Raven, also known as Rachel Roth, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books 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. Her design was based on the Phantom Stranger. Raven was one of the key figures instrumental to the revival of Teen Titans and among the most popular characters within the franchise.
Born as the daughter of the demon lord Trigon and human Arella, she is granted a lineage of great supernatural power as an empath and demonic 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 the Teen Titans and Titans. Raven has also served in other superhero teams, including the Justice League, Sentinels of Magic, Night Force, and Justice League Dark. Following the character's popularity in her media appearances, Raven has also starred in several comic mini-series titles.
Raven has appeared in numerous television series and films, including Cartoon Network's Teen Titans series and its spin-off series Teen Titans Go!, voiced by Tara Strong, and in the DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU), voiced by Taissa Farmiga. The character made her live-action debut in the DC Universe/HBO Max series Titans, portrayed by Teagan Croft.
Development In an interview, Perez described his design approach for the character,
When asked if Raven's face was based on any real-life person, Perez said that, "[o]riginally, Raven was Persis Khambatta, the actress who played in the first Star 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."
Fictional character biography First life of Raven Raven first appeared in The New Teen Titans #1 recruiting superheroes to fight her father, Trigon. She initially approached the Justice League for help, but they refused her on the advice of Zatanna, who sensed her demonic parentage.The New Teen Titans #4 In desperation, she reformed the Teen Titans as the New Teen Titans to fight her father. The team consisted of Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy (then known as Changeling).The New Teen Titans #1 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.The New Teen Titans #6 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 by Lilith 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.The New Teen Titans vol. 2 #1-5
Raven After Raven's disappearance, Arella went around the world in search of Raven. She tracked Raven down, but both of them were kidnapped by Brother Blood. The minions of Blood used Raven to control Nightwing (formerly Robin) as part of Blood's plans. The Titans rescued them both and prevented Blood from returning to power.The New Teen Titans vol. 2 #31
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.The New Teen Titans vol. 2 #32 She learned to handle this power only after unintentionally making Nightwing 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.The New Titans vol. 2 #67
Raven was later kidnapped by the Wildebeest Society during the "Titans Hunt" storyline.The New Titans vol. 2 #71 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 evil doppelgänger of her father. Arella and Raven's friend Danny 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.The New Titans vol. 2 #84
Evil 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 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.The New Titans #121
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 New Tamaran, 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.The New Titans #130
Spirit 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.JLA vs Titans #1–3 Later, she was instrumental in defeating Imperiex by aiding Wonder Woman and Tempest in re-powering Darkseid.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #173 Once Imperiex was defeated, Raven then resumed her journey to find a new purpose.
Rebirth Raven's spirit was ultimately trapped by a ritual of the Church 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 in Armageddon. 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.Teen Titans vol. 3 #11 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.
52 In 52, after the death of Superboy, the Titans began to fall apart. Robin joins Batman, and Wonder 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 help Steel on a mission, most of the members left, leaving only Raven and Zatara. Later, Beast Boy, Raven, Offspring and Aquagirl aid Steel in launching an attack on LexCorp. Raven also participated in World 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.
"One Year Later"
Raven quit the team after she and Beast Boy ended their relationship.Teen Titans vol. 3 #37 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.Teen Titans vol. 3 #38 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.Teen Titans vol. 3 #40Teen Titans vol. 3 #41
Without warning, the Titans are captured by the villainous Titans East and transported to the original Titan Island in New York City, where Raven is placed in the "care" of Enigma and Duela 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.Teen Titans vol. 3 #47
Following the death of Bart 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 by Damion 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 involving Psycho-Pirate's Medusa Mask and has to battle 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".
Titans 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.Titans vol. 2 #6
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.Teen Titans vol. 3 #76
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.Teen Titans vol. 3 #82 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 by Static.