit his mother and is drafted into the new Justice League International during the events of Justice League: Generation Lost. Kid Eternity is revealed to have been beaten to death by the Calculator.
J. T. Krul became the writer with issue #88 and penciller Nicola Scott became the book's artist. The issue's teaser shows a line-up of Superboy, Wonder Girl, Raven, Beast Boy, Kid Flash and Ravager. The Titans undergo this roster change in issue #87, the final issue before Krul's run. Following a mission to an alternate dimension to rescue Raven, the team splits. Bombshell and Aquagirl are missing in action, Miss Martian is in a coma and she and a powerless Static leaves with Cyborg to go to Cadmus Labs in order to find a way to restore his powers.
Damian Wayne, the current Robin, is announced as a new team member, officially joining in #89. A series for Static was announced. In January 2011, new Titan Solstice debuted in the January 2011 Wonder Girl one-shot. She entered the main Teen Titans title following the crossover with the Red Robin series. During the crossover, Tim asks the Titans for help in tracking down the Calculator after he tries to kill his friend Tam Fox Tim rejoins the team as Red Robin (rather than Robin). Following this, Damian quits the team.
The book concluded with a three-part storyline spanning issues 98 to 100, which saw Superboy-Prime return to destroy the team. A large group of former Titans arrived and the series ultimately ended with Prime trapped in the Source Wall, seemingly for eternity. The remainder of the issue consisted of pieces of artwork showcasing the various Teen Titans who appeared in that incarnation of the title, contributed by various DC artists.
Titans (vol. 2, 2008â€"2011)
A second ongoing Teen Titans series, titled Titans, launched in April 2008, written by Judd Winick. Issue one was drawn by Ian Churchill and Norm Rapmund, issue 2 by Joe Benitez and Victor Llamas. The opening storyline follows the events of the Teen Titans East Special one-shot released in November 2007, revealing that Cyborg's team survived the attack, except Power Boy, dead after being impaled. The team's new line up consists of former New Teen Titans Nightwing, Wally West, Donna Troy, Beast Boy, Raven, Cyborg, Red Arrow and Starfire.
In the series' first story, Trigon makes a series of attacks on every member, former or current, of the Teen Titans and Trigon has "another child" that, unlike Raven, will assist him in his attack. After reclaiming Titans Island and establishing a headquarters on the East River, Cyborg sets out to create an East Coast Titans team. However, during a training session, the team was massacred by an unseen force. Though Cyborg survives, Titans' members past and present are attacked by demonic entities across the globe. Raven, sensing Trigon's presence once again, calls upon her former Titans allies to defeat her fiendish father.
After rescuing several Titans and questioning Trigon himself, the Titans learn that Trigon's three children have prepared his second invasion for him. Raven's three grown half brothers â€" Jacob, Jared and Jesse are responsible. Working as a team, the Titans thwart the Sons of Trigon and stop Trigon's invasion plan. Following this adventure, Raven chooses her adopted family over her biological family, Red Arrow decided to join his former teammates (although both he and Flash retain their JLA membership) and the Titans were back together as a team.
Following this, the team settles at Titans Tower (the New York base), to recover from the events. While Dick and Kory attempt to make a decision on where their relationship will lead, Raven and Beast Boy go out on a "not-a-date". During this, Raven reveals that since she faced her brothers, she has begun to feel as if she is losing control and slipping back under her father's influence. Although Beast Boy rejects the idea, he is unexpectedly blind-sided as Raven gives in to her darker side, under the influence of her half-brother's coaxing. Using her teleporting powers, she and the sons of Trigon vanish, leaving a distraught Beast Boy to warn the others. Using a gemstone that carries Raven's pure essence within it, the Titans free Raven of her father's evil. As a result, Raven leaves each Titan with an amulet that can be used to cleanse any evil influence from her body.
Following this, Jericho arrives, frantically asking for help to separate himself from Match's body. Jericho has turned renegade again and fights the Titans. He is under the control of the numerous people that he has taken command of over the years. Nightwing resigns from the Titans due to his new responsibilities in Gotham.
Brightest Day: Titans - Villains for Hire
A Comic-Con announcement stated that Cyborg, Donna Troy and Starfire were leaving the team to pursue the JLA. Red Arrow, with his daughter Lian, has already relocated and is no longer involved with the Titans, but he got a spotlight in issue #23 after what happens to him in Justice League: Cry for Justice #5. After a series of spotlight issues Final Crisis Aftermath: INK writer-artist creative team Eric Wallace and Fabrizio Fiorentino took over. Deathstroke took over the team with Tattooed Man and Cheshire.
One of the new members included Carla Monetti a.k.a Cinder, a young redheaded woman with the ability to manipulate fire. Osiris, a member during the One Year Later gap, who had been brought back to life after the events of Blackest Night, was returned as a member. The final issue of the limited series, Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal ended with an advertisement stating that Arsenal's storyline would continue.
The team debuted in the one-shot, Titans: Villains for Hire, where they are hired to assassinate Ryan Choi (Atom) in his home in Ivy Town. The issue quickly became the subject of controversy due to Choi's violent death. Allegations of racial insensitivity dogged DC over the decision to kill off a relatively high profile Asian character.
Following the one-shot, in the team's inaugural storyline they were hired to assassinate Lex Luthor following the events of War of the Supermen. This is revealed to be a ruse set up by Luthor and Deathstroke to draw out the real assassin, a shape-shifter named "Facade", who had apparently killed and impersonated a woman on Luthor's security detail.
Following several adventures, the Titans are confronted by Ray Palmer and the Justice League for their hand in Ryan's murder. The Titans are nearly defeated, but manage to escape thanks to an intervention from the newly resurrected Isis. Following the battle with the Justice League, Titans concluded with a two-part storyline which saw Jericho's return. The series ended with Arsenal battling Slade for control of the team and the Titans ultimately disbanding and Arsenal taking Jericho under his wing, leaving Slade alone once again.
The New 52 (Teen Titans vol. 4, 2011-2014 and Teen Titans vol.5, 2014-present)
DC Comics relaunched Teen Titans with issue #1 (cover dated November 2011) as part of DC's New 52 event, written by Scott Lobdell with former Justice League artist Brett Booth providing interiors. Lobdell stated a desire to create a more diverse Titans roster, drawing parallels to the non-white teenagers he created during his run on the Generation X title at Marvel Comics. In keeping with that goal, three of the seven Titans are people of color.
The roster included Red Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, Wonder Girl, Solstice and two new characters; Skitter, formerly known as 'Bugg', an African-American girl with insect-themed powers and Bunker, a Mexican teenager named Miguel Barragan who can create force fields. Miguel is also gay, making him the first homosexual member of the Teen Titans since Hero Cruz, who was a member of the short-lived Titans L.A. team for one issue. Former Titans Static and Blue Beetle were each given their own titles.
The series concluded with issue #30 along with a third annual in April 2014. The series was relaunched in July with a new issue #1. Returning characters include Red Robin, Bunker, Wonder Girl, Raven, and a green Beast Boy due to the controversies of before.
Collected editions
Silver Age Teen Titans
New Teen Titans
The Titans
Teen Titans (2003â€"2011)
Note: Issues #27-28, penciled by artist Rob Liefeld and written by Gail Simone, are not collected in any of the trade paperbacks and were reprinted in DC Comics Presents: Brightest Day #3 (Feb. 2011), which also included Legends of the DC Universe #26-27 (tying in with characters spotlighted in Brightest Day). Issues #48-49, which tie in with the "Amazons Attack" Wonder Woman story, are likewise not collected in a trade paperback.
Titans (2008â€"2011)
The New 52 Teen Titans (2011-2014)
Smallville: Titans
Bryan Q. Miller created a series titled Smallville Titans which features Conner Kent/Superboy, Speedy, Blue Beetle, Miss Martian & Zan and Jayna as students at Jay Garrick's school for the "gifted".
In other media
Animation
The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (1967â€"1968)
The team's first animated appearance was in Teen Titans segments of the 1967 Filmation series - The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, featuring Speedy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl and Aqualad. They are voiced by Pat Harrington, Jr., Tommy Cook, Julie Bennett and Jerry Dexter.
New Teen Titans (1983)
In 1983, Hanna-Barbera created an animated version of The New Teen Titans which was ultimately not picked up by ABC.
Anti-drug commercial (1984)
Wonder Girl, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Kid Flash and Protector (temporarily replacing Robin) appeared on a 1984 Keebler anti-drug commercial.
Teen Titans (2003â€"2006)
A Teen Titans animated series ran on Cartoon Network and The WB from July 19, 2003, to January 16, 2006. Drawn in an anime-style, the show featured a 1980s-era lineup composed of Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven and Cyborg as teenagers, voiced respectively by Scott Menville, Hynden Walch, Greg Cipes, Tara Strong and Khary Payton. The series adapted some Wolfman/Pérez storylines (including "The Judas Contract" and "The Terror of Trigon") and featured versions of many other Titans characters, including Aqualad, Speedy, Slade, Bumblebee and Terra. The show generally developed new stories and introduced new characters.
Each of the five seasons featured a main story arc, as well as stand-alone episodes. Season 1 focused on Robin's search for the line between right and wrong, tested by the lengths to which he goes in his obsession with Slade. Season 2 is based on "The Judas Contract"; the Titans meet Terra, a well-meaning but confused girl who repeatedly struggles with self-control. Beast Boy and Terra become romantically intwined and go on a wonderful date. She betrays the Titans for Slade but later turns on him. Season 3 features Cyborg's struggle to appreciate his own humanity, despite occupying a mostly robotic body. He undergoes numerous ordeals to 'become his own man', including conflicts with Brother Blood and the Hive, as well as temporarily leading the Titans East. Season 4, an adaptation of "The Terror of Trigon", addresses Raven's struggle to control her own fate. She ushers the demon Trigon into the Titans' dimension, but is supported by her friends and ultimately manages to undo the end of the world. In season 5, the Teen Titans come against the "Brotherhood of Evil", composed of beast boy's past enemies. The final few episodes see Beast Boy develop courage and leadership, rallying the remaining teen heroes from around the world and organizing a last-ditch strike on the Brotherhood of Evil. After the show's completion, the movie Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo premiered on Kids' WB! on September 16, 2006.
The series spawned a related comic book, Teen Titans Go! and three video games.
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract
At the San Diego Comic-Con International in 2006, a Judas Contract animated movie was announced. Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, creators of The New Teen Titans, were assigned to work on the direct-to-DVD movie. The film was cancelled due to a lack of a "broad fanbase appeal".
Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
The Titans appear in a brief background cameo during the closing JFK speech in the 2008 animated film Justice League: The New Frontier.
Young Justice (2010â€"2013)
In November 2010, the Young Justice animated television series was launched, featuring teenaged superhero sidekicks who are members of a fictional covert operation team working under the authority of the Justice League. Despite its title, the show is not an adaptation of the Young Justice comic series, but rather, an adaptation of the entire DC Universe with a focus on young superheroes.
The television series is based on a cross between the Teen Titans and Young Justice franchises, drawing influences from 1960s Teen Titans run and the 1990s Young Justice run in addition to recent Teen Titans comics. The line-up reflects the variety of sources on which the show is based: Superboy, Robin, Wally West as Kid Flash, Miss Martian, Artemis and Kaldur'ahm as Aqualad. Later in the first season, the team adds Zatanna, Rocket and Red Arrow to its roster. In the show's second season, the Cassandra Sandsmark version of Wonder Girl, the Tim Drake version of Robin, Beast Boy, the Barbara Gordon version of Batgirl, Bumblebee, the Jamie Reyes version of Blue Beetle and Mal Duncan joined the team.
DC Nation (2012)
During the premiere of Green Lantern: The Animated Series on Cartoon Network, a new block of animation with the Green Lantern and Young Justice shows alongside the DC Nation Shorts was announced for 2012. One of these shorts on DC Nation Shorts previewed was a Chibi-version of the Teen Titans using the art style and voice actors of the Teen Titans TV series. Formerly known as the New Teen Titans, the principal cast members reprised their roles as the lead Titans.
Teen Titans Go! (2013â€"Present)
After a test run with DC Nation's New Teen Titans shorts, a new full-length series called Teen Titans Go! premiered in 2013 on Cartoon Network, with the voice actors from the original Teen Titans animated series reprising their roles. This series takes a humorous look at the Titans' day-to-day lives when they are not fighting crime.
Mad (2010)
In season 2 of MAD, Cyborg appeared in a contest and in the next episode, the Teen Titans (Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, Blue Beetle, Superboy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl and Aqualad) get spoofed along with Titanic.
Live-action television
TNT has ordered a pilot for a live-action TV series based on the Teen Titans called Titans, about Dick Grayson emerging from Batman's shadow to become Nightwing, the leader of a band of heroes including Starfire, Raven, Oracle, Cyborg and Hawk & Dove. The pilot was written by Akiva Goldsman and Marc Haimes.
Video games
Artificial Mind and Movement developed two Teen Titans games based on the 2003 animated series. The first game was released on the Game Boy Advance platform in 2005, and the second Teen Titans game was released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube.
The Teen Titans appear in DC Universe Online.
Teen Titans members Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Raven and Cyborg are playable in Injustice: Gods Among Us. In Green Lantern's chapter, they are referenced by the alternate Cyborg and Raven as they torture the alternate Deathstroke where it was mentioned that most of their fellow Teen Titans members died in Metropolis five years ago. There is also a DLC including alternate skins for Cyborg, Raven and Deathstroke available that are based on their designs for their first appearances in the Teen Titans comic series. Also, in Deathstroke's ending, a clan of assassins formed by him is named after the New Titans.
Cultural references
In the Robot Chicken episode "Vegetable Funfest", the animated series Titans (Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven) are out-matched by a giant tentacled monster; they allow two new "heroes" to join their ranks - Beavis and Butt-head. In "They Took My Thumbs", the original Titans (Robin, Wonder Girl, Speedy, Kid Flash and Aqualad) join their mentors on the Justice League's satellite headquarters for "Bring Your Sidekick to Work Day". The Titans play various pranks, such as Speedy shooting an arrow from the Justice League satellite, and Kid Flash ripping off Wonder Woman's outfit. When the Titans are teleported into a lava pit on another planet, the older heroes blame Martian Manhunter, whom they suspect of being jealous of their sidekicks. He blames his "invisible sidekick", Martian Boyhunter. Disbelieving him, they attack Martian Manhunter. Unseen in the commotion, Martian Boyhunter materializes and quietly enjoys the chaos he created.
See also
- Bizarro Brainiac
- List of Teen Titans members
- List of Teen Titans comics
References
External links
- Titans Tower
- Titans at DC Comics.com
- Teen Titans, The New Teen Titans, The New Teen Titans vol. 2 and Teen Titans vol. 2 at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
- Teen Titans at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
- Teen Titans Returning With New Full Length Episodes - IGN
- Sean McKeever on the Teen Titans in His Future
