The Titans Have Come a Long Way, But There’s One Issue the DC Team Will Never Overcome


WARNING: Contains Potential Spoilers for Titans #19!

The Titans have come a long way in recent years, especially after stepping up as DC’s premier superhero team when the Justice League temporarily disbanded. Now, with the Justice League back in action and the Titans joining their ranks, the Donna Troy-led team has achieved major milestones. However, despite these significant advancements, one lingering issue continues to haunt the Titans, holding them back from reaching their full potential.

… Batman confirms that not all Justice League members are equal…

John Layman, Serg Acuña, Matt Herms, and Wes Abbott’s Titans #19 continues the team’s ongoing narrative as they adjust to new dynamics, including Donna Troy stepping into the leadership role previously held by Nightwing, and the Titans now officially being part of the Justice League, while still operating independently.

Their latest mission pits them against Killer Frost, a rogue Justice League member who has abandoned her hero status to return to her villainous roots. During their battle with Frost, she drops a major truth bomb: the Titans will never be seen as anything more than the “Teen Sidekick Team.”

“…Everyone Will Always See You as the Teen Sidekick Team…” – Killer Frost in Titans #19 (2025)

Panel Comes From Titans #19 (2025) – Art by Serg Acuña

Titans #19 Killer Frost starfire ebast boy

Titans #19 shows Killer Frost struggling with feelings of paranoia, insecurity, and aggression as she tries to adjust to her new role as a Justice League member. However, with a little emotional manipulation from Psycho-Pirate, her sense of not belonging among the other heroes spirals out of control, ultimately driving her to relapse into her villainous ways. After attacking the Justice League, Frost brings the fight to New York, where the Titans engage her in battle, working to neutralize the rogue Justice League member.

In response to the Titans’ confusion over her sudden turn, Killer Frost explains that no matter what she does, she will always be seen as a villain, just as the Titans will forever be regarded as the “teen sidekick team.” While Killer Frost may not be in her right mind, thanks to Psycho-Pirate’s manipulations, she does make a valid point. As Beast Boy notes, the Titans left the “teen team” image behind long ago, yet Frost and others continue to reduce them to this stereotype, no matter how much the team has proven themselves or matured. This highlights a major, ongoing issue for the Titans—an association with being a juvenile team that they seem unable to overcome.

“They Still Think We’re the Kids, the Sidekicks, in Constant Need of Help.” – Donna Troy in Titans #18 (2024)

Panel Comes From Titans #18 (2024) – Art by Pete Woods

Titans #18 Donna Troy

While it may be easy to dismiss Killer Frost’s statement about the Titans always being seen as the “Teen Sidekick Team” due to her unstable emotional state, her words gain credibility when considering that Donna Troy herself expressed a similar sentiment in Titans #18. In response to a crisis involving the villain duo Mammoth and Shimmer, Red Tornado, the Justice League’s operations coordinator and current AI system, offers the Titans reinforcements. Donna immediately declines and ends the call quickly, with her inner monologue revealing that she believes the senior members of the Justice League still view them as “the sidekicks, the kids, in constant need of help.”

Donna’s inner monologue shows that the perception of the Titans as merely a team of sidekicks is not just held by disgruntled villains, but is an overarching view held by others, including members of the Justice League. Donna takes this a step further when she internally declares that proving this belief wrong is her mission. This suggests that the perception is significant enough for Donna to want to address it head-on. However, the lingering question remains: can the Titans realistically overcome this issue, especially when even core Justice League members, like Batman, still seem to view them as lesser?

Related


DC Is Settling the Debate: The Titans Have a True Leader, And It Is Definitely Not Nightwing

Nightwing has stepped down as the Titans’ leader, and the hero he’s chosen as his replacement is already taking charge by putting him in his place.

Sorry, Titans: Batman Confirms That Not All Heroes Are Equal in the New Justice League

Panel Comes From Titans #19 (2025) – Art by Serg Acuña

Titans #19 Batman Donna Troy

Donna Troy’s and Killer Frost’s claims that the Titans are still seen as merely the “Teen Sidekick Team” by others, including their fellow Justice League members, are further supported in Titans #19 during an interaction between Donna and Batman. After the Titans successfully defeat Killer Frost, Batman arrives just in time to take her away to the Watchtower, where she will be detained for the foreseeable future. However, Donna is less than enthusiastic about this plan, knowing the Justice League is considering “tossing villains into the Phantom Zone”—the infamous interdimensional prison tied to Superman’s lore—something she believes Frost doesn’t deserve.

Batman responds by saying that what Frost deserves is for the Justice League to decide. Donna counters, rightfully pointing out that the Titans are Justice League members, too, and that they should have a say in the matter. Batman coolly retorts that they will get a vote, “just not the deciding vote.” In this moment, Batman confirms that not all Justice League members are equal, with the Titans specifically excluded from the final decision. This exchange further reinforces the narrative that the Justice League still views the Titans as sidekicks rather than equals.

Will the Titans Ever Be Able to Outgrow Their “Teen Sidekick Team” Label?

Cover B Card Stock Variant by Karl Kerschl for Titans #19 (2025)

Cover B Karl Kerschl Card Stock Variant Titans #19

With these examples, it’s clear that despite the many times the Titans have proven themselves on par with the Justice League—and despite the fact that they are all adults, and have been for quite some time—villains and heroes alike still view them as a team of teen sidekicks. This raises the question: is there a possibility for the Titans to ever overcome this perception, and how could they do so, given that their growth as a team and as individuals should have already put this association to rest? Honestly, what more can they do at this point to prove they aren’t just a team of sidekicks?

The answer may not be what fans want to hear, but it’s valid: the Titans need to outgrow their mentors’ generation to fully shed their sidekick status. As long as senior heroes and their mentors remain active, the Titans will remain tethered to their origins. For them to truly rise to the top of the hero hierarchy, they need to step out of their mentors’ shadow—something that can only be achieved once heroes such as Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman are out of the picture, which is unlikely to happen soon. Until then, the Titans will have to continue being considered first and foremost as DC’s “Teen Sidekick Team.”

Titans #19 is available now from DC Comics!

Teen Titans Thumbnail


Teen Titans

Teen Titans is a superhero animated TV series based on the DC Comics team of the same name. Airing from 2003 to 2006, the show follows five young heroes—Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy—as they battle villains while navigating adolescence. The series was widely praised for its blend of action, humor, and character development, and it spawned a popular spin-off, Teen Titans Go!.

Share your love