This. It's why, while I don't think a complete overhaul of the roster would do anything useful (and could be harmful by driving away a significant portion of the existing fanbase), I wouldn't be against something of a shake-up of the roster — as long as there are enough of the existing members retained to maintain a sense of continuity, and more importantly as long as the revision is done with an eye toward interesting team dynamics and enabling new story possibilities.
That said, I still maintain that it's not the roster that's the problem; and you could get things working again even with the existing roster just by telling better stories.
The latter has a lot more to do with it than the former. Juggling the rosters around isn't going to do diddly squat if the stories don't improve. Conversely, I don't think the stories can improve without the Titans regaining their mojo — though I think that's more a case of them regaining their mojo as a result of competent storytelling than vice versa.
Rogue wears rouge.
Angel knows all the angles.
Except you don't. Like Zero Hunter said, stories with the Fab 5 tend to be character centered while Big 7 stories are based around big action (which I personally find boring.) The Fab 5 all have very unique dynamics with each other, while aside from the obvious partnerships, the Big 7 really don't. And of course there's the fact that the 5 are much different characters than the 7. A well written Dick is very different from Bruce, Roy is very different from Oliver, Garth is very different from Arthur, etc.
I'm curious which books you're thinking of that give you this opinion. Prior to the current run, there's only been one volume to prominently feature the fab 5 all together as adults. Titans Vol. 1 has a brilliant first half and I'm not the only one who thinks of it as the Titans at their best, it being the book that really perfected the Fab 5's friendship and dynamic, while also having some excellent other additions. The second half, while I like it more than most (Faerber's run at least), was hamstrung by editorial and really shouldn't be used as an example for anything.
I think it depends on the writer, because I've seen writers who can work with the Big 7 and create a fairly solid team dynamic with them, but obviously they're limited to what they can do on a personal level because most of them (or all of them) have their own solo books.
That's like the bane to any big team book.
I'll grant you guys Morrison to an extent (and I think Wally and Kyle's presence had a lot to do with it), but even then, Morrison just fired out one world ending disaster after another. They were certainly more imaginative than many writers' end of the world plots, but it was still very repetitive and tiring.
I actually find the JL to be boring as well so they definitely aren't getting a pass from me. There's a reason I find the current JLA book to be more interesting and its down to the characters involved being not the traditional roster. I've also tended to prefer the side characters to the big guns as well.
And just so you know I don't dislike the Fab Five at all. I just think they have been badly handled for a very long time which is why I would like for them to stop being treated like second raters. I would actually like to see them BE the Justice League and not be forever caught between the "teens" and the "adults". I really wish that we lived in a world where comic book characters in the big two were allowed to age and to pass down their mantles to the next generation. That way we could have a constant stream of new characters taking the place of the old in an organic way that would also lessen the complaints about the bloated nature of things like the Bat Family.
Supporting LION FORGE COMICS and other independent publishers.
Check out Lion Forge's Catalyst Prime Universe. Its the best damned superhero verse in comics. Diverse characters and interesting stories set in a universe where anyone can be a hero. And company that prides itself on representation both in the comics themselves and in the people behind them.
Oh my goodness gracious! I've been bamboozled!
When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change. AVATAR AANG
Supporting LION FORGE COMICS and other independent publishers.
Check out Lion Forge's Catalyst Prime Universe. Its the best damned superhero verse in comics. Diverse characters and interesting stories set in a universe where anyone can be a hero. And company that prides itself on representation both in the comics themselves and in the people behind them.
Oh my goodness gracious! I've been bamboozled!
When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change. AVATAR AANG
Damn that new Titans issue left a bad taste in my mouth. Props to them for making me feel something for the first time since this series started...I just don't like what I felt. I thought they were past the point where the League could just swoop in and demand that they disband.
The current Titans series has very much been "big action". How often have we seen any of them in their civilian identities and spending time as friends?
Conceptually, it's all very Justice League. To say otherwise is not seeing the forest for the trees. They're slightly younger counterparts of DC's most popular characters, with a similar MO, in similar stories. But when a writer actually tries to do something to distinguish them from the Justice League, the forums complain. And when they don't, they complain that it's stale.
It's damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Well, that was obviously Morrison's approach to the League, that you take these larger-then-life heroes and then pit them against one world-ending threat after another.
I can see how it could be repetitive, but I also thought it was a valid approach to the League. But your mileage may vary.
I also think Mark Waid, Joe Kelly, and what I even read of Gail Simone's short work doing a solid job as well.
For a book like Titans or even Teen Titans when the focus should be more on character over action you need a certain kind of writer. Someone like a Peter David who really knows how to do character stuff as well as action. You look at any book he has done with a big cast over the years and he kills it on both team books like Young Justice and X-Factor and solo books with big supporting casts like Aquaman and Hulk. That is what the books need. Someone who likes and is good at that kind of storytelling.