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Phantasm |
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| Alias: Danny Chase, Souls of Azarath |
Titans Member
Joined: New Titans #74 [1991] |
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| Phantasm Quick Bio: Telekinetic teen Danny Chase secretly adopted a new identity as the mysterious Phantasm. During the final battle with the Wildebeests, the Souls of Azarath bonded with Arella and Danny Chase to become a true Phantasm. Cold and aloof, the formless telekinetic entity has aided the Titans when needed. |
Danny Phantasm
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| Danny Chase used his telekinetic powers to pose as Phantasm. |
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Current and former members of the Titans were being hunted and captured by the Wildebeest Society, for unknown reasons. During their attack on the individual members of the New Titans, the Titans' leader, Nightwing, managed to defeat one Wildebeest warrior and take his place. The disguised Nightwing infiltrated the Wildebeest organization as it continued their hunt for Titans to kidnap.
Nightwing and another Wildebeest were assigned to hunt down Danny Chase, who had been ejected from their group several months before. Danny, age fourteen, was highly intelligent and his powers were great, but his personality interfered with the group dynamics of the Titans. He had been sent home to live with his parents in Washington, DC until he matured.
Nightwing and the other Wildebeest found Danny in a shopping mall and began their attack. Danny was blasted back by the Wildebeest. Fearing a further attack might actually kill the youngster, the disguised Nightwing informed the Wildebeest that Danny had actually been killed, while supplying Danny with a small clue the bright teenager understood: that this Wildebeest was, in fact, Nightwing, and that he was to make it look like Danny had indeed died.
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Arella and Danny Chase perish - but merge with the souls of Azarath to be reborn as Phantasm - in NEW TITANS #84 [1992]. |
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Reaching into the shopping mall with his telekinetic powers, Danny appropriated a hockey mask to cover his face, a bolt of fabric, and a robot-voice simulator to disguise his own voice. Using his powers, Danny "animated" these pieces of a costume to become the entity he called Phantasm. At times, Danny would float inside the costume, and at other times he would telekinetically control the pieces from a distance.
Nightwing was later captured and "Phantasm" joined with a team headed by Deathstroke, the Terminator, to find and free the New Titans. Uncertain if any of this team were disguised Wildebeest agents, Danny never revealed his true identity as he fought alongside the others, hoping to free his former partners.
Deathstroke, Nightwing, Troia, Pantha, Phantasm, Arella and Red Star joined forces to track down their captured teammates. Upon locating the captured Titans, the heroes were shocked to learn the identity of the leader of the Wildebeests was their own teammate, Jericho.
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| Phantasm is reborn in NEW TITANS #84 [1992]. |
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It seems the tainted souls of Azarath regained their strength and merged with Jericho shortly after Trigon's second defeat. The souls now needed powerful vessels for each of them to survive. Now possessed by this force, Jericho sought to acquire superhuman beings as vessels for the souls of Azarath. He used the Wildebeest Society as a front to kidnap the Titans to house the tainted souls of Azarath. During the soul transfer process, Jericho resurfaced briefly, begging his father to kill him; He was beyond help and killing him might destroy the twisted souls of Azarath. To spare his son any more pain and save the remaining Titans, Slade Wilson was forced to drive a sword through Jericho, seemingly killing him.
A battle in the remains of Azarath concluded with the destruction of the Wildebeest society. But the Azarathians were still undefeated. In a final effort to end this threat forever, Raven, former Phantasm Danny Chase, and Raven's mother, Arella, attacked the Azarathian energy. Their own energies combined with the force from Azarath drove away the evil of Trigon's lingering influence.
The New Phantasm
In an explosion that saw the dissipation of one energy wave, the other energies somehow combined. This new force inhabited the garb once worn by Danny Chase and took on the identity of the new Phantasm. Danny and Arella died that day; Their essences merged with the cleansed souls of Azarath to create a new entity known as Phantasm.
Phantasm remained with the Titans, appearing when needed and aiding them in times of need. Phantasm has aided the team in a mystical/supernatural capacity, as well as an emotional one. In particular, Phantasm helped the Team Titans ease into their roles as time-tossed adventurers trapped in the past.
Soon after, an evil version of Raven emerged, intent on planting the seeds of Trigon's unborn children into new vessels. Her first act was to destroy Phantasm, because the entity posed a threat to her.
Evil Raven continued her reign of terror; She planted ‘Trigon seeds' in Changeling, Supergirl, Magenta, Deathwing, and Thunder and Lightning. Eventually, Raven and her demon allies came into conflict with the Titans. Phantasm was not so easily destroyed, and reformed himself on the wasteland that was once Azarath. He summoned new Titans allies and rallied the team into battle. Phantasm successfully contained Raven's evil essence and disappeared.
It is unknown if Phantasm survived this last battle - but the ghost-like entity has been known to survive worse encounters.
Beware the Phantasm?
When untrained Teen Titan member Kid Devil found himself trapped in New Azarath, Zachary Zatara used his mystic might to locate his lost Titan teammate. The two heroes eventually found their way home, but mentioned they were "almost eaten by the Phantasm." Who - or what - this new, deadly Phantasm is remains to be seen.
Phantasm's full powers are, not fully known. He is a telekinetic as well as an empath, but little else has been ascertained. Because Phantasm is now a combined entity of more than one thousand souls, he has a presence that is virtually beyond understanding.
Sources for this entry: DC Who's Who Binder Series supplemented by titanstower.com
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New Titans #73 [1991]: Deathstroke and Dayton locate Arella, whose ranch in Wyoming has been devastated by Wildebeest. A mysterious cat-creature [Pantha] lurks in the shadows, spying on Wildebeest agents; Danny Chase is seemingly killed by Wildebeest agents, and Phantasm emerges. First appearances of Phantasm & Pantha.
New Titans #74 [1991]: Nightwing is revealed to be working undercover as a Wildebeest agent. The Wildebeests discover experiment X-24 [Pantha] has escaped. Deathstroke, Dayton, Pantha, Phantasm and the Wildebeests scuffle. Phantasm invites Pantha to join the hunt against the Wildebeests. First full appearance of Pantha.
New Titans #82 [1991]: "The Jericho Gambit" part one. Jericho begins the transference procedure. Nightwing meets the original Wildebeest leader in a holding cell. In the cell, the Wildebeest tells Nightwing about how he created the Wildebeest, and how Joe Wilson appeared and immediately took over. Troia, Deathstroke, Red Star, Dayton, Pantha, Phantasm and Arella track down the Wildebeest headquarters and discover it in the Dimension Azarath.
New Titans #83 [1992]: "The Jericho Gambit" part two. Troia, Deathstroke, Red Star, Dayton, Pantha, Phantasm and Arella attack the Wildebeest headquarters and locate their team mates as the transference process begins. Phantasm is downed and a human hand emerges from the cloak. Jericho reveals that he is/are the Souls of Azarath, looking for mortal forms to host the Trigon-tainted souls. Jericho pleads with his father to end the madness, forcing Deathstroke to drive a sword through his son, killing him.
New Titans #84 [1992]: "The Jericho Gambit" part three. Danny Chase is revealed as Phantasm, having used a sheet, hockey mask and voice box to masquerade as the mysterious Phantasm. Danny and Arella try and contain a demonic, red-skinned Raven. Arella, channeling the spirit Azar, joins with Danny and vanquishes Raven. Their own energies combined with the force from Azarath drive away the evil of Trigon's lingering influence. This new force inhabits the garb once worn by Danny Chase and takes on the identity of the new Phantasm. The remaining Titans defeat the remains of the Wildebeest Society and escape the collapsing Dimension Azarath. Final part of the Titans Hunt storyline. Death of Jericho. Danny Chase and Arella die, merge with souls of Azarath and become Phantasm. Raven seemingly dies.
New Titans #93 [1993]: Raven seemingly destroys Phantasm in Azarath.
New Titans #97 [1993]: Raven gloats over Phantasm's empty sheet and mask after seemingly destroying him.
New Titans #101 [1993]: Phantasm reappears with no explanation, having survived Raven's attack.
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). Kilowatt finds the counterparts to the aunt and uncle that raised him – but discovered they were African American; It seemed unlikely he existed in this timeline at all. Dagon prevents his younger self from experiencing the accident he did as a child. Battalion tracks down his future-wife, Essie, only to find she is engaged to another man. Phantasm eases Terra's and Mirage's pains. Both Titans teams unite for a holiday gathering.
New Titans #118-121 [1995]: Following the Titans' battle with Psimon, Raven, now reborn as an avatar of Trigon, gathers together a new Brotherhood of Evil for a final showdown with her former teammates. Meanwhile, Damage, Impulse and Terra face an even greater threat - New York City! And Damage takes a leave of absence from the team. Meanwhile, Raven is intent on planting the seeds of Trigon's unborn children into new vessels. She plants ‘Trigon seeds' in Supergirl, Changeling, Magenta, Deathwing, and Thunder and Lightning. Eventually, Raven and her demon allies come into conflict with the Titans. With the help of Phantasm (who reforms himself, sensing he is needed), the Titans - with the help of Minion - finally destroy this evil incarnation of Raven (or so they think). Mirage seemingly has a miscarriage in issue #121.
Teen Titans (third series) #39 [2006]: Kid Devil mentions he was lost in New Azarath for two weeks during the Titans "missing year". He was rescued with the help of Zatara, although the two teens were almost eaten by the Phantasm. This event is only related in dialogue. The new Phantasm remains to be seen!
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Prelude
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| NEW TITANS after Titans Hunt |
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New Titans took a radical change in direction with the controversial "Titans Hunt" storyline with issue #71. The Titans Hunt story itself ran from New Titans #71-84.
New editor Jonathan Peterson felt the book had grown to complacent. From the letter column of #71: "You see, what we all agreed on was the fact that the Titans as a group had become too settled in. Things were far too quiet. So we gleefully decided that it was time to, well how can I say it, "shake things up." And I mean A LOT. Over the course of the next few months things are not going to be what you expect. I can guarantee it. Over the course of the next few months the Titans Universe will change in ways you never thought we'd dare to change it. You'll see an entire new evolution in the characters themselves and in the debut of a new team. That's right--I said a new team. It's been ten years since the Titans debuted and to celebrate that fact we thought it was time to introduce some all-new team members. Where does that leave us? Well, in the months ahead some Titans will stay...some will go...some will die...some will get marr--oopsl Don't want to spoil all the surprises."
Jonathan Peterson later revealed more about Titans Hunt in an interview with titanstower.com: "Marv realized that while Titans had once been a lynch pin of DC...I mean, it rivaled the X-Men at one point in sales and popularity...it was now nowhere near that level. So even Marv knew changes had to be made. And to be honest, that's how I presented it to him. I literally just asked him, "Yeah, but are you REALLY having fun writing the book anymore?" And Marv replied, "No, not really. After all these years, I'm not sure I have many stories left in me to tell. I mean, what's left?" At that point I pulled out my notes and said, "Look, issue 71 (if I have the number right) is going to be the tenth anniversary issue. After 10 years there's more than enough history for us to screw with...to just jump in the pool and have fun with. So let's just stir the pot. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"
The Titans Hunt generated excitement and interest, but editor Peterson left the book before the ambitious three-phase storyline was finished. Peterson was the driving force behind these changes, and the book was left in a state of disarray [New Titans #92 was his last]. The "Titans Hunt" had written out some long-time members and introduced new members Pantha, Baby Wildebeest, Red Star and Phantasm. The storyline also introduced the time-tossed Team Titans (also featuring a new Terra) in New Titans #79. After the smoke had cleared, the book was directionless and flooded with new characters.
The Hunt Itself
During the Titans Hunt, Golden Eagle is slain, Cyborg is nearly destroyed, Titans Tower is demolished, and Phantasm is revealed to be Danny Chase, who is himself slain along with Raven's mother Arella as the Titans defeat the Wildebeests. Raven is transformed utterly and disappears. Also, in order to defeat the society, Deathstroke was forced to slay his own son, Jericho.
One of the problems the Titans have had for many years was playing to the status quo." says Wolfman, "We weren't doing anything. I was bored with it. And so were the readers-we just weren't pushing." New editor Jonathan Peterson was instrumental in pushing for changes. When Peterson took over the book, Wolfman says artist Tom Grummett, inker Al Vey and outgoing editor Mike Carlin got together for three days to come up with the current storyline that has them all excited again.
"I was really thrilled," says Wolfman. 'Occasionally, I like my characters so much that I never want them to go through any major problems, and of course, that's what makes the stories interesting. Jonathan kept at us, and we kept coming up with new characters and a new direction. We couldn't believe how well the new stuff tied in to everything we had been doing for 11 years on Titans.
"The status quo was becoming stale, not the characters. We were following the same type of stories that we had been doing. Mike Carlin and I had been talking about changes. too, but we never got to work on it to the degree we wanted. Jonathan was Mike's assistant, so he knew of all this and was gung-ho to make the changes.
"We all sat down and came up with the ideas together. We were able to bring in things from the first issue and have them tie in precisely with what we wanted to do, so nothing came out of left field. Everything actually functions within things that have happened before, yet it's actually all brand-new. That's what makes it really exciting for us. We could have come up with anything, but this actually ties into continuity, and we very clearly set it up years ago!"
One of the best examples is Jericho, who betrayed his fellow Titans when he became the leader of the Wildebeest Society "The stuff with Jericho very specifically ties into the first five issues of the second version of the Titans, when he tries to cure Raven after she has been taken over by Trigon. Jericho tried to enter her and was horribly repelled. The ending of that particular story made the whole changeover into what we currently have. Also, the very first real storyline in Titans in years ago was a Raven storyline - why Raven assembled the whole team. So in a way. it goes right back to their origins." Although Wolfman says he obviously didn't plan the current events a decade ago, he was surprised at how many plot seeds were planted.
"We were able to pick up on threads we had left," he says. "When a writer is in this mode with continuity stories, he leaves things behind specifically unsettled, even if he doesn't know it. I've had too many situations in the past where I've been able to tap into things and go. 'Why did I leave this here?' and it was obviously an unconscious thing to be picked up on later.
"This stuff was clearly set up. Jericho's personality had drastically ~ changed over the last few years anyway. Granted, that wasn't tied in with what we were doing, but it certainly leaves it open to be interpreted as retro-continuity; you could explain some of it because of what we're doing now. I (lent think I've ever been in a series of meetings where so much was accomplished that it shocked us. We knew where we wanted to go, we knew we wanted to shake things up."
The New Team
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PHANTASM
From DC Cosmic Teams Card Set, 1993 |
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Along with the deaths, Wolfman has introduced new team members Phantasm and Pantha in the last storyline. 'When the dust has settled, there will he a slightly different group of Titans." I don't want to pinpoint the competition, but unlike other books, those characters are not going to come back, with the status quo maintained and the exact same group they began with. Some of these characters are gone for good because they're dead! We've been very careful in The New Titans-when we say they're dead, they're dead!"
There still won't be a solid Titans membership roster. Instead, the team will vary.
"That's one thing I like about the current set-up," says Wolfman. "Not all of the characters are going to be there. Cyborg is currently brain-dead. How long that will last hasn't been worked out. There's going to be a two-part Cyborg story appearing in DC Showcase at some point that puts the final kibosh on his easily getting back his brains. We don't have that resolution timed out-it's a long-range story, but right now, he's little more than a robot. Troia will be out of the group. Raven and a couple of the others are pretty much out. The only ones we know for sure are Nightwing, Starfire, Changeling, Phantasm and Pantha - but I may he wrong at this moment. Those are the characters who are technically supposed to stay.
"[Readers] first reaction was, 'How dare you do this? How dare you get rid of the characters that we've grown to love for 11 years?' Slowly, everybody saw that this was a major change, and they started to become interested in the book. Now, the reader reaction is 98 percent positive. incredibly so. People don't know where we're going, and they want to read it. We've done exactly what we wanted to do, and now we have to maintain that by continually shaking up the status quo."
New Faces
Jonathan Peterson: "I thought we could always "bring people back" one way or another...but first I thought we should try the whole "new blood" approach. I mean, that only made sense to me. Any way you look at it, in a revamp, you've ALREADY seen the other character. So would you rather see an upteenth revamp...or something new? Me...I vote for new."
The Titans were joined by new members: the violent Pantha, former ally Red Star, the mysteriously re-formed Phantasm (now an amalgam of Danny Chase, Arella and the souls of Azarath), and Baby Wildebeest (a leftover genetic experiment from the Wildebeest Society).
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Phases of Phantasm
Danny Chase as a Titan
Titans membership:
New Titans #40-55
"Emotionally, he's a kid, a status, which is needed in a group where already three members have pushed past that fabled 20-year mark. Danny brings the TEEN back into the Teen Titans, and that won't hurt."
- Marv Wolfman
That was Marv Wolfman's concept for the newest Titan, introduced in New Teen Titans (second series) Annual #3. New Teen Titans (second series) #40 featured the first issue with Danny Chase as a Titan. Danny was a stubborn young hothead who has been trained as an espionage agent. He is good at what he does, but he does not work well with a group. During his time as a Titan, Danny and Changeling had a mutually insulting rapport, not at all like Gar's bantering with Cyborg. Readers didn't warm up to Danny; They found him to be annoying and abrasive.
Despite his sometimes cool facade of a professional agent, Danny has flipped out when injured [New Teen Titans (second series) #46]. That was the first sign he was to be phased out of the group.
Originally, a Titans Graphic Novel was planned. The story would have been 96 pages long, scripted by Marv Wolfman, co-plotted by Wolfman and Pérez, penciled and inked by Pérez. "We're tremendously excited about this Graphic Novel. This will be my first one, and it is really a big one. We're going to answer the question of exactly 'Who Is Wonder Girl?' It will be clear that the New Teen Titans #38 story of 'Who Is Donna Troy?' still happened, but all references to Wonder Woman have been excised." So who rescued Donna from the burning building? Where did she come up with the name and costume of Wonder Girl? And, where did she get her powers?"
"Pérez reveals that all of the original Teen Titans will be included, with new titan Danny Chase leaving a third of the way through the book to attend school. "
This Graphic Novel became New Titans #50-55 ["Who Is Troia?"]. By that time, Jason Todd's Robin had been killed by the Joker; rather than simply ship him off to school, Wolfman and Pérez opted for a more dramatic approach. In New Titans #55, after the death of Jason Todd, Nightwing decided that it would be best if young Danny left the group. Danny, of course, did not take the news well and stormed out in a huff.
At the same time, a Titans Graphic Novel was being planned called GAMES. George drew over 80 pages of the never-printed graphic novel; Danny Chase appeared in it as a punk high school kid.
Danny next appeared in New Titans #68-69, working on his own infiltrating the Royal Flush Gang. That was his last appearance before the Titans Hunt.
Danny Chase as Phantasm
Titans ally:
New Titans #73-84
"Danny was supposed to merge with Phantasm so he didn't die. That was the plan. He continued to live in another form."
- Marv Wolfman
In New Titans #73, Danny Chase is seemingly killed by Wildebeest agents, and Phantasm emerges. Phantasm remained a mysterious presence in the group, and was not revealed to be Danny Chase until New Titans #83-84.
Nightwing was later captured and "Phantasm" joined with a team headed by Deathstroke, the Terminator, to find and free the New Titans. Uncertain if any of this team were disguised Wildebeest agents, Danny never revealed his true identity as he fought alongside the others, hoping to free his former partners.
In New Titans #83, Troia, Deathstroke, Red Star, Dayton, Pantha, Phantasm and Arella attack the Wildebeest headquarters and locate their team mates as the transference process begins. Phantasm is downed and a human hand emerges from the cloak. In New Titans #84, Danny Chase is revealed as Phantasm, having used a sheet, hockey mask and voice box to masquerade as the mysterious Phantasm. Danny and Arella try and contain a demonic, red-skinned Raven. Arella, channeling the spirit Azar, joins with Danny and vanquishes Raven. Their own energies combined with the force from Azarath drove away the evil of Trigon's lingering influence. This new force inhabited the garb once worn by Danny Chase and took on the identity of the new Phantasm.
The Phantasm
Titans Membership:
New Titans #84-114, 120-121 [ally]
"Phantasm will still be there because, as the collective soul of Azarath, he knows Raven is still at large. "
Phantasm remained with the Titans, appearing when needed and aiding them in times of need. Phantasm has aided the team in a mystical/supernatural capacity, as well as an emotional one. In particular, Phantasm helped the Team Titans ease into their roles as time-tossed adventurers trapped in the past [Team Titans #6].
In New Titans #93, Approached from behind by an unseen person cloaked in gray [actually Evil Raven], the startled Phantasm is informed that Trigon's evil can never die, and is struck down with an energy bolt. This is the first of a series of times where Phantasm is seemingly destroyed, only to reform.
Phantasm didn't do much other than skulk about in his appearances following. He was part of the 'old wave' of members that left the group in New Titans #114.
In New Titans #120, Phantasm re-forms itself in a ruined, desolate, Azarath, apparently recovering from Evil Raven's attack that scattered his life energies to the winds way back in issue New Titans# 93. Phantasm asserts to us that he is needed and thus his slumber is over. This contradicts the fact that Phantasm was an active member of the group from New Titans #94-114.
Evil Raven continued her reign of terror; She planted ‘Trigon seeds' in Changeling, Supergirl, Magenta, Deathwing, and Thunder and Lightning. Eventually, Raven and her demon allies came into conflict with the Titans. With the help of Phantasm, the Titans finally destroyed this evil incarnation of Raven. In the ensuing battle, Phantasm contained Raven's evil essence and disappeared. Phantasm has not been seen since his attempt to contain the evil Raven. It is unknown if Phantasm has the ability to reform following that event. It all happened in New Titans #118-121.
In Teen Titans (third series) #39 [2006], Kid Devil mentions he was lost in New Azarath for two weeks during the Titans "missing year". He was rescued with the help of Zatara, although the two teens were almost eaten by the Phantasm. This event is only related in dialogue. The "New Phantasm" remains to be seen!
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Creating Phantasm
Titans Editor Jonathan Peterson on Phantasm [from The Titans Companion, 2005]
TTC: Then there was Phantasm.
JP: With Phantasm, I remember we experimented with a few different things. In terms of breaking up the group, we wanted to try new things, so Pantha was the sarcastic and bitter one, the anti-Titan. Phantasm gave us this ethereal and ghostly feel. Raven started as that, but then she changed.
TTC: She started as this dark daughter of a demon, but she now wore white and was dealing with emotions.
JP: Yep. I wanted a Titan to represent the Dr. Strange or Dr. Fate type of genre. We knew we wanted someone like that. I wanted a character to represent something mystical.
TTC: Phantasm started as Danny Chase...
JP: Yeah. The idea there was to kill two birds with one stone. I think the original idea behind Danny Chase was this sort of Jonny Quest character, but we decided he either has to die or become cool.
TTC: It also seemed Phantasm was Marv’s sneaky way of getting people to think Danny Chase was cool, without them realizing it was Danny behind the sheet.
JP: That was part of the idea. He had to be tolerable or just get killed off. We sort of did both, and that was also part of the master plan. We knew Raven was going to return as a villain, that she would go dark. We planned on doing that with her for about a year, or a year and a half. Rather than the pseudo-redemption thing yet again, we wanted to make her a core villain. We knew when we killed her off in “Titans Hunt” that she would return at Nightwing and Starfire’s wedding.
The above excerpt is from The Titans Companion by Twomorrows Publishing.
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the New Teen Titans, The Titans Companion is a comprehensive look at the history of the ultimate teen team - over 200 pages in all! From their early days in the 1960s as a team of teen sidekicks through their best-selling days in the 1980s and beyond, this book explores the history of the team through the eyes of its creators! Interviews with Marv Wolfman, George Pérez, Nick Cardy, Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and others reveal the evolution of the series over the years. While artwork by Cardy, Pérez, Adams, Garcia-Lopez, and many more illustrates each era of Titans history! To order the book, click here .
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