The New Teen Titans #3
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeNew Teen Titans #3 (cover-dated January 1981) is one of the densest single issues of the Wolfman–Pérez run, delivering three distinct firsts in a single story: the debut of the Fearsome Five as a villainous team unit, the first physical appearance of Titans Tower as the team's permanent headquarters, and the earliest in-series disclosure of Starfire's Tamaranean origin and enslavement by the Citadel. Together those moments established the structural vocabulary the book would rely on for years — a rotating cast of team-specific villains, a recognizable home base, and character backstory woven into ongoing adventure rather than saved for dedicated origin issues. The issue also plants the name 'Trigon the Terrible' as an ominous thread, seeding the multi-issue arc that would become one of the defining storylines of early-1980s DC Comics. By simultaneously introducing four brand-new villains (Psimon, Gizmo, Mammoth, and Shimmer) alongside a re-purposed Justice League antagonist (Doctor Light), Wolfman and Pérez demonstrated their ambition to build a self-contained mythology that could rival Marvel's X-Men franchise in scope and emotional depth.
In "The Fearsome Five!", the New Teen Titans face their first major team-up threat as the newly assembled Fearsome Five—led by Dr. Light—launch a surprise assault. As the Titans grapple with internal tensions, Starfire shares memories of her past, while Raven warns of a greater danger: a battle against the Justice League may be inevitable. With George Pérez and Marv Wolfman at the helm, and Pérez’s dynamic art defining the cover and interior, this 1981 classic marks a pivotal moment in the team’s evolution.
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The issue was produced by the same creative engine that drove the entire first volume: Marv Wolfman scripting over a co-plot developed with George Pérez, whose layouts were finished by inker Frank Chiaramonte (Romeo Tanghal handled inks on adjacent issues, but Chiaramonte is credited here by the Grand Comics Database). Wolfman and Pérez's working method was notably collaborative — the two were plotting the series jointly, and Wolfman later recalled meeting with Pérez regularly to work out stories together. Both creators reportedly expected the series to last only about six issues given DC's overall sales climate at the time, which lends the pace of world-building in these early issues an almost urgent quality. The Fearsome Five were created expressly for this title by Wolfman and Pérez, with Doctor Light imported from his prior role as a recurring Justice League antagonist to serve as the group's founder and de facto leader.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First team appearance of the Fearsome Five: Doctor Light (Dr. Arthur Light), Psimon (Simon Jones), Gizmo (Mikron O'Jeneus), Mammoth (Baran Flinders), and Shimmer (Selinda Flinders) — all created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.
- First physical appearance of Titans Tower (Titans Tower I), the team's T-shaped island headquarters on the East River; the structure had only appeared previously in a dream sequence in DC Comics Presents #26.
- Origin of Starfire revealed in-story: Koriand'r tells her new teammates she was sold into slavery to broker a truce between Tamaran and the conquering Citadel — the first time her background is disclosed within the ongoing series.
- First named mention of Trigon the Terrible within the series; Trigon appears only in flashback and as a disembodied voice — his first full appearance comes in New Teen Titans #5.
- The Justice League of America (Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Zatanna, and the Atom) appear only within Raven's premonition, foreshadowing the Titans-vs.-JLA confrontation that drives the next issue.
- Psimon is established from the outset as a secret agent of Trigon, granting the Fearsome Five a direct narrative link to the series' primary cosmic threat.
- Doctor Light's role as founding villain bridges the book's new mythology to DC's broader universe; his last prior appearance was in Justice League of America #149.
- The issue has been reprinted in: New Teen Titans Archives Vol. 1 (1999 hardcover), The New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 1 (2011 and 2017 editions), The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 trade paperback (2014), and multiple international editions including German, French, and Spanish publications.
Cast · 30 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Starfire relates her childhood to the other Titans. Raven tells the Titans that they must battle the Justice League to stop Trigon, but first they are attacked by the new group Dr. Light has put together called the Fearsome Five.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
Key issues in The New Teen Titans
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