If you grew up in the early '00s, you probably remember the Teen Titans show that aired on Cartoon Network and fell in love. This show featured a team made up of Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy as they created a group of young heroes who might’ve been traditionally sidekicks otherwise. One of the things that made this series so popular was how relatable it was, even if one girl came from an alien planet and another kid could turn into any animal of his choosing. This show had a lot of really serious themes and offered a little bit of everything to an audience of all ages. Its success has left a generation of fans longing for something that is not the horrific reboot Teen Titans Go and now an official movie is coming out for the iconic team.

We love this team of teens a lot, and while the show was popular, there’s a lot of fun facts to learn about the comic books as well. Their popularity is what lead to that television series after all! With a series that seems to always be changing, there’s never an end to what you can learn about the Teen Titans team.

20 THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS ARE NOT THE SAME

When we think of Teen Titans, a good portion of us might recall the popular Cartoon Network series that aired during our childhood. DC’s animated series were amongst some of the best cartoons you could watch and, quite frankly, the Teen Titans of then was great. However, the series did originate from its comic book version in the '60s. If you were to see the original team, you might not recall many of the faces. The original Teen Titans team had far more members and didn’t get to the television’s popular roster until much later.

The original roster consisted of: Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Speedy, Lilith, Hawk, Dove, Guardian, Aquagirl, Gnarrk, Joker’s Daughter and Bumblebee. Before all these characters came together, it was only Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Wonder Girl; a team that primarily focused on answering calls and helping out their older super heroes. As the comic grew, so did the depth of the stories and the roster would continuously change with guest appearances from different sidekicks of bigger heroes. It took a while, but they did eventually become the group that included characters like Beast Boy and Starfire. A lot of times the Teen Titans would fall apart only to come back with a new group of teens.

19 BEAST BOY'S NAME

Garfield Logan is a favorite for a lot of fans; who doesn’t like a guy who can literally be anything he wants? However, his name isn’t always Beast Boy! In some series, he uses the name Changeling. Obviously, the name comes from his given super powers to change into whatever he wants, but there’s another reason why he no longer chooses to use the name Beast Boy. For a while, Beast Boy is part of a team called Titans West. Later, Raven resembles a new version of the Teen Titans and he, of course, follows her.

This is when he decides it’s time to change his name. For a long time, before he was a legal adult, Garfield was under the care of the cruel Nicholas Galtry. Galtry was nothing but horrible to him and, as it turns out, he often mocked his super hero identity. It was so bad that this time, Gar wanted a brand new name for himself that he didn’t feel tainted. It’s hard to see this loveable green character as anything other than Beast Boy, but Changeling is a pretty awesome name too! We’re just glad Garfield finally finds some piece of mind, even if it takes a while to get there.

18 DEATHSTROKE AND TERRA

Deathstroke and Terra actually have a relationship. The television series really played this down, and for good reason. Slade, otherwise known as Deathstroke, has Terra working for him in the show. She has a complicated history with the Teen Titans because of this; she was a friend but seems to be more of an unwilling enemy. In the comics, this relationship is way worse. Terra, who is much younger and closer to 15 at the time, is in a romantic relationship with Deathstroke who is one of her more prominent clients as a hitwoman.

By no means is this relationship ever healthy or okay. Deathstroke often abuses Terra who often supplies him with information about the Teen Titans, much like in the television series, as she pretends to be their allies. He does mistreat her in multiple ways and eventually Terra does go insane in the comics. Deathstroke takes credit for this by saying he injected her with a special serum that would make her go insane; he also notes that he didn’t think it would get so bad as to where she would try to kill everyone in H.I.V.E. It’s very possible that some of this was also due to other issues she may have had prior to her involvement with Deathstroke.

17 THE TEEN TITANS GROW UP

Obviously our favorite teenagers can’t stay that way forever and the Teen Titans do eventually grow up. This transition is when the Teen Titans become The Titans. The Teen Titans eventually dissolve, each of them going their separate ways. Now closer to their 20s, each of the individual ex-members suddenly find themselves being attacked no matter if they are in their superhero identities or in their everyday lives. These attacks are eventually discovered to be the work of Trigon’s other children, whom Raven did not know about, as they try to kill off each of the individual members.

The group gets back together, but they are no longer teenagers. Now they’re simply The Titans, and they go back to Titans Tower, getting ready to fight Trigon once again. Raven discovers that her father is trying to defeat them, despite being in a weak state, because they were the only ones to ever defeat him. The Titans have to work together in hopes of surviving this scrap alive, but it’s a very emotional arc to see these now-adult characters reconnect with one another. A lot is left unfinished when the Teen Titans story ends, so when The Titans come back anew, there’s a second chance to pick up where they left off.

16 THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD

The Titans first appeared in The Brave and the Bold, issue #54. It’s never uncommon for a new comic book series to be introduced in an already established one, and the Teen Titans were no different in that respect. This was, of course, with the original roster we previously noted, so the group was originally just the four main characters, popular due to their sidekick roles to heroes like Batman and Wonder Woman.

It all began when Dick Grayson, Robin, and Kid Flash, Wally West, teamed up to defeat Mister Twister in 1964. In issue #60, they got their official name and soon after they received their very own comic series where the team of four would go off to fight crime. The story and characters have come a long way since then, but it’s always fun to see where they started off. It’s hard to imagine a character like Dick Grayson’s Robin, who proved himself time and time again to be his own hero without the aid of Batman, starting off in someone else’s series to create the Teen Titans, but inevitably our heroes were just made to be. Where did Aqualad run off to anyways? Does anyone know?

15 THEIR CREATORS

This may seem like a really obvious answer, but yes, the original creators were Bob Haney as the writer Nick Cardy and Bruno Premiani as the artist during that very same The Brave and the Bold comic series. For Haney, the Teen Titans series was perhaps one of his most famous works. He also created popular characters such as Metamorpho, Eclipso, Cain, and the Super-Sons. Cardy is known for his work on primarily Aquaman and other large superheroes, but Teen Titans was up there in his accomplishments. Premiani was not the only artist to work on the Teen Titans, although he was very accomplished as an illustrator and also helped to co-create Doom Patrol.

Haney in particular got a lot of teasing for the original concept of this series, but nevertheless the Teen Titans continued to help fight crime and do what’s right. Eventually, the idea picked up steam, but it wasn’t for a while. We pretty much owe these two everything when it comes to the great series we know and love today. And while Teen Titans did not always have it easy as a series, especially since DC continuously cancels and then recreates it, it’s still become such a DC fan favorite.

14 NOT A RUNAWAY SUCCESS

While the television show did exceptionally well, the original comic never did quite as hot. Created in the '60s, the original story followed a team of previous sidekicks whose main job was to answer calls. The creators really wanted to relate with the kids during that era, but were sort of failing miserably to reach out to them. They often tried to influence the comics with pop culture such as embracing popular song artists like The Beatles and Bob Dylan. For some, it kind of worked, but for others it simply gave them a chance to rip on the comic. Names like 'the Cool Quartet' or 'the Fab Foursome' were used by Bob Haney and it really was just perceived as lame.

It’s so hard to envision what would later be a popular comic and show being a bust in the beginning. Especially seeing as the Teen Titans are now getting their very own movie. But this isn’t an uncommon trend; there are plenty of series that pick-up speed later down the road in the '80s when the stories changed with a new writer, Marv Wolfman, who gave a whole new depth to the original concept. We’re lucky the creators didn’t give up hope or our childhoods would have been very different!

13 HANDMADE CHARACTERS

The most popular roster may have had characters that were specifically made for the Teen Titans series, rather than being their own characters first respectively. This includes characters like Raven, Cyborg and Starfire who all appeared as Teen Titans members before they ever got their own series. This wasn’t too weird considering DC has redone the series multiple times, but it is pretty cool to see how these characters have grown beyond one series in their own right. So much has happened since their time with the Teen Titans with their character development and story arcs.

Teen Titans was also the sort of series that hosted a lot of special guest characters as well. There were a lot of heroes who would drop in and help save the day, even if they weren’t really a member of the team. There were also a lot of times that the groups members would have a different backstory done for them or be entirely new people; Robin is a good example of this since it’s sometimes Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne or Tim Drake. Teen Titans has a lot of variations and sometimes it’s a part of the same story while other times it’s something new altogether.

12 THE BEAST-GOD OF XOCHATAN

If you’ve never seen this dude, you are seriously missing out. He’s definitely a different kind of villain, but his background story with the original Teen Titans was certainly something else entirely. In this story, the original Teen Titans group are flown over to Xochatan where the Peace Corps is having trouble building a dam and school. When they get there, they find a statue of a conquistador trying to harm everyone; the statue later disappears into the side of a mountain. Dazed and confused, the group tries to figure out what’s going on.

Kid Flash goes to investigate inside the mountain because no one seems to be able to figure out how the statue got away. In doing so, he’s chased out by the very same living statue. A lot of weird things continue to happen where the Teen Titans have to fight off strange objects that seem to be coming to life; like a bulldozer that tries to kill everyone and Wonder Girl ends up stopping. It turns out that the dam was actually causing the waters to rise and, with it, an ancient temple that had awaken these beast gods. The leader of them is furious at the construction that is happening to his sacred lands, but the Teen Titans manage to defeat him; really, that’s kind of a jerk move on their part. The end isn’t any better when the group scoffs at superstition. This really wasn’t their best moment in history.

11 NEW ADDITIONS

The roster for the Teen Titans is an ever-evolving thing; there’s always new characters with each incarnation in the comic series. The new team is no exception. While you may see some familiar faces, there’s a ton of new additions that would make anyone happy. Damian Wayne, Kid Flash and Red Arrow will all be a part of this team with Robin as the leader, which is sort of the usual at this point. The new series will also consist of some brand new faces we’ve never seen before.

It’s always extremely exciting to see the new incarnations of a childhood team that we all looked up to growing up. Adam Glass and Robson Rocha will be creating this new version of the Teen Titans with a lot of inspiration from Marv Wolfman’s New Teen Titans’ series. This special issue comes out in June, but the wait seems like forever when it’s something so exciting. One thing the Teen Titans series has always tried to do is relate with the youth of its respective time period. Glass is hoping to really encompass that in this new rendition and we can’t wait to see these new faces and stories!

10 ROBIN AND STARFIRE

There was a huge scandal for the comics when one scene depicted Dick Grayson and Starfire together. In the very first issue of New Teen Titans, second volume, we see the two have clearly been together. A lot of people found this extremely inappropriate, despite the two being a very well known couple in the DC Universe. The problem was that they were considered “Teen” Titans; a lot of people were wondering if these two were really just teenagers and the morality of showing a teenage relationship in a comic book.

However, it’s important to remember that despite the name, these characters really weren’t teenagers anymore. In fact, the prefix “teen” was eventually dropped and the storylines continued on as The Titans since a lot of them were now young adults verses teens. Whether or not this was because of some of the more adult-themed content that the story was now including or simply because it was time for a change, we’re not entirely sure. When The New Titans came out there were a lot of changes, such as Wonder Girl’s origin story, due to things like retcons and other issues within the DCU. As sad as it was to see the Teen Titans grow up, it was also cool to see them deal with new and interesting obstacles.

9 YOUNG JUSTICE

We’ve given you plenty of reasons to think Teen Titans is better than Young Justice, but that’s not entirely their fault. Really, Young Justice was heavily influenced by the Teen Titans in a lot of ways. We know that it was formed after the members of the Teen Titans grew up and moved on; this was now the new group of young superheroes who were out to save the day. It’s obvious that the ground work laid out for Teen Titans was also the ground work they looked at for Young Justice since these were teens essentially taking over their predecessors.

These two did get a crossover towards their series end, however. Towards the end of their stories, it was decided that both teams would be dissolved and the stories would go their separate ways. In part, this was to set up a new series where the characters would continue their stories. This crossover was known as Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day. The series revolved around the plot of Indigo’s appearance and her needing assistance repairing, amongst other important subplots that would eventually lead to the Outsiders series. There was a lot of drama in this particular series, including the death of Donna Troy. This later results in the disbandment of both Young Justice and the Teen Titans.

8 SELF-AWARENESS

No one was super happy when the Teen Titans remake, Teen Titans Go, was scheduled to air. It just wasn’t the same and it seemed to really water down the drama that made the original show so relatable and enjoyable to watch. That being said, Teen Titans Go does tend to make quite a lot of pop culture references; they often allude to popular movies such as The NeverEnding Story or dances like Gangam Style. We’re not so sure these shout outs make the show anymore relatable to older generations, or even those who watched the original television series, but it certainly seems to happen enough to make it an interesting fact on our list.

Perhaps the most popular reference the show has made is to itself. That’s right, the show really did talk about its previous incarnation on television and how popular it used to be. There’s a scene where Cyborg and Beast Boy have brought up a “Teen Titans Go fan”, but Robin isn’t buying it. Both Cyborg and Beast Boy admit that everyone hates them and Robin acknowledges them as an “abomination”. Finally, he asks the fan, Wally T, who he likes better; Teen Titans Go or Teen Titans. Wally points to yours truly, the original show. Robin sighs, utterly defeated, and everyone agrees the original was by far better.

7 TITAN'S CHILDREN

There was a comic that kicked of the 1996 Teen Titans series, but it wasn’t actually about the Titans we know and love today. Much like how the original team roster was completely different, so was this three part series that featured entirely different characters who served an entirely different purpose. The Teen Titans team was originally made of young characters who used to be the sidekicks of popular characters, however, this was no longer the case with this new series. In fact, they created four new characters just for the team; Cody Driscoll, Audrey Spears, Isaiah Crockett and Toni Monetti.

While we know the Teen Titans roster has changed significantly over the years, with each team arising to meet new and difficult challenges, this one was a little out there because of how different it was. Usually, the sidekick-filled team was a product of the previous one breaking up. "Titan’s Children" introduced a new version of the Teen Titans, and was created out of something all of its own starting with Audrey Spears on the moon Titan. This new team would be lead by Atom, rather than being traditionally led by Robin, and would also be known as the new Teen Titans at the end of the series.

6 RAVEN IS NO LONGER PART DEMON

That’s right, the one thing that gives Raven a lot of those cool powers suddenly goes poof! But it’s not exactly easy. During one arc, Raven turns horribly evil, accepting a part of her demonic soul and letting it overcome her. During the wedding of Nightwing and Starfire, evil Raven interrupts to plant the seed of Trigon into Starfire in hopes of turning her evil as well. Instead, what Raven really does, is implanted her good soul into her friend. In hopes of saving good Raven from evil Raven, Starfire leaves Earth and her fellow Titans to defeat the demonic counterpart.

Evil Raven does eventually find Starfire in hopes of killing off the part of her that’s still good, and the part that just so happens to be taking refuge in her friend. The Titans return to help their friend defeat evil Raven, but in the process her original body is destroyed. Instead, Raven is given a golden spirit body that no longer has her father’s demonic influence. She eventually admits that this was part of her plan in hopes of getting rid of her demonic side. She does eventually get a real body, but this is after a whole other story that you’ll just have to read!

5 STARFIRE HAS BEEN MARRIED... TWICE

We might’ve all shipped Starfire and Robin/Nightwing thanks to a mix of both the comics and the popular television show, but she’s been married twice before she even knew who Dick Grayson was. We can’t forget that Starfire is a princess of Tamaran, and with that title comes a lot of different responsibilities including marriage to people she didn’t necessarily like. In her first marriage, she was given to Prince Karras in order to seal a peace treaty with the Southern States of Tamaran. Both of them were in love with separate people, as he loved his lieutenant and she was still very much in love with Dick Grayson. Eventually, the marriage did end with Karras dying in war.

She was also married to a general named Phy'zzon after Karras died and her relationship with Grayson turned sour. She did love him and this was not by any means a real political marriage, but the relationship did not get to last long. While trying to defend new Tamaran, Phy'zzon did die in battle, leaving Starfire widowed yet again. In between these two relationships, she was about to marry Dick Grayson, but Raven sort of ruined that by turning evil and killing the priest. Who would’ve thought, right?

4 CYBORG FUSES WITH FIRESTORM

If you’ve been watching the Flash series on television, you’ve probably heard of the name Firestorm before. While his comic book series didn’t last very long, he’s become much more well known since his appearance on the show. Mirrored off the comics, Firestorm is still the combination of Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein. The two work together to control the matrix within them that gives them Firestorm’s powers; Stein is the brains while Ronnie is more of the brawn. However, these two end up fusing with a third at one point in their comic adventures; Cyborg gets thrown into the mix.

During "Infinite Crisis", Cyborg leaves the Teen Titans in the hands of Beast Boy to go defeat Alexander Luthor Jr. It’s speculated that they were fused together by the ripples in the Zeta Ray Beams everyone was using to get home. When this happened, Firestorm and Cyborg were returned to Earth as one entity. It is also speculated that Alexander Luthor Jr. caused these ripples to happen. Cyborg was severely damaged after the events in Infinite Crisis took place, leaving him in need of some serious rebuilding. It’s got to be hard being the third wheel in a fire matrix.

3 CYBORG TRIED TO MAKE A NEW TEAM

There was a point when Cyborg tries to create a new team of Titans. DC does have a lot of teams named after the Titans East, but this particular team was started by Cyborg. We first hear about Titans East in the series Titans of Tomorrow where the Teen Titans meet older, villainous versions of themselves. What the Titans East group is sold on doing is rebelling against the Titans West and the Titans of the future who have a hold on the entire U.S. During this, Cyborg does get drastically damaged, yet again, only this time he manages to lose the entire lower half of his body. After this happens, we often see him in a temporary hoverchair while the team rebuilds his lower half.

What’s interesting about Titans East is that it doesn’t just stop with Cyborg’s original group. DC has reintroduced this team time and time again, only it’s usually as a sort of terrorist group. In fact, Deathstroke eventually recreate the Titans East team in order to take down the Teen Titans. During this particular version, his children Ravager and Jericho are actually a part of the Teen Titans group and he hopes that they stay with them because he cannot be the father they need. Titans East always seems to have a really interesting storyline, so we highly encourage you to read it should you get the chance!

2 RAVEN ALSO HAS SUPER EVIL SIBLINGS

Unfortunately, Raven isn’t the only child of Trigon; seriously, this guy needs to not have anymore kids. As it turns out, Raven seems to be one of the only kids in the bunch that isn’t trying to be totally evil. In fact, there’s three kids that are Trigon fans and want to follow in his footsteps. After a series of attacks on the Titans, Raven finds out that not only does her father have other children, but that they’re also all behind the assaults on her team. Eventually, Raven and Beast Boy fall victim to her half-brothers as they use them to open a portal to Trigon’s realm.

Raven eventually stops them by getting them to take what power Trigon had left. They leave her alone for a while after this, but do come back in hopes of getting her to join them. They do this by irritating her demonic side and forcing her to leave the Titans yet again. This sets Raven on a bad path and leaves her friends to worry about her. Not willing to give up hope on their teammate, the Titans track Raven down and convince her to rejoin the group. In return, she gives them special artifacts that could kill her should she ever return to the dark demonic path she was previously on. This is her way of sealing her fate with them.

1 TWO TEAMS

In the new instalment for the “New Justice” banner, there will be two separate groups of Titans. As part of DC Rebirth, these teams will function in their own respective. And no, it’s not the Titans East and Titans West; it’ll be the Teen Titans and Titans. These rosters will be changing pretty drastically with Nightwing, Donna Troy, Raven, Steel, Beast Boy, Miss Martian and an unknown member joining the Titans. The Teen Titans will be made up of Robin, Kid Flash, Red Arrow, Crush, Djinn, and Roundhouse -- pretty different from the rosters we’ve seen before right?

While there will be a lot of new changes in these respective teams, we’re really looking forward to how they’ll be working together. Traditionally, the Titans have always been the older, maybe even more mature version, of the teenage group. While they do, at times, work together it hasn’t really happened recently. There are a lot of different incarnations out there about the Teen Titans with each one being as exciting as the next. To see these new versions will be very adventurous and we can’t wait to see what other heroes make a cameo!