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Raven (comics)
Encyclopedia
Raven is a fictional superhero
ine who appears in comic book
s published by DC Comics
. The character first appeared in a special insert
in DC Comics Presents
#26 (October 1980), and was created by writer Marv Wolfman
and artist George Pérez
. Raven is an empath who can teleport
and control her "soul-self
," which can fight physically, as well as act as Raven's eyes and ears away from her body. Raven's chronology is typically separated into three lives. Her first life, 18 years, was spent in the Temple Azarath
and creating The New Teen Titans. Her second life began once she started wearing the garb of White Raven, and lasted under two years. Her third life is her current form. Unlike the transition between her first and second lives, with her third life came a new, younger body.
and the interdimensional demon
Trigon
. She grew up in an alternate dimension called Azarath
, with pacifistic
inhabitants whose spiritual leader was the mystic Azar. In her homeland, she was taught to "control her emotions" by Azar, in order to suppress her inherited demonic powers. Essentially, it was feared that if Raven was allowed to feel any strong emotion, she could become a demon like her father.
During this time, Raven rarely saw her mother and grew detached from her. Upon Azar's death, Arella began the task of raising and teaching Raven. Around this same time, Raven's demonic heritage was revealed, as she met her father face to face for the first time. Soon after her 16th birthday, Raven learned that Trigon planned to come to her dimension; and she vowed to stop him.
Raven initially approached the Justice League
, but they refused her on the advice of Zatanna
, who sensed her demonic parentage. In desperation, she reformed the Titans as the New Teen Titans to fight her father. The team consisted of Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash
, Starfire
, Cyborg
, and Beast Boy
. Raven and her new friends later came to think of one another as family. In this incarnation, Raven was considered to have a gloomy disposition, often revealed through sarcasm and wry remarks.
Raven has occasionally succumbed to her emotions, leading to problems with her fellow teammates. Upon his recruitment into the team, Kid Flash agreed to be a member after Raven used her powers to coerce him into loving her. During another meeting with the Justice League, Zatanna revealed this information, which led the other Titans to mistrust Raven. Ultimately, it was revealed that she manipulated Kid Flash's emotions and removed his knowledge of the encounter in order to save his life.
This separation did not last long as Trigon soon kidnapped Raven to his home dimension. The team defeated Trigon and sealed him in an interdimensional prison with the help of Arella, who stayed at the interdimensional door as Trigon's Guardian. However, Raven continued to fight her father's influence as he was not completely destroyed. For a period of time, Raven lost control several times in high-stress situations, but managed to regain control before Trigon could assert himself.
Popular storylines such as "The Judas Contract" took place during this period. Eventually, however, Trigon escaped his prison, came to Earth, and took control of Raven, destroying Azarath in the process. The Titans came together and were forced to kill Raven, thereby allowing the souls of Azarath to possess her and, guided by the spirit of Azar, who was acting through the body of the Titans' ally Lilith
, use her as a channel to kill Trigon. After this battle, Raven rose again from the ashes, purged of Trigon's evil, and vanished.
, a character who has knowledge of all beings in all parallel dimensions that contain Earth. This suggests that during this period, Raven transcended Earth into a non-parallel dimension. Raven was briefly mentioned in one panel (issue #2, page 22), suggested as an alternative to Psycho-Pirate
as an empath in the Monitor's
plans. She was also mentioned as an alternative for the Anti-Monitor
in issue #5, page 2.
, captured Raven to control Nightwing
(the former Robin) as part of Blood's plans of resurrection. The Titans rescued them both and prevented Brother Blood from returning. Raven then donned a white cloak to represent freedom from her father's influence.
Some time later, after being free to feel, Raven found she was able to not only sense, but control others' emotions. She learned to handle this power only after unintentionally making Nightwing believe that he loved her for a brief time, when she thought that she was in love with him. It was during this incident that Starfire and Raven became close friends (issue #39, page 8). Raven also fostered a relationship with technopath Eric Forrester, who was using the life force of women he seduced to regain some of his lost humanity, a result of interfacing with computers. Forrester knew that Raven's soul-self could help him to permanently retain his humanity. This attempt was cut short by the intervention of Joseph Wilson (Jericho
), who helped Raven overcome her love for Forrester by destroying him and saving herself.
Raven's life went on without change until she was kidnapped by the Wildebeest Society during the "Titans Hunt" storyline. The Wildebeest, led by the Trigon-possessed souls of Azarath, were going to use several Titans to bring about the return of Trigon. During a massive battle in the remains of Azarath, Raven was possessed by the evil souls and once again became the evil doppelgänger
of her father. Arella, along with Danny Chase
, used the power of Azar's soul to cleanse Raven; however, through the battle, her body was destroyed, and Arella and Danny joined the cleansed souls of Azarath to become Phantasm
.
with a resemblance to Raven. Raven appeared possessed by her evil conscience and attempted to implant Trigon's seed into new bodies. She interrupted Nightwing and Starfire's wedding, and implanted a seed of Trigon into Starfire. Instead of corrupting her, she actually implanted the soul of the good Raven. This caused Starfire to leave Earth in order to escape from the evil Raven, who implanted seeds into several other superheroes as well. The Titans were able to defeat her only because of the help they received from Phantasm. Raven later returned, still evil, in order to destroy the good version of herself implanted in Starfire.
. The team interrupted the wedding, and Raven forced the cult to escape. She then joined the Teen Titans and enrolled at a high school as "Rachel Roth" in honor of her mother's birth name.
After her rebirth, Raven began developing romantic feelings for her teammate, Garfield Logan (a.k.a. Beast Boy), and the two recently became romantically attached.
Due to the effects of the Spectre
's destruction of magic during the "Day of Vengeance
" storyline, Raven's magical powers weaken and slip out of her control. She continues to fight, helping the Titans both in evacuating the shattered city of Blüdhaven
and with battling Superboy-Prime
.
During the missing year
, Raven assists Steel
in launching an attack on Lexcorp when Natasha Irons
was captured by Lex Luthor
. The Titans (consisting of Beast Boy, Raven, Young Frankenstein
, Hawk and Dove
, Zachary Zatara
, and Terra
) fight Black Adam
in Greece
and the Himalayas
. Raven attempts to stop Black Adam, but he shatters her soul-self and causes her to experience psychic backlash from the deaths of Young Frankenstein and Terra.
Raven quits the team after she and Beast Boy end their relationship. She tells the unconscious Cyborg that Beast Boy was stressed by being team leader, and she even compares him with Nightwing. Letting the others think she is leaving because of Gar, Raven actually leaves because she has uncovered a secret of one of the other Titans.
After teleporting for an entire night, Raven runs from unseen pursuers, with a book of unclear significance. Raven has a diskette containing Jericho's soul. She performs a cleansing ritual over his soul and transfers it into a new body before returning to the team as a full member.
Raven is later approached by Robin and Wonder Girl, in the hopes that she could resurrect Superboy
like she did Jericho. Unfortunately, Raven declares that impossible because Superboy's soul had moved on to the afterlife, while Jericho's soul was kept on a computer disk. Without warning, the Titans are captured by the villainous Titans East
and transported to the original Titans Island in New York
, where Raven is placed in the "care" of Enigma
and Duela Dent
, who took to torturing her psychologically. Raven manages her escape by offering Duela membership into the true Titans group. After knocking Enigma and Risk
unconscious, Raven, Duela, and Cyborg get reinforcements in the form of Nightwing, Troia
, Beast Boy, and Bart Allen
. After beating the Titans East, she reveals hints that she still loves Gar, but he refuses to dwell on the matter, leaving their relationship uncertain.
Following the death of Bart Allen, Raven, along with the other adult Titans, decides to leave the team. Raven decides to pursue her chance at attending high school, having never had the opportunity before.
Raven stars in a five-issue miniseries written by Marv Wolfman, with art by Damion Scott
. It takes place during the missing year, following Raven's attempts at living as a normal teenage girl and attending high school. Unfortunately, she gets inadvertently drawn into a mystical fight for the lives of her classmates. In the Wizard
#177 magazine, Wolfman briefly described the series, saying, "She needs to be on her own and in charge of herself for the first time in her life. This is more than just a 'tale of Raven'; it sets up her new life."
, Starfire, Flash
, and Nightwing at New York's Titans Island, where Cyborg and his Teen Titans team were attacked by Deathstroke
and the villainous Titans East. These events lead to the creation of the newest team of Titans, which consists of the original New Teen Titans.
In the following issue, Raven discovers that Trigon had more than one child, and that a trio of children devoted to her father are behind the attacks. She is affected along with many of the other Titans by these three beings, who prey on the strongest emotions present in the group at the time (such as Nightwing and Starfire giving in to long suppressed longing for one another; and Flash and Donna Troy's mild envy taken to extremes in a usually calm social interaction). For Raven and Beast Boy, the emotion used against them is their subdued rage and insecurity toward themselves and each other. Raven is attacked at one point by an incensed Gar, but their fight is broken up by the remaining Titans when they begin to gradually recover from the attack. Raven's three half-brothers then use her and Beast Boy as keys to open a portal to Trigon's realm. Raven uses her own power to influence greed in others to make her half-brothers steal what little power Trigon had left. The portal is closed and Trigon's sons, believing they have gained great power, leave the scene.
While Raven and Beast Boy go out together on a "not-a-date," she informs him that, since meeting her half-brothers, she has felt herself being tempted by her father's evil power and fears she will once again turn evil. Although Beast Boy rejects the idea, Raven's fear is made real as her half-brothers later return and provoke her demonic side, causing her to leave the Titans and join them. However, the team was able to track them down and convince Raven to join the side of good once more with the help of a mystical artifact Raven gave Donna Troy should such a situation ever arise. She later provided a number of other artifacts, all capable of killing her, to the Titans as terms for her staying with the team. However, the experience plays a hand in Raven ultimately electing not to pursue a renewed relationship with Beast Boy.
Raven aided the Titans in capturing Match
, who went on a rampage with Jericho trapped inside of him. Through her powers, she discovered that Jericho was actually in control of Match, not the other way around. Before she could warn the other Titans, Jericho used a device to temporarily knock out the lights. When the back-up generator kicked in, Jericho was gone, and Nightwing deduces he must have possessed one of the Titans in the confusion.
When Raven is knocked unconscious later, Beast Boy finds her and takes her in, confessing he still loved her no matter what, and always would.
, Raven left the team and was promptly attacked by a demonic being calling itself Wyld. Battered and dazed, Raven arrived at Titans Tower
, where she was rescued by the newest roster of Teen Titans. While she was recovering, Beast Boy stated that he was still in love with her and would remain so, despite whatever difficulties were involved.
Raven decided to stay with the Teen Titans rather than return to the Titans, now acting as a mentor to the younger members. During a mission to Dakota to rescue the kidnapped Static, Raven was accidentally knocked into a coma by Miss Martian
, who had attempted to fire a psychic blast at villain named Holocaust
. When the Teen Titans attempted to return home, Raven was kidnapped and taken to another dimension by Wyld, who had disguised himself as one of Holocaust's scientists. While in Wyld's dimension, Raven was confronted by a gray-skinned teenager who claimed to be her son.
The teenager was discovered to be the human form of the Wyld who revealed that Raven was the one who created him. When Raven was traveling dimensions looking for her father, her soul self caused all of the animals of the last dimension she visited to merge into one being: The Wyld. The Wyld also revealed that should he kill Raven during the arriving eclipse on his world, he would gain all her powers. Despite the arrival of the eclipse and overpowering most of the Titans, The Wyld is eventually destroyed by Static (who loses his powers as a result)
Following this, Raven has remained with the Titans. Recently, she has become unnerved by the positive aura and feedback she receives from Solstice when reading her emotions. In the 100th and final issue of this incarnation of the Teen Titans, Raven admits that she has been fleeing from the darkness within for too long now, and vows to find balance between both the dark and light. She solidifies this claim by confirming her feelings for Beast Boy
, whom with she finds the most reason to experience a life beyond her dark upbringing. Beast Boy reminds her that taking good with the bad is part of being human, and they cement their love with a passionate kiss. This is the final scene of them before the narrative leaves the mainstream universe, and to the new DC universe created by the crossover event, Flashpoint.
Raven has the psionic
ability of empathy
, enabling her to feel the feelings of others. She can use her empathy to steal emotions from others, rendering them emotionally "numb". She is also able to force outside emotions into other people, consciously or otherwise. She has used this ability many times, first notably on Wally West, in order to save his life. Later, after being freed from her father's powers and starting her second life, she had a short-lived romance with Nightwing
and unintentionally used her power to make him believe that he did love her, but it ended when Starfire
, who became her close friend, convinced her that she wasn't really in love with Dick Grayson as she thought. Additionally, Raven seems to be able to absorb another person's knowledge with a touch, such as the language spoken by that person. Shortly after the character was introduced, she was shown to have the power and ability to project mental illusions into someone's memory (see Ravager in The New Teen Titans #4). She has also used this on the villainess Phobia
, but this power and ability is usually forgotten.
Raven can absorb the pain of injured people to ease their suffering, and induce rapid healing. There is some ambiguity as to what happens to the pains Raven takes in after she has healed another person. In some sources (New Titans #50) it is stated that Raven feels these pains for the rest of her life and merely accepts them. Opposing sources (Who's Who Vol. 1) state that once Raven takes others' pains into her body, they are then expunged. She has the ability to heal herself and others, as she did when defying Trigon's curse against a young girl.
Raven can manifest her "Soul-Self" through a form of astral projection
. It normally takes the form of either her human shape or a giant raven. Through the use of her soul-self, Raven can project her consciousness into the mind, for therapeutic purposes (to aid in her own meditation, or to help calm an agitated ally), or for offensive attacks, rendering her enemies unconscious (yet otherwise unharmed) or being destructive in other variations. It also serves as a way to travel into other dimensions. In many instances, her soul-self has also functioned as a "shield," although it seems to absorb attackers and projectiles rather than repel them. In The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #17 (1982), she used this ability a few times to absorb the objects that Frances Kane
had uncontrollably drawn towards herself. These objects included all manner of household appliances, eventually progressing to larger objects such as road signs and steel bars. However, Raven admitted during the issue that she could not sustain her soul-self long under such conditions. Her soul-self also 'regurgitated' the objects after the danger.
Using her soul-self, she can convert her physical body into her 'soul-self' and carry/teleport
(or rather, use portals to move between dimensions) herself and others over vast distances.
Raven has also displayed the ability to manipulate and or generate shadows and darkness. This ability comes in different variations, from having destructive capabilities to causing pain, tension, and fear-based illusions to whomever or whatever is caught in its range. This power and ability was displayed when Raven traveled to Conner Kent's farm (Teen Titans #26, 2003) in Metropolis
and expels a large aura of darkness from her cloak to Kent in which he began to express severe pain.
In The New Teen Titans foundation storyline, Raven explained she was able to predict Trigon's invasion of the Earth-2 dimension. She was unable to control or consciously activate it, but happens occasionally. It is unknown whether she still possesses this ability in her current body.
During the Our Worlds at War
storyline, Raven was instrumental in helping the heroes defeat their enemies by channeling the combined spiritual strength and faith of the Amazons to restoring a severely wounded and weakened Darkseid
to his full strength, a feat that amazed even Darkseid.
In a number of instances, Raven has also displayed sorcerous abilities. In New Titans #65, the last issue of the Titan Plague arc, an infected Raven forces unconsciousness upon a then-neophyte Tim Drake
with a touch of her finger, and was able to slam Nightwing aside and suspend him upside-down with imperious gestures. In The New Teen Titans Annual #4 (1988), a villain called Muse forced the Titans into individual murderous nightmares. In her dream, Raven retaliated by flying out of his reach and then releasing energies from "within the folds of her cape" that caused him to be consumed by fire. These abilities could be dismissed as being only part of her nightmare, except that none of the other Titans displayed abilities besides their normal powers in their nightmares. In the Family Lost storyline of current Teen Titans continuity (Teen Titans vol. 3 #8-12), shortly after being resurrected by Brother Blood (Sebastian), a captive Raven tries to summon the Titans through ominous signs, such as possessing several psychics and Beast Boy with her soul-self, by turning a river into blood, animating the skeletal remains of her demon father Trigon, and drawing swarms of migratory birds to her location.
Like her brothers, Raven can induce and amplify one of the seven deadly sins
(in her case, pride) in any living being, however doing so will cause her to suffer spells of nausea
and vomiting
for several days afterward.
Raven has been depicted as an adept hand-to-hand combatant and expertly combines her fighting skills with her teleportation ability. This was revealed in Titans #18 (December 2009). The only other time she displayed any fighting prowess was while she was under the influence of Brother Blood, where she engaged then-Wonder Girl Donna Troy and boasted that, with Blood's gifts, they were easily equals. Why Raven rarely uses her fighting skills or where she truly acquired them have yet to be explained.
event, Raven is a member of the Secret Seven
. She has been corrupted by her father Trigon
.
.Flashpoint: Secret Seven #3
A much younger version of Raven appears in the Teen Titans
animated series (2003–2006), where she was one of the program's breakout character
s. Her costume is relatively the same as her comic counterpart, but her skirt is replaced with a leotard
to avoid several animation complications. She wears a chain belt
around her waist as well. Raven is depicted with light gray skin, violet-blue eyes, and shoulder-length violet-blue, bobcut styled hair. Her origin as the daughter of the human Arella and the almighty interdimensional demon Trigon is the same as in the comics.
The animated version of Raven (voiced by Tara Strong
) chiefly employs powers which resemble telekinesis/psychokinesis
encased in dark-colored mystical energy. She accomplishes this, as described in the episode "Car Trouble", by putting a little piece of her spirit/soul into everything she telekinetically controls. She occasionally chants the incantation "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" to focus her abilities even further, allowing her to perform much greater feats, but can move, levitate and control inanimate objects without reciting it; she also uses this phrase as a mantra
while meditating. She also has the ability and power of levitation, as she cannot actually fly like Starfire.
Another of Raven's chief abilities is her "Soul-Self", which allows her to detach her soul and spirit from her body in the form of a dark-energy raven. This ability can be used to enter the minds of others, teleport
herself and others across great distances, pass through solid matter such as floors, walls and ceilings, and even alter her own physical appearance (typically increasing and decreasing her size). In addition to her normal abilities, Raven has displayed a number of seldom-used abilities. She can magically heal herself and others (to an extent), sense specific people over short distances, stop time (done under great duress or stress and never repeated), and manifest her fears as monsters (also unintentional). She also occasionally employs a variety magical, mystical spells and incantations mostly seen in the episode "Spellbound". She keeps a library of numerous magical spellbooks in her room on the occult
, mysticism and magical level, as well as a number of immensely strong and powerful mystical items, charms and talismans. Raven's powers are entirely tied to her emotions, becoming much stronger and more powerful and more unstable with the intensity of the emotions fueling them.
Raven is often giving sage advice to the others about various subjects, and generally stays calm even in desperate situations. She is also the most emotionally-restrained of the Titans, appearing secretive and distant; she initially does not allow any of her fellow Titans into her room and spends most of her time by herself, usually meditating or reading one of her numerous spellbooks. The reason for her emotional restraint is due to the adverse effects her emotions have on her supernatural abilities, as demonstrated when she brutally attacked Doctor Light
after being angered (even as he begged for mercy), seen in the episode "Nevermore." However, she eventually warms up to her teammates and comes to see them as her family.
The fourth season serves as an adaptation of the "Terror of Trigon" arc in the Teen Titans comics, and thus focuses heavily on Raven. Over the course of the season, Raven tries to avoid her destiny of becoming the portal that will release Trigon into their dimension. However, with Slade having been empowered by Trigon and given an army of fire demons to command, Raven loses hope and resigns herself to her fate. Despite this, she leaves her teammates with a small fraction of her abilities and powers to protect them from Trigon's petrification blast when he emerges. As a result of becoming the portal, Raven regresses
into a small seven-year-old child, and is rescued from the depths of Trigon's prison by Robin, amidst protests that she is now powerless and of no use to them. Robin and the other Titans decide to fight anyway, though they are ultimately incapable of defeating Trigon. Their efforts convince Raven to step out of her father's shadow, and she vaporizes Trigon with a pure-white version of her Soul-Self, returning the world to normal in the process. She returns to using her more recognizable dark telekinetic energy in the following season.
Raven's character is noticeably different in the fifth season of the show. Most likely because she is no longer living in her father's shadow, she starts to become more open. While she does retain some of her old personality such as not laughing at Beast Boy's jokes and still acting mysterious, she does act more friendly and at least tries to say nice things (where as before she would just blow off things in a sarcastic way). In one episode she even babysits three children and even starts to really care for them by the end of the episode.
Raven's only definitive romantic interests within the television series was with the dragon Malchior in the episode "Spellbound", which ended at the end of the episode when it was revealed that he was simply using her to escape from the confines of the magic, mystical spellbook he was trapped within, and showing attraction towards Aqualad in the episode "Deep Six", an emotion shared by Starfire. Although she is with Changeling
/Beast Boy
in the comics, they do not progress past being extremely close friends in the show.
In another example of comic book continuity, in the episode "How Long Is Forever?", Starfire travels to the future via an artifact in a museum. During her attempt to find the artifact and return home, Raven is seen in her second incarnation, wearing the white robe.
In an interview, Tara Strong said, "I love playing goth characters. Out of all the goths I've played, Raven is my favorite and I love it how she is half demon and half good girl which is so different from all the other goths I have played."
, voiced by Adriene Mishler.
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
ine who appears in comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. The character first appeared in a special insert
DC Comics insert previews
DC Comics insert previews were 16-page comic book stories inserted into issues of existing DC Comics series to promote new series usually debuting the next month. Running from 1980 to 1985, they consisted of a front cover, 14 pages of story, and a back cover that depicted the cover of the actual...
in DC Comics Presents
DC Comics Presents
DC Comics Presents was a comic book published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 featuring team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters of the DC Universe...
#26 (October 1980), and was created by writer Marv Wolfman
Marv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
and artist George Pérez
George Pérez
George Pérez is a Puerto Rican-American writer and illustrator of comic books, known for his work on various titles, including Avengers, Teen Titans and Wonder Woman.-Biography:...
. Raven is an empath who can teleport
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
and control her "soul-self
Astral body
The astral body is a subtle body posited by many religious philosophers, intermediate between the intelligent soul and the physical body, composed of a subtle material. The concept ultimately derives from the philosophy of Plato: it is related to an astral plane, which consists of the planetary...
," which can fight physically, as well as act as Raven's eyes and ears away from her body. Raven's chronology is typically separated into three lives. Her first life, 18 years, was spent in the Temple Azarath
Azarath
Azarath is a fictional dimension featured in the Teen Titans comic book series and animated series. It is the birthplace of the character Raven.-Fictional history:...
and creating The New Teen Titans. Her second life began once she started wearing the garb of White Raven, and lasted under two years. Her third life is her current form. Unlike the transition between her first and second lives, with her third life came a new, younger body.
Publication history
The character was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. The description from Wolfman to Pérez was of a female Phantom Stranger type character. Pérez notes that:First life
A character with a morbid past and origins, Raven is the half-breed daughter of a human mother named ArellaArella
Angela Roth, commonly called Arella is a fictional character from DC Comics. She is the pacifist mother of the superhero empath Raven in the Teen Titans comics and animated universe...
and the interdimensional demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
Trigon
Trigon (comics)
Trigon is a fictional demon, a comic book character published by DC Comics. Trigon first appeared in New Teen Titans #2 and was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.-Fictional character biography:...
. She grew up in an alternate dimension called Azarath
Azarath
Azarath is a fictional dimension featured in the Teen Titans comic book series and animated series. It is the birthplace of the character Raven.-Fictional history:...
, with pacifistic
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
inhabitants whose spiritual leader was the mystic Azar. In her homeland, she was taught to "control her emotions" by Azar, in order to suppress her inherited demonic powers. Essentially, it was feared that if Raven was allowed to feel any strong emotion, she could become a demon like her father.
During this time, Raven rarely saw her mother and grew detached from her. Upon Azar's death, Arella began the task of raising and teaching Raven. Around this same time, Raven's demonic heritage was revealed, as she met her father face to face for the first time. Soon after her 16th birthday, Raven learned that Trigon planned to come to her dimension; and she vowed to stop him.
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
, but they refused her on the advice of Zatanna
Zatanna
Zatanna Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson, Zatanna first appeared in Hawkman vol. 1 #4...
, who sensed her demonic parentage. In desperation, she reformed the Titans as the New Teen Titans to fight her father. The team consisted of Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash
Wally West
The Flash is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first Kid Flash and the third Flash....
, Starfire
Starfire (comics)
Starfire is the name of several fictional comic book characters published by DC Comics. The most prominent Starfire is Koriand'r, the fourth character to use that name...
, Cyborg
Cyborg (comics)
Cyborg is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, and first appears in a special insert in DC Comics Presents #26...
, and Beast Boy
Beast Boy
Garfield Mark "Gar" Logan, known as Beast Boy or Changeling, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics...
. Raven and her new friends later came to think of one another as family. In this incarnation, Raven was considered to have a gloomy disposition, often revealed through sarcasm and wry remarks.
Raven has occasionally succumbed to her emotions, leading to problems with her fellow teammates. Upon his recruitment into the team, Kid Flash agreed to be a member after Raven used her powers to coerce him into loving her. During another meeting with the Justice League, Zatanna revealed this information, which led the other Titans to mistrust Raven. Ultimately, it was revealed that she manipulated Kid Flash's emotions and removed his knowledge of the encounter in order to save his life.
This separation did not last long as Trigon soon kidnapped Raven to his home dimension. The team defeated Trigon and sealed him in an interdimensional prison with the help of Arella, who stayed at the interdimensional door as Trigon's Guardian. However, Raven continued to fight her father's influence as he was not completely destroyed. For a period of time, Raven lost control several times in high-stress situations, but managed to regain control before Trigon could assert himself.
Popular storylines such as "The Judas Contract" took place during this period. Eventually, however, Trigon escaped his prison, came to Earth, and took control of Raven, destroying Azarath in the process. The Titans came together and were forced to kill Raven, thereby allowing the souls of Azarath to possess her and, guided by the spirit of Azar, who was acting through the body of the Titans' ally Lilith
Lilith (DC Comics)
Lilith Clay is a young superheroine who occasionally appears in DC Comic's Teen Titans titles.-Pre-Crisis: Originally living in peace at home, Lilith started to manifest strange mental powers at the age of 13. She read her parents' minds to find she was adopted, then left home to try to find her...
, use her as a channel to kill Trigon. After this battle, Raven rose again from the ashes, purged of Trigon's evil, and vanished.
Absent during Crisis on Infinite Earths
Between the periods that we know to be Raven's first and second lives, Raven's whereabouts were unknown even to the MonitorMonitor (comics)
The Monitor is a fictional character created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez as one of the main characters of DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series....
, a character who has knowledge of all beings in all parallel dimensions that contain Earth. This suggests that during this period, Raven transcended Earth into a non-parallel dimension. Raven was briefly mentioned in one panel (issue #2, page 22), suggested as an alternative to Psycho-Pirate
Psycho-Pirate
The Psycho-Pirate is the name of two DC Comics supervillains, dating back to the Golden Age of Comics.-Charles Halstead:Charles Halstead is a minor character who first appears in All-Star Comics #23, created by Gardner Fox and Joe Gallagher...
as an empath in the Monitor's
Monitor (comics)
The Monitor is a fictional character created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez as one of the main characters of DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series....
plans. She was also mentioned as an alternative for the Anti-Monitor
Anti-Monitor
The Anti-Monitor is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain and the antagonist of the 1985 DC Comics miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. He first appeared in Crisis on Infinite Earths #2 , and was destroyed in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12, only to return after a long absence in Green...
in issue #5, page 2.
Second life (White Raven)
Later on, the minions of the Titans' enemy, Brother BloodBrother Blood
Brother Blood is the name of two fictional comic book characters in the DC Universe. The first Brother Blood debuted in New Teen Titans vol. 1 #21 , and was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.-First Blood:...
, captured Raven to control Nightwing
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
(the former Robin) as part of Blood's plans of resurrection. The Titans rescued them both and prevented Brother Blood from returning. Raven then donned a white cloak to represent freedom from her father's influence.
Some time later, after being free to feel, Raven found she was able to not only sense, but control others' emotions. She learned to handle this power only after unintentionally making Nightwing believe that he loved her for a brief time, when she thought that she was in love with him. It was during this incident that Starfire and Raven became close friends (issue #39, page 8). Raven also fostered a relationship with technopath Eric Forrester, who was using the life force of women he seduced to regain some of his lost humanity, a result of interfacing with computers. Forrester knew that Raven's soul-self could help him to permanently retain his humanity. This attempt was cut short by the intervention of Joseph Wilson (Jericho
Jericho (comics)
Jericho is a fictional character, originally a superhero who was a member of the Teen Titans in the acclaimed 1980s period of The New Teen Titans by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, published by DC Comics...
), who helped Raven overcome her love for Forrester by destroying him and saving herself.
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
of her father. Arella, along with Danny Chase
Phantasm (comics)
For the Phantasm character that first appeared in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, see Andrea Beaumont.Danny Chase is a fictional superhero in DC Comics publications.-Fictional character biography:...
, used the power of Azar's soul to cleanse Raven; however, through the battle, her body was destroyed, and Arella and Danny joined the cleansed souls of Azarath to become Phantasm
Phantasm (comics)
For the Phantasm character that first appeared in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, see Andrea Beaumont.Danny Chase is a fictional superhero in DC Comics publications.-Fictional character biography:...
.
Dark Raven
Now free of its bodily prison, the evil energy of Trigon in Raven's soul took on sentience and possessed a metahumanMetahuman
Metahuman is a term to describe superhumans in DC Comics' shared universe, the DC Universe. It is roughly synonymous with both mutant and mutate and posthuman in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. Use of the term in reference to superheroes was coined in 1986 by author George R. R...
with a resemblance to Raven. Raven appeared possessed by her evil conscience and attempted to implant Trigon's seed into new bodies. She interrupted Nightwing and Starfire's wedding, and implanted a seed of Trigon into Starfire. Instead of corrupting her, she actually implanted the soul of the good Raven. This caused Starfire to leave Earth in order to escape from the evil Raven, who implanted seeds into several other superheroes as well. The Titans were able to defeat her only because of the help they received from Phantasm. Raven later returned, still evil, in order to destroy the good version of herself implanted in Starfire.
Third life
In her spirit form, Raven wandered Earth looking for her place in the world when Brother Blood came to claim her. Her spirit was reincarnated in the body of a teenage girl by the Church of Blood. A new incarnation of the Teen Titans discovered that the Church of Blood were worshippers of Raven's father, Trigon. They also found a prophecy that told of the marriage between Brother Blood and Raven that would result in ArmageddonArmageddon
Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...
. The team interrupted the wedding, and Raven forced the cult to escape. She then joined the Teen Titans and enrolled at a high school as "Rachel Roth" in honor of her mother's birth name.
After her rebirth, Raven began developing romantic feelings for her teammate, Garfield Logan (a.k.a. Beast Boy), and the two recently became romantically attached.
Infinite Crisis and 52
- Main articles: Infinite CrisisInfinite CrisisInfinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
and 5252 (comics)52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
Due to the effects of the Spectre
Spectre (comics)
The Spectre is a fictional character and superhero who has appeared in numerous comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in a next issue ad in More Fun Comics #51 and received his first story the following month, #52...
's destruction of magic during the "Day of Vengeance
Day of Vengeance
Day of Vengeance is a six-issue comic book limited series written by Bill Willingham, with art by Justiniano and Walden Wong, published in 2005 by DC Comics.-Publication history:...
" storyline, Raven's magical powers weaken and slip out of her control. She continues to fight, helping the Titans both in evacuating the shattered city of Blüdhaven
Blüdhaven
Blüdhaven is a fictional city in the . Created by Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel in 1996, it was originally intended to serve as a backdrop for the Nightwing comics series.-Fictional geography:...
and with battling Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime, also known as Superman-Prime, or simply Prime, is a DC Comics superhero turned supervillain, and one of several alternate Supermen. The character first appeared in DC Comics Presents #87 , and was created by Elliot S...
.
During the missing year
52 (comics)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
, Raven assists Steel
John Henry Irons
Steel , also known as the Man of Steel, is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe. First appearing in The Adventures of Superman #500 , he is the third character known as Steel and was created by Louise Simonson and artist Jon Bogdanove...
in launching an attack on Lexcorp when Natasha Irons
Natasha Irons
Natasha Irons is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe and the niece of John Henry Irons . Natasha first appears in Steel #1 . She becomes the fourth superhero to use the name Steel when her uncle is injured. In the 2006 limited series 52, Natasha gains superpowers and uses the...
was captured by Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
. The Titans (consisting of Beast Boy, Raven, Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein (comics)
Young Frankenstein is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appears in Teen Titans vol. 3 #38 , and was created by Geoff Johns and Tony Daniel.-Fictional character biography:...
, Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove is the moniker given to two superheroes when they team up to fight crime. Hawk and Dove describes each character's attitude or approach to fighting crime. The hawk represents aggression, and the dove representing pacifism.-Hank and Don Hall:...
, Zachary Zatara
Zachary Zatara
Zachary Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Universe. Zachary is a descendant of the Homo Magi just like his cousin Zatanna and uncle John Zatara. He first appeared in Teen Titans Zachary Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Universe. Zachary is a descendant of the Homo Magi just like...
, and Terra
Terra (comics)
Terra is the name used by three fictional characters published by DC Comics. The first Terra was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, and debuted in New Teen Titans Terra is the name used by three fictional characters published by DC Comics. The first Terra was created by Marv Wolfman and...
) fight Black Adam
Black Adam
Black Adam is a fictional comic book character, created in 1945 by Otto Binder & C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. Originally created as a one-shot villain for Fawcett Comics' Marvel Family team of superheroes, Black Adam was revived as a recurring supervillain after DC Comics began publishing Captain...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. Raven attempts to stop Black Adam, but he shatters her soul-self and causes her to experience psychic backlash from the deaths of Young Frankenstein and Terra.
"One Year Later"
After teleporting for an entire night, Raven runs from unseen pursuers, with a book of unclear significance. Raven has a diskette containing Jericho's soul. She performs a cleansing ritual over his soul and transfers it into a new body before returning to the team as a full member.
Raven is later approached by Robin and Wonder Girl, in the hopes that she could resurrect Superboy
Superboy (Kon-El)
Superboy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. A modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman, the character first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500 , and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.Originally...
like she did Jericho. Unfortunately, Raven declares that impossible because Superboy's soul had moved on to the afterlife, while Jericho's soul was kept on a computer disk. Without warning, the Titans are captured by the villainous Titans East
Titans East
Titans East is the name of several DC Comics teams. The teams appear in the Teen Titans comic books and animated series. The comic book incarnation of Titans East first appeared in the "Titans Tomorrow" storyline, which is set in the future. The first modern incarnation appeared in Teen Titans vol....
and transported to the original Titans Island in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where Raven is placed in the "care" of Enigma
Enigma (DC Comics)
Enigma is a name used by two fictional characters, both supervillains in the . The character first appeared in Teen Titans Vol. 3 #38 and was created by Geoff Johns and Tony Daniel. A villain in Trinity has also used the name...
and Duela Dent
Duela Dent
Duela Dent is a fictional character in the DC Universe. She is a former member of both the Teen Titans and Titans East. Introduced under the alias of Joker's Daughter, she has also used the aliases "Catgirl", "Scarecrone", "Riddler's Daughter", "Penguin's Daughter", "Card Queen", and...
, who took to torturing her psychologically. Raven manages her escape by offering Duela membership into the true Titans group. After knocking Enigma and Risk
Risk (comics)
Risk is a comic book character appearing in publications from DC Comics.-Origins:Raised in the Colorado community of Cosmos, Cody Driscoll has lived alone with his mother in one of the worst trailer parks. His father died when he was just six months old...
unconscious, Raven, Duela, and Cyborg get reinforcements in the form of Nightwing, Troia
Donna Troy
Donna Troy is a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. She first appeared in The Brave and the Bold vol. 1 #60 , and was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani...
, Beast Boy, and Bart Allen
Bart Allen
Bartholomew "Bart" Allen is a superhero in the . Allen first appeared as the superhero Impulse. He would later go on to become the second Kid Flash and the fourth Flash. Allen's first cameo appearance was in The Flash #91, while his first full appearance was in issue #92...
. After beating the Titans East, she reveals hints that she still loves Gar, but he refuses to dwell on the matter, leaving their relationship uncertain.
Following the death of Bart Allen, Raven, along with the other adult Titans, decides to leave the team. Raven decides to pursue her chance at attending high school, having never had the opportunity before.
Raven stars in a five-issue miniseries written by Marv Wolfman, with art by Damion Scott
Damion Scott
Damion Scott is an American comic book artist and writer.-Career:Scott is a graduate of The Kubert School. His drawing style is influenced by the graffiti art and the Hip hop culture...
. It takes place during the missing year, following Raven's attempts at living as a normal teenage girl and attending high school. Unfortunately, she gets inadvertently drawn into a mystical fight for the lives of her classmates. In the Wizard
Wizard (magazine)
Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011...
#177 magazine, Wolfman briefly described the series, saying, "She needs to be on her own and in charge of herself for the first time in her life. This is more than just a 'tale of Raven'; it sets up her new life."
Titans
In the latest relaunch title, Titans, Raven and a group of classmates are attacked by a demonic creature, sent by Raven's resurrected father, Trigon. She soon joins Beast Boy, Donna Troy, Red ArrowRoy Harper (comics)
Roy Harper is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe. He was known for over fifty years as Green Arrow's teenage sidekick Speedy. He first appeared alongside his mentor in More Fun Comics #73...
, Starfire, Flash
Flash (comics)
The Flash is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 ....
, and Nightwing at New York's Titans Island, where Cyborg and his Teen Titans team were attacked by Deathstroke
Deathstroke
Deathstroke the Terminator , originally simply the Terminator, and known by the Teen Titans as Slade, is a fictional character, a supervillain and sometimes antihero in the DC Comics Universe. He is a mercenary and assassin who first appeared in The New Teen Titans #2...
and the villainous Titans East. These events lead to the creation of the newest team of Titans, which consists of the original New Teen Titans.
In the following issue, Raven discovers that Trigon had more than one child, and that a trio of children devoted to her father are behind the attacks. She is affected along with many of the other Titans by these three beings, who prey on the strongest emotions present in the group at the time (such as Nightwing and Starfire giving in to long suppressed longing for one another; and Flash and Donna Troy's mild envy taken to extremes in a usually calm social interaction). For Raven and Beast Boy, the emotion used against them is their subdued rage and insecurity toward themselves and each other. Raven is attacked at one point by an incensed Gar, but their fight is broken up by the remaining Titans when they begin to gradually recover from the attack. Raven's three half-brothers then use her and Beast Boy as keys to open a portal to Trigon's realm. Raven uses her own power to influence greed in others to make her half-brothers steal what little power Trigon had left. The portal is closed and Trigon's sons, believing they have gained great power, leave the scene.
While Raven and Beast Boy go out together on a "not-a-date," she informs him that, since meeting her half-brothers, she has felt herself being tempted by her father's evil power and fears she will once again turn evil. Although Beast Boy rejects the idea, Raven's fear is made real as her half-brothers later return and provoke her demonic side, causing her to leave the Titans and join them. However, the team was able to track them down and convince Raven to join the side of good once more with the help of a mystical artifact Raven gave Donna Troy should such a situation ever arise. She later provided a number of other artifacts, all capable of killing her, to the Titans as terms for her staying with the team. However, the experience plays a hand in Raven ultimately electing not to pursue a renewed relationship with Beast Boy.
Raven aided the Titans in capturing Match
Match (DC Comics)
Match is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe. He is a clone of Superboy. Match appeared in the Superboy title, issues of Young Justice and the Sins of Youth and Joker's Last Laugh crossover events...
, who went on a rampage with Jericho trapped inside of him. Through her powers, she discovered that Jericho was actually in control of Match, not the other way around. Before she could warn the other Titans, Jericho used a device to temporarily knock out the lights. When the back-up generator kicked in, Jericho was gone, and Nightwing deduces he must have possessed one of the Titans in the confusion.
When Raven is knocked unconscious later, Beast Boy finds her and takes her in, confessing he still loved her no matter what, and always would.
Wyld
With the Titans in a state of disarray in the wake of Justice League: Cry For JusticeJustice League: Cry for Justice
Justice League: Cry for Justice is a seven-issue comic book limited series, written by James Robinson, drawn by Mauro Cascioli, and published by DC Comics in 2009...
, Raven left the team and was promptly attacked by a demonic being calling itself Wyld. Battered and dazed, Raven arrived at Titans Tower
Titans Tower
Titans Tower is a fictional building in the DC Comics universe. Its various incarnations have been home to the superhero team called the Titans...
, where she was rescued by the newest roster of Teen Titans. While she was recovering, Beast Boy stated that he was still in love with her and would remain so, despite whatever difficulties were involved.
Raven decided to stay with the Teen Titans rather than return to the Titans, now acting as a mentor to the younger members. During a mission to Dakota to rescue the kidnapped Static, Raven was accidentally knocked into a coma by Miss Martian
Miss Martian
Miss Martian is a superhero in the . Miss Martian was created by Geoff Johns and Tony Daniel and first appeared in Teen Titans #37 . Miss Martian is named "Megan Morse" after Marvel Comics associate editor Ben Morse's wife, Megan...
, who had attempted to fire a psychic blast at villain named Holocaust
Holocaust (DC Comics)
Holocaust is a fictional character in the Milestone Comics universe. Created as part of the Blood Syndicate for Milestone Media, the character has since gone on to become a gangster and supervillain.-Publication history:...
. When the Teen Titans attempted to return home, Raven was kidnapped and taken to another dimension by Wyld, who had disguised himself as one of Holocaust's scientists. While in Wyld's dimension, Raven was confronted by a gray-skinned teenager who claimed to be her son.
The teenager was discovered to be the human form of the Wyld who revealed that Raven was the one who created him. When Raven was traveling dimensions looking for her father, her soul self caused all of the animals of the last dimension she visited to merge into one being: The Wyld. The Wyld also revealed that should he kill Raven during the arriving eclipse on his world, he would gain all her powers. Despite the arrival of the eclipse and overpowering most of the Titans, The Wyld is eventually destroyed by Static (who loses his powers as a result)
Following this, Raven has remained with the Titans. Recently, she has become unnerved by the positive aura and feedback she receives from Solstice when reading her emotions. In the 100th and final issue of this incarnation of the Teen Titans, Raven admits that she has been fleeing from the darkness within for too long now, and vows to find balance between both the dark and light. She solidifies this claim by confirming her feelings for Beast Boy
Beast Boy
Garfield Mark "Gar" Logan, known as Beast Boy or Changeling, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics...
, whom with she finds the most reason to experience a life beyond her dark upbringing. Beast Boy reminds her that taking good with the bad is part of being human, and they cement their love with a passionate kiss. This is the final scene of them before the narrative leaves the mainstream universe, and to the new DC universe created by the crossover event, Flashpoint.
Powers and abilities
Psionics
Psionics refers to the practice, study, or psychic ability of using the mind to induce paranormal phenomena. Examples of this include telepathy, telekinesis, and other workings of the outside world through the psyche.-History and terminology:...
ability of empathy
Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B...
, enabling her to feel the feelings of others. She can use her empathy to steal emotions from others, rendering them emotionally "numb". She is also able to force outside emotions into other people, consciously or otherwise. She has used this ability many times, first notably on Wally West, in order to save his life. Later, after being freed from her father's powers and starting her second life, she had a short-lived romance with Nightwing
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
and unintentionally used her power to make him believe that he did love her, but it ended when Starfire
Starfire (comics)
Starfire is the name of several fictional comic book characters published by DC Comics. The most prominent Starfire is Koriand'r, the fourth character to use that name...
, who became her close friend, convinced her that she wasn't really in love with Dick Grayson as she thought. Additionally, Raven seems to be able to absorb another person's knowledge with a touch, such as the language spoken by that person. Shortly after the character was introduced, she was shown to have the power and ability to project mental illusions into someone's memory (see Ravager in The New Teen Titans #4). She has also used this on the villainess Phobia
Phobia (comics)
Phobia is a fictional DC Comics supervillain of the New Teen Titans.-Fictional character biography:Born a member of the British aristocracy with the power to make people experience their worst fears, Angela Hawkins III was a "bad seed" who rejected any help from her family.When the Brain came to...
, but this power and ability is usually forgotten.
Raven can absorb the pain of injured people to ease their suffering, and induce rapid healing. There is some ambiguity as to what happens to the pains Raven takes in after she has healed another person. In some sources (New Titans #50) it is stated that Raven feels these pains for the rest of her life and merely accepts them. Opposing sources (Who's Who Vol. 1) state that once Raven takes others' pains into her body, they are then expunged. She has the ability to heal herself and others, as she did when defying Trigon's curse against a young girl.
Raven can manifest her "Soul-Self" through a form of astral projection
Astral projection
Astral projection is an interpretation of out-of-body experience that assumes the existence of an "astral body" separate from the physical body and capable of traveling outside it...
. It normally takes the form of either her human shape or a giant raven. Through the use of her soul-self, Raven can project her consciousness into the mind, for therapeutic purposes (to aid in her own meditation, or to help calm an agitated ally), or for offensive attacks, rendering her enemies unconscious (yet otherwise unharmed) or being destructive in other variations. It also serves as a way to travel into other dimensions. In many instances, her soul-self has also functioned as a "shield," although it seems to absorb attackers and projectiles rather than repel them. In The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #17 (1982), she used this ability a few times to absorb the objects that Frances Kane
Magenta (comics)
Magenta is a fictional character in the DC Comics' series Teen Titans. She is a former hero turned villain.An early concept design for Magenta by George Pérez appeared in DC Sampler #2, with the character's initial name being Polara and her color scheme consisting of red and blue rather than...
had uncontrollably drawn towards herself. These objects included all manner of household appliances, eventually progressing to larger objects such as road signs and steel bars. However, Raven admitted during the issue that she could not sustain her soul-self long under such conditions. Her soul-self also 'regurgitated' the objects after the danger.
Using her soul-self, she can convert her physical body into her 'soul-self' and carry/teleport
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
(or rather, use portals to move between dimensions) herself and others over vast distances.
Raven has also displayed the ability to manipulate and or generate shadows and darkness. This ability comes in different variations, from having destructive capabilities to causing pain, tension, and fear-based illusions to whomever or whatever is caught in its range. This power and ability was displayed when Raven traveled to Conner Kent's farm (Teen Titans #26, 2003) in Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
and expels a large aura of darkness from her cloak to Kent in which he began to express severe pain.
In The New Teen Titans foundation storyline, Raven explained she was able to predict Trigon's invasion of the Earth-2 dimension. She was unable to control or consciously activate it, but happens occasionally. It is unknown whether she still possesses this ability in her current body.
During the Our Worlds at War
Our Worlds at War
"Our Worlds at War" was a comic book crossover, published by DC Comics during the summer of 2001. OWAW was written by Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey, Mark Schultz, Joe Kelly, Phil Jimenez, and Peter David...
storyline, Raven was instrumental in helping the heroes defeat their enemies by channeling the combined spiritual strength and faith of the Amazons to restoring a severely wounded and weakened Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
to his full strength, a feat that amazed even Darkseid.
In a number of instances, Raven has also displayed sorcerous abilities. In New Titans #65, the last issue of the Titan Plague arc, an infected Raven forces unconsciousness upon a then-neophyte Tim Drake
Tim Drake
Timothy "Tim" Drake is a superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics and in related media. The character was created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick. From 1989 to 2009, he was known as Robin in the Batman comics, becoming the third character to take up the identity...
with a touch of her finger, and was able to slam Nightwing aside and suspend him upside-down with imperious gestures. In The New Teen Titans Annual #4 (1988), a villain called Muse forced the Titans into individual murderous nightmares. In her dream, Raven retaliated by flying out of his reach and then releasing energies from "within the folds of her cape" that caused him to be consumed by fire. These abilities could be dismissed as being only part of her nightmare, except that none of the other Titans displayed abilities besides their normal powers in their nightmares. In the Family Lost storyline of current Teen Titans continuity (Teen Titans vol. 3 #8-12), shortly after being resurrected by Brother Blood (Sebastian), a captive Raven tries to summon the Titans through ominous signs, such as possessing several psychics and Beast Boy with her soul-self, by turning a river into blood, animating the skeletal remains of her demon father Trigon, and drawing swarms of migratory birds to her location.
Like her brothers, Raven can induce and amplify one of the seven deadly sins
Seven deadly sins
The 7 Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin...
(in her case, pride) in any living being, however doing so will cause her to suffer spells of nausea
Nausea
Nausea , is a sensation of unease and discomfort in the upper stomach with an involuntary urge to vomit. It often, but not always, precedes vomiting...
and vomiting
Vomiting
Vomiting is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose...
for several days afterward.
Raven has been depicted as an adept hand-to-hand combatant and expertly combines her fighting skills with her teleportation ability. This was revealed in Titans #18 (December 2009). The only other time she displayed any fighting prowess was while she was under the influence of Brother Blood, where she engaged then-Wonder Girl Donna Troy and boasted that, with Blood's gifts, they were easily equals. Why Raven rarely uses her fighting skills or where she truly acquired them have yet to be explained.
Flashpoint
In the alternate timeline of the FlashpointFlashpoint (comics)
Flashpoint is an American comic book crossover story arc published by DC Comics. Consisting of an eponymous core limited series and a number of tie-in titles, the storyline premiered in May 2011...
event, Raven is a member of the Secret Seven
Secret Six (comics)
The Secret Six is the name of three different fictional comic book teams in the , plus an alternate universe's fourth team. Each team has had six members, led by a mysterious figure named Mockingbird, whom the characters assume to be one of the other five members.-Original Secret Six:The Secret Six...
. She has been corrupted by her father Trigon
Trigon
Trigon may refer to:* Trigon , a German fusion band* Trigon , a comic book character* Trigon , a ball game* Trigon , a Moldovan folk jazz band* Trigone of urinary bladder, a region of the internal urinary bladder...
.
.Flashpoint: Secret Seven #3
Teen Titans animated series
Teen Titans (TV series)
Teen Titans is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics characters of the same name. The show was created by Glen Murakami, developed by David Slack, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003, and the final episode "Things Change"...
animated series (2003–2006), where she was one of the program's breakout character
Breakout character
A breakout character is a fictional character in different episodes, books or other media that becomes the most popular, talked about, and imitated. Most often a breakout character in a television series captures the audience's imagination and helps to popularize the show, sometimes inadvertently...
s. Her costume is relatively the same as her comic counterpart, but her skirt is replaced with a leotard
Leotard
A leotard is a skin-tight one-piece garment that covers the torso but leaves the legs free. It was made famous by the French acrobatic performer Jules Léotard ....
to avoid several animation complications. She wears a chain belt
Belt (clothing)
A belt is a flexible band or strap, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist. A belt supports trousers or other articles of clothing.-History:...
around her waist as well. Raven is depicted with light gray skin, violet-blue eyes, and shoulder-length violet-blue, bobcut styled hair. Her origin as the daughter of the human Arella and the almighty interdimensional demon Trigon is the same as in the comics.
The animated version of Raven (voiced by Tara Strong
Tara Strong
Tara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...
) chiefly employs powers which resemble telekinesis/psychokinesis
Psychokinesis
The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
encased in dark-colored mystical energy. She accomplishes this, as described in the episode "Car Trouble", by putting a little piece of her spirit/soul into everything she telekinetically controls. She occasionally chants the incantation "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" to focus her abilities even further, allowing her to perform much greater feats, but can move, levitate and control inanimate objects without reciting it; she also uses this phrase as a mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
while meditating. She also has the ability and power of levitation, as she cannot actually fly like Starfire.
Another of Raven's chief abilities is her "Soul-Self", which allows her to detach her soul and spirit from her body in the form of a dark-energy raven. This ability can be used to enter the minds of others, teleport
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
herself and others across great distances, pass through solid matter such as floors, walls and ceilings, and even alter her own physical appearance (typically increasing and decreasing her size). In addition to her normal abilities, Raven has displayed a number of seldom-used abilities. She can magically heal herself and others (to an extent), sense specific people over short distances, stop time (done under great duress or stress and never repeated), and manifest her fears as monsters (also unintentional). She also occasionally employs a variety magical, mystical spells and incantations mostly seen in the episode "Spellbound". She keeps a library of numerous magical spellbooks in her room on the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
, mysticism and magical level, as well as a number of immensely strong and powerful mystical items, charms and talismans. Raven's powers are entirely tied to her emotions, becoming much stronger and more powerful and more unstable with the intensity of the emotions fueling them.
Raven is often giving sage advice to the others about various subjects, and generally stays calm even in desperate situations. She is also the most emotionally-restrained of the Titans, appearing secretive and distant; she initially does not allow any of her fellow Titans into her room and spends most of her time by herself, usually meditating or reading one of her numerous spellbooks. The reason for her emotional restraint is due to the adverse effects her emotions have on her supernatural abilities, as demonstrated when she brutally attacked Doctor Light
Doctor Light (Arthur Light)
Doctor Arthur Light is a fictional supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the third individual to have adopted the persona of Doctor Light, after a Golden Age foe of Doctor Mid-Nite and Arthur's associate Jacob Finlay...
after being angered (even as he begged for mercy), seen in the episode "Nevermore." However, she eventually warms up to her teammates and comes to see them as her family.
The fourth season serves as an adaptation of the "Terror of Trigon" arc in the Teen Titans comics, and thus focuses heavily on Raven. Over the course of the season, Raven tries to avoid her destiny of becoming the portal that will release Trigon into their dimension. However, with Slade having been empowered by Trigon and given an army of fire demons to command, Raven loses hope and resigns herself to her fate. Despite this, she leaves her teammates with a small fraction of her abilities and powers to protect them from Trigon's petrification blast when he emerges. As a result of becoming the portal, Raven regresses
Regression (psychology)
Regression, according to psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, is a defense mechanism leading to the temporary or long-term reversion of the ego to an earlier stage of development rather than handling unacceptable impulses in a more adult way...
into a small seven-year-old child, and is rescued from the depths of Trigon's prison by Robin, amidst protests that she is now powerless and of no use to them. Robin and the other Titans decide to fight anyway, though they are ultimately incapable of defeating Trigon. Their efforts convince Raven to step out of her father's shadow, and she vaporizes Trigon with a pure-white version of her Soul-Self, returning the world to normal in the process. She returns to using her more recognizable dark telekinetic energy in the following season.
Raven's character is noticeably different in the fifth season of the show. Most likely because she is no longer living in her father's shadow, she starts to become more open. While she does retain some of her old personality such as not laughing at Beast Boy's jokes and still acting mysterious, she does act more friendly and at least tries to say nice things (where as before she would just blow off things in a sarcastic way). In one episode she even babysits three children and even starts to really care for them by the end of the episode.
Raven's only definitive romantic interests within the television series was with the dragon Malchior in the episode "Spellbound", which ended at the end of the episode when it was revealed that he was simply using her to escape from the confines of the magic, mystical spellbook he was trapped within, and showing attraction towards Aqualad in the episode "Deep Six", an emotion shared by Starfire. Although she is with Changeling
Changeling
A changeling is a creature found in Western European folklore and folk religion. It is typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other legendary creature that has been secretly left in the place of a human child. Sometimes the term is also used to refer to the child who...
/Beast Boy
Beast Boy
Garfield Mark "Gar" Logan, known as Beast Boy or Changeling, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics...
in the comics, they do not progress past being extremely close friends in the show.
In another example of comic book continuity, in the episode "How Long Is Forever?", Starfire travels to the future via an artifact in a museum. During her attempt to find the artifact and return home, Raven is seen in her second incarnation, wearing the white robe.
In an interview, Tara Strong said, "I love playing goth characters. Out of all the goths I've played, Raven is my favorite and I love it how she is half demon and half good girl which is so different from all the other goths I have played."
Live-action television series on The CW
On December 3, 2010, it was announced that The CW has ordered a live-action television series script focusing on the Raven character. Describing her as "a half-demon also known as Rachel Roth," the pilot script will be written by Diego Gutierrez, who will also be executive producer.DC Universe Online
Raven appears in the video game DC Universe OnlineDC Universe Online
DC Universe Online or DCUO is an MMORPG by Sony Online Entertainment – Austin. Jim Lee serves as the game's Executive Creative Director, along with Carlos D'Anda, JJ Kirby, Oliver Nome, Eddie Nuñez, Livio Ramondelli, and Michael Lopez...
, voiced by Adriene Mishler.
Other Ravens
There has been six other characters named Raven in DC Comics.- Unknown (Flash ComicsFlash ComicsFlash Comics was an anthology comic book published by All-American Publications and later National Periodicals . The title ran for 104 issues between January 1940 to February 1949. Although the name of the comic book was Flash Comics, the Flash was only one of many different series featured in the...
Miniature (April 1946)) - A hangliding criminal who fought Hawkman. - Joe Parker (Detective ComicsDetective ComicsDetective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
#287 (January 1961)) - Pitted against the Wasp (Willie Blaine), the pair are used by the aliens Kzan and Jhorl to seek out a meteorite and do battle with the Dynamic Duo. - Joey Makk (HawkmanHawkmanHawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940....
vol. 1, #17 (January 1967)) - A bird trainer that battled Hawkman when he tried to steal a valuable book. - Dave Corby (Batman FamilyBatman FamilyThe Batman Family was a DC Comics comic book series which ran from 1975 to 1978, primarily featuring stories starring supporting characters in the Batman comics...
#18 (July 1978)) - An agent of MAZE who fought RobinDick GraysonDick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
and BatgirlBarbara GordonBarbara Gordon is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and in related media, created by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino...
. - Unknown (G.I. CombatG.I. CombatG.I. Combat is a long-running comic book series published first by Quality Comics and later by National Periodical Publications, which was the primary company of those that evolved to become DC Comics.-Publication history:...
#228 (April 1981)) - An agent in the O.S.S. - Tros Samoth (HawkworldHawkworldHawkworld is a comic book series that was published by DC Comics. The initial story line was published as a three-issue mini-series and then, based on the high sales and interest level generated by this limited series, launched as an ongoing monthly book...
vol. 2, #12 (June 1991)) - The Shadowlord, a winged assassin of the high priests that orchestrated a rebellion against ThanagarThanagarThanagar is a fictional planet in the . Thanagar is the original home of the humanoid Thanagarian race, noted for the discovery of gravity-defying Nth metal...
.
External links
- DCDP: Raven DC Database Project
- Titans Tower Biography
- Overview of Raven
- Profile of Raven as she appears on the animated series
- Raven Teen Titans Animated Database Project