There's a lot of reasons teen sidekicks are created. Oftentimes, such as in the case of Robin, it's to provide a counterbalance to the brooding main character. Other times, and this is probably the most common reason, it's to provide young readers with a character they can identify with. That being said, teen heroes are no longer relegated to sidekick status and we've collected 15 of the best comics starring adolescent heroes.
We'll be completely honest here, this one was almost impossible to rank. Comics about teen heroes are some of our favorite stories around and having to rank them was difficult, to say the least. This is a very subjective list and, especially the top six, could easily be rearranged. Rather than treat this as a list defining which comic is the best, we suggest using it as a resource to discover new teams and characters. That being said, feel free to give us your suggestions on the order in the comments below and let us know if we left any series off. These are the 15 Best Comic Book Series Starring Teen Superheroes.
15. New Mutants
The X-Men have always been a teen book and the original series did focus on teen heroes, but, unlike some companies, Marvel likes to let their characters age in something approaching real time Thanks to the fact that Xavier’s School for the Gifted would always be taking in new students, Marvel had an easy way of adding new mutants to its X-roster. Some of those new characters included fan favorites such as Magik and even Deadpool, who ed the cast near the series’ end. In addition to introducing several new heroes, New Mutants also saw the appearance of several villains such as the infamous Hellfire Club.
There have been several incarnations of the New Mutants over the years, but the first run started in 1983 and lasted for 100 issues.The series was cancelled in 1991 due to declining sales. Despite this, the characters remained popular enough that many made the move to X-Force. If you do enjoy this series then you'll be glad to know that a New Mutants movie is in the works.
14. Cloak and Dagger
Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen, better known as Cloak and Dagger, first appeared in the pages of Spectacular Spider-Man, but were popular enough that they eventually earned their own mini series which spun off into an ongoing title. That series lasted 11 issues, but was combined with another book to create Stranger Tales.
If you’re interested in these characters we suggest starting with the mini-series before moving on to the ongoing. Their guest appearances in the Spider-Man series aren’t bad or anything, but it’s the solo series that really defined these two characters. After running away from home, the two teenagers are kidnapped and injected with an experimental drug which gives them superpowers. The teens then vow to bring an end to the drug trade by enacting a brutal style of vigilante justice. One of the neat things about this series is that it focuses more street level crime as opposed to costumed supervillains which, especially for its time, was an intriguing concept.
13. Journey Into Mystery
Alright, we’ll freely it that this is one might be cheating since the star of the series, Kid Loki, looked closer to 10 than a teenager, and was actually ancient mythological deity. That being said, we’re going to count it because this series, like most things featuring everyone’s favorite God of Mischief, is awesome. Despite spending most of his career as a villain, Loki manages to steal the show by being a likeable and really fun hero, even if no one trusts him.
Aside from being an awesome Loki series, Kieron Gillen’s Journey Into Mystery is a great Asgard story. While Thor is the most well-known of Marvel’s Asgardians, he is far from the only one. Journey Into Mystery focuses on the some of the lesser developed characters in Marvel’s Asgardian lore and tells a really good story that manages to be both funny and moving at the same time. It's truly one of Loki's finest moments.
12. Gen 13
One of the lesser-known entries on this list, Gen 13 was created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi in 1994.
At first glance the series does have a lot in common with the original X-Men. Both feature a team of super powered teenagers and their older mentor. The series was inspired by the X-Men, specifically New Mutants, and there are some strong similarities between Free Fall and Jubilee. What sets Gen 13 apart from New Mutants is the tone. Like other Wildstorm series, such as The Authority, Gen 13 had a more "realistic" take on the super hero genre. Gen 13's heroes were less idealized and more realistic, in of their personalities and how they would react to situations, than their counterparts at Marvel or DC.
In of where to start reading, we suggest Lee and Choi’s original run. There were two follow-up series which are not bad, but some fans took issue with changes in tone and characterization so we suggest leaving them for last.
11. Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
This is another entry that isn’t strictly a superhero comic, but Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant is still worth a read even if you’re normally only a fan of capes and cowls. Delilah Dirk tells the story of a wandering “international mistress of swordsmanship” as she travels the world on a grand adventure with her friend Selim.
Adventure really is the defining theme of this series. Reading it reminded us a bit of old D&D campaigns we used to be a part of. Not so much for the aesthetics, but for the simple joy of going out and exploring the world.
If you enjoy this series, and we think you will, then you’ll be glad to know that Disney will be turning it into a movie. Disney might not be everyone’s first choice to handle series, but they’ve done a pretty good job with the Marvel movies.
10. Uncanny X-Men (2015)
Uncanny X-Men is one of Marvel’s longest running series and, for a large part of the run, the series has been about teen heroes. In this particular instance, we’re talking about the 2015 run which, thanks to the ever-convenient plot point of time travel, has brought the original X-Men into the present. Sure the X-Men and time travel are kind of a cliche at this point, but this particular series makes it work despite retreading somewhat familiar territory.
The fun thing about this series is that it gives us a fresh take on classic characters. It's still clearly the original X-Men, but seeing them react to the modern world lends a fresh perspective to what could otherwise be an all too familiar tale. It’s especially interesting seeing a young idealistic Scott Summers clash with his older more cynical counterpart. Plus it give fans who haven’t read the older stories a chance to see some of their favorite characters grow up. Besides, we get to see teenage Scott infuriate Wolverine and that never gets old.
9. X-23 and NYX
Let’s be honest, X-23 has a few things working against her. For starters, the fact that she’s a clone of one of the most popular, and some would argue over-exposed, might make her seem little more than a lazy cash grab. Furthermore, clones, as rule, in the Marvel universe tend to be a terrible plot point isn’t that right, Spider-Man fans? Secondly, she was actually created for the TV show X-Men Evolution, but, like Harley Quinn before her, proved popular enough to the comics.
We first meet Laura Kinley in NYX, where she and other homeless mutants fight to survive on the streets of New York where she ends up working as prostitute. Have we mentioned her life kind of sucks? Because it does, watching her endure it all and come out a stronger person is really rewarding. If you enjoy this series then be sure to check out her solo.
8. Invincible
Most of the stuff on this list are from the Big Two, which makes sense considering they make up the vast majority of the US comic book market, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of great comic books by smaller publishers. Image Comics’ Invincible is a prime example of this. Named for it’s main hero, Invincible tells the story a teenager trying to be a hero and grow up at the same time.
That might sound familiar, but Invincible is actually kind of unique in today’s comic book market because, for the course of it’s entire run, it has only had a single writer. This has allowed Robert Kirkman to craft and tell his own story exactly the way he wants to tell it. That’s something we don’t see a lot of in superhero comics. Kirkman wouldn’t have been able to tell this kind of story with, say, Superman because Superman isn’t his character.We think that’s what makes Invincible such a great read. Kirkman is telling the kind of story he wants to tell and, luckily for us, it’s a great one so check it out.
7. Lumberjanes
It could be argued that we’re cheating a bit with this entry, since this one technically isn't a superhero comic. After all, there are no superpowers or villains in bright spandex, but when it comes to comics about teenagers, we’d be insane to leave the girls of Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types off this list.
Aside from being the coolest summer camp of all time, what makes this series so great? Friendship! Sure it might sound like a corny theme, but the people in our lives affect all of us and this series does a great job of showing how our friends can help us get through difficult times and grow as a person.
Aside from that key theme, this series is really difficult to describe aside from saying it’s a wonderful blend oddity that you simply have to experience for yourself.
6. Teen Titans
We couldn’t include a list of best comics about teen heroes and not talk about the Teen Titans. While at first glance the Titans might appear to be little more than a junior-varsity Justice League, the team has had plenty of great stories that have nothing to do with the League. One of the best runs, and what we recommend as a starting point, is Marv Wolfman’s New Teen Titans which launched the series to critical and commercial acclaim.
Unfortunately, the Titans have fallen on hard times recently. The New 52 run was considered a failure by fans and critics thanks to poor characterization and a plot that went nowhere. DC attempted to reboot the series in 2014, but that also proved unsuccessful. The biggest problem both these runs had was that the plot felt meandering and the characters didn’t feel true to themselves. Hopefully, the new series, launching late September, featuring Damian Wayne as the team leader will fare a bit better.