Warning: Spoilers for World’s Finest: Teen Titans #6!
By revealing his secret identity to his teammates, Nightwing officially made the move that would lead the Teen Titans to become the eventual replacements for the Justice League in the DC Universe. The Titans have not only been crowned as equals to the Justice League, but have replaced the JLA as Earth’s protectors – and it all goes back to Dick Grayson putting his trust in his teammates.
World’s Finest: Teen Titans #6 – by Mark Waid, Mike Norton, Emanuela Lupacchino, Jordie Bellaire, and Steve Wands – delves into the classic era of the Teen Titans, offering context for the present day team at the foreground of the DCU. Prior to this issue, the Titans had struggled to get on the same page, largely because Robin has kept his guard up in protecting his secret identity, whereas everyone else on the team already shared theirs with one another.
This led to a massive argument with the team in the first issue, but here, Robin realizes that trusting each other with their secret identities is a big step in making a superteam succeed.
DC Confirms Why the Teen Titans’ Historic Name Change Was So Essential
While the Titans deal with gross transformations, intergalactic issues, and adult drama, the original Teen Titans are busy acting like kids.
Knowing Each Other’s Secret Identities Is Key To The Teen Titans’ Success
In World’s Finest: Teen Titans #3, the team battled the Terror Titans, and because they couldn’t manage to be on the same page, they get their backsides handed to them. Later, back at Titans Tower, they argued while Robin tried to get the team to trust him to come up with a proper plan to retaliate. Except, no one trusts Robin, because he refused to trust them with his secret identity. They continued to goad him about not being vulnerable to his teammates. Finally, despite the vow that he promised his mentor, Batman, Dick Grayson understands that unmasking will only help team morale in the long run, and so he does.
Robin’s realization is proven right in World’s Finest: Teen Titans #6, where, like clockwork, the Teen Titans suddenly have pitch-perfect chemistry for the first time in their collective careers. They have a much easier time disposing of the Terror Titans, managing to operate as a cohesive unit. None of this cohesion would have been possible if Robin had not finally let his team know who the real man behind his mask was this whole time. It may seem like a trivial observation, but it showcases the true meaning of “trust” in the superhero field, especially as a part of a superteam.
Sharing Secret Identities Is A Trust Exercise For Superteams
The secret identity is among the most sacred things that a superhero has to protect, frequently leading them to keep their obscured even from fellow heroes. However, as this series has shown, for a superteam to work, superheroes need to be honest with each other about everything, including their secret identities, to establish a foundation of trust. Such a profound trust, based in something so sacred, allows friendships to bloom, another quality that separates the Titans from the Justice League. Building trust through their secret identities helped pave the way for the Teen Titans to become the team ready to replace the Justice League.
