| Raven | |
|---|---|
_Modern_001.png) Raven as she appears on the cover of theTales of the Titans #3 (2023). Art by Nicola Scott. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | DC Comics Presents #26 (October 1980) |
| Created by | Marv Wolfman George Pérez |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Raven(birth name) Rachel Roth(human identity) |
| Species | AzarathianCambion(demon/human hybrid) |
| Place of origin | Azarath |
| Team affiliations | Teen Titans Titans Sentinels of Magic Night Force Justice League Justice League Dark |
| Partnerships | Beast Boy The Flash Shazam Zatanna Nevermore Trilogy |
| Notable aliases | Mistress of Magic Daughter of Darkness Daughter of Trigon Doctor Hate Dark-Winged Queen The Unkindness Dark Raven |
| Abilities |
|
Raven, also known asRachel Roth, is asuperheroine appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. The character first appeared in aspecial insert inDC Comics Presents #26 (October 1980), and was created by writerMarv Wolfman and artistGeorge Pérez.[1] Her design was based on thePhantom Stranger. Raven was one of the key figures instrumental to the revival ofTeen Titans and among the most popular characters within the franchise.[2][3]
Born as the daughter of the demon lordTrigon and humanArella, she is granted a lineage of great supernatural power as aempath anddemonic sorceress. Despite her heritage and the ominous predictions associated with her connection to Trigon, Raven becomes a prominent and reoccurring superhero in various rosters for theTeen Titans andTitans.[4] Raven has also served in other superhero teams, including theJustice League,Sentinels of Magic,Night Force, andJustice League Dark. Following the character's popularity in her media appearances,[5] Raven has also starred in several comic mini-series titles.
Raven has appeared in numerous television series and films, includingCartoon Network'sTeen Titans series and its spin-off seriesTeen Titans Go!, voiced byTara Strong, and in theDC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU), voiced byTaissa Farmiga. Thecharacter made her live-action debut in theDC Universe/HBO Max seriesTitans, portrayed byTeagan Croft.
In an interview, Perez described his design approach for the character,
…taking the cue that Raven was very mysterious à laPhantom Stranger, I took that as a starting point, and using the shadow face where half her face is always in shadow despite the lighting, was a shtick I got from Phantom Stranger, who also had the same deal. He had a long billowing cape, as did she, and in her case, since her name was Raven, I decided to create a silhouette for her that would look like a bird. The hood was designed so that in the profile, it would end up looking like a bird’s head, so that when her soul self came out, since that was done in full black, it looked like a gigantic blackraven. Her name and the Phantom Stranger were key to how I designed her.[6]
Asked if Raven's face was based on any real-life person, Perez said that, "originally Raven wasPersis Khambatta, the actress who played in the firstStar Trek film, and later became a young lady named Fran Macgregor, who was a dancer, and I used some of her features, particularly for her figure, for Raven."
Raven first appeared inThe New Teen Titans #1 recruiting superheroes to fight her father, Trigon. She initially approached theJustice League for help, but they refused her on the advice ofZatanna, who sensed her demonic parentage.[7][8] In desperation, she reformed the Teen Titans as the New Teen Titans to fight her father. The team consisted ofRobin,Kid Flash,Wonder Girl,Starfire,Cyborg, andBeast Boy (then known as Changeling).[9] Raven and her new friends later came to think of one another as family.
Trigon soon took Raven back to his own realm. The Titans pursued them, defeated Trigon and sealed him in an interdimensional prison with the help of Arella, who swore to watch over his prison so that he could not escape.[10] Raven found that using her powers enabled Trigon to assert control over her mind and body. For a period of time, Raven lost control several times in stressful situations but managed to regain control of herself.
Eventually, Trigon escaped his prison, exacted revenge on Arella by destroying Azarath, came to Earth, and took control of Raven. The Titans were manipulated into having the dark sides of their souls kill the evil Raven byLilith Clay, who was guided and possessed by Azar, thereby allowing the souls of Azarath and Raven herself contained inside her rings to possess her now-empty body and use her as a channel to kill Trigon. After this battle, Raven rose from the ashes, cleansed of Trigon's evil, and vanished.[11]
After Raven's disappearance, Arella went around the world in search of Raven. She tracked Raven down, but both of them were kidnapped byBrother Blood. The minions of Blood used Raven to controlNightwing (formerly Robin) as part of Blood's plans. The Titans rescued them both and prevented Blood from returning to power.[12]
With her demonic nature suppressed, Raven was free to experience emotions for the first time in her life and soon realized that she could not only sense but control others' emotions.[13] She learned to handle this power only after unintentionally making The Flash believe that he loved her when she thought she was in love with him. Raven also fostered a relationship with technopath Eric Forrester, who used the life force of women he seduced to regain some of his lost humanity. Forrester knew that Raven's soul-self could help him to retain his humanity permanently. This attempt was cut short by the intervention of Joseph Wilson (Jericho), who helped Raven destroy Forrester once and for all and sparked a brief romance between the two heroes after.[14]
Raven was later kidnapped by theWildebeest Society during the "Titans Hunt" storyline.[15] The Society is led by Jericho, who has been possessed by the souls of Azarath, and intends to use several Titans to bring about the return of Trigon. During a massive battle, Raven was possessed by the evil souls and once again became the evildoppelgänger of her father. Arella and Raven's friendDanny Chase combined their powers and used the purity of Azar's soul to cleanse Raven. In the aftermath, Raven's body was destroyed, and Arella and Danny willingly merged their own bodies with the cleansed souls of Azarath to form an entity known as Phantasm.[16]
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 implanted the soul of the good Raven. This caused Starfire to leave Earth to escape from the evil Raven. The Titans could defeat Raven only because of the help they received from Phantasm.[17]
Raven later returned, still evil, to destroy the good version of herself implanted in Starfire. With the help of the Titans, evil Raven was reduced to ashes, and the good part of Raven was given a new, golden spirit body completely free of her father's demonic influence. In NewTamaran, Starfire and the golden spirit form of Raven revealed that implanting Raven's soul in Starfire was actually a plan concocted by Raven; with the inherent evil in her soul permanently removed, Raven regained her full humanity while preserving her powers.[18]
In her bodiless spirit form, Raven returned to Earth to help extract her former teammate Cyborg's soul and consciousness from the Technis planet's computer mind.[19] Later, she was instrumental in defeatingImperiex by aiding Wonder Woman andTempest in re-poweringDarkseid.[20] Once Imperiex was defeated, Raven then resumed her journey to find a new purpose.
Raven's spirit was ultimately trapped by a ritual of theChurch of Blood. Under the revived Brother Blood's supervision, she was forcibly placed in the comatose body of a young, teenage girl. The Teen Titans (reformed again), discovered that the Church of Blood were worshipers of Raven's father, Trigon. They also found a prophecy about the marriage between Blood and Raven that would result inArmageddon. The new team interrupted the wedding, and Blood and his followers were forced to flee. Rejoining the Titans, Raven (who was now the same age as her teammates) created the human identity of "Rachel Roth" by taking her late mother's surname.[21] As Rachel, she enrolled in a local high school.
After enduring much confusion about her new place in the world, Raven's teammate Garfield Logan (Beast Boy), began developing romantic feelings for her, and the two became romantically attached.
In52, after the death ofSuperboy, the Titans began to fall apart.Robin joinsBatman, andWonder Girl left the team. Beast Boy struggled to maintain the team and was flippant towards Raven and their relationship. The new members who joined were only interested in seeking fame rather than looking to fulfill justice. When Beast Boy decided to helpSteel on a mission, most of the members left, leaving only Raven andZatara. Later, Beast Boy, Raven,Offspring andAquagirl aid Steel in launching an attack onLexCorp. Raven also participated inWorld War III. Eventually, Robin, Wonder Girl, and a few new members join the Titans, making the team whole again. Beast Boy and Raven were among the only members that remained in the team during this period.
Raven quit the team after she and Beast Boy ended their relationship.[22] Letting the others think she was leaving because of Garfield, Raven left because she uncovered a secret of one of the other Titans.
Raven took advantage of this power with a book of unclear significance.[23] Raven had a diskette containing Jericho's soul. She performed a cleansing ritual over his soul and transferred it into a new body before returning to the team as a full member.[24][25]
Without warning, the Titans are captured by the villainousTitans East and transported to the original Titan Island inNew York City, where Raven is placed in the "care" ofEnigma andDuela Dent, who took to torturing her psychologically. Raven manages her escape. After beating the Titans East, she and Garfield talk about their feelings, but he refuses to dwell on the matter, leaving their relationship uncertain.[26]
Following the death ofBart Allen, Raven, along with the other adult Titans, decides to leave the team. Putting heroics aside, Raven concentrates instead on finishing her high school education and continuing to live a normal human life as Rachel.
Raven later appeared in a five-issue miniseries written by Marv Wolfman, with art byDamion Scott. It occurs during the "missing year", following Raven's attempts at living as an ordinary teenage girl and attending high school. Unfortunately, she gets inadvertently drawn into a mystical fight involvingPsycho-Pirate's Medusa Mask and has to battle for the lives of her classmates. In theWizard #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".
Raven discovers that Trigon had more than one child, her half-siblings, and that a trio of male children devoted to her father are behind the attacks. She is affected along with many of the other Titans by these three beings. Raven's three half-brothers 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.
Raven's 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. She later provided a number of other artifacts, all capable of killing her, to the Titans as terms for her staying with the team.[27]
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.[28]
Raven decided to stay with the Teen Titans, now acting as a mentor to the younger members. When the Teen Titans attempted to return home, Raven was kidnapped and taken to another dimension by Wyld.[29] Wyld reveals 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 she visited to merge into one being: the Wyld. The Titans enter the Wyld World to rescue Raven. Wyld is eventually destroyed byStatic.
In the final issue of this incarnation of the Titans,Superboy-Prime and hisLegion of Doom attack Titan's Tower. Raven stopsKid Flash just before he can killInertia. Then she reveals her soul-self to Headcase, terrifying and in so defeating him. After the Legion of Doom is defeated and Superboy-Prime is bound to theSource Wall, Beast Boy and Raven have a talk about her difficulty in readingSolstice's emotions after Beast Boy had accused Raven of leaving her behind and he refused to believe her when she stated it wasn't on purpose. They also talked of their encounter with Headcase. Eventually, Raven starts to open up about her true feelings. Beast Boy makes it clear he doesn't want to escape from any part of her. Touched, Raven decides that she needs to embrace the positive feelings inside her rather than just her negative ones. Beast Boy assures her this is part of being human, and points out, "I think you've worried enough about the bad...so why don't we focus on the good for a change?" With that, the two reconcile and share a heartfelt kiss.[30]
After the events of the 2011 "Flashpoint" series, the history of the DC Universe was altered, resulting inThe New 52. Raven makes her New 52 debut in the first issue of thePhantom Stranger. There she is shown as a girl in a black and white striped sweater becoming distraught at a funeral over the overwhelming emotion emanating from the people there. The Phantom Stranger takes Raven toStonehenge, the portal between Earth and the realm of Trigon. Being told by a "higher power" what must be done, the reluctant Stranger unwillingly hands her over to Trigon.
Raven made her firstTeen Titans appearance inTeen Titans vol. 4 #16. Raven, sporting a new costume, is introduced by Trigon as his "Black Bird of Terror" to his minions. It is strongly suggested that Raven had been controlling Robin's emotions. During Trigon's invasion on Earth, she approached a near-deadBeast Boy who had been assaulted byDeathstroke in the remains of theRavagers facility.[31] After being touched by Raven, Beast Boy awoke. When he asked if Harvest had sent her, she apologized stating that she brought him into the fray much sooner than she expected, stating, "Hush. We are birds of a feather now... You are mine to control", as Raven mind-controlled him and teleported them to New York where Trigon and the Teen Titans are in battle.[32]
Trigon reveals more of Raven's origins. He has had a son from each of the other worlds he's conquered, but Raven is his only daughter. Trigon let Raven's mother,Arella, live as he believed that she needed to be raised as a human to preserve her natural empathetic abilities, key to Trigon's plan to have his daughter succeed him as ruler of the seven under-realms. Refusing to accept this fate, Arella fled with her daughter to Azarath where the monks taught her how to control her dark side and avoid Trigon's influence on her. Years later, she escaped from Azarath to protect her mentors and planet from Trigon and fled to the Earth wherePhantom Stranger captured her for Trigon.[33]
Raven then returned to the under-realms and quickly surpassed her father's expectations, recognizing that the only way to spare those she loved from his wrath was to accept the destiny he'd chosen for her. Impressed, Trigon abdicated his throne and gave it to Raven, who willingly took her birthright as Queen.[33]
In New York, Trigon's three sons, Belial, Ruskoff, and Suge, assault the Teen Titans to take Raven back. Raven, Beast Boy, and the Titans defeat them, but Trigon appears again and takes control of the Titans save for Red Robin, Raven and Beast Boy. The manipulated Titans attack, and while Raven and Beast Boy distract them and Trigon, Tim [Red Robin] cuts through Trigon's eyes with his inertrite wings. Pulling out the wings from his eyes, Trigon compliments Tim before suddenly disappearing. Soon after, a woman and a group of suited men come through a portal, informing them that they will takePsimon into custody and make the incident appear as if it had never happened. When questioned about the police officers Psimon has killed, the woman reveals it was a hallucination by Trigon, so it has never happened.
Raven and Beast Boy are re-accepted into the Teen Titans. Raven brings controversy to the team by revealing Tim's flirtatious relationships when under Trigon's control. Raven goes into her room, leaving the awkward situation behind. There, she summons her father, saying, "Father, I am one of them. Your plan worked perfectly", leaving questions on what side she is playing for.
Meanwhile, Tim calls Raven aside, telling that if something happens to him, the team will look up to her to lead them.
After the events of "Trinity War", the Earth's greatest heroes are gone and theCrime Syndicate of America has taken over the world. The Teen Titans challenge the Crime Syndicate, but are easily overpowered byJohnny Quick andAtomica and then flung into the time stream. While the Titans are constantly flung through time, Raven is sent a few thousand years back in time. There, she is challenged byEtrigan the Demon, who recognizes her as Trigon's daughter and tries to kill her. Raven is saved by Wonder Girl, who suggests that the way to stop Raven's powers, since she was born and raised in a world between worlds, is to manipulate the energy within the time stream. Raven succeeds in anchoring the Titans with her soul-self, teleporting them through time.
The Titans arrive 20 years into the future, whereJon Lane Kent has massacred most of Earth's superheroes, leaving only a few, including Beast Boy (Garfield Logan), now calling himself Beast Man, and Rose Wilson. Superboy (Kon-El) and Jon battle, and Kon triumphs. Kon is sent elsewhere by an unknown power, and a severely injured Jon is swapped unknowingly as Superboy by Logan and Wilson. The Titans depart again to an alien planet in the 30th century, where Kid Flash is a rebel leader and war criminal,Bar Torr. While the Titans stay to witness Bar Torr's trial, Raven deduces Superboy is Jon, and helps send him back to the present time so that he can find a cure for his deteriorating body condition.
Leaving Kid Flash and Solstice in the future, the Titans return to their original time and are united withBunker, Beast Boy, and Skitter. Raven finds out that their journey has severed Trigon's control over her. Followed by an attack by the villain Grimm, the Titans plan a final attack on Harvest's new colony. Raven is reluctant to join because of her past actions, but Bunker tells her that everybody deserves a second chance, and Raven changes her mind. In the colony, they are surprised to find that everyone is returned to normal, and even the victims of the Culling have been restored to life. Raven plays a crucial role by finding out Harvest's scheme to extract all themetagenes to create a massive DNA strand for his usage. This is destroyed by Raven's soul-self and Harvest is finally defeated.
Sometime after leaving the Teen Titans, Raven traveled toSan Francisco hoping to find her mother's family and introduce herself to them. She attempted to conceal her powers before having a misadventure and was then later abducted byDamian Wayne, who recruited her to be part of the new Teen Titans team he was establishing to take down his grandfatherRa's al Ghul. It is then revealed that the Demon's Fist, a team initially led by Damian before he decided to follow Batman, were hunting each of the assembled Titans that Damian had abducted for their initiation into the League of Assassins. Raven is targeted by Plague, an assassin whose hands can rot, decay and take the life out of anything she touches.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2023) |
| This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2023) |
| This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2023) |
Within theDC Universe, Raven is a character who possesses considerable power as a result of her lineage and connection to her father Trigon, a powerful demonic entity. Her unique heritage, being half-demon and half-human with a human mother, leads to an ongoing theme of balancing her formidable powers and mastering the mystic arts. Despite the constant threat from her father and other demonic forces, Raven aspires to become a hero and works to overcome the challenges presented by her lineage.[34]
In theInfinite Frontier era, Raven is depicted as being in her twenties, in contrast to her portrayal as a teenager in DC Rebirth. During this time, she assumes the role of a faculty member at the Teen Titans Academy while also being a member of the Titans. As a faculty member, she takes on the responsibilities of a school counselor and serves as an expert in mystic subjects. Several other notable DC Comics characters whom are mystically inclined served under her tutelage, including fellow demon hybrid Nevermore,Shazam, andStitch.[35]
Due to her heritage and training under Azar, Raven is a powerful mystic and empath; Raven is capable of sensing emotions and with pain and disease, she can ease them by assimilating them into her body and expunging them although the process is painful to undergo.[36] Other powers including reading emotions and possessing telepathic-like insights into the minds of others.[4] These abilities facilitate her soul "Soul Self", her astral body shaped like her namesake that allows her to travel long distances, become intangible, establish telepathic communication, and function as a protective shield capable of absorbing an energy and solid matter. Initially, Raven's soul-self had a time limit of five minutes outside her body, after which she would experience mental torment. She eventually overcame this constraint.[37]
Raven is considered adept in magic, allowing for various sorcerous powers such as teleportation, manipulation of shadows, telekinesis, hypnosis and proficiency in chaos magic,[4] able to perform magical effects with adherence to a system of magic (incantations, chants, etc.). Raven also has limited precognition allowing her to predict near-future events, occurring involuntarily and infrequently. Over time, Raven's mastery of these abilities has advanced to the extent that she is considered a skilled teacher in the mystic arts.[38]
In her demonic form, in which also her own soul-self is activated, her abilities are enhanced; granting heightened physical strength and endurance, her aptitude for chaos magic is strengthened, and her powers become more destructive as well as adopting a red-skinned appearance with a set of glowing eyes on her forehead.[4] Like her brothers, Raven can induce and amplify one of theseven deadly sins (in her case, pride) or all seven of them, in any living being. Doing so causes her to suffer bouts of nausea and vomiting for several days afterward as side effects. In addition to her demonic abilities, she is skilled in hand-to-hand combat
Due to being an empath, Raven cannot completely disconnect herself from others emotions, with exposure to many others with heighten feelings posing a risk and is susceptible to overwhelming magical forces.[4][39]
Raven
| Title | Material collected | Publication Date | ISBN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Raven | Collects issues #1–6 | 2017 | 978-1401268985 |
Raven: Daughter of Darkness
| Title | Material collected | Publication Date | ISBN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raven: Daughter of Darkness Vol 1 | Collects issues #1–6 | 2018 | 978-1-4012-8473-2 |
| 2 | Raven: Daughter of Darkness Vol 2 | Collects issues #7-12 | 2019 | 978-1-4012-8963-8 |
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Raul Arias Philippi ofScreen Rant stated, "In-universe acknowledgment of her powers and character growth in the Teen Titans is far more important than the portrayal doing Raven’s character justice, though, and Titans United #1 delivers on this front as well. First, Nightwing defers to Raven’s expertise when first encountering the recently empowered criminal. As Raven tries to assess and control the situation, she cycles through several of her powers to both engage the threat, and help her teammates, particularly a fatally injured Beast Boy who she heals without breaking a sweat. While previously her Teen Titans teammates might have been concerned about Raven overdoing it with the magic, it’s clear here that she has the team’s complete trust, regardless of whatever magic she uses and how complex or dangerous it is. Perhaps though, the biggest endorsement of Raven comes from Beast Boy, who lauds her heroism when returning to base, saying: “You always wanna help. That’s why you’re the best of us.”[71]
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