Pitch a Direction: Titans

[LordUltimus]

With their upcoming cancellation, I think this is a good time to post this. How would you restart the Titans? Who would be on it, what would they be doing, and would they have a mission statement (or do they even need one)? What would their first issue/story arc be? How would you build interest?

[Jackalope89]

Go off the pre-Flashpoint purpose of the Titans as a group dedicated to helping young heroes. Or similar to Young Justice, where they do more recon/undercover style missions that the big heroes can't really do because of how recognizable they are.

[Robotman]

Go off the pre-Flashpoint purpose of the Titans as a group dedicated to helping young heroes. Or similar to Young Justice, where they do more recon/undercover style missions that the big heroes can't really do because of how recognizable they are.

Totally agree. The Teen Titans/Titans should be about helping young metas learn how to use their powers and become tomorrow’s heroes. The Young Justice show has done a fantastic job of giving DC’s younger heroes a purpose. The Titans could be trying to stop the world from become like Kingdom Come.

[OBrianTallent]

It wouldn't be too much different from their role now, only there would be far more trust between the JLA and the Titans. Where the JLA is off facing down space gods and such, the Titans would be the first line of defense. They wouldn't be subordinate to the League, but would be a smaller contingency that could also go in and do things with less fanfare than if part of the Justice League showed up. They are trusted by the League because they were trained by them, they are their original sidekicks, little brothers, little sisters, protege's.
For the most part, I would almost if not totally ignore this current run of the title. There should be NO reason the JL would act like that towards these guys. Instead of forcing Ms. Martian on the team, J'onn would have come to Dick and Donna and asked could she work with them, for them to train her. It would be in a lot of ways how the JL operates with Young Justice in the animated series. From there the Titans would be the ones to investigate new metas and gauge if they are a threat or not. A diplomat has vanished in a foreign country, the JL asks the Titans to work it.
However, to get to that point, my first story would be Who Really Is Donna Troy and would sort out her history. The second story would be a reintroduction of Jurgens' Titans team with Argent and Risk joining the team.
From there, the group would realize they are together because they are friends, but also because they work well together. The book would also act as the middle ground between Young Justice and the Teen Titans with occasional cross pollination (not necessarily cross-overs, but characters from each group crossing into the others book.) Dick and Donna especially having a presence in Justice League
My group would be pretty close to what it is now in the series with Dick, Donna (as co-leaders), Gar, Raven, Wally, Steel and Argent and Risk. Support staff for the group would include Mal, Karen and Lilith plus a rotating chair for Roy, Hawk, Dove and whoever else turns ups that should be there that I can't think of right now.

[Factor]

The proactive counterpoint to the League's reactive stance on crime fighting.
The Titans have been around for a long time and they know better than anyone all the patterns that keep leading to world-ending events.
They have knowledge of myths, history, magic, alternate realities, underground organizations and have all the experience and youth necessary to come up with fresh and effective solutions to old problems.
Most of all, they have an actual clairvoyant in their ranks to guide them to threats before they get big enough for the League to take notice.

As far as roster goes, I'd keep the concept of former sidekicks, but I would highlight how they all evolved to something different from their mentor figures. I'd acknowledge the history of the NTT team, but my focus would be on the originals, because I think Cyborg, Starfire, Raven and BB would be better used elsewhere (JLO, JLO, JLD and a new "JLI", respectively).

The team would be:

Donna (Legend) - expert on history and mythology
Nightwing - intel + Bat and Spyral connections
Tempest - Atlantean connection and magician
Arsenal - connection to DC's underworld
Flash (Wally) - expert on time, space and alternate realities
Natasha Irons (Sentinel) - the tech genius
Omen - team's window to the future

Other characters from previous incarnations would pop from time to time, but these would be the core.
You'll notice the roster is very similar to Abnett's. It's weird, because I absolutely hated his runs, but I still see tons of unrealized potential in the cast. I think better writing and direction would do them justice.

Oh, and no Teen Titans for a while. I'd use the better characters in YJ or other books across the line, so Titans and Young Justice could remain distinct without stepping in each other's toes.

[Sam]

I'd go with a Titans Unlimited (similiar to the JLU cartoon) type series. Have Dick Grayson really fulfill the idea of creating a place where young heroes can learn and grow together, and have the line-up consist of over 40 members drawn from the Titans 50 year history, with all eras represented. Older titans like Donna, Wally, and Roy would act as mentors and team leaders for characters like Jon Kent, Damian Wayne, and Emiko Queen. You could do things like have an arc featuring Gar, Connor, Cody, Lorena, and Natasha, allowing characters who have history to play of each other, while also allowing new relationships that have never been seen before. It would be a celebration of the entire history of Titans while still pushing everyone forward.

[Godlike13]

I'd pitch the Titans as a younger contemporary alternative to the JL. Where creatively the goal would not be for the Titans to be better, or even equal, but cooler. They'd be that professional team filled with young players that are fun to watch, and want to prove that they not only belong but that they can contend. My first issue would open with the JL responding to a world crisis only to find the Titans already there handling it. Differently from how the JL would do it but effectively nonetheless. They would use social media as a resource, and other modern aspects of today.

Cast would looks something like this,
Nightwing - Leader
Donna Troy - PR head
Wally West
Batgirl - Social Media head
Starfire
Powergirl
Raven
Natasha Irons
Damian Wayne

And the theme with the character is that they are all looking to prove something at the highest level. It wouldn't necessarily be the same thing for each character, but whatever it is would be their driving force here.

[Badou]

Focus on actual teen characters and let all the adult Titans move on with their lives. The core of the Titans as a brand is about young heroes learning and growing together. That is what it was in the Fab 5 era, same in the NTT 80s, in Johns TTs in the 00s, and what it should be now. You look at the youngest generation of heroes and you build the Titans franchise around them. Quit splitting it into the younger Titans and the adult Titans and let the adult heroes move on into other avenues in the DCU, especially as the adult Titans series is always a mess anyway. Let them join existing teams or create new teams that are separate from the Titans brand which should remain squarely on the young heroes. It doesn't mean you do away with the things built up when the adult Titans were teens together, but you built on it and bring it over to existing series or new series.

I have no interest in seeing the adult Titans act as baby sitters or being put in a position under the League without being full League members themselves like we have now. It undermines their role as heroes and puts them in a position to be marginalized. They get forced into the position of being too old to be proper Titans anymore but not old enough to be full on adult heroes like the League members. So it leads to DC not knowing what to do with them, which further leads to poor stories and character abuse. I just want them to looked at and treated as full adult heroes and I don't think that can be done if they are still part of the Titans franchise because of what the Titans franchise at its core represents.

[byrd156]

I've pitched so many ideas I feel like I'd be repeating myself at this point. Lol

I would really like an X-Men style team book with the Titans teaching young heroes how to become better heroes/control their powers. This feels like the most natural progression from sidekicks to independent heroes. These characters are veterans in an extremely unique way compared to the rest of the DCU. These guys have been heroes for as long as most pros AND grew up fighting the never ending battle. They understand how hard (or easy) they had it and helping out those less fortunate powered individuals is a direction I want to see.

[lemonpeace]

If I reboot it I'd more or less keep the same premise as the New Justice lineup; a team that's an extension of the Justice League. Nightwing, Donna Troy, and anyone else from that generation of Titans should be in the League at this point so I wouldn't put them on Titans again. Titans should be the team that bridges the gap between being a Teen Titan and being in the official Justice League; characters that is too young or too green to be on the League but too old or don't quite fit on the Teen Titans. This would also allow young heroes who DC doesn't use effectively or who missed out on being part of the Teen Titans to shine. The roster should rotate out/graduate up every few years and there should be one hold over from the previous generation of Titans to act as their liaison to the League but doesn't regularly appearing on the team. I imagine it like Teen Titans are middle school and high school, Titans is like college and the League is the actual career world.
No one who has been on the Justice League should be on the Titans (coughcoughKyleRaynercough)
Titans would be the proving ground for creators to groom young heroes for solo careers or joining the League proper.

I would start with Nightwing as the liaison and the roster would be as follows:

- Tim Drake (as Red Robin)
- Beast Boy (eventually Changeling)
- Raven
- Aqualad (eventually should mature into a new name)
- Sideways
- Orphan/Cassandra Cain
- Blue Beetle

[Jon Clark]

I'd pitch them as what DC already sees them as- outdated. The premise is that these characters are all unable to move on with their lives.

Dick Grayson- put him in a costume and point him at a crime and he's fine. Take him out of that costume and he falls apart. He's Bruce Wayne's son and while he is less broody he still has no better idea than Batman how to be a normal person. He's been a cop, a spy, a circus owner and none of them stuck.

Donna Troy: she's got more origins than the whole JLA combined. Is she an Amazon, some sort of clone of Diana, a child raised by the Greek Titans, a cursed soul? And like Dick Grayson, the only thing that seems to be a costant is punching bad guys.

Wally West: The ne thing Donna has going for her is that at least some of her origins are true. Wally has literally been wiped from time. Outside of his fellow Titans and Barry no one knows him. He has lost a wife and kids, but no one remembers any of it. And again the only part of his life that seems to work is chasing down the bad guys.

Roy Harper: Recovering addict. Retired Checkmate agent. What's left of his support network are literally guys he hung out with as teen-agers whose lives are going nowhere, same as his.

Karen Starr: She used to be one of the greatest heroes on her world. Unfortunately this isn't that world. Now when people think of her as a hero it's "Oh, isn't that Supergirl?" and when they see her it's "Look at those … HEY STOP CHOKING ME!!!".

Don't call them sidekicks. Don't call them Has-beens. And don't call them Teens.

TITANS!

[byrd156]

I'd pitch them as what DC already sees them as- outdated. The premise is that these characters are all unable to move on with their lives.

Dick Grayson- put him in a costume and point him at a crime and he's fine. Take him out of that costume and he falls apart. He's Bruce Wayne's son and while he is less broody he still has no better idea than Batman how to be a normal person. He's been a cop, a spy, a circus owner and none of them stuck.

Donna Troy: she's got more origins than the whole JLA combined. Is she an Amazon, some sort of clone of Diana, a child raised by the Greek Titans, a cursed soul? And like Dick Grayson, the only thing that seems to be a costant is punching bad guys.

Wally West: The ne thing Donna has going for her is that at least some of her origins are true. Wally has literally been wiped from time. Outside of his fellow Titans and Barry no one knows him. He has lost a wife and kids, but no one remembers any of it. And again the only part of his life that seems to work is chasing down the bad guys.

Roy Harper: Recovering addict. Retired Checkmate agent. What's left of his support network are literally guys he hung out with as teen-agers whose lives are going nowhere, same as his.

Karen Starr: She used to be one of the greatest heroes on her world. Unfortunately this isn't that world. Now when people think of her as a hero it's "Oh, isn't that Supergirl?" and when they see her it's "Look at those … HEY STOP CHOKING ME!!!".

Don't call them sidekicks. Don't call them Has-beens. And don't call them Teens.

TITANS!

Roy isn't a recovering addict, he's been clean for years. That past is important but regressing him like that is awful.

[lemonpeace]

Roy isn't a recovering addict, he's been clean for years. That past is important but regressing him like that is awful.

Well even if he's been clean for years, he can still be considered a recovering addict. In my personal experience with friends and family who have battled with addiction, they've considered themselves "recovering addicts" because of how easy it could be to relapse (or something to that effect, I can't remember the exact way they explained it to me) no matter how long they've been sober. Now mind you, I'm not an addiction expert and it's been years since I've had any interactions with those people, but it's kind of a vague nebulous term. I think it may depend on if you'd consider addiction something you can cure or a life-long thing you manage.

[married guy]

I'd go with a Titans Unlimited (similiar to the JLU cartoon) type series. Have Dick Grayson really fulfill the idea of creating a place where young heroes can learn and grow together, and have the line-up consist of over 40 members drawn from the Titans 50 year history, with all eras represented. Older titans like Donna, Wally, and Roy would act as mentors and team leaders for characters like Jon Kent, Damian Wayne, and Emiko Queen. You could do things like have an arc featuring Gar, Connor, Cody, Lorena, and Natasha, allowing characters who have history to play of each other, while also allowing new relationships that have never been seen before. It would be a celebration of the entire history of Titans while still pushing everyone forward.

I'd buy this every month!

[Jon Clark]

Well even if he's been clean for years, he can still be considered a recovering addict. In my personal experience with friends and family who have battled with addiction, they've considered themselves "recovering addicts" because of how easy it could be to relapse (or something to that effect, I can't remember the exact way they explained it to me) no matter how long they've been sober. Now mind you, I'm not an addiction expert and it's been years since I've had any interactions with those people, but it's kind of a vague nebulous term. I think it may depend on if you'd consider addiction something you can cure or a life-long thing you manage.

My thought wasn't so much that Roy is having problems with his drug use (though they'd crop up maybe at some point). It's that Roy is sort of remembered by a lot of people from that era. Aquaman, for example, would still think of Roy as the kid Aqualad hung out with that was a bad influence. DEA agents would arrive at a bust Arsenel did and be counting the haul twice, not sure if the came in on a hero busting the dealers or an addict trying to score. And Arsenel losing his cool every time Wally makes the same lame joke off of Speedy and Speed.

It's basically the Titans as former child-stars who can't find a way to be adults (much as the comics seem to keep them trapped between the Wolfman/Perez era and actual solo careers). Grayson is looking for a way to be something but Batman-lite. Donna has been redefined a dozen times since Crisis and nothing sticks. Wally is being sent "back to the minors" now that Barry is back. And poor Roy, is best remembered as the Titan who was a junkie, father of a child with an assassin and the "dead cat" incident. No matter what character growth they each had, they have been repeatedly reverted to where they were in the mid-80's to 90's in real time and basically are 5-10 years older in comics time not having gotten traction as adults (with Wally's traction retconned out).