Over on the Teen Titans Trivia Thread, Ann posted the following question:-
Which one of the Post-Wolfman Titans (i.e. those introduced any time from 1995 to the present day) *might* have originated in Grant Morrison's rejected Titans proposal?
To which the answer was:-
Yes, it was indeed Argent. The story goes that a similar looking-character with similar powers was in Morrison's Titans proposal, and then she "mysteriously" showed up as part of the Jurgens Titans. Later, Devin Grayson & Jay Faerber were "mysteriously" pressured to include Argent in the Titans relaunch by their then-editor (later revealed to be a predatory creep, which is why I'm not naming him.)
Since the protagonist of the Invisibles was a teenager, I wondered if Morrison was already thinking about Teen Titans while the Invisibles was being created. That made me wonder about...
Invisible TitansThe Titans tap their British '60s roots as they battle a millennia old conspiracy that threatens the future of the Multiverse!
The Titans are a cell whose name comes from one of the cultures the Invisible College thinks it draws its secrets from. The College seeks to free mankind from the yoke of the Archons, beings from another reality, who seek to shape ours in their image.
Although fighting the constructs of the Archons' eternal oppression, the College itself is a Rosicrucian conceit, based on secret organisations that either never were, or based their own history on myth.
The Titans discover that even freedom is a cage, and that there are other futures beyond their war.
The story ends with the Titans having the option of retaining their abilities in a world in which they have defeated the Archons, or to sacrifice it all to break the prison of Angra Mainyu. The group choose to free mankind from the prison.
Dane Hall, "Herald": The first page of Titans would have him shout *!$* at the reader, as he throws a brick through a car window.
Initial protagonist is a kid with no prospects and a dysfunctional family life from Toxteth, Liverpool. A future of petty crime, gangs and unemployment awaits. He has issues with any sort of authority. The socialist city he lives in has been betrayed by a conformist New Labour, full of New Academies of conformity to a single world outlook. His latent ability is picked up through state-designed academic testing, which is in turn leaked to the Titans.
As another UK Titans cell is destroyed by their enemies, the Archons, a move is made to recruit Hall. They have to rescue him from a Young (Jung) Offenders Institute. The institute conforms minds and bodies for service through archetypical reinforcement.
There's a belief that he's very important to the outcome of the Invisible War. His arc sees him fight against both sides of the war, fall for the line that he's vital to it, and discard that role as he learns to think for himself, armed with some wisdom rather than attitude.
His status as some sort of messiah of a golden age turns out to be utter b0ll0cks. The College believe he is a spiritual reincarnation, not realising that the last thing Hall wants to be is a copy of someone else. His anti-establishment views from the start hold him in good stead to help change the future, even if he still annoys everyone.
The Hall surname comes from Hawk/Dove, where Dane discovers that he need not conform to any dualistic personality traits, but has a choice. This duality is also an analogy of the Zoroastrian conflict at the heart of the series. Through Hall, we get to see conformity and oppression through a variety of societal structures, but in a fun way. The battle between Order & Chaos operates within Hall and in the realities he?s trapped in.
Hall is given guidance in London by a dishevelled survivor of a Golden Age Titans Group - possibly Martin Tyler (based on a Hourman sidekick), who can see possible futures, his life always lived a minute beyond his grasp.
Zoe Anders, "Robin": Revealed to be a disjointed traveller through time, but not necessarily through the timeline that the series occurs in. The group's foes, The Archons (Church of Blood), attempt to control the future by defining its structure through time travel. "Robin" is a codename she picked up from something she expected to see, a uniform of sorts, on her arrival. A red waistcoat with a "r" symbol.
Robin seems fragmented. This is partly due to the trauma of her journey. But the future she comes from is changing due to events she's influencing in the past. This changes who she is, and her motivations, as the series continues. Through Robin we get to see our future and how our actions here change it. She's also the conduit of the things that sent her back, to ensure their victory. Anders is also hunted by other temporal entities.
There's a hint that the entire series may exist in Anders mind when an experiment goes wrong. (Red hair a nod to Starfire as is surname, Robin after Grayson and the costume she caught a glimpse of when time travelling, Zoe is Ibby bait, as we don't know how far in the future she's come from, so it's a Kinetix nod)
Lucille Beecher, "Hawk": Former London police officer, who inadvertently sees activities of the conspiracy (Black Trains delivering dissidents from the North for "processing"). Due to her race (elitist organisation is racist too), the conspiracy will never let her join them, and consider her to be a foot soldier at best. She seemingly defects to the Titans when part of a police action against a cell. But is she a plant? She has uncanny parkour and athletic abilities. These are shown to be manifestations of her hyperspatial awareness. She has an uncanny way of tapping into psychogeography, and her codename is from architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. The purpose of London's post Great Fire map will be one of the stories, and one reason for the Black Trains.
Her abilities will also come to the fore as they enable her to withstand the effects of the technology that brought Robin into our time. Lucille is the most well adjusted to start with. She's upheld the law, and now she's going to see underneath it. (A combination between Karen Beecher, Boy and a protagonist form Global Frequency with a nod to DC's Underworld series.)
Toni Moretti, Oracle: Toni was freed from captivity by a Titans raid on the WABE facility. Psychological issues as a child had brought her to the attention of the Archons. Hallucinations were one symptom, and the archons found that Toni was in fact connecting to a higher realm. They have worked to make that access more physical in nature, and Toni can now access a Magic Mirror like substance from that realm, that responds to her will. The presence of this substance can also be used to pacify/ fascinate others. Toni doesn't care less about an Invisible War. To her, the end of the world is losing contact with her friends or not going shopping.
She's materialistic. But there's two sides to that, as her selfishness gives her focus. Always the most likely to betray the team, as The Archons dangle a life that Toni genuinely wants. Even finding out her father gave her willingly to the Archons doesn't change her deep down. Even after the Titan's series ending decision, Toni doesn't change, casting some doubt on humanity's ability to change, or even if it feels it needs to.
Another experiment being carried out uses technology through objects like the hands of glory, resulting in attempts to take and return someone form beyond death. A young
Greta Hayes is one of the subjects in this programme.
Garfield Dayton, Protean: The Vermont Logan's have been part of the Invisible Conspiracy for generations. Garfield's parents were wealthy landowners, explorers and spiritualist dabblers. His father, Steven Dayton managed to pierce the barrier surrounding our world, bringing forth an entity that possessed his pregnant wife, Rita, at the s?ance which focused around a Hand of Glory. Raised primarily by his father, Garfield has come to terms with his identity, a struggle as s/he can change hir physical form. Garfield's arc looks at self-identification and gender. The society that Dayton was a part of are also antagonists, looking to usurp the Invisible College for their own ends.
Sean Harper Extremist cell leader and raised for a revolutionary role. Smooth and capable in the field, but a drug taking shambles off it, as he tries to stay one step ahead of the Titans' foes. For all he's steeped in political and military history, he becomes aware that he's as much a pawn of the Invisible College as he ever was of the army, he served outside of it.
Wallace West Recently disappeared following investigation into a device called The Accelerator.
Other Invisibles:- Richard Wayne is a billionaire philanthropist. Both sides think he works for them. He became involved in the Invisible War during his extensive world travels as a youth. He has aided the Titans, but he will prove to be an unreliable ally. Richard underwent emotional and physical abuse growing up as he was moulded into being the scion of the Waynes. His family are attached to an ancient cult, worshipping something like a Bat (links to Lovecraftian Nightgaunts)
Lilith Clay was a debutante who enjoyed the '60s to their fullest from her privileged upbringing. She waited for the Age of Aquarius that never arrived, leaving her an aged, half bitter half confused alcoholic by the time of this series. Her premonitions and divinations aid the Titans, but her visions are open to interpretation.
Mr Jupiter is an infamous leader and mystic behind the Titans. He influences the organisation from the background, and is considered an inspirational figure in the Invisibles chances of winning the war. He is immersed in the logos of the Invisible War, their foes and the and dream of a utopian age.
Mr Jupiter's real knowledge consists of fragments that he desperately fails to piece together to fight their enemies.
Jason "Ace" Hart is the Moorcockian poster child of Invisibles heroism. The reality behind the Underground's super-agent turns out to be somewhat different.
Dr. Ryan Choi is a physicist who unlocks a secret that will lead to travel beyond the spacetime we know.
Steve Dayton & Rita Farr : members of an Invisibles organisation that secretly split from our protagonists one in the 19th century. There's no single golden path in the Invisibles beliefs. The more structure they put onto it, and the more sources they mined for "hidden knowledge" the more dissension there was. (1/6)
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The Invisibles cell destroyed in Anglesey (Codename: Teutates), was guided by druidic traditions, orally passed down through centuries. At least, that's what they believed.
Duela: (Harlequin) : Former intelligence analyst. recovering from personality destruction at the hands of the Archons. Duela survives the Archon attack and is seen as part of the Harlequinade. Uses Makeup to express herself.
Malcom Duncan - A former military funded scientist working on HAARP and universal harmonics. Came to the Invisibles following EM experiments on students of Baxter Beach colleges (1/9)
Charlie Parker - vocalist and celebrity. He will be broken and rebuilt by his captors.
Brom "Stikk" - Antiquarian and older man. Spiritual leader of the cell. He's killed in the attack, whatever information he held was crushed with him.
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Eddie Self-styled guru and member of a New Age Invisibles cell (1/15)
Chet Walters Despite his youth, Chet is a human derelict, ostracised for his claims of abduction. Reported as alien abduction, Chet's experience lend themselves as much to folk myths. His abduction story is true, and he was victim of Dimension X experiments. Chet dies from an overdose. (1/16)
"Mister Punch" Presumably not a single agent, as it's a codename used over more than a century. Multiple identities would preserve integrity of cell structure as Punch has operated with numerous groups. Will be the one to let the Titans know about Hall being a possible sacrifice, based on the roots of multiple cultures. (1/19)