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!!!!!!

This is why Helena’s deliberate exclusion from Birds of Prey esp now that she’s black is so infuriating to me- her relationships w/ Dinah and Babs are so important- she basically sacrificed her life for Sin yet she goes unmentioned!!!!

Huntress & Black Canary: DC’s forgotten dynamic duo

long (but worth it) post alert

i’ve always found helena’s relationship to dinah so INTERESTING!!! how helena seemingly idolizes dinah and holds her on a pedestal, because dinah may truly be the only person in the crime fighting biz that doesn't immediately judge her—that she doesn't need to fight for the approval of (*cough* batfam *cough*). i choose to read it as an attachment. one that is similar to her dynamic with batman (in that she searches for approval and comfort), but different because while bruce rejects helena time and time again, dinah does not.

what makes their dynamic even more fascinating is that dinah doesn’t purposely make a home for helena. it’s just who she is or how it happens. the energy isn’t reciprocated in the sense that dinah does not then idolize or pedestal helena in return. it’s sort of a one way street that likely results from the void of helena’s lonely past that causes her to “imprint” on the first person that shows her acceptance. but, because dinah is present and rarely offers rejection, helena thus views her as an object of habitual trust, perhaps even someone that she needs. 

i could be overstating it, but undoubtedly there is a bond between the two worth analyzing, and specifically through the eyes of the Huntress. helena emotionally attaches to dinah because dinah does not turn her away in the way that others that come before her have (due to how she works/goes about business). for once, someone seems to actually care enough to give her the light of day, to give her a CHANCE. and that is a huge change from the unacceptance she is so used to feeling and the lonely she is so used to being. as a child, helena seldom received any validation from important figures (for obvious reasons… i.e. her entire family being murdered), so she sometimes searches for this validation in other people. through this friendship, dinah helps helena realize that she does not have to linger in her own corner of brooding and that she can be apart of a team.

it’s kind of genius, really. and who knows if Gail Simone purposely wrote in all these layers but nevertheless it’s there and it makes sense: girl who continuously gets rejected in her search for approval finally finds someone who doesn’t and in turn, idolizes her. this dynamic only gets more interesting for me when thinking about it from dinah’s perspective; while dinah does really care about helena, she doesn’t necessarily go out of her way to give her that “chance”—she simply does not have preconceived notions about who helena bertinelli is. dinah inadvertently breaks the cycle that helena is caught in. all of this is in terms of the start of their relationship, and to simplify: dinah never goes to helena and says “oh my god you have such a horrible past let me help you!” rather, it is helena who comes across dinah and thinks “wait a sec…? she doesn’t care that i’ve done some bad things? or that batman (AND babs… which is huge bc barbara IS the birds of prey) doesn’t really like me?” it doesn’t mean as much to her as it does to helena. this can be detected in dinah’s own dialogue to her, as seen in the previous panels. however, as their bond strengthens, we do then see dinah going out of her way to directly support and defend helena, even confronting batman herself on several occasions :

i wish this dynamic was explored more, however. it doesn’t help that DC has seemingly thrown helena on the back burner, away from the team that was once so important to her character development. what i’m trying to say is, helena NEEDS to be in the current Birds of Prey run for many reasons, her attachment to dinah and dinah's support of her being one of them. and i hope Kelly Thompson will recognize the importance this has not just for fans like me, but for the character herself. if you know anything about Huntress as a character, she is kind of a "lone wolf" type. by choice, by circumstance, not just cuz of her personality, but because of her origin, too. her joining the Birds of Prey, becoming a prominent figure on a cohesive TEAM, was a huge arc in her development. take it from helena herself, after literally sacrificing her life for dinah :

I would really like to see these two team up again, being that they work pretty well together, visually and literally, but also because it means a lot to helena internally. if we strip huntress away from the birds of prey, who does she really have? where really is she? the answer is no one and no where, a reflection of her current status in the dc universe. helena does not have to be, and should not be, inextricably tied to a team (as some characters unfortunately grow to be) but a balance between co-operation and independence can easily be navigated. in other words, helena works well alone but the birds of prey should remain a comfort zone for her, and a part of her overall purpose. ultimately, having characters and spaces that she is connected to can only be a good thing (i.e. dinah, babs, zinda, the birds of prey). yet, somehow, she is missing in action even while her team is active.

it’s a shame for me to see them operate without her. so, part of my reasoning for her inclusion is Black Canary, as dinah became that important figure in helena’s life— something her character so deeply craves both emotionally and contextually; helena bertinelli needs someone she can rely on and Huntress, as a character, needs to have solid connections within the space of DC’s universe... or else she is at risk of slowly falling into a forgotten pit of oblivion. But when thinking of the birds of prey, i personally do picture a trio— heldinahbabs. of course, the team has always been subject to change, and there is nothing wrong with that (in fact, in volume one, helena only joined in issue #57, while dinah even left in issue #100), but this post is a very long winded way of me wanting to see them together again, even just for a moment. afterall, helena joined for dinah and stayed for barbara. and as someone who is a huge huntress fan, seeing her dynamics explored more with others is a must. but, am i blinded by nostalgia? you tell me. either way, i know helena misses dinah. 

---

bonus: helena lowkey fangirling over the sight of both dinah and bruce fighting together

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Best part of the movie, especially Iris

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part One (2024) THE FLASH (2014-2023)

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Casaul xenophobia and it's so frustrating

She's an immigrant, damn it

I get legitimately so mad when people write 03 Starfire off as stupid. Like genuinely offended.

Because it is so obvious that the only reason ya'll say that is because she's a literal alien from another planet that has trouble with English since it's not her first language. But other than that, you can't give any concrete examples of her being "stupid" BECAUSE SHE'S NOT. SHE'S CANONICALLY ONE OF THE MOST INTELLIGENT MEMBERS ON THE TEAM.

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Lowkey Taylor has been doing this by having Dick be serious but Cyborg after everything he did to save the Titans when Dick abandoned it should really fight w/ Dick about whether he should be leader

i wish we went back to like…. definitively showing why specific characters lead teams. like dick grayson is the unanimous leader of the titans in most runs for a reason — he’s a highly experienced tactician and leader that isn’t afraid to make hard decisions and he gets forced into it by the fab 5 so he doesn’t get caught up in his feelings. that’s a lot more interesting than like…. characters leading teams of people with more experience just because they have a bat symbol. actually show me that they’re capable of being in charge. show me dick grayson actually doing tough leader shit instead of being quirky and always making the easy call. wonder woman should be leading the league. why is batman hanging around the team of magic users. i don’t even need to elaborate on the outlaws

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Omg yes!!! Esp with Jesse/Rick’s fights and Beth is finally alive again, you could do a story about Beth and Rick reconnecting after so long leading to a love triangle w/ Jesse/Rick/Beth

I hope Lemire would do something like this because it is insane how Beth and Rick haven’t even had a conversation! They were each other’s loves ripped apart by Beth’s untimely death

If I wrote/post comics!hournite fic based off of the current JSA run would y’all read it?

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My favorite thing about the teen titans is that they all have combos with each other, but the fact that Starfire and Robins is called "launch" and it's just Starfire chucking Robin at the enemy is hilarious. Like home girl literally grabs him by the foot, does a spin, and YEETS him 😭

Swinging bro around like a ragdoll

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👽

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Dick & Vic: such an underrated duo. I love them and wish we see it more often

im away and dont really have time to draw but look at themmmm :]

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Broken shell

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Ver belated update but I finally did it!! Thank you so much for your patience, it’s a three part series but every part is linked in the first post! https://www.tumblr.com/maria-from-ga/756473195634245632/raven-the-empathetic-sorceress

Me 4 weeks ago: I should do a long post about how Raven TT03 powers align with her powers in NTT. This will be fun. Surely a post on the powerful Titan with the most diverse & creative skillset won't take me long

Me 3 posts drafts & 90 images later:

Luckily I should be finish with this soon, just final revisions and edits lmao!!!

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Love this so much and it would be really cool to see new modern generations in this photo, especially to show the Titans’ transformation into a truly multi-generational network- a forever home for young heroes by young heroes to find long-lasting community

Teen Titans - Titans by Rich Bernatovech.

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Screencap redraw of probably one my fave episodes to exist

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Raven, the Empathetic Sorceress Part 3

Here's the final part of Raven's TT03 powers aligned with her NTT powers. And if you came here after Part 1 and Part 2, thanks for sticking around lol

(Sources in pink)

Healing

In NTT, Raven could heal others, more specifically absorbing the people's pain to induce their healing.

The scope of what Raven can heal has varied in NTT but traditionally, it's more limited in scope: she can't heal diseases or severe injuries

(Tales of New Teen Titans #2- Young Raven learns of her ability to heal by saving a dove's life. The Goddess Azar tells Raven that Raven ability to heal is fairly limited, and Raven explains that to the team as well as absorbing other's pain add to her suffering and is painful.)

Raven was known in NTT for being a healer because, she didn't like conflict (aside from knocking people out unconscious*lol)

There is a misconception around TT03 that Raven never healed. On one hand, this is understandable because it wasn't as dramatic or grandiose as in the comics or the DCAMU when Raven healed Damian. However this isn't the case.

TT03 Raven was a healer as well; her ability just hewn closer to the original limitations of her healing.

Raven healed several times in the show:

Healed a limping Beast Boy in the pilot

(Teen Titans 1x01 "Final Exam"- After being defeated by the HIVE, Raven helps a limping Beast Boy returning to Titan Tower and heals his injury and telling him they had to accept what happened, a sign of Raven's maturity and wisdom)

2. Reduce a major injury Robin had to a minor fracture (a sign of her healing abilities being limited)

(Teen Titans 2x07 "Fractured"- In a fight against Johnny Rancid, Robin is seriously injured with a broken arm but Raven is able to reduce the serious injury to a minor fracture.)

3. Healing Herself After Being Attacked By Adonis

(Teen Titans 3x09 "The Beast Within"- After Raven was seriously attacked by Adonis, Raven went into a trance to heal herself)

Here are other times which I think count but I understand if people don't want to:

4. Attempt to Heal Robin's Mind

(Teen Titans 3x05 "Haunted"- After finding Robin, Raven enters his mind to try to show Robin the truth to soothe his troubled mind)

In "Haunted", when Robin escaped after suffering a breakdown, Raven used her soul-self to find Robin and enter his mind. Raven tries to convince him that Slade isn't physically there to calm him down. This, to me, is Raven trying to heal Robin's mind by addressing the root cause of Robin's mental issues- Slade's existence- to free from the stress he is under. This is similar to NTT #14 where Raven tries to find the root of Mento's mental distress so he can be free from the mental illness plaguing him.

(NTT (1980) #14- Finding a disoriented Mento, Beast Boy's dad, Raven sense an emotional disturbance in Mento and try to soothe his pain but couldn't)

5. Defeated Plasmus

I know this is seemingly a unexpected choice because Raven uses her soul-self to knock Plasmus out unconscious, but when you consider Plasmus's character, this is an act of empathy & healing in my opinion.

(Teen Titans 4x11 "The End Part 1"- Raven recites Azarath Metrion Zinthos, summoning more of her power, and knocks out Plasmus granting him the peace he deserves)

Plasmus, real name- Otto Von Furth, is a tragic figure in TT03. He can't control his transformation into Plasmus, and has to remain in a stasis tank or be permanently unconscious to remain human & not transform into Plasmus. Otto readily accepts this sad fate to stay human. When Slade forcibly wakes him up in "Divide And Conquer" (Teen Titans 1x02- Plasmus 1st appearances), Otto begs to be put to sleep, but Slade mocks him and ignores his cries. TT03 Raven using her full astral form can form a soul-link with someone (e.g. with Robin in "Haunted" which she later mentions in "Birthmark" that after entering Robin's mind, she and Robin share a soul-link), so she, in her astral form, likely realized Otto's desires after ending Plasmus's mind, and so with the natural abilities of her soul-self, granted Otto's wish for rest. This act of healing a distressed person is similar to Raven putting Mark, a distressed man having an episode, to rest in NTT #35.

(NTT (1980) #35- Raven comforts and puts to rest Mark, Sarah Simms' ex who has having an mentalepisode and started a hostage situation)

6. Healed Plasmus again

(This was in Teen Titans 5x12 "Titans Together", but I am not going to post the scene because it is essentially the same scene as the one in "The End Part 1")

Thus, Raven healed someone at least once a season. Again, I don't blame people for the misconception, but it was a kid's show so they won't going to have people with major injuries but whenever they need a healer, Raven was there.

Empathy in Practice

Part 1 already covered how TT03 Raven is an empath, but how does she used her empathy in practice outside of healing?

Conventional Use of Empathy

Emotional Manipulation

Now as an empath, Raven can alter and manipulate people's emotions.

In TT03, Raven doesn't manipulate emotions to the extent NTT Raven, which is understandable because on a kid's show, you don't want to condone manipulating emotions. Also, NTT Raven also eventually stops manipulating emotions without consent because she realized how messed up it was.

(1st image: NTT (1980) #4 - Zatanna reveals to Wally that Raven forced her to fall in love with her so Raven can use Wally in the fight against Trigon; 2nd image: NTT (1980) #14- Raven apologizes to Wally saying she now realizes that manipulating people's emotions to force them to do what you want is wrong)

This doesn't mean TT03 Raven can't manipulate emotions, but rather TT03 Raven only does so in a 'break-in-case-of-emergency' situation:

(Teen Titans 3x04 "Crash"- After Gizmo refused to help the Titans to fix Cyborg, Robin gives Raven the go-ahead to exploit Gizmo's fears and force him to help them )

What Raven did in "Crash": sense Gizmo's fears and exploit them to pressure him into saving her friend as a last resort is similar to what NTT #14 stated she can do as an empath.

(NTT (1980) #14- After Mento for a lack of a better word went bersek and attacked the Titans, Raven exploit Mento's love for his dead wife, Rita, to get her to calm down)

Sensing People & Emotions

Because of her empathic ability, Raven can sense things, such as people's presence to find them.

(NTT (1980) #1- Raven sense Starfire's arrival and ask Titans to follow her to help save Starfire)

TT03 Raven uses this ability to find Starfire such as the TT03 prequel episode- Teen Titans 5x10 "Go" in a scene reminiscent of NTT #1 (1st scene in GIF below)

As well to try to find the White Monster the Titans were chasing in the series finale (Teen Titans 5x13 "Things Change") (2nd scene in GIF above)

This sensing ability of TT03 Raven not only extends to sensing people's presence, but also even more specifically the distress of others, particularly those of she cares about.

For example in "Haunted" (shown in the GIF below) when Raven felt Beast Boy's pain after he was attacked by Robin, Raven's sensing ability caused Raven to sense Beast Boy's distress and thus wake up from her healing trance.

This TT03 scene is reminiscent of NTT (1980) #10 (image below) when Beast Boy was severely injured and almost killed by Deathstroke. Raven sensed Beast Boy's immense pain and immediately teleported to him.

TT03 Raven, like NTT Raven, can also sense strong emotions of others. For example in Titans 2x08 - "Titans Rising" (GIF below), Raven sensed the strong, conflicting emotions of Terra after Terra rejoined the team, triggering a premonition, another ability of NTT Raven. This premonition revealed Terra's allegiance to Slade and subsequently betrayal which ultimately caused TT03 Raven to not completely trust Terra, similar to comic Raven's mistrust of Terra in Judas Contract.

TT03 and NTT Raven's ability to sense emotions as an empath is why Raven is known as a healer. Again, going back to the example with Robin and Plasmus, because she can sense their emotional disturbances, TT03 Raven can heal or attempt to heal people's minds- another conventional use of her empathy.

Grounded Use of Empathy: Understanding

In this long series breaking down TT03 Raven's powers, this might be my favorite section because this is so underrated about TT03 Raven. Though TT03 had Raven use her empathy in more conventional ways, TT03 really honed in on having Raven use her empathetic ability in a grounded sense.

Again Raven was an empath who felt everything yet had to deny her emotions and pretend not to feel anything (Part 1).

Yet underneath that faux cold demeanor & layer of sarcasm (which was always overrated imo), Raven was always to provide emotional support, be a shoulder to lean on & to vent your internal struggles (something that was all too easy for her to understand).

Beast Boy

Raven and Beast Boy's relationship was complicated, to say the least. Complete opposites, Raven struggled with Beast Boy's strong emotions, immaturity, & need for external validation. So Beast Boy thought Raven didn't like him. In turn, Raven thought BB hated her.

But Raven was there to provide comfort when Beast Boy needed someone, particularly at his lowest moment.

Teen Titans 3x09 The Beast Within - Beast Boy gets pushed too far by Adonis & thus unleashes his inner beast on him to win. Afterwards this battle, Beast Boy acts abnormally, eats meat & diary, and is awful to everyone, especially Raven. Beast Boy is ultimately turned into a out-of-control primal werebeast and Beast Boy's friends turn on him after believing he hurt Raven. Titans discovered Adonis also transformed into a werebeast & Beast Boy, in his primal werebeast form, was trying to save Raven & defeat Adonis who was obsessed with Beast Boy and Raven. Beast Boy eventually succeeds.

Beast Boy was given an antidote so he wouldn't have uncontrollable transformations into a werebeast anymore nor act like a toxic jerk, but after the ordeal, Beast Boy was badly shaken.

Raven, all too familiar with the agonizing regret in the aftermath of losing control, tries to comfort Beast Boy telling him it wasn't his fault and he has regained control (GIF below).

But Beast Boy is still mortified of his inner beast.

Raven, all too familiar with fear of your inner beast (Trigon), reminds him that his inner beast saved her life & it wasn't all bad. What's important is knowing when to release that inner beast for good - that is what makes him mature and human, reassuring Beast Boy (GIF below)

Once she sense Beast Boy was okay, she put her usual veneer of sarcasm back down.

Raven carries a deep, internal shame of her demon heritage & of her father (as Teen Titans 1x06 "Nevermore" shown), so her willingness to discuss the lessons she learn from it & the good from it despite her usual reluctance because she saw a friend in deep pain, despite their conflicts, shows how she understands and cares.

Robin

Due to their similar personalities, Raven was very close with Robin & shared a deep sense of mutual respect with him.

As such, Raven was always willing to comfort Robin when he was in emotional distress, especially when Starfire wasn't there to provide emotional support.

(1st Scene - Teen Titans 3x05 "Haunted"- As soon as Robin became agitated after realizing the Titans do not believe him, Raven was the first one to try to calm him down & was careful to use a gentle, non-accusatory tone with Robin to figure what was going on with him; 2nd Scene- Teen Titans 5x05 "Snowblind" - Raven tries to comfort a clearly worried Robin after Starfire went missing)

Again, throughout "Haunted", Raven was the only Titan who never became agitated at or rude towards Robin during his mental breakdown, likely sensing Robin's severe emotional distress. She tried to find a physical cause and when that failed, tried to heal Robin's mind, learning all his memories & forming a soul-link between the two.

With the soul-link from her empathetic powers , she was able to truly understand the source of Robin's plight: that to him, Slade was real and was actually fighting him. She showed the other Titans, Robin was in true mental, and thus physical, distress & was not being delusional (GIF below).

Starfire

Starfire always wore her emotions on her sleeve, and in her distress, either turn to Robin for emotional support or remove herself. But that doesn't mean Raven was never there when Starfire needed her.

In "How Long Is Forever", Starfire wanted to celebrate a Tamaranian Festival of Friendship with the other Titans but she was devastated when she discovered the other Titans were fighting, which ultimately result in her handcrafted festival necklaces being destroyed. Starfire, distressed at her broken necklaces, was upset at her friends fighting, worried this will cause their friendships to end. Raven with all the other Titans dismiss Starfire's concerns, saying it's normal roommate fights.

Then Starfire gets trapped in a wormhole & ends in a dystopian future where her worst fears have come and the Titans have split. Starfire is able to return to the present and tells her friends of the future. Other Titans were depressed at hearing their future, but Starfire suggests there is still hope to change their fate.

Sensing Titans' sadness at the potential end of their friendship & and sensing Starfire's quiet optimism & still burning desire for the festival, Raven suggest celebrating the Tamaranian Friendship Festival anyway, rebuilding the Starfire's beloved festival necklaces.

Uplifting All The Titans' Spirits but Especially Starfire's:

1st Scene - Teen Titans 2x01: "How Long Is Forever"; 2nd Scene: Teen Titans 3x03: "Betrothed"

The 2nd scene of the GIF above is from "Betrothed". In it, Raven tells Robin it's unfair to question Starfire's culture just because it's different from Earth's after Starfire is about to enter an arranged wedding. On the surface, this is another instance of Raven gently attempting to calm down an agitated Robin (which is true).

But this Raven quote encapsulates the deep respect and understanding she has for Starfire and her immigranthood.

Raven always felt like an outsider due to not only to her struggles to control her demon side, but also because her methods of control are from her home Azarath: an inter-dimensional society with practices (mediation, self-denial, mysticism) seemingly bizarre to Americans like Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy.

So like Starfire, Raven is an immigrant and understand the difficulty navigating cultural differences between your old home with your new one. Throughout the series, whenever Starfire perform a 'bizarre' Tamaranian cultural tradition or did something out-of-synch with conventional Earth culture (ie drinking mustard), Raven was the only Titan who rarely bat an eye. Although other Titans would never admonish Starfire for her naïveté  around Earth custom or "strange" ones, but they were usually bewildered, but not Raven.

This is all the more apparent when the Titans visited Tamaran, Starfire's homeland in "Betrothed." Not only was Raven nonplussed compared to other Titans about seeing Tamaran's traditions in practice, but she was also willing to provide assurance to Starfire about her traditions' validity. When the Titans arrived to Tamaran and Starfire described it as beautiful despite seeing only ugly rock formations around, Raven was the only one who agreed about its beauty despite initial hesitation. When Starfire's husband-to-be Glgrdsklechhh was revealed, and all the Titans, including Starfire, were disgusted, Raven, after hesitation, tried to hearten Starfire's spirit by saying he's cute.

Both instances, there wasn't a hint of Raven's trademarked sarcasm, but rather kindness & reassurance because Raven likely sensed Starfire's excitement, nervousness & trepidation about this visit. All this is encapsulated by when Beast Boy express curiosity & excitement seeing the alien animals on Tamaran, Raven reminds him: "He's the alien here."

These instances sum up to Raven's understanding of being an outsider with Starfire, validating her cultural differences, and the deep respect she had for Starfire's culture & how her personality flows from it, despite their seemingly clashing personalities and cultures.

Cyborg

Raven & Cyborg's friendship is so underrated, especially since their friendship was where Raven's grounded empathy and understanding are arguably the most present.

In "Car Trouble", Cyborg took so much care to build T-Car, calling it his baby & was so excited to show the other Titans his creation, but Raven was the only Titan who didn't care (remember she can fly & teleport lol). Cyborg then loses the car & becomes extremely upset when Titans said they wanted to turn Overload over to the police before searching for the car. Raven becomes rather rude & said Cyborg's car is not a big deal because it was just a car; Cyborg then becomes furious & goes off to search for the car alone. Gizmo steals the T-Car and Cyborg becomes utterly dejected, believing the car is lost forever.

Raven, realizing her screw-up, goes to find Cyborg, but Cyborg tells her it's a lost cause & maybe she's right: it was just a car (GIF below).

(Teen Titans 1x13 "Car Trouble")

Sensing his love for the car, Raven disagrees and instead affirms that the T-Car was part of him, his baby, not just a car, so it does matters, raising Cy's spirits (GIF below).

Raven joins Cyborg to look for the T-Car, but eventually Overload finds it and overtakes it. So in order to defeat Overload, Cyborg has to destroy the car & naturally becomes dejected the T-Car is gone.

Raven reminds Cyborg what made the car special was his soul, not the parts, so he can always rebuild the T-Car. And then Raven assist him in doing just that (GIF below):

("Car Trouble" - What's Raven is pointing to in this GIF is a blue and black chip board that came from Cyborg that made T-Car functional- a physical representation of his soul. Raven goes on to spend hours rebuilding a car she admittedly doesn't care about just because it meant that much to Cyborg)

Raven's care and empathy for Cyborg shows up again in "Cyborg the Barbarian":

In "Cyborg the Barbarian", Cyborg gets stranded 5000 years in the past. He meets The Village, a tribe of warriors battling the Green Gruesomes. Despite his initial reluctance, especially due to his diminishing power battery, Cyborg decides to join the battle against the Green Gruesomes, assisting the Village and their beautiful leader, Sarasim.** However, before the battle is over, Raven rescues him, leaving Cyborg distraught. And a devastated Cyborg grabs Raven, pleading with her to send him back.

Instead of reacting harshly as she usually, especially due to being grabbed, Raven gently told him she can't send him back (GIF below):

(Teen Titans 4x04 "Cyborg the Barbarian")

Cyborg walks away from his friends distraught, saying that he didn't get to say goodbye, while Raven looks at Cyborg with sympathy.

Sensing Cyborg's wallowing in his pain & regret, Raven visits Cyborg & shows him one of her books. The book reveals that Sarasim & the Village were ultimately victorious & commemorated Cy for his bravery. Raven then leaves the book with Cyborg, and seeing the return of his joy, smiles (GIF below):

Using her powers can put a strain on Raven, so you imagine using the full extent of her soul-self energy trying to pinpoint Cyborg across space and time would have done to her. Not only the strain of finding Cyborg but also using her soul-self energy to carry Cyborg 5,000 years through time. All this took a lot from Raven, and Cyborg not only didn't even thank her, but rather gripped her tightly, and begged to be send back, ignoring all that Raven sacrificed. But istead of expressing rage, frustration, or even sarcasm at Cyborg's lack of gratitude, Raven, seeing Cyborg's turmoil and pain, regretfully said she couldn't. So, Cyborg walked away, heartbroken and disappointed. And after this, Raven then searched her extensive ancient book collection, looking for the name Cyborg called out before he walked away from his friends dejected to give her friend some sense of comfort. Finding what she was looking and sensing his grief, Raven shows to Cyborg her book detailing how Sarasim and the Village won & how they never forgot what he did, like he will never forget them. After Raven provides Cyborg the closure he was searching for, Raven let Cyborg hold onto the book and read more of Sarasim's adventures. This was a big deal because Raven never let anyone touch her books since most are dangerous spell books that need to be handled, yet she let Cyborg keep one of hers just so he can gain much-needed peace. Raven did all this to a friend that was frankly ungrateful of what Raven sacrificed to save him because she understood Cyborg was reacting in pain and struggling with his sense of loss, not inherently trying to be rude.

The care she showed to the Titans shows that TT03 Raven was the most understanding Titan, sensing her friends' pain and go to many lengths to soothe them in her own way, trying to comfort them in a way she herself wanted to be comforted.

Magic

Raven and her relationship to magic is 2nd biggest misconception about TT03 and NTT Raven, and it's two-fold one: 1) that TT03 Raven only practiced magic & didn't use her empathy nor soul-self (those misconceptions were disproven in parts 1/2 and 2) that NTT Raven had no involvement with magic.

NTT Raven wasn't technically a witch*** (& she didn't like being called it lol), but that doesn't mean she had no involvement with the art of magic.

Raven was openly a mystic and was trained in Azarath mysticism.

Azarath was a mystic society, created & run by sorcerers- the ritual to purge themselves of evil created Trigon (as shown in the image from NTT (1980) #3)

NTT Raven was raised by mystics and sorcerers and thus was a mystic & sorceress too and was called such in the comic. Mystics & sorceress both utilize magic, and Raven's empathy powers and soul-self utilization were forms of sorcery, mysticism & thus magic.

(1st image: "Crisis On Infinite Earths"? - Full disclosure, I didn't screenshoot this image so I am not sure of the exact issue it came from, but I am positive it is from a Crisis on Infinite Earths tie-in. In this image, Raven is teleporting to site where the Earths are colliding and is called the mistress of mysticism as she does so. 2nd image: NTT (1980) #9- Raven teleports away before a mind-controlled Cyborg can attack her and is again called the Maid of Mysticism)

When Raven was created by Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, the editor, asked Wolfman to create a mystic character without conventional uses of sorcery to differentiate the character from Dr. Strange.

TT03 Raven didn't have the same restriction as Wolfman, so she could employ more conventional uses of sorcery & magic to augment her empathetic & soul-self powers which she did (Images on left-hand side below):

(Left column: 1st picture: Teen Titans 3x06 "Spellbound"- Raven using sorcery and spells to free Malchior, whom she believed to be Rorek, from the spell book he is bound to. 2nd picture: Teen Titans 4x07 "The Prophecy"- Raven, scared of Trigon's impending arrival, uses spells and incantations to return home to Azarath to find some way to defeat Trigon. Right column: NTT (1984) #31- Raven uses Brother Blood's sorcery to augment her own and defeat Blood)

And just to further drive the point home, NTT Raven did use magic outside of Azarath mysticism & sorcery. As the image on the right showed, she used Brother Blood's own magic to augment her own sorcery, free herself and the entire world from his mind control, and thus defeat him.

So, Raven always was a practitioner of magic, TT03 Raven made the connection to magic more explicit and stronger.

If you stayed around this long, thank you so much. I hope this series showed how TT03 Raven's powers align with NTT Raven's and TT03 just expands on NTT Raven's powers. If you want any more GIFs about the scenes I described here, please let me know; I would have add more images, but I went over the limit. This was really fun and let me know if you want me to do more of these posts and if so, which characters and subjects to cover!! This was so fun, especially seeing the care TT03 crew took to adapt Raven and her relationships which I didn't appreciate when I was younger.

Long Live Teen Titans 2003!!!

*Raven has a complicated relationship with violence lol & maybe I will do a post on it one day lol

**Sarasims is a cool callback to Vic's first NTT love, Sara Simms who sadly they couldn't make it work. And I especially loved that like the Sara Simms' role in the comics, TT03 Sarasims reminds Cyborg he is more than enough as is.

***Most definition of witch means either having innate magic ability or making forbidden pacts to gain magical powers, which sorcerers gain their power through study. And as you can see, Raven would technically be both a witch and a sorceress

[maria-from-ga]

Raven, the Empathetic Sorceress Part 2

In Part 1, I mention how TT03 Raven is an empath like in NTT living off & struggling to control her emotions. Now, I wanted to talk about other powers from NTT Raven also has in the show.

Here's Part 3 that covers TT03's Raven healing, conventional uses of empathy, and her use of magic

(Sources in Pink)

Soul Self, Her Greatest Weapon

In my opinion, there is where the biggest misconception arise.

Like in NTT, Raven's primary "weapon" in battle in Teen Titans (e.g. those dark circles of energy like in the picture above) wasn't magic, but her soul-self.

(1st image: DC Comics Presents #26- Raven 1st appearance and she uses her soul-self to battle the enemy and 2nd image: Teen Titans 4x07 "The Prophecy"- Raven utilize her full soul-self to defeat a Trigon-powered Slade who was threatening her friends)

Raven in TT03 just primarily used pieces of her soul-self. She states explicitly in the 1st season finale she uses pieces of her soul to utilize her powers, thus that her soul is also the basis of her powers

(Teen Titans 1x13: "Car Trouble" - Raven explains that her soul is the basis of powers to Cyborg. As an aside, "I become a part of it & it becomes a part of me" is a beautiful detail of her soul-self powers in the show that I wish to see incorporated in the comics. In TT03, Raven develops this connection w/ all living things she encounters when she uses her soul, an extension of herself)

In Raven's first appearance (as shown in the image from DC Comics Presents #26 above), Raven's soul-self is called an ebony aura, like the black projections she employs in TT03.

Raven's soul-self is because her soul-self & its powers comes from her demon dad, Trigon, and is thus of dark energy.

(Image- New Teen Titans (1980) #29- Raven is tricked by Phobia to see Wally, who she loved and he loved her, as Trigon so she attacks and almost kills Wally with the full strength of her soul-self. Wally describes her soul-self as cold & death. GIF- Teen Titans 1x06 "Nevermore"- Dr. Light pushes Raven too far and Raven unleashes her soul-self & almost kills him. Light shivers because she is so cold and describes her soul-self as near-total darkness)

To be fair, I get this misconception because NTT Raven uses her whole soul-self, not pieces of it.

However, TT03 Raven also uses her full soul-self. It just usually require more focus/power from her.

(Teen Titans 3x05- Haunted - Raven access more of her powers by uttering Azarath Metrion Zinthos to use her whole soul-self to find Robin)

There are several other instances in Teen Titans where Raven uses her whole soul-self:

(Teen Titans 1x01- Final Exam - Raven uses her whole soul-self to teleport Jinx to the top of Titans tower to the final confrontation. Jinx shivers from being in the soul-self because she experienced the cold, dark aura of Raven's soul)

Collection of other instances (non-exhaustive):

(1st Row: 1) Teen Titans 4x03 "Birthmark" - Using her soul-self to escape Slade chasing her. 2) Teen Titans 4x07 "The Prophecy"- Using Her Soul-Self to travel to Azarath, which is in another dimension. 2nd Row: 3) Teen Titans 4x07 "The Prophecy" - Confronted Slade about what he wanted to get him to stop attacking her friends. 4) Teen Titans 2x01 "How Long Is Forever" - Teleports to the final battle against Warp. 3rd Row: 5) Teen Titans 2x05 "Fear Itself" - Absorbs the manifestation of her fears back into her soul-self and regain of her soul-self. 6) Teen Titans 4x03 "Birthmark"- Slade taunts her to release her full soul-self to bring about the prophecy)

It's more rare in the NTT & TT03, but Raven's astral form, her soul-self, can also take the shape of her body

(1st image: NTT (1980) #8- Raven's astral form resembles her body as her soul is desperately trying to reconnect to her body; 2nd image: Teen Titans 4x11 "The End Part 1"- Raven mediates to use her astral human form to end the fight against Plasmus 3rd image: Teen Titans 5x12 "Titans Together" - Raven uses her astral human form to escape the dimension trap Psimon tried to put her in)

Raven's Soul-Self in both the show & comics is like a Swiss Army Knife:

Beyond the general utility of getting her out of tricky situations:

(NTT #8- Raven uses her soul-self to escape from Green Lantern's cage)

(Teen Titans 2x05 "Fear Itself" - Use her soul-self to escape from the elastic tapes of Control Freak)

1. Soul Self can also capture people within itself:

Either to save:

(1st image: NTT (1980) #21- Raven uses her soul-self to save an unconscious Starfire after an bomb exploded. 2nd image: NTT (1980) #17- Raven uses her soul-self to save Cyborg from Francis Kane going out of control.)

("The End Part 1"- In the fight against Plasmus, Plasmus hits Robin and Raven envelops Robin in her soul-self to save Robin from a deadly fall)

Or to harm (as NTT Wally & TT03 Dr. Light can certainly attest):

(Image: NTT (1980) #21 - Raven uses her soul-self to envelope and incapacitate criminals who planted bombs in a baseball stadium; GIF: The Prophecy - Raven uses the full extent of her soul-self to seriously attack and harm a Trigon-empowered Slade after he tried to kill her fellow Titans)

2. Cover Great Physical Distances Fairly Quickly:

(Image: NTT (1980) #9 - After her fellow Titans were taken over by the Puppeteer, Raven uses her soul-self to quickly cover from NYC to Blue Valley, Nebraska to get Wally's (Kid Flash) help; 1st GIF: Teen Titans 3x01 "Deception" - After defeating Brother Blood at H.I.V.E. Academy, Robin asks Raven to help the Titans quickly escape the crumbling school and travel back home. Raven does so by enveloping the Titans in her soul-self; 2nd GIF: "Birthmark" - To herself and Robin to escape Deathstroke, Raven uses her soul-self to travel far away from Slade)

3. A Defense & Shield Against Enemy Attacks

(Image: NTT (1980) #17 - As Francis Kane, a friend of the Titans, is taken over by Dr. Polaris and starts to manipulate and throw around heavy metal objects. Raven uses her soul-self as a shield to absorb the heavy metal objects so they don't hurt innocents. GIF: Teen Titans 3x08 "Wavelength"- Raven uses her soul-self energy to shield attacks from H.I.V.E soldiers)

4. And of course: Telekinesis

(Image: NTT (1980) #8 - Raven uses her soul-self to carry away bombs from a school before they kill a bunch of students and teachers. GIF: Teen Titans 1x02 "Divide and Conquer"- Raven uses her soul-self to carry a bunch of metal canisters to attack Plasmus)

Aside: Energy Projections

In NTT, it was more rare but Raven did employ energy projections from her soul self

(Tales of Teen Titans #46 - Raven, enraged, lose controls and Trigon takes over, so she releases energy projections that incapacitates and nearly kills HIVE soldiers and Aqualad)

In the comics, this was usually occur when Raven was close to losing control to Trigon, so it can be rare to see from Raven. But in TT03, again tied to Raven being able to use pieces of her soul-self, she has more control over her soul energy and can release these energy projections more frequently.

(Teen Titans 5x07 "Hide and Seek" - Raven releasing her energy projections of her soul-self to blast Monsieur Mallah away from the kids she is watching over)

Therefore Raven's soul-self act very similarly in TT03 and NTT comic, just that TT03 Raven has more control and creativity in some of its utilizations, including:

Teleportation

Raven's primary mode of transportation in NTT was teleportation (don't tell her you call it that though lol)

(1st image: NTT (1980) #14 - Raven teleporting to the epicenter of an earthquake that Brotherhood of Evil arriving there faster than Wally West; 2nd image: NTT (1980) #28 - Raven explaining to Wally that she doesn't teleport but travel between dimensions* and that Beast Boy is being overdramatic so she is not teleporting to him**)

However, most people remember Raven flying in TT03, not teleporting:

( "Hide and Seek" - Raven flying around a monastery to find the kids she was watching over after she realized Mallah had found out where the kids were hiding)

Pure speculation, but I wouldn't be surprised if TT03 made flying Raven's most common mode of transportation similar to 1940s Fleischer Superman cartoons did so for Superman*** - flying's easier to animate

But this doesn't mean Raven never teleported in TT03, she actually did teleport quite frequently:

Be it in a form of a raven closer to the comics:

(1st GIF: "Fear Itself"? - Full disclosure I didn't make this gif so I am not sure of the exact episode it came from, but I believe it is from "Fear Itself" where Raven was teleporting across the tower to see where Cyborg was taken to after he was kidnapped; 2nd GIF: "Calling All Titans"- Raven uses her soul-self to travel to the dimension where Herald, an Honorary Titan, resides and tries to find him)

Or more frequently in simpler forms like circles (again likely again due being easier to animate) :

(1st GIF: a) 1st scene is Teen Titans 3x03 "Betrothed"- Raven teleports using circular forms of her soul energy to investigate why Blackfire is forcing Starfire to get marry and hides when Blackfire approaches. b) 2nd scene is Teen Titans 3x04 "Crash" - Raven teleports in a circle to stop Gizmo from leaving to force him to help Cyborg . 3rd scene is Teen Titans 3x09 "The Beast Within" - Raven teleports away in an oval shape of her soul energy to escape Adonis who is pinning her down and being creepy. 2nd GIF: a) 1st scene is Wavelength- Raven teleports in a circle to leave her room after Aqualad trips the tower's alarm. b) 2nd scene is Teen Titans 5x12 "Titans Together" - Raven teleports into Brotherhood of Evil's secret lair with the kids she was watching c) 3rd scene is Divide and Conquer- Raven closes the prison doors and teleports through the prison door to tell the prisoners that they aren't escaping)

As as aside, in TT03, there was no smoke with the teleportation like the comics but again I wouldn't be surprised if it was again just a decision to make animation easier.

As mentioned in the NTT #21 image above with she attacks the bombers, Raven's Soul Self is powerful, deadly, yet ill-defined, so there's potential for a lot of creativity with her soul-self powers.

Now of course, TT03 Raven doesn't use her soul-self exactly as NTT Raven. Aside from being able to use pieces of her soul, a prominent example is how Raven doesn't use her soul-self to knock people out unconscious in the show as often as NTT Raven did (but TT03 Raven has utilized her soul-self that way)****. TT03 Raven also has much greater control & creativity over telekinesis and soul energy projections than NTT Raven did.

But it's clear that TT03 Raven's soul-self is clearly modeled after, and very similar to, NTT Raven's soul-self while using the inherent creativity in power utilization her soul-self possesses.

Raven is the most powerful Titan and the one with the most diverse skill set, so there's still one more part about her TT03 powers lmao. And honestly it might be my favorite part because it is about Raven was also a healer like in NTT, her empathy in TT03 & how she was the most understanding Titan because of that empathy, and the misconception about her TT03 magic, which is in line w/ NTT. But I ran over the image limit again lol, so here's Part 3!

Asterisks:

*Raven's teleportation really being inter-dimensional travel is what she was referring to in Tales of the New Teen Titans #2 image in Part 1 where Young Raven spent time learning the secrets of inter-dimensional travel

**NTT Raven being rude about Beast Boy might be surprising, NTT Raven can be a bit of grouch (sounds like someone we know lol? Maybe I will do a post about how the personality of TT03 Raven is a modernization of NTT Raven)

***Trivia: Fleischer Superman cartoons canonized flying for Superman, who before the cartoons couldn't fly, only "able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!"

****in Part 3

[maria-from-ga]

Raven, the Empathetic Sorceress Part 1

I think there's a misconception about Raven's powers in Teen Titans 2003 - that she is just a witch who practices magic with none of the empathy powers from New Teen Titans (comics that the show is based). I understand the confusion but that can't be further from the truth

Part 2 is about TT03 Raven's Soul Self and is linked if you are interested. Part 3 about TT03 Raven's healing, conventional uses of empathy, and magic is linked as well!!

(Sources in pink)

Emotions As Her Power & Her Curse

In TT03, Raven directly states her powers are driven by emotion

(Teen Titans 1x07 "Switched": Raven & Starfire switch bodies & powers. Raven (in Starfire's body) is explaining her powers to Starfire bc Star (in Raven's body) was freaking out about their predicament)

(New Teen Titans (1984) Annual 4 - Raven helping the Titans battle Muse who is attacking their nightmares)

Thus in TT03 like NTT, Raven is an empath- living off of the emotions of herself & others. However she also has to deny and subjugate all her emotions to protect everyone around her

(Switched - Raven & Starfire are still switched and fighting bc of difficulty using the other's powers, and Starfire is upset at Raven's lack of emotions, and Raven explains why she can't feel anything)

(Tales of New Teen Titans #2- Raven explains to the team that she was taught to deny her emotions from an early way by the leader of Azarath because of how dangerous her emotions can be)

Although she puts on an emotionless front, Raven in TT03 clearly feels everything no matter how much she tries to hide it

(Teen Titans 1x06- Nevermore: 1st Gif- Beast Boy & Cyborg figure out they have encountered Raven's emotion & her emotions are in severe conflict 2nd Gif: Raven summons all her emoticlones: Happy, Timid (grey), Brave, Rudeness/Laziness, Sloth (brown), Knowledge, Passion/Love to achieve emotional harmony to resolve her inner turmoil & defeat Anger (Trigon) that is out of control)

(New Teen Titans 16 - Raven admits her resentment over how she has to deny and hide her many emotions and close herself off from everyone)

All of this: needing & feeling a cacophony of discordant emotions while having to constantly rebuff these powerful, clashing emotions produces great internal conflict in Raven & pains her.

So to get some semblance of inner peace, she chooses isolation & solitude to survive and guard everyone else from her.

(New Teen Titans (1984) Annual 1 - 1st image: Drone, a machine without emotion but desires to feel, recognizes although she tries to hide it, Raven is all emotion, and it pains her; 2nd image: Raven is communing with Drone. 3rd image-Drone notices Raven's solitude)

(1st Gif: Switched- Starfire wants to hang out with Raven, but takes a while to realize Raven wants to be left alone; 2nd Gif: Nevermore- Raven is trying to control her emotions & w/ Beast Boy & Cyborg in her mind interacting with Happy, so she uncharacteristically starts laughing & goes to be alone to control her emotions)

But even with the isolation, she still struggles to not lose control and ultimately not only suffers from the pain of the clashing emotions but also the torment of ongoing isolation

(1st image: New Teen Titans (1980) #35- Raven confides in Cyborg and Beast Boy that she is scared to use her powers and Cyborg said she should let them help and Raven said she has to suffer alone; 2nd image: New Teen Titans (1980) #29- Wally confesses he's still in love with Raven but Raven -although she has feelings for him- say she can't love him & he should leave her & the Titans alone)

(Teen Titans 3x06 Spellbound- 1st Gif: Cyborg and Beast Boy want to hang out with Raven. Raven said no because she wants to isolate herself, and Beast Buy calls her a creep which deeply hurts her. 2nd Gif: After defeating Malchinor, Raven isolates again and Beast Boy apologizes tor the pain she's feeling and reminds Raven she's not alone.)

In her isolation, Raven follows the ways of Azarath & frequently mediates to better focus her emotions and powers in order to gain more control.

(1st image: Tales of New Teen Titans #2- Young Raven mediating alone. 2nd image: Tales of Teen Titans #42- Raven, struggling to control her powers, is mediating to control them, and Terra interrupts her. 3rd image: Tales of New Teen Titans #2- Arella, Raven's mom, and a monk of Azarath worry over how a young Raven is completely focused on mediation)

(Teen Titans 2x08 Titan Rising- 1st and 2nd Gif: Raven is mediating because *she has to* while the other Titans are playing volleyball and want her to join them. Raven throws the volleyball back of Beast Boy after he interrupted and refuses to play with the team)

(Titan Rising- Raven reveals that she doesn't trust Terra because she has to mediate every day to control her powers, so she doesn't believe Terra is suddenly able to control hers after Terra struggled so much to do so previously)

Thus, in times of great distress, disharmony, or even when she just needs to calm down, NTT Raven will often go to her place of mediation or calls on Azar/Azarath to help her regulate her emotions & to gain greater control over her powers

(1st image: New Teen Titans (1984) Annual #4- Raven is attacking in her dream and escape to her place of mediation to gain the necessary power required to try to escape the attack; 2nd image: New Teen Titans (1980) #3- Raven goes to her place of mediation to gain power try to control Trigon and beg for Trigon's mercy but fails)

(1st image and 2nd image: Tales of the Teen Titans #56- Raven is losing control and feels Trigon taking over so she goes to her place of mediation to ask Azar for help to not lose control ; 3rd image: Marvel and DC Present featuring The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans - Raven is trying to contain the Phoenix and calls on Azar to grant her power to do so, but Raven ultimately fails)

Likewise in TT03, Raven goes to her place of mediation frequently. And her place of mediation is clearly modeled after Raven's place of mediation in NTT.

(Switched - Raven is trying to mediate in her place of mediation)

(Nevermore- This collection of images is from Nevermore where Beast Boy and Cyborg enter Raven's mind and thus her place of mediation and help her control Trigon. These images of Raven's place of mediation clearly resemble Raven's place of mediation in the comics)

TT03 Raven's famous catchphrase- Azarath Metrion Zinthos- also is representative of this. With the catchphrase, Raven calls on Azar and the teachings of her home, Azarath to calm herself, to focus and to again gain greater control over & access to her powers*, particularly in times of great emotional turmoil.

(Teen Titans 4x03 "Birthmark"- Raven is terrified because it is her birthday and Trigon is supposed to arrive, so to calm down and prevent Trigon's coming to Earth, she mediates and recites Azarath Metrion Zinthos)

(Switched- Raven recites Azarath Metrion Zinthos, saving her and incidentally Starfire from being taken over by the Puppet King)

And why does Raven do all of this: go to all these lengths to be reserved, closed-off, and controlled at the risk of her happiness and sanity? Because with one slip-up, one out-of-control emotion, especially if that emotion is rage, it can get really bad for others around her.

(New Teen Titans (1980) #30- Ignoring Raven's pleas, Phobia torments Raven with her greatest fears, provoking Raven to rage, causing Trigon to escape Raven, incapacitating Phobia & the Brotherhood of Evil and nearly killing everyone there including the Titans. Donna Troy stops Raven and Raven is able to regain control by almost killing herself)

(Nevermore - Dr. Light continues to torment and hurt Raven, despite her pleas asking him to stay away. Dr. Light refuses and Raven, enraged, snaps and Trigon comes out and almost gleefully kills Dr. Light with Raven's darkness. Robin helps Raven snap out of it and Raven withdraws, horrified and ashamed)

Thus, Raven in both TT03 and NTT is an half-demon empath, powered by emotions yet continuously deny her own to keep the demon part- her father Trigon- at bay by using the teachings & methods of Azarath, her home.

There is so much more I want to say about Raven's powers in TT03 aligns with NTT: how much she uses her soul self, her teleportation, how she did heal several times in the show, how the show portrayed her empathy in a grounded sense & had her be the most understanding Titan, & how her sorcery isn't out of line with the comics either but I have run over the image limit here lmao

So I am making a part 2 & part 3!

I have linked part 2 and the final part, part 3 above! If anyone wants me to more of these types of post for other Titans, please let me know!

*Aside - 1st image: New Teen Titans (1984) #5 - To achieve the highest form of her power, White Raven, Raven calls on Azar. 2nd image: Teen Titans 4x13 The End Part 3- Raven recites Azarath Metrion Zinthos to call on Azar and defeats Trigon permanently

[maria-from-ga]

It's Teen Titans anniversary- my babies are now 21 (!) years old. Teen Titans 2003 changed the world and got me into superheroes and comics, and for that alone, I will be forever grateful.

Here's a tribute I made last year to all the Titans, TT03 cast, and crew; this might be the post I am most proud of and I am so glad so many other TT03 fans loved it too!!

In honor of the anniversary, I am going to start posting my Raven posts showing how her TT03 powers align with her NTT ones, despite popular misconceptions!

]

But regardless, I love this show so much; I am so glad you all loved it too; long live Teen Titans 2003!!

I can't believe Teen Titans is officially 20 years old today. My favorite animated show and one of the best imo. It got me through a lot of shit & means the world to me

Starfire- the Heart

My favorite character on Teen Titans, and still my favorite hero.

A joyful person who loved the world around despite its cruelty. An immigrant who loved her culture yet always struggled w/ her sense of place and being an outsider like me. Her journey becoming more sure of herself & her place & an advocate for other outsiders like Red Star is beautiful one.

Cyborg- The Lynchpin

A extroverted, disabled black hero who had a deep internal struggle to accept that his disability doesn't contradict, but strengthens his humanity

His main arc on what it means to be a 'man' - that he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone but instead be sure of himself. As a black hero, his defiance being rewarded, not shamed, resulting in victory in the end is still one of my favorites TT03 arcs

Raven- The Inspiration

When I was younger, I was embarrassed to admit how much I was like Raven bc I hated feeling like a closed-off outcast.

But now understanding Raven as a closed-off person who hid her emotions in spite of how she cared (which was the most out of anyone) to protect everyone. Who constantly fought for good despite being deemed a curse bc she hoped for better- Raven is an inspiration

Her journey to accept her emotions & forge her own destiny and not give into despair is one of the best arcs in all animation

Beast Boy, the Wild Card

To be honest, I despise his immaturity when I was younger.

Now I know he was just a kid trying to be happy despite his hardships (like terrible parentals & Terra).

His season of growing up, learning to let go, and building a team of underrated/inexperienced heroes like himself to defeat Brotherhood of Evil against all odds when all hope was lost was peak

Robin- the Leader

Finally, the Boy Wonder, what else is there to say?

A character so flawed, struggling w/ anger, darkness, and obsessiveness, but will go to war for his friends, & sacrifice all for those he loved.

Learning to let people in and that he can be more than hero. Best Robin adaptation we have seen.

Not just the core 5, but the entire Titans family was amazing. Characters who left an impact despite limited screentime. Más y Menos, Thunder and Lightning, Titans East, Speedy, Hotspot, Kole, and too many to name. With the best Bumblebee we have ever had in any media.

Thank you so much to Glen Murakami, David Slack, Amy Wolfram, Sam Register, Derrick Wyatt (RIP), Scott Menville, Hynden Walch, Khary Payton, Tara Strong, Greg Cipes, and so many countless others in the cast & crew for giving this to me and so many others.

Forever grateful for the Titans' stories & memories & for Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy

[maria-from-ga]

Exactly this, and moreover people recommending Cyborg and Starfire to join the League is particularly egregious because they would be the last two Titans to join the League. They fought for the Titans at every opportunity even when others gave up on the team because they believe in the Titans ethos and what it means to others *that much*

(Titans Vol 2 #21- All the Titans have left the team; Kory got asked to the League. Vic not wanting to hold her back, tells her to go but Kory refuses to leave the Titans and him)

Imo that’s why there are the two greatest Titans

(Teen Titans (2003) #1 - Cassie asked Starfire why she and Victor revived the Teen Titans and Starfire explains it was where young heroes feel accepted)

I think the idea that Titans characters, especially iconic ones like Cyborg and Starfire, need to join the JLA at some point is really stupid. For multiple reasons.

1. The Titans shouldn't be a stepping stone towards the League.

2. The Titans are way more popular than the JL. They've had 3 successful TV shows, bestselling graphic novels, etcetera. The only successful JL adaptation was the cartoon that ended more than 20 years. Their big screen movie was a flop, their last few animated movies failed, and their biggest presence in video games was a Suicide Squad game where you murder them. And even that failed. The characters might still be popular individually, but no one outside of comic nerds gives a crap about that team anymore. It's basically a dead brand right now. So shoving characters like Vic and Kory onto the JL wouldn't be a step up in any way.

"But the current Titans comics suck" and the JL are better? How many good runs have they had in the last 20 years? They haven't even had an ongoing in over 2 years and no one cares. The mainline comics still don't treat Titans the best, but that's mainly because of intentional kneecapping from nostalgic editors who don't like them.