The First 10 Villains The New Teen Titans Faced, Based on Power

In 1980, Marv Wolfman and George Pérez reimagined DC’s original team of sidekicks as the New Teen Titans, and they have become the gold standard for every teenage superhero team in comic books ever since. This relaunch started in DC Comics Presents #26 (1980), and some of the original Teen Titans members, Robin, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl, joined forces with new young heroes: Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy (then called Changeling). This team began world-building unlike anything in DC at the time, and their antagonists would define the team for decades. The first 10 villains appeared in the first 20 issues of the series, and they include everything from cosmic villains and mercenaries-for-hire to magical villains and supervillain teams.

These first 10 New Teen Titans villains all vary wildly in power levels, and a magic-wielding interdimensional demon will always outrank a tech-based supervillain. The least powerful villain struggled against the New Teen Titans in a sewer, and the strongest has the power to conquer entire dimensions.

10) The Disruptor

The Disruptor didn’t show up until New Teen Titans #20, but thanks to multi-issue battles with the Fearsome Five, Trigon, and HIVE, it took 20 issues before the 10th villain arrived to fight the teenage superheroes. Disruptor is the son of one of Batman’s old, lesser-known villains, known as Brains Beldon. His powers let him short-circuit other heroes’ abilities, which included forcing Gar out of his animal form and freezing Cyborg’s mechanical parts. However, he ranks last because when Raven showed up, she shut him down instantly, and he only lasted for that one issue before falling to the Titans.

9) Puppeteer

The Puppeteer made his debut in 1960 as a Green Lantern villain, and he appeared here in New Teen Titans #8. In this story, Robin investigated a series of murders, and the clues led him to the Puppeteer, who was working under contract for the evil HIVE organization. His powers allowed him to create robot puppets that mind-controlled people, similar to the Fantastic Four villain, Puppet Master, in Marvel Comics. He controlled Cyborg, Kid Flash, Starfire, and Wonder Girl, turning them against their teammates. While this is a useful power, he doesn’t have any combat skills and has to rely on his puppets to have any chance at success.

8) Gordanians

The Gordanians were the very first villains that the New Teen Titans ever fought in their own comic book series. They debuted in New Teen Titans #1, and their origin is tied to Starfire, as they were the ones who enslaved Princess Koriand’r after her sister Komand’r betrayed her on Tamaran. Their biggest attack here was on the United Nations building in New York City, and the New Teen Titans showed up and forced them to retreat. Their main power comes from showing up in great numbers and with alien weapons. They are more powerful than someone like Puppeteer, thanks to their large force capable of intergalactic warfare.

7) Doctor Polaris

Doctor Polaris is not a regular New Teen Titans villain, as he debuted in Green Lantern Vol. 2 #21 (1963), and he remained a Green Lantern villain who simply crossed paths with the teenage heroes in New Teen Titans #17. In this issue, a childhood friend of Wally West seemingly becomes a focus of destructive supernatural energies. When the New Teen Titans investigate, the powers emanating from the young woman almost kill them. This is where Doctor Polaris comes in, as he was trapped in an extradimensional prison and is trying to escape, which is what caused the disruptive forces. His powers involved the manipulation of magnetism, and he can take out the Titans’ strongest fighter in an instant, showing him to be more powerful alone than the entire Gordanian force.

6) Brotherhood of Evil

Superhero teams often find other superhero teams to battle. In the case of the New Teen Titans, there was more than one of these teams, with the Brotherhood of Evil appearing in New Teen Titans #14. This team had several major villains when they fought the Teen Titans, including The Brain, Monsieur Mallah, Phobia, Plasmus, Warp, and Houngan. These villains were part of a fan-favorite storyline that allowed the New Teen Titans to cross paths with Doom Patrol. These teams fought to a stalemate, and it only ended when they had to work together to save all their lives, after which the villains were allowed to escape.

5) Fearsome Five

The Fearsome Five rank higher than the Brotherhood of Evil because they were a lot more aligned with being the evil mirror images of the New Teen Titans. This team debuted in New Teen Titans #3, and the original members were Doctor Light, Psimon, Mammoth, Shimmer, and Gizmo. Some members of the team also fought the New Teen Titans later on their own, but this issue saw their first appearance against the teenage heroes. On top of being more comparable with the New Teen Titans, they also have more powerful members than the Brotherhood, with Psimon and Mammoth as heavy hitters, and Doctor Light being the most notable name on both teams.

4) HIVE

HIVE (The Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination) was a persistent villain for the New Teen Titans and one of their greatest antagonists for a very long time. They debuted in New Teen Titans #2 and were part of several attacks on the teenage heroes in the next few years. They were also the ones who brought in Deathstroke, who became the arch-nemesis for the teenage heroes over the years. The first time they showed up, HIVE gathered seven criminal scientists with the goal of taking over the world and killing both Superman and the New Teen Titans. As a global, government-tier organization, they were nearly unstoppable.

3) Deathstroke

Slade Wilson, the mercenary known as Deathstroke, created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, debuted in New Teen Titans #2. In this first appearance, his son, Grant Wilson, took a contract from HIVE to kill the Teen Titans and then died thanks to his unstable superpowers. His death bound his father by honor to complete the contract. Deathstroke has enhanced human abilities, including the use of nine-tenths of his brain. He is widely considered DC Comics’ deadliest mercenary. After his appearance, he spent years trying to destroy the New Teen Titans, and he was instrumental in orchestrating “The Judas Contract.” While he worked for HIVE, Deathstroke was more powerful and had shown his might against gods and demons.

2) Titans of Myth

In an interesting battle between the New Teen Titans and the Titans of Myth from Greek mythology, the Olympian gods showed up in New Teen Titans #11. The actual villains here were the pre-Olympian Greek Titans imprisoned in Tartarus. The first to free himself was Hyperion, and he entranced Wonder Girl into falling in love with him. After Hyperion beat Starfire and Raven, he used Wonder Girl to free the other Titans of Myth. Their goal was to overthrow the Olympian gods, and the New Teen Titans had to team with Queen Hippolyta and the Amazons to save Wonder Girl and beat the gods. As beings powerful enough to threaten the Olympian pantheon, they rank higher in power than any other New Teen Titans villains except for one.

1) Trigon

The most powerful of the New Teen Titans’ first 10 villains is a demon from another dimension. Trigon made a cameo appearance in New Teen Titans #2 and showed up in full two issues later, where he set his sights on the team. Trigon is an interdimensional demonic conqueror and the biological father of Raven. His first big appearance saw him trying to break through into Earth’s dimension while Raven fought to control the demonic blood inside her. Trigon then took down the New Teen Titans and Justice League in his first attack, using power no other Titans villain ever showed. He is capable of conquering entire dimensions, making him easily the most powerful New Teen Titans villain ever.

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