What Could/Should The OG New Teen Titans Be Doing Now?

[Ascended]

There's been a lot of complaining about the current Titans book lately. Or at least I've seen more of it than usual. And a lot of these complaints boil down to the idea that the Titans, the original sidekicks and their peers, should be doing more than they are, should be more important to the heroic community and the world at large, and shouldn't just be sitting around eating pizza and talking about feelings, friendship, with bits of melodrama and fighting threats that are often below the stuff they dealt with as kids under Wolfman/Perez.

So I was wondering, if eating pizza and talking about friendship isn't enough for you, what do YOU think the Titans should be doing now? What kind of role should they have in the world? What kind of new skills, upgrades, jobs, etc, should they have picked up by now? What teams, if any, do you think they should have joined? Or started? Should any of them still be Titans at all? Should anyone have retired? Gone into politics? Died? Became a stay at home parent? Joined the Justice League? Joined the Fearsome Five (hey, traitors happen with the Titans!)?

I'll start. Because its my thread.

I am very happy, conceptually, with where CYBORG is right now. I love that he joined the League (his status as a founder I can do without). I love that he's got Fourth World technology in his systems and (basically) a Mother Box for a heart. But they're not doing nearly enough with that. Vic should be miles beyond the angst of his existence; he should recognize that he's already where humanity is happily going. And he should be having adventures across the universe, as befits someone with New God tech. He should be evacuating planets about to explode six galaxies away. He should be taking down Mokkari and Symian's newest Evil Factory in Skartaris. Making first contact with digital based life forms. He should be the new nerve center of the entire heroic community the same way Oracle used to be, only Vic should be sending the right hero to the right crisis while also preventing an outbreak of the Doomsday virus in London. You remember how in Flashpoint Vic was that world's Superman equivalent? That's the kind of Vic I want to see. He's got the tools and the team to achieve it, he just needs the writer to take him there.

With NIGHTWING, I want to see him wearing a costume with similar capabilities to the Batman Beyond suit and going on globe trotting, high concept adventures with wild crazy super human threats. Imagine the scope and variety of the Brave & The Bold cartoon fused with the Grayson series. He'll chase the Cult of Kobra through Nanda Parbat in one adventure, stop the Fearsome Five (all of them, by himself) from killing the King of Pokolistan and setting off a war with Khandaq the next. Then he'll go home to Bludhaven to catch his breath and fight Blockbuster (and his Intergang bought weapons) before hunting down some Gordanian slavers in the Vega system who have abducted some people from earth. I want to see Nightwing; a Bat, going on Super type adventures. If he's part of any team at all, he's training the newest generation of heroes as part of a "Justice League Academy" type thing; helping the League but still refusing to actually join. I'd also make him a professional extreme athlete, like a snowboarder or something. It fits his circus origins, accommodates his wanderlust and the needs of his "night job," plays to his natural talents, adds new complications to his life, and provides a high-end salary that, if invested right, makes him wealthy enough to never need Bruce's trust fund. And I want him dating Power Girl, because I recently decided that's a ship I want to sail.

I have a few other ideas for some other Titans, but how about you guys?

[CaptCleghorn]

With NIGHTWING, I want to see him wearing a costume with similar capabilities to the Batman Beyond suit and going on globe trotting, high concept adventures with wild crazy super human threats. Imagine the scope and variety of the Brave & The Bold cartoon fused with the Grayson series. He'll chase the Cult of Kobra through Nanda Parbat in one adventure, stop the Fearsome Five (all of them, by himself) from killing the King of Pokolistan and setting off a war with Khandaq the next. Then he'll go home to Bludhaven to catch his breath and fight Blockbuster (and his Intergang bought weapons) before hunting down some Gordanian slavers in the Vega system who have abducted some people from earth. I want to see Nightwing; a Bat, going on Super type adventures. If he's part of any team at all, he's training the newest generation of heroes as part of a "Justice League Academy" type thing; helping the League but still refusing to actually join. I'd also make him a professional extreme athlete, like a snowboarder or something. It fits his circus origins, accommodates his wanderlust and the needs of his "night job," plays to his natural talents, adds new complications to his life, and provides a high-end salary that, if invested right, makes him wealthy enough to never need Bruce's trust fund. And I want him dating Power Girl, because I recently decided that's a ship I want to sail.

I have a few other ideas for some other Titans, but how about you guys?

I may be living on the Titans/Outsiders team-up from a few decades ago, but I'm convinced that currently, Dick is a better team leader than Bruce. He has a higher level of trust in others and he inspires others to put their trust in him. Yeah, you could say he's not the crime-fighter Bruce is, but who is? Dick Grayson is pretty damn close. To me, Dick's the guy who is going to bring people together and inspire them to do the best they can. I could certainly see him as being a world-class adventurer having a wide variety of contacts and stories. He's certainly up for it, but he knows he can't do it all himself and he's going to need to get others to aid in the fight. My take is he'd want to make sure heroes do the right thing.

I'm not sure if I should pick up the New Order series or not. It sounds like a story that mimics what I'm talking about here, albeit in a slightly warped fashion. Any suggestions on if I should look for the trade?

[Ascended]

I'm not sure if I should pick up the New Order series or not. It sounds like a story that mimics what I'm talking about here, albeit in a slightly warped fashion. Any suggestions on if I should look for the trade?

I have no idea, I was going to trade wait that myself.

And I agree about Dick being a better leader than Bruce is. I dont think Bruce is actually a great leader. A great tactician, yes, but not a leader. He has too many trust issues.

I think Dick Grayson is the hero Bruce Wayne wishes he could be. Dick is what Bruce would've become if Bruce was capable of being happy.

[Grayson - The Dark Heir]

I absolutely love all of this except the part about Dick becoming a professional athlete. While that's a cool idea on its own, it just doesn't mesh with the "Super-Bat" concept that you want to push, which is a much cooler and more important idea for a future direction, I think.

Anyways yeah, that's exactly the kinda stuff I want to see from Vic and Dick.

[Ascended]

I absolutely love all of this except the part about Dick becoming a professional athlete. While that's a cool idea on its own, it just doesn't mesh with the "Super-Bat" concept that you want to push, which is a much cooler and more important idea for a future direction, I think.

Anyways yeah, that's exactly the kinda stuff I want to see from Vic and Dick.

Eh, I like the professional athlete thing but Im not married to it. Now, my Power Girl-Nightwing ship? I have, since like yesterday or something, gone all in on that and will not be happy with DC until they give me the fictional romance I demand!

So do you (or anyone else) have any ideas for other characters? Or those guys I already mentioned, or whoever? Anyone got any good Terra ideas? Wait, didn't she show up in Deathstroke recently? What was that about?

Like, I have no idea what I'd do with Donna Troy. Never cared for the character, never really saw the appeal. Starfire, I can't really think of anything other than her taking the thrown of Tamaran.....and that basically writes her out of stories, which I dont want. Raven....I dunno, leader of the Sentinels of Magic, and she uses them to help contain Trigon, like the priests of Azarath once did? Beast Boy....about the only things I want from him are a name change back to Changeling and him out of the Titans and doing something different. He can be Vic's partner/sidekick like Marvel's Falcon is to Cap, or run with the Doom Patrol again, or I dont care what. Just out of the Titans! Wally.....man, I just want the glory days of Waid back and I'll never get them.

[Digifiend]

With Cyborg, yeah, nothing wrong with Vic being on the Justice League - it's just WHEN he was added that was a problem, that being when the continuity was rebooted, therefore making Cyborg never a Titan and instead being a JL founder instead of Martian Manhunter. Hopefully the restoration of the missing 10 years will fix that. They should've used Superman Reborn as an opportunity to do it.

Starfire is apparently 20 years old. She said last week she was three years older than Beast Boy and Raven, and Raven said she was 17 in her solo series. If Superboy is too young for the TT because he's not a teenager, doesn't that make Kori too OLD? She should've been on the other team.

I understand both Raven and Beast Boy were de-aged in New 52 as well, so they also need to graduate when the 10 missing years are restored.

[Denirac]

Wally West should be basically in his Pre Flashpoint Status Quo- Married with kids, a fulltime job as The Flash, protecting Keystone City and having a Public Identity.

Nightwing should be Guarding Bludhaven and mentoring next generations of Titans with Gar, Raven, Donna, Starfire and Cyborg

They should all have membership status within the League however some of them could have turned it down- Like Dick did in Young Justice, however have Vic, Raven and Starfire join.

[Elmo]

Nightwing needs to be Batman with Bruce Wayne in retirement or permanently deceased.

For everyone else, I fully agree with Denirac.

[Korath]

I'm not sure if I should pick up the New Order series or not. It sounds like a story that mimics what I'm talking about here, albeit in a slightly warped fashion. Any suggestions on if I should look for the trade?

I highly recommend The New Order if you want to read a take on Nightwing where he has basically lost hope and then did what he believed was best, and his still struggling with all of it. The ending may be a little too easy a way out, but I really think that Dick was portrayed rather well here, with his heart in the right place.

Edit : concerning Starfire, I would like her to actually retain her New 52's past when it comes to being the commander of a Starship and all, and her sister actually being good, because it prevent her from being shelved on her planet. I would love it for her to be this outlier who can call upon a crew of crazy aliens to help in a pinch. Otherwise, I would probably have her graduate to the League. She has the powers, the skills and the heart to be a very solid addition to it, plus she would be another woman there and that's always a plus.

[Denirac]

Nightwing needs to be Batman with Bruce Wayne in retirement or permanently deceased.

For everyone else, I fully agree with Denirac.

He is Batman.... He was literally called the 'Batman of Bludhaven' in Seeley's Dr Hurt arc

[Ascended]

Edit : concerning Starfire, I would like her to actually retain her New 52's past when it comes to being the commander of a Starship and all, and her sister actually being good, because it prevent her from being shelved on her planet. I would love it for her to be this outlier who can call upon a crew of crazy aliens to help in a pinch. Otherwise, I would probably have her graduate to the League. She has the powers, the skills and the heart to be a very solid addition to it, plus she would be another woman there and that's always a plus.

I could easily see Kori joining the League, and would love to see it...but that doesn't give her much for a post-Titans life.

I suppose they could have her living down in Miami (or wherever it was her solo put her), and working as a model. It doesnt strike me as being the most exciting thing, though. /shrug

[donnafan]

According to a new article on CBR (see link below), a panel from the No Justice event clearly shows the Titans team decimated by the Brianiac Robots. The article goes on to say that this may be the end of the Titans team and potential cancellation of the title. I really hope this is NOT the case! Especially with the new Titans live-action show soon coming out, I feel like the Titans enjoy a renewed popularity. I do feel like post nu52, DC has struggled with what to do with them and agree with the article that their post nu52 continuity has been a mess! I do feel like a Titans team can work. As I mentioned in an earlier thread, former kid-sidekicks, grown up and entering young adulthood can be an interesting premise. With over 60 years of publishing history, there is so much to draw upon. You don't need a clean slate to make a character interesting or usable.

https://www.cbr.com/justice-league-n...itans-disband/

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

With BB i wanted him to go from Follower to Leader with his own team. Ideally I want him to be in his late 20s/early 30s and reforming the Doom Patrol.

With Titans they should taken a page from Peter David's X-factor and given them a niche of their own. Each Volume of X-factor had a group of characters work in a detective agency, government ops team or as a company sponsored group. Them being friends in their teens should be subtext or b-plot material not the driving force.

Grayson gave them a good oppurtunity with Spyral as a sponsor that they squandered.

[BatmanJones]

Nightwing needs to be Batman with Bruce Wayne in retirement or permanently deceased.

Whoa. Are you Dan Didio? He's the only other person I've ever heard say it was a good idea to kill Dick Grayson.

People talk about Superman as the heart of the DCU and Martian Manhunter to have been the heart of the JL(A).

But to me Dick Grayson has always been the heart of the DCU. Killing him off would be about the only thing that could make me stop reading DC comic books.

[BatmanJones]

I highly recommend The New Order if you want to read a take on Nightwing where he has basically lost hope and then did what he believed was best, and his still struggling with all of it. The ending may be a little too easy a way out, but I really think that Dick was portrayed rather well here, with his heart in the right place.

I largely agree with this. I love Dick Grayson and I love Nightwing and I love Elseworlds stories so I was extra-eager to pick up each issue as soon as it hit the stands. In the end though I found it vaguely disappointing. Like the writer didn't quite know how to put it over the top and make it a GREAT comic. In the end I only felt it was a good one. Then again, my hopes for this mini were impossibly high and probably couldn't have been met. I still can't help thinking it could have and should have been better, but I still enjoyed it an awful lot.