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NIGHTRIDER |
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| A Dagon is born, as his origin is recounted in TEAM TITANS #1 [1992]. |
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| The Team Titans mysterious leader gives the order to kill Troy in NEW TITANS #80 [1991]. |
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| Dagon and Pantha compare eating habits in TEAM TITANS #1 [1992] |
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Fight For The Future
Nightriders story began 10 years in the future; Or, rather, the false future where Lord Chaos reigned and a force known as the Team Titans struggled to overthrow his tyranny. Lord Chaos sought to destroy the rebels known as the Team Titans.
David was born and raised in London, until a fateful Christmas Eve when he was ten years old. Davis was struck by a truck, and shortly afterward, taken in by Lord Chaos. After his accident, Chaos' scientists subjected David to a battery of tests and experiments. During this time, David was able to escape and aid the rebels during some occasions.
At fourteen years old, he was taken to Transylvania for a very special experiment. Some years ago, one of Chaos' macabre scientists (Commander Stalg) unearthed the bones of Count Dracula himself. Stalg's plan was to extract Dracula's DNA from his bones and infuse it into David. One of Chaos' soldiers on this mission was Charlie Watkins (who would later become Killowat). Charlie, seeing the treatment of David and these grotesque experiments, began to rethink his decision to serve the Force Elite.
Stalg made the preparations, and David was infused with the DNA of Dracula himself. The night Stalg chose to enact this experiment angered an ancient demon, who rose up during David's transformation. David was now transformed into a vampire, and felt an affinity to the demon. He joined the attack, signaling out Stalg. David now dubbed himself a ‘blood-hungering dagon' (he would use the name Dagon from that point on; to him, David was now dead). The demon claimed the lives of all the soldiers, except Charlie Watkins. Dagon resolved to join the rebellion and he became a member of the Team Titans.
Total Chaos
Shortly thereafter, the Team Titans leader gave the team a mission: travel 10 years into the past to stop Chaos from ever being born. To accomplish this, the Teamers were assigned to kill Donna Troy before she would give birth to the child who would become Lord Chaos! The Teamers successfully traveled to the past and came into conflict with the Titans. Donna gave birth to her son before the Teamers could intervene. However, the Titans and the Team Titans were able to stop Chaos and spare Donna's life at the same time.
After this, the Teamers found themselves stranded in the past, unable to return to their future. With nowhere else to go, they resided at Donna Troy's New Jersey farmhouse. The Teamers tried to find a place in this new world.
At one time, the Teamers searched for their counterparts in this timeline. Dagon found himself as a ten year old boy. Dagon was able to prevent his alternate-self from being hit by the truck at all.
Out Of Time
Shortly after this, the Teamers lives were disrupted by the time crisis known as Zero Hour. It was then revealed that the Team Titans leader in the future was the villainous Monarch - who created a false future world so he could train meta-humans (The Team Titans) to act as sleeper agent assassins. He knew of the impending time crisis, and wanted a super-powered army at his command. The time-villain Extant commanded all the Team Titans to attack the heroes who were trying to unravel this time crisis. His plan was thwarted; the heroes contained the Teamers. Time continued to collapse, erasing the false timelines that had emerged. As a result, all the Team Titans were erased from existence.
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| The Team Titans cease to exist! It all happened in ZERO HOUR [1994]. |
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Strangely enough, three people remained unscathed from Monarch's false timeline: Tara Markov (Terra II), Miriam Delgado (Mirage) and Deathwing (who was believed to be a future Dick Grayson). The Time Trapper revealed that Mirage, Deathwing and Terra were from this timeline, not an alternate timeline, as they had thought. All three had been implanted with false memories by the Time Trapper and turned into "sleeper agents" who would fight the villainous Monarch in the coming Zero Hour event.
The rest of the Team Titans, including Dagon, ceased to exist altogether. It is unknown whether some version of the vampiric Dagon has or will exist in this timeline.
Dagon possesses enhanced senses, strength, speed and durability. Dagon also has the ability to change his shape at will. He can form into a mist of into a human/bat-like creature. He also has to feed on the blood of others. A taste of Starfire's blood neutralized his weakness to sunlight (since Starfire's body acts as a solar battery). Dagon was also immortal. It was also stated that vampires had control over over the elements, but Dagon did not use that ability to any degree.
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New Titans #79 [1991]: A mysterious group of teenagers try to track down Donna Troy in an attempt to kill her. This issue features the first appearance of the Team Titans. Story continued in New Titans Annual #7 [which establishes the back story of the Team Titans].
New Titans Annual #7 and New Titans #80 [1991]: Waverider leaves an unconscious Nightwing to meet Joe Wilson, while in the future, the mysterious leader details his plans to the Team Titans on how they will go back in time to eliminate Donna Troy before she can give birth to her son, who will turn out to be Lord Chaos.
Total Chaos: New Titans #90-92, Team Titans #1-3, Deathstroke #14-16 [1992]: The Team Titans have been sent to the past to kill the pregnant Troia before she gives birth to her son, who could become a god-powered dictator named Lord Chaos in the future. The Team is defeated, and Troia, having lost her powers, gives birth to a normal baby boy. Mirage of the Team Titans kidnaps Starfire and impersonates her so that she can date Nightwing. Team Titans #1 is released in five different versions, but unlike variant cover gimmicks, all five are double-sized while selling for the regular price. Although all contain a common story, each also includes a different full-length origin story for a group member [Origins of Mirage, Terra II, Nightrider, Redwing and Killowat].
Team Titans #6 [1993]: The Team Titans celebrate the holidays, by going in search of their pasts, here In the present. Redwing discovers that the Levines had twin girls, instead of boy/girl twins (Carrie and Jon Levine). Both Titans teams unite for a holiday gathering.
Team Titans #8 [1993]: The Teamers investigate a rash of vampire attacks and encounter a mysterious woman that bears a strong resemblance to the dead-Titan, Kole. As they investigate further, they come across a nest of vampires.
Team Titans #9-10 [1993]: A new group of scientifically created vampire hordes tempt Dagon to join them. The Teamers battle the vampires as Dagon resists them. Kole enters the fray, using her crystal spinning powers to refract the sunlight to destroy the vampires.
Team Titans #24 [1994] FINAL ISSUE: Monarch rants about how the Teamers have been pawns all along and their true role will become apparent soon. The Teamers battle against all the havoc wrought by Zero Hour time glitches. Continued in the pages of Zero Hour.
Zero Hour #4-0 [1994]: Time continues to collapse, erasing the false timelines that had emerged. As a result, all the Team Titans are erased from existence! 'Death' of Battalion, Killowat, Dagon, Redwing, Prestor Jon and all the Team Titans. Mirage & Terra mysteriously survive.
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Team Titans Series Overview
Team Titans #1 to 24, September 1992 to September 1994
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| The Team Titans - From DC Cosmic Teams Card Set, 1993 |
The Future Is Now
The "Titans Hunt" storyline included the introduction of the Team Titans, a group of time-tossed teenagers from a bleak future ruled by Lord Chaos. Introduced in New Titans #79 [1991], a mysterious group of teenagers was trying to track down Donna Troy in an attempt to kill her. On the last page, the Team Titans membership is revealed: Mirage, Redwing, Nightrider, Killowat - and Terra! This last page shocker was followed-up in New Titans Annual #7, where the alternate future world of the Team Titans was established. Given orders by a mysterious leader, The Team Titans were sent back in time to eliminate Donna Troy before she could give birth to her son, who will turn out to be Lord Chaos. The Teamers' arrival in the present is detailed in New Titans #80.
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A 2005 convention sketch of Nightrider
by NEW TITANS artist, Kerry Gammill. |
When the Team Titans were created for the 1991 New Titans Annual, writer Marv Wolfman said he had no idea that the group would get their own title. Editor Jonathan Peterson suggested that the annual feature Nightwing leading a Titans group in the future. "I didn't just want to have him lead a group fighting Monarch, and I realized it would be more exciting to develop a parallel story," recalled Wolfman. "Rarely can you come up with many characters all at once that work, but in this case, all the characters and their origins jelled quickly. It was very much like when I did the original Teen Titans group. They came one right after another. The Team Titans were all designed by [artist] Tom Grummett, and we realized we had more than an annual story. There was immediate interest at DC, because the characters worked. So, we figured out a way to bring these characters back into our present."
The Team Titans continued to track Donna Troy in New Titans #85-89 [1992], as Terra II made herself known to Changeling - while Mirage made her own plans to win the heart of Nightwing. As Donna's pregnancy accelerated, it led into a final three-way conflict with the Team Titans, New Titans and Lord Chaos. Team Titans #1-3 featured a crossover with New Titans #90-92 and Deathstroke #14-16 called "Total Chaos." The Team Titans first clashed and then teamed up with the Titans to ultimately defeat Lord Chaos.
Team Titans was written by Marv Wolfman and #1-3 featured art by Kevin Maguire. Later, art chores were assumed by Phil Jimenez with issue #7. Wolfman left the title with issue #12.
Wolfman later reflected on his Team Titans tenure in a titanstower.com interview: " Jonathan Peterson asked me to do a one-shot annual featuring these alternate universe characters. I came up with them for a one-shot only and somehow they get put into their own book. Had I known that was going to happen I would have spent a lot more time working on them so they could sustain a book. I never thought they should be their own title as they were a one-note concept. The Team Titans title was not one of my favorites. I did like the individual members, though, and I really liked what I did with their origin stories. It's just the book itself never should have been published."
X-Force-Fitting The Team Titans
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Extant's manipulations of the
Team Titans unfold in ZERO HOUR [1994]. |
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Jeff Jensen and Phil Jimenez co-wrote the book starting with #13 until its cancellation with #24 [1994]. The last few issues of the book featured art by Terry Dodson.
The book seemed to be conceived as an answer to Marvel's popular X-Force, with its teenage warriors and tough drill sergeant mentor/leader (Battalion subbing for X-Force's Cable). The concept never caught on with readers and the book was ultimately canceled. The Team Titans' fate was revealed in Zero Hour, where their timeline collapsed, thus erasing all the characters from existence (except Terra, Mirage and Deathwing).
Jimenez later reflected of his Team Titans tenure on an AOL chat: "I signed on to do a particular kind of self-aware, kitschy project while the higher ups wanted the new X-Force - and everything we had planned got screwed up by Zero Hour - none of which were particularly good for the team, DC Comics, or my career. We had originally intended to explore various things with the Team; Mirage's psycho pregnancy; Killowat's subtle racism, the possibility that Terra was a lesbian earth elemental. Kole was Marv's doing, not mine and we had to explain her away. In our original plan, the Team Titans were from an alternate time line and Terra was that time line's Earth elemental and she was going to be a lesbian."
"Mirage was going to go nuts during her pregnancy, and try to shape change it out of existence and it would be invulnerable to that, and she'd eventually kill herself. Mirage was never a favorite. But I found the drama of her after-rape period ripe with possibilities."
"We were going to explore the Joker's Daughter angle. We were going to find out that the Joker's Daughter was insane - that her memories of the Titans (now non-continuity) were just ravings in her head. She was going to steal the Time Commander's hourglass and reshape Manhattan into the island that she remembered, recreating a 70's world of heroes, villains, and icons that the Titans would find themselves in."
Alternate Futures
The Team Titans seemed full of possibilities - and missed opportunities. Kole returned in the pages of Team Titans only to mysteriously disappear. Phil Jimenez's plans for the book were contrary to DC's vision. The Joker's Daughter appeared in issue #13 - and was never seen again. And then there's the Team Titans leader...
The idea of Monarch as the leader of the Team Titans seemed like a last minute Zero Hour shuffle - and it was. Phil Jimenez revealed as much, "We were told to write that this second Kole, as well as nearly every other character we introduced in Team Titans, was a creation of Extant/Monarch, in order to lead the Titans down the path they would need to be super-powered assassins. So Kole was nothing more than an Extant-created construct."
But who was intended as the original Team Titans leader? It was actually the much-loathed Danny Chase. "That was part of the idea of making Danny Chase tolerable," editor Jonathan Peterson admitted in a 2005 interview with titanstower.com. "We could make him like John Conner from Terminator 2. He goes from whiny kid to leader of the rebellion."
Perhaps the most interesting angle to the Team Titans was editor Jonathan Peterson's original plan, " I thought, if Marvel has X-Men and New Mutants, we should do the same, so Marv said, “Okay, so we’ll have a new Teen Titans,” and then Kevin Maguire suggested we alter it, and call it Team Titans. "
"[...] I wanted to get the Teen Titans back, so I explained my whacked out idea. I really wanted Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Changeling, Raven, Starfire and Cyborg back to what they were originally, so I wanted to do an alternate dimension or timeline, and I turned to Kevin and said “You get to launch an all-new Titans book and design them from the ground up.” Not only that, but this alternate universe would have an alternate young Robin, and alternate young Starfire and all the rest. The plan for Team Titans was a secret one. With the first Team Titans Annual, or at the end of the first 12 issues, I told Kevin he would then be re-launching the Teen Titans with alternate versions of the core-seven members."
"My plan there was to have those members slowly grow in those twelve issues. They would grow or move on or be phased out. That would lead into the first Annual. That Annual would introduce our alternate [universe], younger Teen Titans. The book would change it’s title to Teen Titans and feature the alternate, younger versions of those core-seven Titans. That was the plan."
Short List of Notable Appearances
Team Titans #1-24
Team Titans Annual #1-2
New Titans #79-80, 85-92
New Titans Annual #7
Deathstroke #14-16
Zero Hour #0-4
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