Marv Wolfman

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Lore & Background

Wolfman's involvement with the Teen Titans began in the late 1960s when he co-wrote a story for Teen Titans #20 that was rewritten and redrawn by Neal Adams after being rejected by publisher Carmine Infantino. He later co-created an origin for Wonder Girl in Teen Titans #22 with artist Gil Kane. In 1980, Wolfman and artist George Pérez launched The New Teen Titans #1, a series that Wolfman initially believed would only last six issues due to poor sales at DC Comics. The working relationship between Wolfman and Pérez evolved to the point where they plotted the series jointly, often meeting for lunch to work out stories. Wolfman's interest in occult manipulation, stemming from his previous work on Marvel's Tomb of Dracula, influenced the creation of Brother Blood, a villain whose "very dark" storyline received praise from older readers but alienated younger readers. The most notable Titans storyline of the era, "The Judas Contract" (1984), featured the betrayal of the team by Terra and won the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for "Favorite Comic Book Story" of 1984.

In Their Own Story

In a small office cluttered with scripts and coffee cups, Marv Wolfman stared at the blank page where the next chapter of The New Teen Titans needed to breathe. He wasn't drawing lines or inking shadows; he was weaving the very soul of a team that didn't exist yet in this form. In his mind's eye, he saw a young boy standing on a rooftop, not as a sidekick, but as a man stepping out of a shadow. He wrote the words that would send a team into fire and betrayal, knowing that their scars would make them stronger, forever changing the landscape of heroes for generations to come.

Reader's Guide

Marv Wolfman's impact on the Teen Titans began with his early work on the original series, including co-writing Teen Titans #20 and co-creating Wonder Girl's origin in Teen Titans #22. His most significant contribution started with The New Teen Titans #1 (November 1980), a relaunch that paired his writing with George Pérez's artistry. This era is considered the definitive continuity for the team, establishing the core roster including Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Changeling. Wolfman and Pérez plotted the series jointly, often meeting for lunch to work out stories over several hours. The series' first twenty issues focused primarily on short, one-shot storylines before both creators decided to attempt "more complex tales" and introduce villains whose "origins and motivations were very different from the norm of the day." The team's adversaries included Brother Blood, a religious cult leader with supernatural powers, and Deathstroke the Terminator, a mercenary who takes a contract to kill the Titans. The 1984 storyline "The Judas Contract," in Tales of the Teen Titans #42–44 and Tales of the Teen Titans Annual #3, featured a psychopathic girl named Terra who infiltrates the Titans in order to destroy them. This storyline won the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for "Favorite Comic Book Story" of 1984 and was later reprinted as a standalone trade paperback in 1988.

Did You Know?

• Wolfman co-wrote a Teen Titans story that was rejected by publisher Carmine Infantino and later rewritten and redrawn by Neal Adams, appearing in Teen Titans #20.
• Wolfman and Gil Kane created an origin for Wonder Girl in Teen Titans #22 and introduced her new costume.
• Wolfman initially believed The New Teen Titans would only last six issues due to overall poor sales at DC Comics.
• Wolfman and Pérez plotted the series jointly, often meeting for lunch to work out stories over several hours.
• Wolfman's interest in occult manipulation from his previous work on Marvel's Tomb of Dracula influenced the creation of Brother Blood.