Warning! Spoilers for Future State: Shazam, Future State: Flash, Future State: Teen Titans, and Future State: Suicide Squad!
DC Comics seems to be giving Raven of the Teen Titans her own version of the X-Men’s Dark Phoenix Saga. However, it might be best that they avoid that route. Although there are several parallels between the mutant Jean Grey with the magical Raven, the Teen Titan’s backstory has some sensitive implications.
DC’s Future State has given readers a glimpse of a possible not-so-distant future, in which a myriad of events take place and iconic heroes evolve. Throughout multiple titles including Shazam, Flash, Teen Titans, and Suicide Squad, a new horrifying creature has appeared known as “the Unkindness,” which is the plural term for raven. The entity has been referred to as a reality-killer, and was revealed to be a corrupted version of the Raven readers know as a member of the Teen Titans. Raven’s turn to the dark side invokes the classic X-Men storyline, Dark Phoenix, which explored Jean Grey’s evolution into a villain as she became consumed by a cosmic energy called the Phoenix Force.
While this subversion made sense for one of the X-Men’s core members, it comes across as being in poor taste for Raven. Unlike Jean, Raven has always dealt with her inner demons, making this transition feel obvious. Her traumatic upbringing involving parental abuse has played a major role in her journey as a superhero. Raven’s darkness that empowers her comes from her father Trigon, a sinister demonic being who she has encountered several times. Her parentage being the source of her powers has caused her to have trust issues — not only with her fellow Teen Titans, but with herself. Now that her potential future self has fully embraced her dark lineage, this turn in events sends a problematic message that plays into her heaviest fear. In Future State: Suicide Squad #2, the planetary threat she becomes is unrecognizable, and is referred to as, “a malevolent space bird ready to destroy the planet.”
Prior to the introduction of the Unkindness, Raven had been known as one of DC’s most hopeful superheroes, as she consistently proved that her inherited nature didn’t have to define her. Raven’s new destiny in becoming the Unkindness comes across as regressive to this important piece of her character. The implications that Raven’s strong will and her friendship with the Teen Titans wasn’t enough to prevent her from turning into a villain steals away a big part of what fans have connected with. While it’s unintentional on DC’s part, this dark revelation gives affirmation to Raven’s self doubt.
There seems to be a limited amount of ways this story can go, based on its similarities with the Dark Phoenix Saga. Given the large threat that the Unkindness is to the world, it seems possible that her old Teen Titans friends will be given no choice but to take her down. As Black Adam is being teased to confront what Raven has become, it’s starting to seem that a heroic sacrifice is imminent. Regardless, the hopeful teenage hero who had overcome numerous internal demons shouldn’t revert to her father’s evil vessel.
