Titans Together! Teen Titans Appreciation

[Outside_85]

The problem is that not using Robin in the Titans is like not using Batman in the Justice League.

Which has happened a lot of times in the past, as has the League managed without Superman, Wonder Woman and even the Martian Manhunter. Likewise, Robin is not a mandatory of the Titans, his presence is great, but the team is bigger than him.

He should have just used the more iconic characters from the start if he was just going to cram in legacy characters in the next volume anyway.

And I am rather glad he didn't, because it finally gave W/P's original creations a chance to be something other than the subordinates to the offspring of greater names. Also, you dont know in what capacity they are being introduced as now, they might as well be the enemies.

The Teen Titan cartoon used Robin and other legacy characters without the need to explain where their legacies came from.

Because you don't need to explain where Robin is from if it hasn't been changed. Plus at the time the TT cartoon came out, JL/JLU was still a thing as far as I remember and kids aren't that stupid they cant work out where Kid Flash is from.
However in this book, the background was changed; there is no Batman, Flash or Wonder Woman, ergo their sidekicks are going to be more difficult to introduce in a natural fashion.

My point is why introduce them when there aren't any adult heroes yet?

Because they actually could be around without them?

[MadFacedKid]

Yes, a Titans book can easily work from a story perspective without a Robin (JT Kruls Teen Titans, for example). Thing is, for a lot of fans, the team doesn't feel complete without a Robin. Whether it was Dick Grayson or Tim Drake, Robin has always been the leader of the Titans, his charisma and resourcefulness were the main forces keeping the team together. He's the most valuable member of the team, the most popular member, and one of the most consistent members.

I expect a Robin to show up in the 3rd volume anyway, probably Grayson (by probably I mean definitely).

Those lot of fans have stuff in Cannon like Teen Titans and Titans Hunt where there's a lead Robin figure.

The team has been led by others.

I wouldnt mind if Grayson appears to be honest if he does I'd like it to be in his own identity like Nightwing where he becomes the hero without the aid of a Bruce Wayne.

[Badou]

Which has happened a lot of times in the past, as has the League managed without Superman, Wonder Woman and even the Martian Manhunter. Likewise, Robin is not a mandatory of the Titans, his presence is great, but the team is bigger than him.

Brief runs of the JL where it all eventually reverts back to the norm isn't the same as what Earth One is. Here it is taking a iconic franchise and trying to package it in a way to the general public in an easy to digest series of trades. The thing is Robin is the most iconic character in the Titans franchise and has been the most consistent character there through all media. Removing him is shooting yourself in the foot a lot of ways, especially when you use the entire cartoon cast but him. You lessen your product without him I think.

Because you don't need to explain where Robin is from if it hasn't been changed. Plus at the time the TT cartoon came out, JL/JLU was still a thing as far as I remember and kids aren't that stupid they cant work out where Kid Flash is from.
However in this book, the background was changed; there is no Batman, Flash or Wonder Woman, ergo their sidekicks are going to be more difficult to introduce in a natural fashion.

It's already been said the other Earth One books are in the same universe. So there is a Batman running around. If they had stayed with just the original NTT characters without the legacies then okay, I couldn't really complain much because they are sticking to a plan, but they are basically scraping that plan to introduce legacies in the next volume anyway. Legacies that are much more difficult to introduce than Robin. So making it a point to keep them out of the first volume seems kind of mute now.

I mean using Robin would actually be easier to use than Kid Flash or Wonder Girl because unlike those legacies Robin is very much it's own thing and the first volume of the Flash and WW Earth One books aren't even out. He isn't running around with a Batman symbol or calling himself Batboy. So to introduce Kid Flash and Wonder Girl where they are even more closely tied to their legacies in name and appearance seems more difficult. You don't have to reference anything if Robin has been changed in the universe. You don't need to explain Robin's background in this setting in any detail or even his name. Just have him (or her if they want Robin to be a girl) be a teen that finds out that these villains are capturing and experimenting on other teens and he goes to help them. Just slip in a mention that he has to get back to Gotham or something at the end and readers will instantly know who it is and why he is there.

[Outside_85]

Brief runs of the JL where it all eventually reverts back to the norm isn't the same as what Earth One is. Here it is taking a iconic franchise and trying to package it in a way to the general public in an easy to digest series of trades. The thing is Robin is the most iconic character in the Titans franchise and has been the most consistent character there through all media. Removing him is shooting yourself in the foot a lot of ways, especially when you use the entire cartoon cast but him. You lessen your product without him I think.

The point of having the Earth One line is to be able to tell the stories the writer wants to tell, not redo the same stories that's been told for around 40 years.

You are perhaps right it is not the optimal setup if all you care about is sales figures. But as a tradeoff, us veteran readers are getting something new and interesting.

It's already been said the other Earth One books are in the same universe.

They aren't. Each book is in their own world, John's Batman is not on the same planet as JMS' Superboy/man or Morrisons Wonder Woman. Lemire specifically said that one his Earth One there were no adult superheroes, and unless his editor decrees otherwise, no other writer has the power to change that.

So there is a Batman running around. If they had stayed with just the original NTT characters without the legacies then okay, I couldn't really complain much because they are sticking to a plan, but they are basically scraping that plan to introduce legacies in the next volume anyway. Legacies that are much more difficult to introduce than Robin. So making it a point to keep them out of the first volume seems kind of mute now.

No, they are just going with a different plan that you didn't anticipate. Lemire announced the 2nd volume days after the first one released, so it's not likely the plan has been altered all that much if at all since he first started writing vol 1.

I mean using Robin would actually be easier to use than Kid Flash or Wonder Girl because unlike those legacies Robin is very much it's own thing and the first volume of the Flash and WW Earth One books aren't even out. He isn't running around with a Batman symbol or calling himself Batboy. So to introduce Kid Flash and Wonder Girl where they are even more closely tied to their legacies in name and appearance seems more difficult.

Except he isn't. Robin's existence is probably the most dependent of all the legacy characters because he continues to be part of Batman & Robin even to this day, while Kid Flash, Wonder Girl and Aqualad pretty much were all parked and left with Teen Titans with only rare appearances alongside their mentors. Which is probably why he is not on the cover, or in the story so far, the others are so disconnected from their mentors now that you wonder why they still name themselves after them.

You don't have to reference anything if Robin has been changed in the universe. You don't need to explain Robin's background in this setting in any detail or even his name. Just have him (or her if they want Robin to be a girl) be a teen that finds out that these villains are capturing and experimenting on other teens and he goes to help them. Just slip in a mention that he has to get back to Gotham or something at the end and readers will instantly know who it is and why he is there.

Or just do like Nolan and avoid it entirely for 99% of the movie and just drop it at the very end. But then I fear people would still be complaining that 'Robin' wasn't there.

[a0040pc]

Preview for Teen Titans #18

http://www.denofgeek.us/books-comics...lusive-preview

[nj06]

Preview for Teen Titans #18

http://www.denofgeek.us/books-comics...lusive-preview

The preview doesn't look too bad. Pak seems to have a decent understanding of Wonder Woman's voice and character. There is a lot of recap/backstory in that preview though, so I hope the action and drama scenes are just as well written.

[Sprite]

So, how's the current run with Greg Pak going? I've been wanting to jump back onto the book.

[KrustyKid]

So, how's the current run with Greg Pak going? I've been wanting to jump back onto the book.

Actually pretty good, I'm enjoying it thus far.

Lol, Tim's response along with that grin of his upon meeting Wonder Woman for the first time is golden.

[Outside_85]

Actually pretty good, I'm enjoying it thus far.

Lol, Tim's response along with that grin of his upon meeting Wonder Woman for the first time is golden.

I think most teenage boys, save Bunker and the like, wouldn't mind getting that close to that rack almost regardless of situation

Remids me of Trevor from the WW animated:
Trevor tied up with the Lasso in a room full of Amazons asked by Hippolyta; "Is there anything else?"
Trevor: "God your daughter's got a nice rack."
(Red faces all around.)

[Starchild]

Teen Titans Earth One Vol 2 has released it's cover art.
New characters appear to be Wally, Donna and Kole.

Cool cover. But why is it okay to race bend Raven and Donna/Cassie but not Wally? I know a double standard when I see one.

[Godlike13]

Who says that's Donna or Cassie?

[Atlanta96]

Cool cover. But why is it okay to race bend Raven and Donna/Cassie but not Wally? I know a double standard when I see one.

Because Wally is the greatest ginger superhero of all time, and that should never change. Ginger representation matters. (That was a joke). And Raven is still recognizable as a Native American, so fans have no reason to complain.

[Outside_85]

Cool cover. But why is it okay to race bend Raven and Donna/Cassie but not Wally? I know a double standard when I see one.

And the rest of us know nidpicking when we see it

Seriously though, unless you intended to make him Asian or Latino the groups seems pretty well covered in terms of diversity.

[Hilden B. Lade]

Maybe that's actually a wholly original Wonder Boy character, I saw a comment on a different comic community lamenting the apparent flatchestedness of the character so what if Lemire has decided to surprise us by making the first male Wonder Kid?

[Starchild]

And the rest of us know nidpicking when we see it

Seriously though, unless you intended to make him Asian or Latino the groups seems pretty well covered in terms of diversity.

I don't nitpick. It was just a harmless observation.