The Teen Titans were created as a team of sidekicks of big-time superheroes, remaining that way for over a decade. However, something big happened in 1980 when Marv Wolfman and George Perez updated the team in response to the popularity of Marvel Comics, trying to create something relatable to kids.
Since that time, the Teen Titans have been one of the most popular superhero teams of the last 40 years, and have gone through several iterations, from the pages of DC Comics to the world of television and movie cartoons, and most recently their arrival as a live-action TV show. Here is a look at the five best Titans lineups, as well as the five worst.
10 BEST - THE NEW TEEN TITANS
The best Teen Titans team in most reader's eyes is the New Teen Titans that Marv Wolfman and George Perez created to try to give DC a team more similar to Marvel Comics than DC mainstays like the Justice League. This started when Dick Grayson finally left Batman, and the Teen Titans skyrocketed.
The team included new members Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy, with Robin, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl returning. This was easily the best lineup in Teen Titans history and the one that people still refer to when talking about the team, 40 years later.
9 WORST - TITANS WEST
Titans West was not a team that made it very long. That is because there was almost nothing appealing about this version of the Teen Titans. The leader of this team was Lilith Jupiter, who is also known as the superhero Omen.
There are three familiar names on the team with Beast Boy, Hawk, and Dove. While those three are famous former Teen Titans members, it wasn't enough to make this team worth much. Hawk took Lilith's place as the team leader when she stepped down, and then the group finally disbanded.
8 BEST - GRADUATION DAY
There was a period where the Teen Titans moved on and became Young Justice, a way to show that they were no longer "teens" or former sidekicks. However, there was still a need for a Titans team, so the new young generation moved in to take over that role.
That led to Graduation Day, which is when both the Titans and Young Justice ended both teams. The Outsiders and a new Teen Titans team rose from the ashes, and the Teen Titans roster included Starfire and Cyborg training new heroes, including Bart Allen, Tim Drake, Cassie Sandsmark, and Kon-El.
7 WORST - ARSENAL'S TITANS
One former member of the Teen Titans that always had a rough go of it was Roy Harper. Green Arrow snubbed him when he was Speedy due to his drug addiction. He went on to become Red Arrow and Arsenal, and as the latter hero, he started his own Teen Titans team.
The Teen Titans under Arsenal started up after Zero Hour when Dick Grayson stepped down as the leader. This version of the Teen Titans worked for the U.S. Government, taking away the independence fans loved so much about the Titans.
6 BEST - DCAU TEEN TITANS
While the DCEU struggled to get off the ground and remained polarizing, the DCAU remained beloved mostly because they remained faithful to the comics. While the Justice League movies that started it were good, the DCAU went to a new level with the Teen Titans movies.
The core members are here, with Starfire as the team leader alongside Raven and Beast Boy. Also included are Damien Wayne's Robin, who is a lot less annoying than he is in the comics, and Blue Beetle. Both Judas Contract and the Justice League vs. Teen Titans movies were pure Titans storytelling at its best.
5 WORST - DC UNIVERSE TITANS
The Titans TV series on DC Universe got better as time went on, but there is something about this series that never really feels like the beloved Titans from either DC Comics or the DCAU. It was a tough start with Dick Grayson acting ultra-violent and never once feeling like Nightwing/Robin from the comics.
Starfire was great, but others (especially Beast Boy) just never felt like the characters fans have grown to love. Nothing about this felt right, as a teen angst tale. Honestly, Doom Patrol felt more like the Titans team than Titans did.
4 BEST - DC REBIRTH TITANS
There were two Titans teams in the post-Rebirth DC world. One was the young Teen Titans team, which included a terrible Damian Wayne who cruelly manipulated the other members into joining him, at any cost. However, the team that stuck out was the older Titans — the original Teen Titans.
Nightwing, Donna Troy, Tempest (former Aqualad), and Arsenal (Speedy) were back together to fight crime. However, things got even better when Wally West returned for the first time since the New 52 started, and while no one remembered him, he fit in like a glove.
3 WORST - DEATHSTROKE'S TITANS
Deathstroke is the Teen Titans' greatest villain and is the one man strong and smart enough to take down the entire team by himself. However, in the '90s, DC decided to give Deathstroke his own Titans team. This happened after Blackest Night.
This version of the Titans was set up more as a Villains for Hire group, with members like the Tattooed Man, Cheshire, and Osiris. Unlike the Teen Titans, who always fought for good, this Titans group was, like Deathstroke, mercenaries. When they killed Ryan Choi, that was the end of their usefulness.
2 BEST - YOUNG JUSTICE
Young Justice formed after the original Teen Titans became adults and became known as the Titans. Young Justice then took over the role of the Teen Titans, albeit with a new name to show a new generation of heroes.
Just like the Teen Titans, this started with the younger versions of already established heroes. Tim Drake was the new Robin, Kon-El, the new Superboy, and Bart Allen, the new Kid Flash, now known as Impulse. The team was so popular that they eventually made their debut on television as one of the best DCAU animated series in history.
1 WORST - TITANS L.A.
Maybe the west coast is a curse for the Teen Titans. The Titans West was a flop and ended after neither Lilith nor Hawk was able to assume a leadership role that could help the team survive. After they disbanded, there was yet another attempt at a California based Teen Titans with Titans L.A.
Beast Boy, who was part of Titans West, teamed up in L.A. with his cousin, Flamebird. While Beast Boy didn't want to start a new Teen Titans team, Flamebird did and brought in members like Bumblebee and Captain Marvel Jr. When Garth left, the team disbanded.