Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide, where we take you through the Wellington City Libraries’ collection of a comic book character or series. This post is all about the premiere teen super-teams of the DC Universe, the Teen Titans and Young Justice!
(GIFs via Giphy)
Who are the Teen Titans?
When there’s trouble, you know who to call… TEEN TITANS!
They’re a team of teen heroes, comprised of experienced sidekicks and newly minted superhumans looking to fight for justice. Operating from their T-shaped tower in the San Francisco Bay, they lead by example for up-and-coming heroes and try to live up to legacy of their mentors.
Note: DC Comics are divided by publishing eras, determined by a point where they set the issue number (and sometimes, continuity) of a series back to #1. ‘Pre-Crisis’ is everything DC published prior to 1986, ‘Post-Crisis’ is everything from 1986-2011, the New 52 from 2011-2016, DC Rebirth from 2016-2021, and Infinite Frontier from 2021 to present.
Post-Crisis
The Teen Titans were originally made up of the sidekicks of the Justice League; Robin, Wonder Girl, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Speedy. As those heroes grew up and graduated to new identities, new teen heroes like Beast Boy and Raven emerged to fill the roster. The New Teen Titans series is considered the definitive edition of the team (and main inspiration for the 2003 TV show), introducing such characters as the alien powerhouse Starfire, the techno-organic athlete Cyborg, and the duplicitous earth-bending Terra.
Teen Titans : year one / Wolfram, Amy
The new Teen Titans. Volume 3 / Wolfman, Marv
The New Teen Titans. Volume five / Wolfman, Marv
The new Teen Titans : who is Donna Troy / Wolfman, Marv
In the 2000s, a new Teen Titans emerged with a roster of original New Teen Titans members and new teen heroes like the Kryptonian clone Superboy, the third Robin and the hyperactive Kid Flash. Here, the Titans fought against such foes as the Zookeeper (a scientist who copied Beast Boy’s powers), the reality-bending ‘Superman Prime’, and an evil team of the Titans from the future.
Teen Titans by Geoff Johns. Book one / Johns, Geoff
Teen Titans by Geoff Johns. Book two / Johns, Geoff
Teen Titans by Geoff Johns. Book three, Sins of the father / Johns, Geoff
Infinite crisis / Johns, Geoff
Teen Titans : Titans around the world / Johns, Geoff
Teen Titans : Titans of tomorrow
Teen Titans : changing of the guard / McKeever, Sean
Teen Titans : prime of life / Krul, J. T
The New 52
The New 52 reset DC Comics’ continuity, and with it the history of the Teen Titans. Here, the Titans are formed after a mysterious organisation begins kidnapping and imprisoning superpowered teenagers. New members introduced here are the fire-manipulating Solstice and the barrier-creating Bunker.
New 52 Teen Titans reading order
Teen Titans. Volume 1, It’s our right to fight (only on Libby)
Teen Titans. Volume 2, The Culling / Lobdell, Scott
The Culling : rise of the ravagers / Lobdell, Scott
Teen Titans. Volume 4, Light and dark / Lobdell, Scott
Teen Titans. Volume 5, The trial of Kid Flash / Lobdell, Scott
Teen Titans. Volume 2, Rogue targets / Pfeifer, Will
Teen Titans. Volume 3, The sum of its parts
DC Rebirth 
The DC Rebirth team was led by Wallace West, the current Kid Flash, and Damian Wayne, the fifth Robin and son of Batman, who uses the team for his own ends. New members introduced here are the indestructible Roundhouse, the immortal teen genie Djinn, and the half-alien punk girl Crush.
DC Rebirth Teen Titans reading order
Teen Titans. Vol. 2, The rise of Aqualad / Percy, Benjamin
Teen Titans. Vol. 3, The return of Kid Flash
Titans : the Lazarus contract / Priest, Christopher J.
Teen Titans : Full throttle. Volume 1 / Glass, Adam
Teen Titans. Vol. 2, Turn it up / Glass, Adam
Teen Titans. Vol. 3, Seek and destroy / Glass, Adam
Teen Titans. Vol. 4, Robin no more / Thompson, Robbie
Crush would later get her own miniseries where she met her father, the macho alien bounty hunter Lobo.
Infinite Frontier – Teen Titans Academy
In the Infinite Frontier era, the Titans became teachers and turned their tower into a school for up-and-coming superheroes from across the world and the multiverse. But the school is targeted by a mysterious villain named Red X – who may in fact be one of the students.
Teen Titans Academy reading order
Teen Titans Academy. Vol. 1, X marks the spot / Sheridan, Tim
Teen Titans Academy. Vol. 2, Exit wounds / Sheridan, Tim
Titans
The original team from the New Teen Titans (Cyborg, Beast Boy, Wonder Girl, Nightwing, Flash, and Raven) reunite for new adventures, now simply going by The Titans. In the DC Rebirth era, they are joined by other seasoned young heroes like the alien telepath Miss Martian, the fifth Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, and the armoured heroine Steel.
Post-Crisis
Titans : old friends / Winick, Judd
DC Rebirth
Titans. Vol. 1, The return of Wally West / Abnett, Dan
Titans. Vol. 2, Made in Manhattan / Abnett, Dan
Titans : the Lazarus contract / Priest, Christopher J.
Titans. Vol. 3, A Judas among us / Abnett, Dan
Titans. Vol. 4, Titans apart / Abnett, Dan
Titans. Vol. 5, The spark / Abnett, Dan
Titans. Vol. 6, Into the bleed / Abnett, Dan
Titans United
The most recent team of Titans is based on the line-up from the HBO Max Titans show, which includes the young avatars of chaos and order Hawk and Dove and the vigilante (and former Robin) the Red Hood.
Titans united : bloodpact / Scott, Cavan
Other recent Titans series
Titans : burning rage / Jurgens, Dan
Tales of the Titans / Hale, Shannon
Knight terrors : terror Titans
Teen Titans from TV
Most fans know the Teen Titans from the 2003 Cartoon Network series of the same name, featuring Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven. The team later returned for the comedy series, Teen Titans GO!
Both of these TV shows have been adapted back into comics.
Comics based on 2003 Teen Titans
Teen Titans go! [1] : truth, justice, pizza / Torres, J.
Teen Titans go! [3] : bring it on / Torres, J.
Teen Titans go! [4] : ready for action / Torres, J.
Comics based on Teen Titans GO!
Teen Titans go! [1] : party, party / Fisch, Sholly
Teen Titans go! : weirder things / Manning, Matthew K
Teen Titans go! : undead? / Northrop, Michael
Teen Titans go! : to the library / Aureliani, Franco
Teen titans go! to camp / Fisch, Sholly
Teen Titans go! Volume 5, Falling stars / Fisch, Sholly
Teen Titans go! : their greatest hijinks / Fisch, Sholly
Teen Titans solo series
Some of the Titans have received their own solo series over the years. Here are some of their most recent first volumes (we’ve covered Wally West in the Flash blog, both Aqualads in the Aquaman blog, and we’ll cover the Robins in their own blog).
Nightwing. Vol. 1, Leaping into the light / Taylor, Tom
Cyborg. Volume 1, The imitation of life / Semper, John
Starfire. Volume 2, A matter of time / Conner, Amanda
The Flash. Vol. 16, Wally West returns / Shinick, Kevin
You brought me the ocean / Sanchez, Alex
Superboy. Volume 1, Incubation / Lobdell, Scott
Red Hood, outlaw. Vol. 1, Requiem for an archer / Lobdell, Scott
Tim Drake : Robin [1] / Fitzmartin, Meghan
Robin : the Lazarus tournament / Williamson, Joshua
Titans Across the Multiverse
Teen Titans Earth One
On the parallel world of Earth One, the Titans are a group of teens given powers by the scientist parents and go on the run.
Teen Titans : Earth one. Volume one / Lemire, Jeff
Teen Titans : Earth One. Volume two / Lemire, Jeff
Raven and Beast Boy series
Fan artist Gabriel Picolo was lucky enough to be asked by DC to illustrate a new series of Teen Titans graphic novels, which sees Beast Boy and Raven meeting in high school.
Raven and Beast Boy reading order
Teen Titans : Raven / Garcia, Kami
Teen Titans : Beast Boy / Garcia, Kami
Teen Titans : Beast Boy loves Raven / Garcia, Kami
Teen Titans : Robin / Garcia, Kami
More Teen Titans across the multiverse
The Multiversity / Morrison, Grant – On Earth-16, a world where crime has been eradicated, the young heroes of the world have become celebrity layabouts with nothing to do.
Multiversity : teen justice / Cohen, Ivan – On the matriarchal world of Earth-11, Aquagirl, Supergirl, Kid Quick and more fight evil together as Teen Justice.
Kingdom come / Waid, Mark – On the future world of Earth-22, the Titans have now had children or developed into new forms: Cyborg is now the liquid metal human Robotman, Beast Boy can only turn into imaginary animals as Menagerie, and Nightwing and Starfire’s daughter Nightstar cuts a rebellious streak against her parents.
I am not Starfire / Tamaki, Mariko – In this graphic novel, Starfire’s daughter is Mandy, a non-powered goth teenager who rebels against her sunny, positive mother.
Tales from the DC dark multiverse – The Dark Multiverse explores an alternate ending for one of the Teen Titan’s most iconic storylines, The Judas Contract.
Who are Young Justice?
Young Justice was another team of teen sidekicks, initially made up of Superboy, the third Robin Tim Drake, and the Flash’s time-travelling grandson Impulse. While inexperienced, their eagerness to do good has inspired other young heroes to join their ranks, including the Amazon wannabe Wonder Girl, Lobo’s kid clone Slobo, and the ghostly Secret.
Young Justice. Book five / David, Peter
Members from this team would then graduate to join the 2000s era team of Teen Titans (see above).
DC Rebirth
The original incarnation of Young Justice has recently reunited for a trip across the Multiverse, joined by the raygun-wielding cowgirl Jinny Hex, the young hacker Teen Lantern, and Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld.
Young Justice [1] : Gemworld / Bendis, Brian Michael
Young Justice [2] : lost in the Multiverse / Bendis, Brian Michael
Young Justice [3] : warriors and warlords / Bendis, Brian Michael
Dark Crisis : Young Justice / Fitzmartin, Meghan
TV’s Young Justice 
Young Justice also inspired a hit Cartoon Network/HBO Max show, taking place in a universe with an extensive legacy of superheroes. Here, Superboy, Miss Martian, Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Artemis are teen sidekicks who operate as the Justice League’s black-ops unit.
Young Justice [2] : training day / Weisman, Greg
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