What Happened to the Teen Titans (And Why Is the New Team Less Popular?)

The Teen Titans are one of the greatest teams in comic history. While they aren’t the first teenage team — they were preceded by groups like the Legion of Superheroes and the X-Men — they are probably the best. They first appeared in the late ’60s, combining the greatest sidekicks in comic history — Dick Grayson, Aqualad, and Wally West — who were joined by sidekicks like Donna Troy, and Speedy, as well as new members like Bumblebee, Herald, Lilith, Hawk, Dove, and Gnarrk. This version of the team would eventually fizzle out, but the early ’80s would see the most popular version of the team appear, the New Teen Titans, with Grayson, West, and Troy joining with Beast Boy and new teen heroes Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven.

New Teen Titans, by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, became the biggest DC book of the early ’80s and even challenged the juggernaut known as Uncanny X-Men for sales supremacy. The New Teen Titans were superstars, but that was decades ago. While the heroes of the New Teen Titans have often reformed as the Titans, they’ve never had the success that they did when they were the New Teen Titans. It’s something of a mystery, but it’s also a mystery with an answer.

The New Teen Titans Are a Hard Act to Follow, Even for the Titans

New Teen Titans was a very special book, and that begins with the creative team. Marv Wolfman grew up reading comics and got a job at DC. He wrote two issues of the original Teen Titans in the late ’60s, so there were few people better suited to bringing the team back. Wolfman had grown as a writer since his first stint with the Teen Titans, and this made all the difference on New Teen Titans. Just as important was George Perez. Perez was more than just the greatest comic artist of his generation — yes, even better than John Byrne — and had already drawn books like Avengers. Perez was also a pretty great writer in his own right and was exactly the kind of collaborator that Wolfman needed to bring New Teen Titans to the next level.

The next factor was the team itself. Dick Grayson, Donna Troy, and Wally West were the best sidekicks ever, each of them ready for more spotlight after years of being in their mentors’ shadows. Beast Boy was a character with all the potential in the world, and the Wolfman/Perez created characters — Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, Terra, and later members like Jericho — were all created to be teen heroes with years of stories in them. And, of course, there’s the New Teen Titans’ greatest villain Deathstroke. Deathstroke proved to be the villain that gave the team the enemy they needed to reach the next level, showing just how formidable they were. On top of that, villains like Blackfire, Brother Blood, and Trigon all tested the team in ways they never had before.

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Finally, the stories were brilliant. Comics have changed a lot over the years, with even books from the early ’80s being very different. However, New Teen Titans was always on the cutting edge of comic storytelling, throwing in heavy themes and developing the characters. Dick Grayson became the leader he was always supposed to be and became his own man as Nightwing. Donna Troy was constantly searching for her past. Wally West was the stable one, but he was dealing with problems with his powers and how his life had turned out. Raven had to fight against her own evil side. Cyborg was dealing with the loss of his humanity. Starfire was a ray of sunshine who could whip anyone. Terra was a secret traitor, Jericho had to deal with being Deathstroke’s child, and Beast Boy was the girl crazy younger brother. This combination of characters made for exciting, deep stories that allowed them to grow and change. It also helps that they have “The Judas Contract” under their belt, a story that is among the greatest comics of all time.

New Teen Titans changed the game for DC, setting the publisher on the road to greater success in the future. The members of the team are some of the most beloved characters of all time, and it would be safe to assume that any time Titans launches that it would be a huge success. However, while there have been very good runs of Titans, it never was able to reach the heights that New Teen Titans did. Looking at the history of New Teen Titans, it’s actually easy to see why — just because something is revolutionary once, that doesn’t mean that it will be able to be so again. Titans is often good — the current run of Titans has been pretty amazing — but it’s no New Teen Titans.

The New Teen Titans Were a Revolution but the Titans Aren’t

New Teen Titans pushed the envelope and did amazing work with its characters. Wolfman and Perez built the book into something special, a superhero soap opera that wowed readers with great writing and some of the most detailed, fluid, and just plain good looking art of all time. It was a one of a kind book, and that’s the main reason why Titans will never be able to reach its heights. As good as Titans can be, it will never be New Teen Titans.

The problem is that DC isn’t going to let creators do with the Titans what Wolfman and Perez were able to do with the New Teen Titans. They pushed the envelope with the characters, and the characters grew and changed. However, growth and change isn’t exactly the name of the game anymore, especially not in team books starring classic characters. The Titans will always feel like a weaker rehash of the New Teen Titans, which is honestly what they are. As good as the team can be, they’ll always be in their own shadows.

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