Teen Titans Academy is a Teen Titans centric title written by Tim Sheridan and drawn by Rafa Sandoval. It is part of the DC Infinite Frontier which starts post-Dark Nights: Death Metal.
After the fallout of the events in Teen Titans (Rebirth). Nightwing takes it upon himself to mentor the next generation of young heroes. With the help of Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy, the Titans Leader will set out to make sure no Teen Titan ever goes down a dark path again.
The series crossed over with The Flash and Suicide Squad for the War for Earth-3 storyline, which saw the casts of all three titles visit the Mirror Universe of the DCU to retrieve Amanda Waller.
The series ended after 15 issues.
Teen Titans Academy: provides examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy: The second Red X. In the Teen Titans cartoon he was a criminal but had a code of honour and was almost a Worthy Opponent to Robin. In the comic he's a sociopath who spent a decade grooming a messed up boy to be a weapon against Nightwing, and then casually murders him after telling him he had lied to him for years.
- All for Nothing: Red X destroys the school in the final arc, so the Titans rebuild it. But it gets destroyed again immediately after in Dark Crisis.
- An Ice Person: Summer Zahid was previously introduced in Teen Titans's "Endless Winter" issue and has ice-generating powers.
- Bittersweet Ending: The fourth Red X who had infiltrated Titans Academy is revealed to be Brick, a redheaded orphan who was manipulated by the second Red X into being an instrument of his revenge against Dick Grayson. Brick is then promptly murdered by the second Red X who successfully escapes with his mission to destroy Titans Academy accomplished. But after an uplifting speech from Starfire, the students and faculty recommit to rebuilding what was lost.
- The Bus Came Back: Bunker is one of the upperclassmen, in one of the few acknowledgments that the Teen Titans (New 52) book ever happened.
- Canon Immigrant:
- Red X makes the jump to mainstream continuity from the Teen Titans animated series after debuting in DC Future State.
- Issue #8 features a cameo appearance of Ashley Rayburn/Primer, who previously had only shown up in the non-canon graphic novel of the same name, and of Willow Zimmerman/Whistle and the talking dog Lebowitz, who also originated on a graphic novel.
- Canon Welding: The first issue implies the Titans had a Red X adventure similar to when Robin used the identity in the Teen Titans show.
- Continuity Snarl:
- Issue #8 and everything involving the Flash and Heroes in Crisis. The comic claims that Wally's identity as the Flash is known to the world while Wally's own title explicitly depicts him as having a secret identity and Wally's job at Terrificorp was set up so that he can do superheroics without people getting nosy when he disappears. It also never bothers to detail the fact that Wally West was ultimately proven to have not been at fault at all for the Sanctuary massacre or his actions afterward note , treating it like he did indeed commit these murders but was not forgiven.
- In that same issue, Wally's kids are inconsistent with how they are portrayed in other works, though some of that is a continuing trend since their return. Wally takes his kids to Titans Academy for training, but while Jai West had his powers in "Finish Line", Infinite Frontier says he doesn't have his powers, as Wally is surprised when he travels to the future and learns that Jai's powers have returned. On a related note, Wally has expressed that he doesn't want his kids getting into the family business, at least not yet, and has mentioned that they still have nightmares about the Dark Multiverse. He really shouldn't be bringing his kids to Titans Academy. And of a much more minor note, Irey is wearing the proto-outfit that matches Jai's. However, since her return, whenever she's been doing superhero work, Irey has worn her Impulse outfit.
- Covers Always Lie: Issue #11 says "Red X revealed!" on the cover. So, naturally, Red X is not in any way revealed in the issue.
- Crossover: With Suicide Squad because Amanda Waller wants to get her hands on Bolt.
- Demoted to Extra: Damian's team (minus Damian himself) are senior students, but the focus is on the staff and the new kids.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Roundhouse isn't happy he has to share a room with a freshman (Totally Tubular).
- For Want Of A Nail: The entire storyline from DC Future State involving the Flash getting possessed by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is averted in issue #8 when Miguel is able to retrieve the H-Dial before they're materialized and shutting off the connection.
- From Hero to Mentor: The premise sees the original Teen Titans training a new generation of young superheroes.
- Handicapped Badass: Alinta's a double amputee missing her legs from the knee down, requiring her to wear prosthetics.
- Heartwarming Orphan: Averted with the "Bat Pack," Megabat (Lucas), Chupacabra (Diego), and Bratgirl (Merissa), three Gotham teen heroes whom Nightwing found living in an orphanage. They're rather standoffish and keep to themselves away from the other students. They chose to attend the academy because it was preferable to being in an orphanage, but aren't necessarily in love with the place.
- In Spite of a Nail: Despite stopping the demon arrivals, Titans Academy is still destroyed and Beast Boy and Cyborg are forced into a Fusion Dance to save their lives.
- Internal Reveal: In issue #8 Roy Harper returns to Titans Tower and reveals to his friends he's back to life.
- Multi-Gendered Outfit: Stitch is a sentient ragdoll brought to life by Dr. Fate, and thus doesn't really have a set gender. Consequently, they often wear a mix of masculine jackets, sweaters, and jerseys with a skirt.
- Mythology Gag:
- In addition to Red X, the core mentor team (Nightwingnote , Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy) is taken directly from the cartoon.
- Donna Troy teaching a "History of the Multiverse" seems appropriate since previous versions of the character were both heavily tied in with the Multiverse and traveled through it.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Barely averted in issue #8. Spurred on by Red X's talk about how crappy the Teen Titans are in defending people and themselves, the Bat Pack steal the H-Dial and attempt to summon the spirit of Arsenal by hooking it up to a makeshift device and attempting to use it in a séance. They very nearly summon a quartet of demons in the guise of Hawk, Dove, Jericho, and Kole before Miguel is able to snatch back the H-Dial and shut it off.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Totally Tubular is only known by his superhero name or the nickname "Tooby". Eventually his name is revealed to be Marvin Murakami.
- The Reveal: The Red X who has been terrorizing Titans Academy is an orphan named Brick who was duped by a previous bearer of the Red X mantle into believing that Dick Grayson was his father. Brick was then groomed by that predecessor into despising the Titans so he could undermine the Academy on his behalf as revenge against Grayson.
- A Rotten Time to Revert: Shazam is flying when he involuntarily changes back into Billy Batson (his powers had been unreliable since the wizard who gave him his powers was killed). He embarrassingly has to be rescued by Jon Kent, and his secret identity is outed to the entire school.
- Shock and Awe: Brick has the ability to release an E.M.P. burst of electrical energy.
- The Speedster: The Bolt is a speedster who is a double amputee wearing prosthetics below the knee on both her legs.
- Superhero School: The premise of Teen Titans Academy as Nightwing and the other Titans wants to break the cycle of Titan teams that just fall apart in disarray or death.
- Superhero Speciation: Among the different groups, nobody has the same powers. That is, the teachers (the Titans), the Teen Titans, and the students, though taken as a whole, there is overlap.
- Take That!: When Nightwing introduces a class as Defense Against the Dark Arts and no one laughs, he figures the students are too young to get the reference. Alinta and Tooby explain everyone gets the reference, but feel "Nowadays it's problematic and best ignored."
- Villainous Legacy: This book establishes that there has been three people who have used the Red X identity after Dick Grayson abandoned it and all three of those successors have been antagonistic to the Titans. The most recent Red X is Brick, having been manipulated into the role by the second Red X, who orchestrated everything to get revenge on Nightwing for allegedly "taking everything" from him.
