The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC's premier superheroes in the Justice League. The original team later becomes known as the Titans when the members age out of their teenage years, while the Teen Titans name is continued by subsequent generations of young heroes. First appearing in 1964 in The Brave and the Bold #54, the team was formed by Kid Flash, Robin, and Aqualad (Garth) before adopting the name Teen Titans in issue 60 with the addition of Wonder Girl to their ranks.
Teen Titans is an American animated superhero television series created by Glen Murakami and developed by Murakami, David Slack and Sam Register. Based on DC Comics's superhero team Teen Titans, it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, and DC Comics. The show premiered on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003; its first two seasons also aired on Kids' WB. Initially, only four seasons were planned, but the popularity of the series led to Cartoon Network ordering a fifth season. The final half-hour episode of the show, "Things Change", aired on January 16, 2006; it was later followed by a TV movie, Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo, that premiered on September 15 the same year, serving as the series finale. A 15-minute episode titled "The Lost Episode" was released as part of an online promotional campaign by Post Consumer Brands in January 2005.
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original Teen Titans, Young Justice was centered on three previously established teen heroes: Superboy, Robin, and Impulse, but grew to encompass most teenaged heroes in the DC Universe.
The Tasmanian Devil is a fictional superhero appearing in DC Comics, depicted as a gay pacifistic Australian metahuman with the ability to turn into a giant aggressive Tasmanian devil. He first appeared in Super Friends #7, with his first post-Crisis appearance being in Infinity, Inc. #32.
Extraño is a superhero magician appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Joe Staton, he first appeared in Millennium #2. Extraño is noted for being the first openly gay superhero in DC Comics.
Natasha Irons is a fictional superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Louise Simonson and Chris Bastista, first appearing in Steel #1. Since the character's creation, Natasha has since become a reoccurring supporting character of both Superman the original version of Steel within their respective comic book series, notably sharing the codename Steel after the original becomes injured.
In comics, LGBTQ themes are a relatively new concept, as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) themes and characters were historically omitted from the content of comic books and their comic strip predecessors due to anti-gay censorship. LGBTQ existence was included only via innuendo, subtext and inference. However the practice of hiding LGBTQ characters in the early part of the twentieth century evolved into open inclusion in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, and comics explored the challenges of coming-out, societal discrimination, and personal and romantic relationships between gay characters.
Jaime Reyes is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner, the character made his first appearance in Infinite Crisis #3. Jaime Reyes is the third character to assume the mantle of Blue Beetle, but is substantially different from his predecessors.
Garth is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Robert Bernstein and artist Ramona Fradon, He first appears in Adventure Comics #269. The character is commonly associated with both Aquaman and the Teen Titans alongside the team's various incarnations.
In American mainstream comics, LGBT themes and characters were historically omitted intentionally from the content of comic books, due to either formal censorship or the perception that comics were for children and thus LGBT themes were somehow inappropriate. With any mention of homosexuality in mainstream United States comics forbidden by the Comics Code Authority (CCA) until 1989, earlier attempts at exploring these issues in the US took the form of subtle hints or subtext regarding a character's sexual orientation. LGBT themes were tackled earlier in underground comix from the early 1970s onward. Independently published one-off comic books and series, often produced by gay creators and featuring autobiographical storylines, tackled political issues of interest to LGBT readers.
Gay interpretations have been part of the academic study of the Batman franchise at least since psychiatrist Fredric Wertham asserted in his 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent that "Batman stories are psychologically homosexual". Several characters in the Modern Age Batman comic books are expressly gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
Young Justice is an American superhero animated television series developed by Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The show, instead of a direct adaptation of Peter David, Todd Dezago and Todd Nauck's Young Justice comic series, is an original story set in the DC Universe with a focus on teenage and young adult superheroes.
Ivan Velez Jr. is an openly gay Latino American cartoonist, writer, museum educator, and teaching artist, known for creating the groundbreaking comic book series Tales of the Closet, and for his work with the DC Comics imprint Milestone Media, and with Marvel Comics.
Kaldur'ahm, or Kaldur for short, is the superhero codenamed Aqualad and Aquaman in media published by DC Entertainment. The character was created by Brandon Vietti, Greg Weisman and Phil Bourassa for the television series Young Justice, and voiced by Khary Payton. His name is a reference to the character Cal Durham, formerly a henchman of the supervillain Black Manta who was sent to infiltrate Atlantis, but defected to the Atlanteans. While originally developed for television, DC quickly adapted the character to its mainstream comic books, with Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis re-interpreting the character. For television, creators were able to tell a story where Aqualad had known and worked with Aquaman for many years, while the comic book version had to be introduced to Aquaman and readers at the same time, meaning aspects of his backstory had to be changed.
DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults, formerly known as DC Ink, is an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics consisting of original one-shots, graphic novels and reprints of books previously published under other imprints. The imprint intends to present traditional DC Universe characters for young adult readers. The first title of the DC Ink imprint, Mera: Tidebreaker, was published on February 2, 2019 and Batman: Nightwalker was the last title to be published under DC Ink. Wonder Woman: Warbringer, the first title of DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults, was published on January 10, 2020.
Infinite Frontier is a 2021 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. It is the follow-up to the 2018 New Justice relaunch. The relaunch and event was shepherded by writer Joshua Williamson. The continuity and repercussions established by Infinite Frontier continue into the 2023 Dawn of DC relaunch.
Naomi McDuffie is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by the writer Brian Michael Bendis for his Wonder Comics imprint, along with writer David F. Walker and artist Jamal Campbell. The character's name is, in part, a tribute to comic book writer and creator Dwayne McDuffie.
DC Pride is an annual LGBTQIA+-themed comic book anthology first published by DC Comics in June 2021. The second anthology was published in June 2022. The third anthology was released in May 2023.
