Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Oh Yeah, That Forum: The Titans Vee's View on What the Titans Should be in New 52

A couple of recent threads (i.e. “Re-imagine a Titan” and “Re-imagine the Titans West”) started me down this path. It wasn’t long before I took note of the following in the New 52 universe:

• · Batman has been building a world-wide network of operatives called Batman Inc. Makes sense since Batman has always been a control “freak”;

• · With the JSA gone, there is no longer an organization/structure in place to help developing young heroes achieve their true potential, while providing them the education and training they will need.

Sensing this void, Batman turns to his closest allies and encourages them to help fill the breach. He encourages Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damien each to pull together a team of young heroes. At times these teams might cooperate with each other but for the most part they would function independent of each other and follow the path & mission chosen by each team’s leader.

Red Robin's team:
· Red Robin: Tim Drake-Wayne
· Superboy – Conner Kent (Kon-El)
· Kid Flash – Bart Allen
· Wonder Girl – Cassie Sandsmark
· Spoiler – Stephanie Brown
· The Ray – Ray Terrill (YJ)
· Bunker - Miguel Jose Barragan (TT New 52)
· Speedy - Mia Dearden
· Aqualad - Kaldur'ahm (YJA)
· Empress - Anita Fite Y(J)
· Joker’s Daughter - Duela Dent (Earth 3 version)
· Talon – Tom Blake-Todd (Earth 3 version)
· Hawkgirl - Kendra Saunders (JSA)
· Blue Beetle – Jaime Reyes
· Mary Marvel – Mary Batson
· Kid Devil _ Eddie Bloomberg
· Solstice – Kiran Singh (pre New 52)
· Static - Virgil Ovid Hawkins
· Aquagirl - Lorena Marquez
· The Shield – Michael Steven Barnes II, latest in a long line of Shields dating back to the late 1930s, 17 year old Mike is actually the 7th to carry the name

Red Bird’s team

• · Red Bird - Damien Wayne
  · Arrowette – Cissie King-Jones
  · Black Bat – Cassandra Caine
  · Golden Eagle – Charley Parker
  · Power Boy – Geoff Daniel
  · Miss Martian – M’gann M’orzz (Megan Morse)
  · Little Barda - Toni Johns
  · Hotspot – Isaiah Crocket
  · Krystal - Kole Weathers
  · Wonder Boy – Trevor Prince (son of Steve & Diana from Earth 3)
  · Guardian - Mal Duncan
  · Bumblebee – Karen Beecher-Duncan
  · Citizen Steel – Nathan Heywood (JSA de-aged to 16)
  · Kid Vulcan - Miguel "Mikey" Devante (Cyborg’s Titans East)
  · Terra3 – Atlee Strata
  · Tomcat - Tommy Bronson (JSA de-aged to 16)
  · Traci 13 – Traci Thirteen
  · Zatara – Zachary Zatara
  · Supergirl – Kara Zor-el
  · Darkfire - Ryand’r of Tamarran, younger brother of Starfire

Nightwing’s team

· Nightwing – Richard Grayson-Wayne
· Troia – Donna Troy
· Batgirl – Barabara Gordon
· Lightspeed – Wally West
· Damage – Grant Emerson
· Tempest – Garth
· Cyborg – Vic Stone
· Tula – Tula
· Super Kid – Christopher Kent (Lor-Zod)
· Cyclone – Maxine Hunkle
· Rocket - Raquel Ervin (Milestone)
· Obsidian _ Todd Rice
· Jade - Jenni-Lynn Hayden
· Kid Marvel– Freddie Freeman
· Mirage – Miraiam Delgado
· Kid Eternity - Christopher “Kip” Feeman
· Argent – Toni Monetti
· Arrow – Connor Hawke
· Stargirl – Courtney Whitmore
· Lantern - Kyle Rayner

Red Hood’s team

· Red Hood – Jason Todd-Wayne
· Arsenal – Roy Harper
· Osiris – Amon Tomaz
· Starfire – Koriand’r
· Ravager – Rose Wilson
· Geo-Force – Byron Markov
· Boomer – Owen Mercer
· Banazon – Grace Choi
· Dove – Don Hall
· Bombshell – Amy Allen
· Thunder – Anissa Pierce
· Hawk – Hank Hall
· Raven - Rachel Roth
· Bushido – Ryuko Orsono
· Miss Steel – Natasha Irons
· Hourman - Rick Tyler
· Liberty Belle – Jesse Chambers
· Changeling – Garfield Logan
· Pantha – Rosabelle Mendez
· Red Star – Leonid Kovar

Flamebird’s team : Titans Ascent (They vary in age from early teens to early twenties but they are just now learning how to best control and use their powers and abilities) operate from the Titan’s Liberty Island Compound in New Jersey. They are usually referred to as the Titans Academy or just the Academy. This is the final piece to the puzzle and Batman had a very frank conversation with Bette when he tasked her with this assignment. Recognizing and appreciating that she has finally been given an opportunity to prove herself as a valuable member of Batman’s network, she has taken on this responsibility with all the care and seriousness it deserves. After all, Batman has placed the responsibility for developing the world’s future heroes in her hands! In addition to the full time faculty tasked with teaching all these heroes to be in areas such as tactics, teamwork, weaponry, “gadgets”, gymnastics, fighting, etc., each of them are also assigned a mentor from the ranks of the other teams with similar abilities and styles. Mentors have mandatory sessions scheduled with them at least once per week but are usually around more often to work with them.

Faculty

· Flamebird – Bette Kane, Team Leader
· Gnarrk _ John Gnarrk, Faculty
· Omen - Lilith Clay Faculty
· Doctor Midnight - Beth Chapel, Faculty, Med/Sci
· Wendy Harris & Marvin White, Staff & Admin. Support
· Jericho – Joseph Wilson, Faculty
· Protector – Jason Hart, Faculty


Students
·
· Catmandeux – Thomas Nguyen-Blake (son of Cheshire & Catman) Like his half sister Lian, Tommy wants to become a hero to make amends for the harm caused by his parents. Age – 13, Mentor – Talon
· Red Arrow – Lian Nguyen-Harper (daughter of Cheshire and Arsenal) Lianloves her mother but can not accept the choices she has made. She is determined to live up to her father’s legacy as a member of the Arrow clan. Age – 15, Mentor - Arrow
· Ignition – Jai West (son of Wally & Linda West) Unlike his twin sister Iris, Jai’s power is to use the Speed Force to speed up his metabolism for short periods of time, giving him enhanced strength and resiliency. Age – 14, Mentor - Hourman
· Impulse – Iris West (daughter of Wally & Linda West) – The newest member of the Speed Force, Iris looks forward to carrying on the family tradition. Age – 14, Mentor – Liberty Belle
· Robin VI - Alfred Todd – Wayne (son of Jason Todd & Talia al’Gul) As should be expected, when Talia bedded Jason after reviving him in a Lazarus Pit, she made sure she was pregnant before allowing Jason to escape. A few years later, Damien learned that she was raising Jason’s son as she had once raised him. Getting word to Jason, the two of them teamed up to get the boy away from Talia. Officially, he is the new Robin but all his friends and family call him “Six” and he very much seems to like it. Age 11, Mentor - Red Bird
· Huntress – Helena Kyle-Wayne (daughter of Selina Kyle & Bruce Wayne) After the third near successful kidnapping attempt of Helena, Selina finally agreed to give custody to Bruce so she could be raised in a safe environment. Although the last one to actually “join” the Bat Family, Helena soon is the Queen of the household, having quickly wrapped all the males (including Alfred & Bruce) around her finger. Age: 13, Mentor - Batgirl
· Super Lad - Daniel (Dani-el) Drake-Kent (“son” of Conner Kent & Tim Drake. The successful cloning effort by Tim after Conner’s death, using a mix of Conner and Tim’s DNA. ) With all the death, turmoil and upheavals in Tim’s life while Conner was gone, it’s easy to understand how he had failed to check one last time on the last of over a dozen unsuccessful attempts to bring Conner back to life. Conner had been back at least five years before Tim got the emergency signal from one of his abandoned labs that the power cells were failing and the lab would soon shutdown completely. He checked the lab almost two weeks later when he was in the vicinity and was aghast to discover that there was a viable, living clone in one of the stasis tubes. The lab had automatically followed all its programmed protocols and the clone had been automatically nourished and educated all this time. Tim couldn’t bring himself to destroy “it” so he released the approximately eight year old boy from stasis. How was he going to explain this to Conner? And Bruce and the family? Age – 13, Mentor – Super Kid
(The basis for the Dani-el character and back story is not of my creation. It came from a great fan fic I read a few years ago. Wish I could find it so I could credit the author. If I am able to find it I’ll update this post with the info and link. In any case, it fits the over all world I’ve created here so I decided to include it.)
· Blackwing - Bruce Grayson Wayne (son of Dick & Catalina Florez, Tarantula 2) Born out of wedlock to Catalina after she took advantage of Nightwing while he was incapacitated after their battle with Blockbuster. She kept the boy’s birth a secret, retired as Tarantula and was replaced by her younger sister Magdalena (Maggie.) As the boy grew and began to ask questions about his father, Catie would simply tell him his father was a great hero but had no room in his life for them. When Gray was 11, Catie was diagnosed with a virulent cancer and only lived another few months. On her deathbed, she told Maggie the full story and told her if she ever needed anything for Gray to find Nightwing and tell him about his son. Shortly thereafter, Gray started acting out and rebelling. Try as she might, Maggie couldn’t keep him out of trouble. It was then that she decided her nephew needed his father. Moving them back to Gotham from Bludhaven, Maggie finally managed to reach Nightwing and tell him the story. Once the DNA testing verified his lineage, Dick immediately recognized the boy as his son and had his name changed to Bruce Grayson Wayne, Gray for short. Fortunately, Gray idolized the entire Bat Family but especially Nightwing so the transition into the family has been fairly smooth. Maggie remained in Gotham to be near her nephew and has become a part of the Bat Network. Age - 12, Mentor – Red Robin
· Aquaboy – Prince Tuarth ( son of Prince Garth & Princess Tula) There is a good chance that Tu will inherit his father’s magical abilities when he comes of age since he also carries the violet eyes that mark the potential. In the meantime, he is happy to be away from the formality of Atlantis where people always expect him to act so proper. Here on the surface no one even knows he is of royal lineage. He can mess around with all his friends and actually DO things! Age – 12, Mentor - Aqualad
· Minute-Man – Larry Tyler (son of Rick Tyler & Jessie Chambers) Larry has always been a serious young man, at least when it comes to “heroing” as he puts it. He decided early on in his life that he would carry on the legacy he had received from both sides of his family. At this point, it appears he has inherited his parents’ abilities of enhanced strength, stamina, & partial invulnerability. Unlike his father, he did not need a pill to trigger his abilities but like Rick, they only last about 60 minutes at a time. So far he has shown no ability to access his mother’s super speed but he’s still young and that may still happen. Age – 14, Mentor - Superboy

Students con't

· Miss Lantern – Kylinn Hayden-Rayner (daughter of Jenny-Lynn Hayden & Kyle Rayner) When she was born, Kylinn seemed like a normal, adorable, little girl with a beautiful smile and shocking red hair but no green skin. For quite some time it appeared that unless a ring came looking for her, she would get to live a normal life. That all changed when she was about six years old and got into trouble at home. Jenny & Kyle reprimanded her as normal and sent her to her room without dessert. Kylinn had a tantrum because Key Lime pie was her favorite dessert and a rare treat but to no avail. Kyle marched her upstairs to her room, while Jenny began to clean up. As he was headed back down to help he heard “Kyle? Come here now!” from Jenny. He flew to her side to see what was wrong when she shushed him and pointed through the kitchen door. He almost fell over by what he saw. A pair of hands floated in the kitchen, one green and one orange, and they were serving themselves a slice of pie! They rushed upstairs and caught Kylinn red handed…well, orange and green handed. As it turns out, her skin radiates the hue of the particular energy she is using, in this case willpower and avarice (green and orange.) So far she has demonstrated the ability to tap into about half the spectrum, though not yet red. Of that both Kyle & Jenny are grateful. Age – 15, Mentor – Raven
· Valor Lass – Laurel Troy – Gand (daughter of Lar Gand & Donna Troy) As soon as Donna met Lar, she knew he was the one. So handsome, powerful, reserved, gentle. He was everything she had always looked for but had yet to find. It was quite a blow to discover that he would eventually have to return to the 31st century. That’s when she decided to have a child by him so that she would always have a bit of him with her in the present to remind her of Lar between cross time visits. Laurel turned out to be everything she could have hoped for and more. Stunningly beautiful, so poised, sunny disposition, fierce when necessary, yet loving and devoted to family and friends and very mothering, much like Donna. Diana and her Amazon sisters adored Laurel and readily accepted her as one of their own. Clark doted on her as if she were his own granddaughter and the other Supers considered Laurel to be family since Lar is, was and always would be Kal’s big brother. Age – 13, Mentor – Supergirl
· Skyboy – Stefan Pemberton (grandson of the first Star Spangled Kid and an unknown mother) When word began to spread throughout the super hero community about the Academy, one of the first to show up was Merry Pemberton with Stefan in tow. She had been secretly raising her greatnephew ever since his father Sylvester II’s death. Merry had even been able to provide him with working versions of the Cosmic Rod and belt. Age – 16, Mentor – Lantern
· Hummingbird – Malia Duncan (daughter of The Guardian & Bumblebee.) Ever since she was a little girl, Malia had looked forward to the time she would be allowed to join her parents on patrol. Early on it was determined that she had inherited Mal’s vocal abilities and had trained mercilessly on how to make the best use of it. When it was time, her mom crafted a Hummingbird costume for Malia using the same tech Karen had developed for her Bumblebee suit. This allows her to fly and shrink her size as well. Age: 12, Mentor – Stagirl
· Lightning – Jennifer Pierce (daughter of Jefferson Pierce, Black Lightning, and younger sister of Anissa, Thunder) Unlike Anissa, Jennifer had never desired to become a superhero. She would have been just as happy living a normal life. When the powers began to manifest, however, she realized that she had to learn to use them to help others, rather than complain about them. But first, she really had to learn to control them! Age – 14, Mentor - Jade
· Mercury – Max Allen (clone of Bart Allen, Kid Flash)
· Hermes – Don Allen (clone of Bart Allen, Kid Flash) On his most recent adventure back to the 31st, soon after the demise of his evil clone, Inertia (Thad Thawn,) Bart discovers that his uncle, President Thawn, has two more clones of Bart in stasis to use against him as Inertia had been. Quickly learning all he can about cloning procedures and techniques, he enlists the aid of his cousin Jenni (XS) as well as Brainiac 5 and a few other Legionnaires to break the two clones out of Thawn’s secret facility and escape with them back to the 21st century where they will remain out of Thawn’s reach and influence for the most part. During the mission, Brainy makes sure that there remains no additional genetic material from Bart and wipes all the records clean (after downloading them into his Omnicom for further study, of course.) As they escape the facility, Brainy activates the facility’s self destruct protocol as a final preventive measure. Safely back in the 21st century, Bart realizes he hadn’t really thought this plan through very well after all. What is he supposed to do with a pair of teenage clones now?! Age – approximately aged to 13 when rescued. Mentor: Lightspeed & Boomer

A few thoughts/notes.

Because of the constriction of time in the New 52, it made the 2ng generation problematic in many cases. In my world, I see Bats, Supes etc to be in their mid to late 30s. In the New 52 I think they're supposed to be in their mid 20s which makes you wonder how Bruce spent any time fighting crime since he's only had about 5 years to recruit and train at least three sidekicks!

I see Dick (30), Donna, Roy, Garth, etc to be late 20s early 30s. Jason Todd (26) and his contemporaries would be about 25-27. Tim (20), Kon, Cassie etc 19-22. Damien (16) and his crew 16-18

Those are some interesting and very powerful lineups, Vee. Interesting that you didn't group the heroes strictly by age. Love how you pulled together a lot of Titans and heroes from other teams. Plenty for everyone!

Is Jason's team supposed to be the black ops team, with Dove maybe there to help keep Hawk in line?

It was an interesting exercise to decide who went where. In some cases the choices were pretty obvious. In other, they were made to add a little tension. For example, until I decided to do the Academy, I had Flamebird on Nightwings team along with Batgirl (could have made for an interesting dynamic )

For the most part I tried to have 1-2 Bat Family, I Supes Fam, 1 WW Fam, etc and use the others to balance powers.

Jason's team is most definitely Black Ops. Think Outsiders, Secret Six, etc. If you look at the members, most of them are more the anti-hero type. While they might not kill (then again, some would) they surely wouldn't have a problem wit severely maiming. Dove, and to a lesser extent Hourman, Liberty Belle, & Miss Steel, are there to keep things from getting out of hand.

Good job Vee, I'm glad to see someone else shares my affliction of creating Super-Teams.

I've had this quirk since youth, filling out notebook after notebook with various lineups of characters from DC, Marvel and Defunct Publishers.

I don't think i've ever came up with over three Titan Teams at once though!

Your lineups are also pretty awesome, LWL. Love how you draw from a broad spectrum of characters too!

Thanks LWL, it is an affliction for sure And now you made me wonder if there are enough Titans left over for one last team hmmm..

Vee, this is simply jaw-dropping in the best possible way! Great job!

Wow. I need more time to consume everything here. It looks great though.

I always loved coming up with new groups of heroes as well.

Love the character of Hummingbird! I was just thinking of a super-fast flying character with some sort of vibratory powers along those lines, but making her the child of Mal and Karen is just inspired, and totally fits the 'hummingbird powers' theme!

Love that you went so far as to include characters like Wendy and Marvin, and the Protector!

In the Academy post, you've got Alfred Todd listed as 'Robin IV' and then mention that his friends call him 'Six,' and that he seems to like it. Was he meant to be Robin VI?

Ooops! Yes he was meant to be Robin VI. 'Robin IV' was a typo. Thanks for pointing it out.