Teen Titans Academy is nearing the end of its run, and its story is encompassing an ever-growing number of young heroes within the DC universe. The title has followed the stories of the original founders, the younger upperclassmen, and a crop of new recruits — only for a climactic battle to make many of their stories intersect. Some of that climax was partially forecast in the events of 2021’s Future State storyline, which teed up a dark and surprising potential future for the team. As the events of this week’s Teen Titans Academy #14 reveal, one of those Future State elements has now been made canon, and it has major ramifications for two members of the team. Spoilers for Teen Titans Academy #14 from Tim Sheridan, Tom Derenick, Peter Pantazis, and Rob Leigh below! Only look if you want to know!
As Teen Titans Academy carries out its first graduation ceremony, Raven periodically checked in on Beast Boy and Cyborg, who were not physically present at the festivities. Later on in the issue, it is confirmed that the two were merged into a single being for their safety after the deadly destruction of Titans Tower — and that they disagree with some of the realities of that.
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This lines up with one of the weirdest elements introduced in Future State‘s Teen Titans story, as Cyborg and Beast Boy were merged together into “Cybeast.” The Future State narrative indicated that the pair had been merged together for a stretch of time, taking their best friend dynamic into a whole new direction.
“That came from Mike Cotton,” Sheridan told CBR back in 2021. “One of the first things he said to me was that he wanted to have a merged version of Beast Boy and Cyborg. I immediately said ‘Yes!’”
“The kind of thing that I try to do in this book and also in Academy is to explore the dynamic of the relationship between Vic and Gar,” Sheridan continued. “I think I’ve taken a few liberties in expanding upon their relationship and what happens when they are merged into one. The real horror of working on a two-part event like Future State is that I could have written at least 12 issues on Cybeast! But there’s a lot more story we have to explore.”
What do you think of Teen Titans Academy merging Cyborg and Beast Boy together? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
