Teen Titans #1
Teen Titans vol. 4 #1 (2011) is the flagship opening salvo of DC's New 52 initiative as applied to its young-hero franchise, establishing a radically rebooted fourth incarnation of the team in which the entire accumulated history of every previous Titans roster was erased from continuity. The issue is the first appearance of Bunker (Miguel José Barragán), a proudly gay, Mexican-born hero who represented a meaningful — and for the time, somewhat rare — step toward visible LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream superhero team books. It also locks in the New 52 versions of Red Robin, Wonder Girl, and Kid Flash, reintroducing them as strangers to each other with redesigned costumes and altered backstories within a morally darker, more paranoid premise driven by the villainous organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E. That core premise — teenage metahumans hunted by a covert agency — shaped the entire 2011–2014 run and directly generated the spinoff title The Ravagers.
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The issue went on sale September 28, 2011, with a cover date of November 2011, written by Scott Lobdell — best known for his 1990s Marvel X-Men work — and drawn by Brett Booth, who had previously worked on Justice League of America, with inking by Norm Rapmund and coloring by Andrew Dalhouse; Bobbie Chase served as editor. The book's editorial foundation shifted significantly during pre-production: Lobdell initially conceived the series as a direct continuation of the previous Teen Titans vol. 3 continuity, but DC executive editor Dan DiDio mandated a clean break, declaring that all prior Titans history was non-existent — a reversal that left early issues awkwardly referencing the very team history that had been officially annulled. Booth has acknowledged in interviews that he argued against Lobdell's decision to give Red Robin wing-like cape structures, calling them a departure from classic costuming, though Lobdell ultimately kept them in the final design.
Trivia · 8 facts
- On-sale date: September 28, 2011; cover date: November 2011. This is Teen Titans vol. 4 #1, the fourth numbered volume of the title in DC history.
- Written by Scott Lobdell; pencils by Brett Booth; inks by Norm Rapmund; colors by Andrew Dalhouse; letters by Carlos M. Mangual; editor Bobbie Chase.
- First appearance of Bunker (Miguel José Barragán), an openly gay, Mexican-born metahuman who can project psionic energy constructs — one of the first openly gay heroes to debut as a founding member of a major DC team title.
- Establishes the New 52 incarnation of the team's core roster: Red Robin (Tim Drake), Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark), and Kid Flash (Bart Allen), presented as strangers to one another in a fully rebooted continuity.
- First story arc, 'It's Our Right to Fight' (issues #1–7), introduces the villainous organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and its campaign to capture, experiment on, or eliminate super-powered teenagers — a premise that defined the entire 2011–2014 run.
- The issue includes a background cameo by Pandora, a mysterious figure who appears in the background of every New 52 #1 issue published in September 2011, tying the launch to the Flashpoint/New 52 reboot's larger mythology.
- Reprinted in the collection Teen Titans: A Celebration of 50 Years, affirming its status as a historically documented chapter in the franchise's long publication history.
- Brett Booth served as the series' lead artist from issues #1 through #16; the collected trade Teen Titans Vol. 1: It's Our Right to Fight (issues #1–7) reached the New York Times Best Sellers list.
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Reprints
Reprinted in DC Comics: The New 52 #[nn] (2012), Justice League #1 (2012), Teen Titans #1 (2012), Teen Titans: A Celebration of 50 Years #[nn] (2015), Novos Titãs & Superboy #1
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