The New Teen Titans #26
New Teen Titans #26 marks the first appearance of Tara Markov — Terra — one of the most consequential new characters in Bronze Age DC Comics. Where most team-book additions followed the well-worn path of the reluctant-hero-turned-loyal-member, Wolfman and Pérez designed Terra from page one as a traitor with no redemption arc, a subversion that would pay off two years later in 'The Judas Contract' and permanently raise the stakes for superhero soap opera storytelling. The issue also serves as the opening chapter of the 'Terra Incognito' arc, which demonstrated that a supporting character could carry months of long-form deception plotting — a narrative technique that influenced generations of team books. Beyond its structural importance, #26 deepened the Robin–Starfire relationship and continued the early seeding of D.A. Adrian Chase's vigilante psychology, making it a dense, multi-thread installment even apart from its debut.
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Writer Marv Wolfman and penciler George Pérez developed Terra partly in response to the constant comparisons between their New Teen Titans and Chris Claremont's X-Men — particularly the popularity of the young, relatable Kitty Pryde. Rather than simply imitating the formula, Wolfman deliberately constructed a character who would appear to fit that mold before revealing she had always been a cold-blooded agent of Deathstroke; Pérez has stated that both creators agreed from the very first plotting session that this character would be a villain who would die. The issue was edited by Len Wein — Wolfman's longtime collaborator who had also edited the series from its debut — with inks by Romeo Tanghal and colors by Adrienne Roy rounding out the regular creative team at the height of the book's Bronze Age popularity.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Terra (Tara Markov), geokinetic metahuman and secret agent of Deathstroke — co-created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciler George Pérez.
- Story titled 'Call Them… Runaways!' (Part 1 of 2); continued in New Teen Titans #27.
- Terra's debut appearance occurs near the Statue of Liberty, where Changeling encounters and battles her for the first time.
- D.A. Adrian Chase appears prominently; he and his wife survive a drug-crazed youth's attack — an event that plants the seeds of Chase's transformation into the Vigilante across the broader Terra Incognito arc.
- Issue also depicts the early stages of the Robin (Dick Grayson)–Starfire romantic relationship, freshly established after the preceding Vega system arc.
- Wolfman and Pérez conceived Terra explicitly as a character who would never be redeemed — a conscious inversion of reader expectations set up by the Kitty Pryde parallel — with both creators deciding on her eventual death from the very start.
- Reprinted in the 2006 trade paperback New Teen Titans: Terra Incognito (collecting #26, 28–34, and New Teen Titans Annual #2) and in New Teen Titans Archives, Volume 4.
Cast · 19 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
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The Teen Titans help out some runaways and are recruited by Adrian Chase to help stop a huge drug shipment from arriving in New York.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).