Cyborg's relationship with Titans possibly being restored in Rebirth

[Outside_85]

Speculation which seems kind of like a stretch. The current Titans run restored the original Titans not the New Teen Titans for the record.


The Deathstroke run is redoing Judas Contract so maybe that will restore some of the New Teen Titans, but there is also the possibility it changes things.


Based on everything we know at this point the Titans relationship is not being restored. If DC wanted to do that it would be easy and they would have done it right away not taking forever to do it and letting people grasp at tiny straws to come to that conclusion. No big event? No big marketing? No foreshadowing? Maybe it will happen down the road but thats not what the current leadership has in mind.


Outside of the first animated Cartoon i think DC has mistreated/taken the Teen Titans property for granted which is why its a shell of its former self.

Think this is sadly true, DC does take the Teen Titans franchise as granted and as such take all manner of shortcuts where they shouldn't... like the inter-character relationships that was a big reason why TT is even a thing today.

Like with Titans it's done with an almost audible 'clunk' the way that Hunt was all about them remembering something dimly at first, and starting over by the end, then leading into the Rebirth issue and Wally basically jumpstarting the characters by depicting how they all used to be and sort of restoring it to that.
Likewise over in the trainwreck called Teen Titans, the last few issues and in the Raven opening montage... it's repeated several times how important the characters are to each other, but all I am sitting with is a sense of: "Thats nice... a pity you couldn't bother with showing us any of this."
Note: I think the cartoon (assuming it's the misnamed JLvsTT) make the same mistake, mostly with Damian who doesn't move more than an inch for the entirety of the movie before suddenly declaring "I'm a Titan!" in the face of being offered everything he ever wanted?

[The Darknight Detective]

No, having a character on a team JUST because they're a POC is tokenism.

If you add up all the media credits of DC characters outside of comics, you will notice why Cyborg's JL inclusion isn't just about tokenism.

[GlennSimpson]

I'd say one man's tokenism is another man's Affirmative Action.

[godisawesome]

I'd say one man's tokenism is another man's Affirmative Action.

We're getting into sticky territory here, but I think the real difference between the two classifications is the meatiness of the role played by the character who's been "promoted" in one way or another; a token character to me is someone who generally can still be argued as a minor character who could be excised with a minimum of story changes, sometimes (though no always) relying on brief displays of stereotypical behavior so that a lazy writer doesn't have to do anything with them, while an affirmative action character is someone with a defined unique personality and major plot relevance.

For instance, I've heard some people say that Cyborg was a major actor in the Justice League Origins arc, and lament that they don't think he's done much since then. I haven't read the book, so I can't comment, but that might be people arguing that he sometimes shifts between the two designations, possibly because Cyborg was traditionally an ensemble character but is on a team of solo-headlining A-listers. It may just be that his profile has been raised (good) but his function and story-telling have not risen in comparison to his new allies.

And maybe we can contrast this to John Stewart in the DCAU; like Cyborg, there's a likelihood he was promoted above the other Lanterns because he was a POC, but most people would argue he was always portrayed as a major character with a unique personality and he headlined several episodes and arcs each season of the show, and since there were no con-current solo series at the time, he had an equal share in the DCAU legacy at the time. Which may be a comment on him fitting the role of League member better because he's part of a Big 7 franchise, or a comment on how different contexts yield different results.

[Atlanta96]

If you add up all the media credits of DC characters outside of comics, you will notice why Cyborg's JL inclusion isn't just about tokenism.

What do you mean?

[The Darknight Detective]

What do you mean?

I mean Cyborg has a ton of credits from television, video games, etc. With the exception of Dick Grayson and possibly Green Arrow (I haven't checked the latter recently), Vic has the most appearances of any DC character other than the other DCEU JL members.

[Atlanta96]

I mean Cyborg has a ton of credits from television, video games, etc. With the exception of Dick Grayson and possibly Green Arrow (I haven't checked the latter recently), Vic has the most appearances of any DC character other than the other DCEU JL members.

I guess. He still feels very out of place with the League so no matter why they stuck him there, I still consider it a bad decision. Cor the League, and for Vic.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I can't speak for everyone, but I think the problem most people have is not the addition of Cyborg to the Justice League, it's the removal of not only his past relationships with the Titans, but the further removal of Martian Manhunter as a founding member.

It's no different from Black Canary replacing Wonder Woman. The Cyborg retcon is like that, but made worse because they didn't erase all of Dinah's past in order to do so.

[The Darknight Detective]

I guess. He still feels very out of place with the League so no matter why they stuck him there, I still consider it a bad decision. Cor the League, and for Vic.

Hey, I was there at Cyborg's birth, so I understand how you feel. Still, at least for me, different universe means different rules.

[GlennSimpson]

Hey, I was there at Cyborg's birth, so I understand how you feel. Still, at least for me, different universe means different rules.

I agree. I'm not sure why reading about Cyborg in the Justice League can't be pleasurable in and of itself.

[Atlanta96]

I agree. I'm not sure why reading about Cyborg in the Justice League can't be pleasurable in and of itself.

Because it hasn't been handled very well, maybe?

[GlennSimpson]

Because it hasn't been handled very well, maybe?

What has to be "handled"- ? They wrote a story where Cyborg is in the Justice League. They have battles with villains and Cyborg participates in those battles. That's super-hero comic books. There's not much else to be "handled".

[Jabare]

I could care less about Martian Manhunter and despite some boisterous posters on message boards and comment sections it appears not that many people care about him either

[Agent Z]

What has to be "handled"- ? They wrote a story where Cyborg is in the Justice League. They have battles with villains and Cyborg participates in those battles. That's super-hero comic books. There's not much else to be "handled".

He has to be written well, given good story arcs and significance to the plot and be more than wall paper and for the most part neither of these have happened.

[Agent Z]

What has to be "handled"- ? They wrote a story where Cyborg is in the Justice League. They have battles with villains and Cyborg participates in those battles. That's super-hero comic books. There's not much else to be "handled".

He has to be written well, given good story arcs and significance to the plot and be more than wall paper and for the most part neither of these have happened.