While the Teen Titans have always been a fairly popular DC Comics property, many people didn't get into the series until the early 2000s when the animated series began to air on Cartoon Network. Since then, numerous adaptations of the team have been put to screen, with the grim Titans most notably entering its fourth season.
With the release of new Teen Titans material on the small screen comes a desire to revisit the comics. For many, they are aware of the shortcomings that have plagued the Teen Titans title given its extensive history, but others might not be as well-prepared for the harsh realities that come with rereading old Teen Titans comics.
The Original Series Didn't Treat The Team With Respect
The Teen Titans debuted in the pages of The Brave and the Bold back in 1964 and made sporadic appearances on the title before being given their own series in 1966. While this seemingly suggested that DC's most famous sidekicks were getting the recognition they deserved, this was far from the case.
While it makes sense that the Titans wouldn't be fighting the same type of villains the Justice League encountered, it's rather patronizing to read the team's earliest issues. DC's editorial team set it up so that the team would only help out fellow teenagers, and as such, the types of villains they faced were rarely serious, nor threatening (Captain Rumble being the most infamous example).
The New '52 Series
Retcons have rarely been popular in comics, and the New '52 has garnered a reputation as being one of the worst relaunches in DC Comics. Every series was rebooted following the events of Flashpoint, and it left many fans irate that 40+ years of Titans history had been erased.
While time has been kind to some of the relaunched titles that came out of the New '52, Scott Lobdell's run on Teen Titans has unfortunately remained controversial. The series main arc, "Harvest/N.O.W.H.E.R.E" was a meandering mess, the series turned Kid Flash into a villain for no reason, and the changes to the team's lore largely seemed to come from a place of spite.
Donna Troy's Constantly Changing Backstory
Donna Troy ed the Teen Titans in their second appearance, and wouldn't get an origin story until the comic's 22nd issue. Then, in the 1980s, her story was slightly reworked by Marv Wolfman because people didn't like that she was Wonder Woman's younger sister.
Ever since Wolfman altered Donna Troy's origin, the character has had a whole barage of retcons reworked into the Titans comics. Beyond distracting from pressing story arcs, these retcons are frustrating because they don't allow Donna Troy to grow as a character.
The Dialogue
Older comics have a reputation of being unreadable due to the corny dialogue the writers put into the mouths of characters, and Teen Titans is no exception. The book was targeted at younger readers during the 1960s, and as such the 40-year-old Bob Haney attempted to appropriate (then) modern slang to cringe inducing results.
While the '60s comic has garnered a reputation for its forced dialogue, the way the Titans speak hasn't aged well under the pen of later writers. Marv Wolfman might not have forced youthful vernacular into the pages of the New Teen Titans during the 1980s, but his comics still saw the characters spit out awkward technobabble.
The Comic Was Used As Part Of The War On Drugs
The Teen Titans was far from the first comic book to tackle the issue of drug abuse in its pages, but unlike previous stories such as "Snowbirds Don't Fly" in Green Lantern/Green Arrow and "Green Goblin Reborn!" in The Amazing Spider-Man, the anti-drug issues in The New Teen Titans were essentially government propaganda.
While it's commendable that Marv Wolfman would work with the government to help ensure kids stay off drugs, the New Teen Titans drug issues are not stories so much as they are PSA's. The matter of drug use is heavy-handed, and it didn't help that the comics replaced fan-favorite Robin with an original character named The Protector.
The Original Comic Came To An Abrupt End
Considering the stand-alone nature of the stories in the Teen Titans comic from the 1960s, most wouldn't care that the series went out on a whimper with #43. What might be frustrating for modern readers, however, is the fact that the comic was brought back for 9 issues under the pen of Bob Rozakis, only for it to be canceled for good.
What makes Rozakis' brief run so disappointing is that the writer attempted to tell more serious stories in Teen Titans. It seemed like the team was beginning to go somewhere due to the arcs Rozakis' began to sew during his tenure, yet the final issue (#51) seems to undo the development the characters went through and see them call it quits because they've outgrown the team.
The '60s Comic Attempted To Tackle Complex Social Issues
From Superman taking on corrupt mining executives to Captain America punching Nazis, comics have always had political undertones. The '60s in particular saw the medium used as a platform for social change, most notably with the introduction of Black superheroes such as Falcon and John Stewart.
While it's noble that the Teen Titans book attempted to tackle political issues in the late '60s, the title was rather ill-equipped to address matters such as the Vietnam War. Writer Bob Haney simply wasn't adept to tackle serious issues considering his comedic tone.
Donna Troy's Treatment By The Titans In The '60s
Because of the prevailing social attitudes at the time, Donna Troy was often seen as lesser to her peers in the pages of Teen Titans. Her teammates spoke down to her, and also gave her uncomfortable nicknames such as "Wonder Doll" and "Wonder Chick."
Beyond the lack of respect Donna Troy received from her teammates, the likable Titan character was also uncomfortably sexualized by the artists. Like her teammates, she was a minor in the pages of the Titans comics, but that didn't stop illustrators from putting her in skintight outfits that pronounced her figure.
Marv Wolfman Stayed On For Too Long/The Comic Got Needlessly Dark In The '90s
The Teen Titans wouldn't be what they are today without Marv Wolfman and George Perez. The two creatives were the ones who revamped the team and wrote such iconic stories as "The Judas Contract" in the early 1980s, yet it's clear that they should have ended things shortly after their most acclaimed arc.
While a number of Titans issues post-Crisis still resonated with audiences, by the end of the '80s, it was apparent that Marv Wolfman had run out of ideas for the comic. None of the new characters he introduced had any weight or memorability, and the end of his run saw him turn Raven into a villain, to many fans' disdain.
Terry Long
Back when Terry Long was introduced to the pages of the New Teen Titans, readers didn't bat much of an eye at the young college professor who was going steady with Wonder Girl. They saw him as a part of Titans' extended family, perhaps one that got too involved in the superhero plots, but an otherwise harmless figure.
Fast-forward to the 21st century, and it's readily apparent that Terry Long is a disgusting character. His behavior would be considered skeevy at best considering he's dating a teenager, and the fact that the comic treated his relationship as Donna Troy makes his presence even harder for readers to stomach.
