The Most Embarrassing Teen Titans Ever

For 53 years, the Teen Titans have been one of DC Comics’ greatest groups, but also the most influential superhero teams of all-time. While the group started out with Robin (Dick Grayson), Aqualad (Garth), Kid Flash (Wally West), and Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) as its foundation, the Titans began to grow their ranks slowly. From Arsenal and Omen in the '70s to the '80s blockbuster Wolfman-Perez quartet of Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire, the Teen Titans have embraced young heroes and allowed them to grow out of their mentor’s shadows. During Geoff Johns' legendary Teen Titans run, several millennial superheroes as Robin (Tim Drake), Superboy (Conner Kent), Bart Allen, and Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) not only grew into powerful heroes but also became household names.

Seventy-three young superheroes have grown up through the Teen Titans program. Not only did they save the world from deadly threats such as Brother Blood, H.I.V.E., and Trigon, but they also managed to be promoted to the Titans and even the Justice League. However, not every Titan was worthy of taking on Deathstroke or the Fearsome Five, there have been Teen Titans that were horrible team ambassadors. CBR has found the 15 embarrassing Teen Titans of all-time.

15 BUMBLEBEE

Karen Beecher-Duncan has the distinguished honor of being DC Comics’ African American female superhero. For over 40 years, Bumblebee has been one of the loyal members of both the Teen Titans and now is currently featured in Titans. The only problem that Mrs. Beecher-Duncan faced throughout her time on the Teen Titans is like Dick Grayson; she had no true superpowers. Bumblebee’s abilities were developed through a high-tech battle suit that modified her strength, speed, and agility.

The suit also allows Bumblebee to fly and can microscopically shrink down to the size of a bee. Another situation that landed Bumblebee on this list is that she did not do anything memorable to capture fans attention until she left the Teen Titans and served stints on both the Titans and Doom Patrol.

14 ZATARA (ZACHARY ZATARA)

Zatara may come from DC magic royalty as he shares his last name with cousin Zatanna, and his uncle Zatara, he is far from one of the most memorable teens that served on the Teen Titans. The second Zatara was part of Beast Boy and Wonder Girl’s disastrous gap year line-up (between Teen Titans, vol. 3 #33 and #34) and his selfish attitude and arrogance were part of the reason why he did not remain with the team.

He allowed Neron to transform Kid Devil into an actual devil and even cut himself from the Teen Titans after the incident. By Zatara showing his true colors and abandoning both his friend and the Teen Titans, he indeed shows that he was not worthy of being a part of the legendary team in the first place.

13 POWER GIRL (TANYA SPEARS)

Tanya Spears is the world’s smartest 17-year-old made her DC Comics debut in the pages of July 2014’s Worlds’ Finest #23. She was Power Girl (Karen Starr)’s intern during her and Huntress (Helena Wayne)’s time on Earth 0. Ms. Spears proved valuable as Tanya helped her mentors make their way back to Earth 2. As her mentors left Earth Zero, she gained super strength and invulnerability. While she got superpowers, Tanya also caught the attention of both the Teen Titans and several significant villains.

As Tanya debuted as the new girl on the team in the pages of Teen Titans, Vol. 5 #5, Desaad targeted Tanya twice, and Manchester Black manipulated both her and Wonder Girl to do his evil bidding. Before she had the chance to prove herself worthy as a Teen Titan, the title ended with Issue 24.

12 KID DEVIL

In the mid-00s, many fans considered Eddie Bloomberg as probably one of the worst superheroes to join the Teen Titans. He first went into the superhero business after he met his hero, Blue Devil, at his Aunt Marla’s film company. With a joke of a costume and an awkward code name, Kid Devil became a questionable member of the Teen Titans during the gap that bridged Teen Titans, vol. 3 #33 and #34.

In fact, he sold his soul to Neron and became an actual devil. Despite these stupid mistakes, Kid Devil became a valuable member of the team and saved the time countless times with and without his powers. Sadly, Eddie Bloomberg sacrificed his own life to save the city from a dangerous radioactive man in Teen Titans, vol. 3 #74.

11 JOKER’S DAUGHTER/HARLEQUIN

Throughout Teen Titans’ publishing history, the team has welcomed questionable members. One particular wild card candidate was Duela Dent, the Joker’s Daughter. Before “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” this woman claimed to the offspring of some of the Dark Knight’s greatest adversaries. Duela wanted to join the Teen Titans to atone for some of the atrocious crimes that her parents committed, she also deduced that Robin and Dick Grayson were one in the same.

Despite several objections by several team members, the Earth-3 resident was welcomed to the team in Teen Titans, vol. 1 #46 in February 1977. Because she was a polarizing member, Duela was only able to assist Dick Grayson on specific missions. The Joker’s Daughter proves that even know adolescent heroes could be on the Teen Titans’ charter that not everyone is going to welcome them with open arms.

10 CAPTAIN MARVEL, JR.

Before “Flashpoint” turned DC Comics continuity upside down, the Captain Marvel family could eclipse both the Batman and Flash families in closeness. One particular member of the family was Freddy Freeman, who gained magical powers when transformed into Captain Marvel, Jr. The third member of the Shazam family turned to the Atom and his Teen Titans when he lost the trust of Billy Batson after hitting on his sister, Mary Marvel.

Sadly, Captain Marvel, Jr. did not even last long to make an impression on the team, because he was not supposed to be on the team in the first place. According to a 2008 book, Titans Companion 2, writer Dan Jurgens revealed that Captain Marvel, Jr. was chosen to join the team after they failed to get permission to use Tim Drake. Captain Marvel, Jr.'s inclusion in Atom’s short-lived Teen Titans, vol. 2, lead to the book’s cancellation.

9 ROBIN (DAMIAN WAYNE)

Dick Grayson and Tim Drake have blossomed and grew into real leaders through their time on the Teen Titans; the jury is still out on Batman’s biological son. Damian Wayne made his first appearance in Teen Titans, vol. 3 #88 when Dick Grayson stated that the Teen Titans should “always have a Robin.” Despite Wonder Girl’s strong objections, Robin V joined the team. Damian’s arrogance at times got the team in trouble, and even though he bonded with Ravager, Batman’s son exited the team when Tim returned in Teen Titans, vol. 3 #92.

Six years later, Damian gathered the latest generation of Teen Titans and butted heads with them since the beginning. He even kicked out Kid Flash II (Wally West) after Deathstroke tricked the speedster in giving him his powers. Damian may be the leader, but he needs to learn to play nice with others.

8 MAL DUNCAN

Mal Duncan cannot catch a break! The former boxer made his first appearance in Teen Titans, vol. 1 #26 when he saved the original Teen Titans from Hell Hawks, a street gang. The team inspired him to become a superhero. However, over his 47 years as a DC Comics character, fans had a hard time keeping up with him. Mal Duncan regularly changed his persona and his power set over the years.

From gaining super strength as the second Guardian to becoming the Hornblower as he possessed Gabriel’s Horn as a weapon, Duncan was always in the shadows of Dick Grayson, Wally West, and even Cyborg. Also, Mal Duncan was still the member to be manipulated by outside forces such as the Doom Patrol’s Dr. Niles Caulder during the Teen Titans’ “One Year Later” storyline and Psimon in the current Titans story arc.

7 GNARRK

Did you know that Gnarrk became the first caveman to be a member of a major superhero team? When Gnarrk made his appearance in Teen Titans, vol. 1 #32, he had a lot of powers that could get the Teen Titans out of a jam. From his superhuman strength and enhanced climbing skills to his quick reflexes and endurance, Gnarrk was one of the group’s first powerhouse members. Sadly, because Gnarrk had limited human intelligence, he had a tough time communicating with the team.

By not having a communication barrier between Gnarrk and his teammates, the caveman put a strain on the team. The only person who could communicate with him was Lilith Clay. If Lilith was unable to join the Teen Titans in battle, Gnarrk could have put the team in jeopardy every time they were dealing with a significant threat.

6 BABY WILDEBEEST

Baby Wildebeest could be crowned the most out-of-control Teen Titan in series history. When he made his debut in New Teen Titans, vol. 2 #85, Baby Wildebeest was the surviving creature that was created by the villainous Wildebeest Society in hopes that they would house Azarath’s tainted souls. The team adopted him and were shocked that Baby Wildebeest could transform alter his size and possibly overwhelm them.

If it were not for his “parents,” Panthra and Red Star, Baby Wildebeest’s unchecked emotions could compromise the team. Twice, Baby Wildebeest fell victim to two Kryptonians as Superman knocked him out during “JLA/Titans” when the teams briefly feuded over Cyborg. Sadly, Baby Wildebeest met his end when Superboy Prime used his heat vision to kill him in “Infinite Crisis.”

5 PANTHRA

Rosabelle Mendez was not a favorite member of the Teen Titans. When she made her debut as a member of the team on New Teen Titans, vol. 2 #74, Panthra was very cold to her teammates. While the heroes hung out together when they were not on duty, Panthra would isolate herself from her teammates. Also, when Baby Wildebeest joined the Teen Titans, he looked to her as a mother figure. At first, Panthra rejected him and made crude comments that hurt the creature’s feelings.

If it were not for her efforts in helping the team launch a counterattack against a vicious group of aliens during the “Bloodlines” crossover, Panthra would still be one of the team’s most dislikeable members. Sadly, fans did not mourn her when Superboy Prime beheaded her in “Infinite Crisis.”

4 MIRAGE

Imagine that you had to start your superhero career by trying to assassinate one of Teen Titans’ founding members? That seriously happened to Miriam Delgado. When she was first introduced to readers in the pages of The New Titans #79, Mirage traveled from the future to murder Donna Troy before she could give birth to her son, who would grow up and become the evil Lord Chaos in Mirage’s timeline.

Sadly, Mirage became the unluckiest Teen Titan throughout her time on the team. It turned out that Deathwing, an alternative version of Dick Grayson, raped her and deceived the group in making them think that she lost her baby. Another massive blow that Mirage received was that the wicked Time Trapper manipulated her from the very beginning of her career. While she did give birth to her daughter, Julienne, many readers still think that the Titans should revoke her membership.

3 RISK

It always a risk to enlist in the Teen Titans, you do not know what threats will you have to up against and what are the repercussions for joining this superhero team. Cody Driscoll joined the team after he met a young Atom (Ray Palmer) when he was captured by the alien race H’San Natall. Together, the duo worked with Argent, Joto, and Prysm in escaping the aliens and returning to Earth. The quintet formed the third incarnation of the Teen Titans, but because the group did not have a well-known teen superhero their title was canceled in 1998.

Sadly, Risk’s life continued to go downhill in the '00s, where Superboy Prime ripped off his arm during “Infinite Crisis” and was manipulated by Deathstroke to join his wicked Titans East. Because of all of these incidents, Cody Driscoll should have never answered the Teen Titans’ reserve line.

2 TERRA

If you ask any Teen Titans fan why the team sometimes has trust issues, they might point you in Terra’s direction. Created by the legendary creative team of Marv Wolfman and George Perez, Terra made her debut in New Teen Titans #26. From the very start, fans did not trust this character who had the power to manipulate and control the very ground that they walked on.

Despite Beast Boy’s one-sided crush on her, Terra was excited to take the team down. It turned out that not only Deathstroke hired Terra to infiltrate the group, but she also SLEPT WITH HIM! It is one thing to betray the Teen Titans, but to sleep with their worst enemy? Terra’s traitorous actions are worthy of this list.

1 PROTECTOR

Who’s Protector? Glad you asked! The Protector made his only debut with the Teen Titans when DC and Keebler partnered to publish 1983’s New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Special. Jason Hart sprang into hero life when he discovered that his cousin, Ted, became addicted to drugs. While his family dissuaded Jason in saving Ted, Jason persevered and decided to confront the wicked drug dealers directly. He was successful with his mission and saved Ted from a hard life.

Nightwing learned about Protector’s accomplishments and decided to make Jason an honorary Teen Titan. While he was rewarded with a private training session with the first Robin, Protector was not seen in any other comic book especially after the massive life-altering events of "Crisis on Infinite Earths."

Do you agree with our picks? Who are the worst Teen Titans of all-time? Comment below!