Editing Teen Titans (section)

===''The New Teen Titans'' (1980–1996)<!--'The New Teen Titans' redirects here--> {{anchor|The Judas Contract}}===
{{Infobox comic book title <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
| title               = New Teen Titans
| image               = NewTeenTitansVol1-001.png
| caption             = Cover to ''The New Teen Titans'' #1 (Nov. 1980),<br />art by [[George Pérez]] and [[Dick Giordano]]
| schedule            = Monthly
| ongoing             = y
| publisher           = [[DC Comics]]
| date                = {{collapsible list|'''''The New Teen Titans''''':<br />November 1980 – March 1984<br />'''''Tales of the Teen Titans''''':<br />April 1984 – July 1988<br />'''''The New Teen Titans'' vol. 2''':<br />August 1984 – November 1988<br />'''''The New Titans''''':<br />December 1988 – February 1996}}
| issues              = {{collapsible list|'''''The New Teen Titans''''':<br />#1–40<br />'''''Tales of the Teen Titans''''':<br />#41–91<br />'''''The New Teen Titans'' vol. 2''':<br />#1–49<br />'''''The New Titans''''':<br />#50–130 plus [[Zero Hour: Crisis in Time|#0]]}}
| writers             = [[Marv Wolfman]]
| artists             = 
| pencillers          = {{collapsible list|[[George Pérez]]<br />[[Eduardo Barreto]]<br />[[Tom Grummett]]<br />[[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]]<br />[[José Luis García-López]]}}
| inkers              = [[Romeo Tanghal]]
| colorists           = 
| creative_team_month = 
| creative_team_year  = 
| creators            = [[Marv Wolfman]]<br />[[George Pérez]]
| main_char_team      = [[Dick Grayson|Robin/Nightwing]]<br />[[Cyborg (DC Comics)|Cyborg]]<br />[[Wally West|Kid Flash]]<br />
[[Donna Troy|Wonder Girl]]<br />[[Raven (DC Comics)|Raven]]<br />[[Starfire (Teen Titans)|Starfire]]<br />[[Beast Boy]]
| italic title        = no
}}

''[[DC Comics Presents]]'' #26 (October 1980) [[DC Comics insert previews|introduced]] a new team of Titans, anchored by Robin, Wonder Girl, and Kid Flash and soon followed by '''''The New Teen Titans'''''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> #1 (November 1980). The series, created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist [[George Pérez]], re-introduced Beast Boy as Changeling and introduced the machine man Cyborg, the alien Starfire, and the dark [[Empathy|empath]] Raven.<ref>Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 188: "[''The New Teen Titans''] went on to become DC's most popular comic team of its day. Not only the springboard for the following month's ''The New Teen Titans'' #1, the preview's momentous story also featured the first appearance of future DC mainstays Cyborg, Starfire and Raven."</ref> Raven, an expert manipulator, forms the group to fight her demonic father [[Trigon (comics)|Trigon the Terrible]] and the team remains together.

Wolfman and Pérez's working relationship quickly evolved to the point where they were plotting the series jointly. Wolfman recalled that "once George moved to the same town I lived in, only five blocks or so away, we usually got together for lunch and would work out a story over the next few hours. In many cases I would then go home and write up a plot based on it, or sometimes George would take the verbal plotting we did and take it from there."<ref>{{cite journal|last = Nickerson|first= Al|date = August 2006|title = Who is Donna Troy?|journal = Back Issue!|issue = #17|pages = 64–66|publisher = TwoMorrows Publishing|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref>

The team's adversaries included [[Deathstroke|Deathstroke the Terminator]],<ref>Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 189: "Debuting in the shadows of the cover to the team's second issue, written by Marv Wolfman and meticulously illustrated by artist George Pérez, Deathstroke was...asked to kill the Teen Titans."</ref> a [[mercenary]] who takes a contract to kill the Titans to fulfill a job his son had been unable to complete. This led to perhaps the most notable Titans storyline of the era. 1984's "'''The Judas Contract'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->", in ''Tales of the Teen Titans'' #42–44 and ''Tales of the Teen Titans Annual'' #3,<ref name="CBG Awards">{{cite web|url= http://www.cbgxtra.com/default.aspx?tabid=42&view=topic&forumid=34&postid=147|title= ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' Fan Awards Archives|work= Comics Buyer's Guide|location= Iola, Wisconsin|access-date= March 21, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080516031527/http://www.cbgxtra.com/default.aspx?tabid=42&view=topic&forumid=34&postid=147|archive-date= May 16, 2008}}</ref> featured a psychopathic girl named [[Terra (character)|Terra]] with the power to manipulate Earth and all Earth-related materials. She infiltrates the Titans in order to destroy them. "The Judas Contract" won the [[Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award]] for "Favorite Comic Book Story" of 1984<ref name="CBG Awards" /> and was later reprinted as a standalone [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite book|last1= Wolfman|first1= Marv|author-link1= Marv Wolfman|first2= George|last2= Pérez|author-link2=George Pérez |title = The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract|publisher = DC Comics|date= 1988|location= New York City|page = 192| isbn = 0-930289-34-X}}</ref> Robin adopts the identity of [[Nightwing]],<ref>{{cite comic| writer= Wolfman, Marv| penciller= Pérez, George| inker= [[Dick Giordano|Giordano, Dick]]; [[Mike DeCarlo|DeCarlo, Mike]]| story= There Shall Come a Titan (The Judas Contract Book 3)| title= Tales of the Teen Titans| issue= #44| date= July 1984}}</ref> while Wally West gives up his Kid Flash persona and quits the Titans. It also featured the introduction of a new member in [[Jericho (DC Comics)|Jericho]], Deathstroke's other son.

Other notable ''New Teen Titans'' stories included "A Day in the Lives...",<ref>{{cite comic| writer= Wolfman, Marv| penciller= Pérez, George| inker= [[Romeo Tanghal|Tanghal, Romeo]]| story= A Day in the Lives...| title= The New Teen Titans| issue= #8| date= June 1981}}</ref> presenting a day in the team members' personal lives; "Who is Donna Troy?",<ref>{{cite comic| writer= Wolfman, Marv| penciller= Pérez, George| inker= Tanghal, Romeo| story= Who Is Donna Troy?| title= The New Teen Titans| issue= #38| date= January 1984}}</ref> depicting Robin investigating Wonder Girl's origins; and "We Are Gathered Here Today...", telling the story of Wonder Girl's wedding.<ref>{{cite comic| writer= Wolfman, Marv| penciller= Pérez, George| inker= Giordano, Dick; DeCarlo, Mike| story= We Are Gathered Here Today...| title= Tales of the Teen Titans| issue= #50| date= February 1985}}</ref> ''Tales of the New Teen Titans'', a four-part limited series by Wolfman and Pérez, was published in 1982, detailing the [[Back-story|back-stories]] of Cyborg, Raven, Changeling, and Starfire. Wolfman wrote a series of ''New Teen Titans'' drug awareness comic books which were published in cooperation with The President's Drug Awareness Campaign in 1983–1984. The first was pencilled by Pérez and sponsored by the [[Keebler Company]],<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/85679/ ''The New Teen Titans'' (Keebler Company) #1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924114654/http://www.comics.org/issue/85679/ |date=September 24, 2016 }} at the Grand Comics Database</ref> the second was illustrated by [[Ross Andru]] and underwritten by the [[American Beverage Association|American Soft Drink Industry]],<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/291137/ ''The New Teen Titans'' (American Soft Drink Industry) #2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918160847/http://www.comics.org/issue/291137/ |date=September 18, 2016 }} at the Grand Comics Database</ref> and the third was drawn by [[Adrian Gonzales]] and financed by [[IBM]].<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/291198/ ''The New Teen Titans'' (IBM) #3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826150316/https://www.comics.org/issue/291198/ |date=August 26, 2024 }} at the Grand Comics Database</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/textual/smof/turnerc.htm|title= Turner, Carlton E.: Files, 1981–1987 – Reagan Library Collections|date= n.d.|location= Simi Valley, California|publisher= [[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]]|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141015190429/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/textual/smof/turnerc.htm|archive-date= October 15, 2014|url-status=live|quote= This series contains material relating to the development and distribution of the ''Teen Titans'' drug awareness comic books. The comic books were designed to communicate the dangers of drug abuse to elementary school children. The Drug Abuse Policy Office coordinated the project, DC Comics developed the story line and artwork, and private companies funded the production costs. The Keebler Company sponsored the fourth grade book (released in April 1983), the National Soft Drink Association sponsored the sixth grade book (November 1983), and IBM sponsored the fifth grade book through the National Federation of Parents for Drug Free Youth (February 1984). The files consist primarily of correspondence with educators, parents, and children.}}</ref>

====''The New Teen Titans'' (vol. 2)====
The ''New Teen Titans'' relaunched with a new #1 issue in August 1984<ref>Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 209: "As one of DC's most popular team books, ''The New Teen Titans'' was a natural choice to receive the deluxe paper quality and higher price point of the new Baxter format. With the regular newsstand title having already changed its name to ''Tales of the Teen Titans'' with issue #41, the path was clear for a new comic to once again be titled ''The New Teen Titans''. Featuring the trademark writing of Marv Wolfman and the art of George Pérez, this second incarnation was a success from the start, providing readers with the perfect blend of high-quality paper with high-quality storytelling."</ref> as part of a new initiative at DC informally referred to as "hardcover/softcover". ''The New Teen Titans'' along with ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' and ''Batman and the Outsiders'' were the first and only titles included in this program. The same stories were published twice, first in a more expensive edition with higher-quality printing and paper distributed exclusively to comic book specialty stores, then republished a year later in the original format, distributed to newsstands. The title was renamed ''Tales of the Teen Titans'' with issue #41, while a new concurrently published series named ''The New Teen Titans'' (vol. 2) launched with a new #1 following the release of ''Tales of the Teen Titans'' #44 and ''Annual'' #3, the conclusion of the "Judas Contract" storyline. After both titles ran new stories for one year, with ''Tales of the Teen Titans'' #45–58 taking place prior to the events of ''The New Teen Titans'' (vol. 2) #1, and a filler issue reprinting a digest-only story and the original preview story from ''DC Comics Presents'' #26, the series began reprinting the first 31 issues of the "hardcover" series (sans several back-up stories focusing on Tamaran that ran in ''New Teen Titans'' #14–18), the first ''Annual'', and the lead story from the second ''Annual'', before being cancelled with issue #91.

Issue #1 of ''The New Teen Titans'' (vol. 2) created controversy when Grayson and Starfire were depicted in bed together, although it had been established for some time that they were a couple. The initial storyline, "The Terror of Trigon",<ref>{{cite comic| writer= Wolfman, Marv| penciller= Pérez, George| inker= Pérez, George| story= Shadows in the Dark!| title= The New Teen Titans| volume= 2| issue= #1| date= August 1984}}<br />{{cite comic| writer= Wolfman, Marv| penciller= Pérez, George| inker= Pérez, George| story= The Search for Raven| title= The New Teen Titans| volume= 2| issue= #2| date= October 1984}}<br />{{cite comic| writer= Wolfman, Marv| penciller= Pérez, George| inker= Tanghal, Romeo| story= Souls as White as Heaven...| title= The New Teen Titans| volume= 2| issue= #3| date= November 1984}}<br />{{cite comic| writer= Wolfman, Marv| penciller= Pérez, George| inker= Tanghal, Romeo| story= --Torment!| title= The New Teen Titans| volume= 2| issue= #4| date= January 1985}}<br />{{cite comic| writer= Wolfman, Marv| penciller= Pérez, George| inker= Tanghal, Romeo| story= The Terror of Trigon!| title= The New Teen Titans| volume= 2| issue= #5| date= February 1985}}</ref> featured Raven's demon father attempting to take over Earth and Raven's own struggle to remain good despite Trigon's demonic blood inside her. Pérez left the series after issue #5.<ref>{{Cite journal | title=George Pérez signs contract with DC, Takes leave of absence from ''Titans'' | journal=The Comics Journal | issue=#92 | date=August 1984 | page=16}}</ref> [[José Luis García-López]] followed Pérez as the title's artist and [[Eduardo Barreto]] followed García-López. [[Paul Levitz]] scripted or fully wrote issues #28–33 to give Wolfman time to catch up on his writing after he fell behind by taking on ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'' and ''[[History of the DC Universe]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=New Writers on Titans |magazine=[[Comics Feature]] |issue=51 |date=January 1987 |publisher=Movieland Publishing |page=5}}</ref>

====Name changed to ''The New Titans''====
Pérez temporarily returned with issue #50, when the series took the name ''The New Titans'' without the "Teen" prefix, as the characters were no longer teenagers.

Issue #50 told a new origin story for Wonder Girl, her link to Wonder Woman having been severed due to [[Retroactive continuity|retcon]]s created in the aftermath of ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]''. Pérez sketched through issues #55, 57 and 60, while only providing layouts for issues #58–59 and 61, with artist [[Tom Grummett]] finishing pencils and [[Bob McLeod (comics)|Bob McLeod]] as inker. Pérez remained as cover inker to issues #62–67. He would return for the series finale #130 (Feb. 1996) providing cover art. Issues #60 and #61 were part of a five-part crossover with Batman, "A Lonely Place of Dying" and along with issue #65, featured the debut of Tim Drake as the third Robin.

The brief return of Perez and the addition of Tom Grummett failed to move sales for the book, which were starting to decline. Furthermore, the addition of [[Danny Chase]] (a teenage psychic) drew negative fan response due to his abusive attitude towards the rest of the team. Believing Wolfman had grown stagnant, DC assigned Wolfman a new editor, Jonathan Peterson, and gave Peterson authority to override Wolfman over the direction of the book.

With Peterson controlling the book's direction, the series was rapidly overhauled. The [[Wildebeest (character)|Wildebeest]], a villain who used proxies and surrogates to hide his true identity while vexing the Titans, was expanded to a full army of villains called the [[Wildebeest Society]] and revealed to be a front for the remaining members of the supervillain group the [[H.I.V.E.]] The group fell under the control of Titan Jericho, who in turn was being possessed by the corrupted souls of Azarath. During the "Titans Hunt" storyline that followed (#71–84), Cyborg was destroyed and rebuilt, along with being lobotomized; Danny Chase and Arella (Raven's mother) were killed and resurrected as the ''[[Gestalt intelligence|gestalt]]'' being Phantasm (an identity created by Chase early in the series); while Raven, Jericho, and [[Golden Eagle (comics)|Golden Eagle]] were killed. New character [[Pantha]] (based on plans for a female Wildcat character Wolfman conceived in the mid-'80s) joined the team, along with Deathstroke and Red Star. Deathstroke was also given his own solo book and the team received its first crossover tie-in since ''Millennium'', with ''The New Titans'' #81 being part of the "War of the Gods" storyline.

Peterson also saw the launch of ''Team Titans'', which featured a new genetically modified (and heroic) doppelganger of Terra and Donna Troy, who was depowered in the "Total Chaos" crossover. Peterson left the book before "Total Chaos" concluded, leaving Wolfman to deal with the fallout from Peterson's editorially mandated storylines, including the final break-up between Starfire and Nightwing as a couple, the return of Speedy as Arsenal, and the resurrection of Raven as a villain.

Following ''Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!'', the series saw a revamp: Nightwing was removed from the series by Batman editorial and a roster of new young heroes such as [[Damage (DC Comics)#Grant Emerson|Damage]] and Impulse were inserted into the team to try and renew interest, along with Team Titan survivors Mirage and Terra II. New Green Lantern [[Kyle Rayner]] was also brought onto the title and given a prominent romance with Donna Troy, whose marriage with Terry Long had collapsed in the pages of ''Team Titans'' before the book's cancellation. Sales saw a collapse and despite several crossovers with other books (''Damage'', ''Green Lantern'', ''Darkstars'', and ''Deathstroke''), the series was cancelled with issue #130. The series finale saw the return of Blackfire as an ally, as the Titans purged Raven of evil once again to prevent Raven and the revived Citadel Empire from reconquering the Vega star system.

====''The New Teen Titans'' and the ''Uncanny X-Men''====
{{Main|The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans}}
''The New Teen Titans'' was widely thought of as DC's answer to the increasingly popular ''[[Uncanny X-Men]]'' from [[Marvel Comics]], as both series featured all-new members and depicted young heroes from disparate backgrounds whose internal conflicts were as integral to the series as was their combat against villains. The two teams met in the 1982 [[Intercompany crossover|crossover]] one-shot entitled "Apokolips... Now", which teamed [[Darkseid]], Deathstroke and [[Dark Phoenix]] against both teams. The story was written by [[Chris Claremont]] and drawn by [[Walt Simonson]] and [[Terry Austin (comics)|Terry Austin]].<ref>Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 199: "The issue, written by longtime ''X-Men'' scribe Chris Claremont and drawn by Walter Simonson [was]...one of the most well-received crossovers of its time – or of any time for that matter – the team-up was a huge success."</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last = Brown|first = Jonathan|title = The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans: The Breakfast Club of the Comics Crossover|journal = Back Issue!|issue = #66|pages = 65–68|publisher = TwoMorrows Publishing|date = August 2013|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref>

====''New Titans: Games''====
In 1989, Marv Wolfman and George Perez began planning a prestige format special, their first work together on the franchise since Perez left after ''The New Teen Titans'' (vol. 2) #5. The project was put on hold when it was decided instead to have Perez return to the main book as artist and for their first project back together to be "Who Is Wonder Girl?" instead.

Over the course of 1989 and 1990, George Perez and Marv Wolfman continued to work on ''Games'' with over half the project being completed. But the ascension of Jonathan Peterson as editor of the series, and Perez moving off of New Titans in order to work on ''The Infinity Gauntlet'' for Marvel led to the book being shelved.

In the early '00s, Marv Wolfman and George Perez approached DC about completing the book as a stand-alone graphic novel. The book was completed in 2010 and published in 2011.

The plot had the New Titans be forced by King Faraday to go after a mysterious mastermind who forces his victims to play deadly "games" for his amusement. In the interim, Wolfman had rewritten the plot (most notably, changing the original ending where Nightwing personally executes the main villain of the series after his "games" result in the death of longtime Titan ally Sarah Simms and the maiming of Danny Chase) though retained several key details (the death of Simms and Chase losing his hands) and several additional twists (the introduction of a previously unknown sibling of Raven, the revelation that the main villain was a schizophrenic King Faraday, and the destruction of Titan Tower) that make it impossible to fit into canon, reducing it to an alternate universe side story in Teen Titans lore.