Raven (DC Comics)

Raven, also known as Rachel Roth, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in a special insert in DC Comics Presents #26 (October 1980), and was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez. Her design was based on the Phantom Stranger. Raven was one of the key figures instrumental to the revival of Teen Titans and among the most popular characters within the franchise.

Born as the daughter of the demon lord Trigon and human Arella, she is granted a lineage of great supernatural power as a empath and demonic sorceress. Despite her heritage and the ominous predictions associated with her connection to Trigon, Raven becomes a prominent and reoccurring superhero in various rosters for the Teen Titans and Titans. Within the comics, the character has also served in other superhero teams, including the Justice League, Sentinels of Magic, Night Force, and Justice League Dark. Following the character's popularity in her media appearances, Raven has also starred in several comic mini-series titles.

Raven has appeared in numerous television series and films, including Cartoon Network's Teen Titans series and its spin-off series Teen Titans Go!, voiced by Tara Strong, and in the DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU), voiced by Taissa Farmiga. The character made her live-action debut in the DC Universe/HBO Max series Titans, portrayed by Teagan Croft.

In an interview, Perez described his design approach for the character,

…taking the cue that Raven was very mysterious à la Phantom Stranger, I took that as a starting point, and using the shadow face where half her face is always in shadow despite the lighting, was a shtick I got from Phantom Stranger, who also had the same deal. He had a long billowing cape, as did she, and in her case, since her name was Raven, I decided to create a silhouette for her that would look like a bird. The hood was designed so that in the profile, it would end up looking like a bird’s head, so that when her soul self came out, since that was done in full black, it looked like a gigantic black raven. Her name and the Phantom Stranger were key to how I designed her.

Asked if the character's face was based on any real-life person, Perez said that, "originally Raven was Persis Khambatta, the actress who played in the first Star Trek film, and later became a young lady named Fran Macgregor, who was a dancer, and I used some of her features, particularly for her figure, for Raven."

Raven first appeared in The New Teen Titans #1 recruiting superheroes to fight her father, Trigon. She initially approached the Justice League for help, but they refused her on the advice of Zatanna, who sensed her demonic parentage. In desperation, she reformed the Teen Titans as the New Teen Titans to fight her father. The team consisted of Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy (then known as Changeling). Raven and her new friends later came to think of one another as family.

Trigon soon took Raven back to his own realm. The Titans pursued them, defeated Trigon and sealed him in an interdimensional prison with the help of Arella, who swore to watch over his prison so that he could not escape. Raven found that using her powers enabled Trigon to assert control over her mind and body. For a period of time, Raven lost control several times in stressful situations but managed to regain control of herself.