The Teen Titans, also known as the New Teen Titans and Titans, is a fictional 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 team unofficially debuted in The Brave and the Bold #54 (1964) as a "junior Justice League" featuring Dick Grayson, Kid Flash (Wally West) and Aqualad, the sidekicks of Justice League members Batman, the Flash and Aquaman respectively. The group made its first official appearance under the name of "Teen Titans" in The Brave and the Bold #60, joined by 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 – 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.
Trivia[]
Prime Earth[]
- Though this incarnation of the Teen Titans is clearly being built from scratch, it is currently uncertain whether this is the first incarnation of the Titans in this timeline. Early in the series run, Red Robin sardonically commented that this would be the shortest incarnation of the Teen Titans yet, implying that there had been others before. However, during their meeting in the The Culling Tyroc stated that to his knowledge, the Teen Titans were not supposed to be founded for decades yet. However, it has been stated, in the Legion Lost series, that recorded history of the current time period has some gaps, suggesting that Tyroc may be misinformed.
- Early on in the run, references were made to an another group going by the name of the Teen Titans, but this seemed to be retconned after the issues were published into trade paperback format, with panels of dialogue being altered or erased.
- A similar event happened in the Batwoman trade paperback, with a panel of Flamebird referring to herself as a Teen Titan and having battled Deathstroke being altered.
- To make matters more confusing, in Red Hood and the Outlaws #18, Dick and Jason briefly talk with one another about Starfire, the former hinting at the previous relationship the two had.