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OUTSIDERS [2003-2007] |
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In 2003, both Titans and Young Justice came to an end. Seeking to revive the concept of Teen Titans once again, DC decided to graduate the Young Justice characters to Teen Titans status, while some of the former Titans would find a new direction as members of the edgy, more grown up Outsiders. As a bridge between series, the changes began with Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day, a three-issue mini-series written by Judd Winick and drawn by Alé Garza. Both the Titans and Young Justice united against a common foe: a mysterious and dangerous android from the future. The battle would lead to the deaths of both Omen and Troia – causing both teams to call it quits. This mini-series then led directly into two new series: Teen Titans and Outsiders, both launched in 2003. Outsiders featured the creative team of writer Judd Winick and artist Tom Raney. Arsenal assembled a new team of heroes and persuaded the reluctant Nightwing to join the team as well. Joined by the reformatted Indigo, Metamorpho, Jade and new heroes Thunder and Grace, the team vowed to proactively hunt down villains before they could strike. Nightwing dubbed this new team of heroes The Outsiders, in honor of his mentor's former team. Tom Raney left the series with Outsiders #15 as his last. After several missions, Nightwing's leadership began to falter, leading to a heated confrontation with Arsenal. Sensing a team in turmoil, Jade assumed leadership of the Outsiders and invited Starfire to join. It all happened in Outsiders #16. Tensions threatened to tear the team apart when Nightwing discovered that Batman was secretly funding the team. Adding to that, Arsenal learned the informant who he believed to be Batman was actually Deathstroke in disguise - leading to a violent confrontation in Outsiders #21-22. The second year closed in a crossover with the Ten Titans. In “Insiders” (Teen Titans #24-25, Outsiders #24-25), both teams faced betrayal from within. Superboy – mind-controlled by Lex Luthor – savagely attacked his friends while the Outsiders’ Indigo was revealed as Brainiac 8. Seeking to bolster their ranks after Indigo's betrayal, Jade recruited Captain Marvel Jr. Next the Outsiders faced the looming threat of the Infinite Crisis, which would change the team dramatically. Donna Troy recruited Starfire and Jade for a space mission in Outsiders #31, which would ultimately leave her stranded in space for a year. Jade fared even worse, as she gave her life for Kyle Rayner in Rann/Thanagar War: Infinite Crisis Special. With DC's company-wide "One Year Later" event, all the characters' histories resumed "one year later" between a single issue in March of 2006. With Outsiders #34, a year had passed since the Crisis and a new team of Outsiders was introduced to readers. With most of the team presumed dead, Nightwing led a team of Grace, Thunder, Metamorpho, Katana and the surprisingly-reformed Captain Boomerang. Taking a more global stance, the Outsiders vowed to uphold justice in secret. Their cover was later blown by Dr. Sivana in Outsiders #43. Following the events of Outsiders #49, founding member Batman once again took the reins of the Outsiders team to reinvent the group. A weekly series of Outsiders “Five of a Kind” one-shots shaped the new team’s identity, which included new members and a renewed purpose under Batman’s leadership. With Nightwing now gone, the title ended and was relaunched with Batman and the Outsiders (second series) #1 in 2007.
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