Warning! Contains spoilers for Titans #11!
Summary
It’s not unusual for superheroes to have a dark origin that defines them, whether that be tragedy or having to break free from the mold their nefarious parents set for them. No character shows this better than theTeen Titans’ownRaven: a woman who desperately tries to do good in the world, despite her father being one of DC’s many versions of Satan.
Titans#11 by Tom Taylor and Lucas Meyer showsthe disturbing dark future that Raven has planned for the Titans. Usually, Raven wants nothing more than to help her teammates and everyone else grow and succeed as good people. But now thatRaven has become a villainunder Trigon’s influence, she has dark plans for her teammates.
Trigon has wondered why Raven hasn’t disposed of the Titans yet, as she has the complete element of surprise, and they are currently Earth’s greatest protectors after taking over from the Justice League. But as it turns out,Raven has no intentions of killing her teammates; instead, she wants to corrupt them, and she has a history of doing so.
Titans Upgrades Raven’s Brother to a God-Tier Demonic Villain
Raven has a complicated family history — and that family just got a lot more complicated with her brother Trilogy being turned into a demon God.
Raven Has Sinister Plans for Her Friends
How Is Her Father Trigon Involved?
Raven is an immensely powerful character, partly because she’s the daughter of Trigon, who is one of the most powerful villains in the DC Universe. Since Trigon can’t directly enter Earth himself, he has often tried to use Raven to be his avatar on Earth. This intrusion is a corruption that Raven has fought against her entire life, but in a few dark instances — such asduring the recentBeast Worldevent — she ultimately gives into her father’s wishes, and surprisingly, she seems to always drag the Titans down with her. Hopefully, the Titans will be able to break the cycle and avoid being corrupted by their long-time ally.
In the twistedInjusticeuniverse where Superman and Batman’s war nearly destroys the planet, Raven ends up siding with the dictatorial Superman, as several other Titans, such as Cyborg, also do. WhileRaven seems to believein Superman’s goal of making a peaceful world, it’s eventually revealed thatRaven has fully succumbed to Trigon’s influence,causing Raven to take on a demonic appearance. Despite theInjusticeuniverse being one of DC’s darkest worlds, this is one of the few times when Raven submitted to her father and didn’t corrupt the Titans, but the same can’t be said of other worlds and timelines.
Dark Raven Was Yet Another Example of Raven Turning Evil
Teen Titans#17 by Geoff Johns, Mike McKone, Marlo Alquiza, Jeromy Cox, and Comicraft
Another twisted version of Raven, known as Dark Raven, was seen during theTitans of Tomorrowstoryline from the pre-New 52Teen Titanstitle. In this future timeline, theJustice League disbanded, and the Titansstepped up to protect the world. Unfortunately, as this world grew darker and colder, so did the Titans.Raven specifically ended up embracing her demonic heritage, and while it doesn’t seem like she fully submitted to Trigon, she became far crueler on her own. She even began using her empathetic powers to enjoy the fear she caused in those around her.
TheTitans of Tomorrowstoryline also features dark versions of beloved ’90s-era sidekicks like Tim Drake, Kon-El, Cassie Sandsmark, and Bart Allen. Tim Drake’s version of Batman in particular would return to haunt him during Jame Tynion IV’s Rebirth-era run onDetective Comics.
After the New 52 rebooted the DC Universe, the Dark Multiverse debuted: a twisted universe that shows the darkest possibilities for characters.It’s where the Batman Who Laughs, a horrific fusion of Batman and Joker, comes from. While readers haven’t gotten to see too many Dark Multiverse versions of characters other than Batman, they did get a glance at what a corrupted version of the Titans would look like under Raven in theDark Nights: Death Metal: War of the Multiversesstory “Falling Through the Cracks” by Che Grayson and Pop Mhan.
These twisted Titans were versions of the beloved heroes who each gave into their darkest impulses. Beast Boy sided with Terra, Aqualad joined with Black Manta to kill Aquaman, Red Arrow turned on Oliver Queen, and Damian Wayne sided with his grandfather Ra’s al Ghul to kill Batman. While Raven initially blames these horrific versions of the Titans on her father, Trigon, it turns out that he wasn’t the corrupting influence: she was.
A demonic winged version of Raven is seen commanding these twisted Titans, and it’s likely the closest look readers have gotten atthe Dark-Winged Queen so far. While Raven eventually defeated this horrific version of herself and bring down the twisted Titans with the help of her friends, it’s still a dark reminder of just how corrupting Raven’s presence could be if she ever gives into her father.
Titans Debuts Raven’s Most Terrifying Power, Taking Her Empath Abilities Too Far
Raven’s evil doppelganger has revealed the extremely dark and overpowered extent of Raven’s empath abilities by violating one core Titans member.
“Falling Through the Cracks” by Che Grayson, Pop Mhan, Chris Sotomayor, and Troy Peteri fromDark Nights: Death Metal: War of the Multiverses
Raven has had a long and worrying trend of either turning evil and her teammates following suit or her actively corrupting them into becoming monsters. While some might argue that the Dark Multiverse would, of course, show this corruption, the entirepoint of the Dark Multiverseis nightmare scenarios. In that case, there’s no denying thatthis nightmare scenario is very close to becoming reality in the ongoingTitanstitleby Taylor and Meyer. Currently, only Nightwing suspects that Raven may not be in control of her body, and with her empathic and telepathic powers, it will be very hard to convince the others that Raven has turned villainous.
Facing Raven, even if it’s not the Raven the Titans have come to know and love, is not going to be an easy battle.
The only chance that Nightwing has to save the Titans would be to free the good half of Raven trapped within her gem. The current Raven parading around with sinister plans for the Titans is simplya dark version of Raven. If Nightwing is capable of freeing the true Raven, who was actually friends with him for so long,it’s possible the two heroes will be able to prevent this Dark-Winged Queen from taking over. The only concern is just how powerful Raven is, and the fact she has a track record of pulling her teammates down into the dark with her.
Raven Is The Biggest Threat To Earth Right Now
Follow the Action in the OngoingTitansSeries
The Titans have fought tons of powerful villains in their day, and they’ve even gone up against traitors, such as Terra. Still, facing Raven, even if it’s not the Raven they’ve come to know and love, is not going to be an easy battle. The Titans will have to figure out a way to free the good Raven from her magical cage, and they’ll need to contend with the Dark-Winged Queen herself. While theTitanshave rarely failed before, they also have a worrying history of falling forRaven’scorrupting influence.
TITANS #11 (2024)
Teen Titansis a superhero animated TV series based on the DC Comics team of the same name. Airing from 2003 to 2006, the show follows five young heroes—Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy—as they battle villains while navigating adolescence. The series was widely praised for its blend of action, humor, and character development, and it spawned a popular spin-off,Teen Titans Go!.
