Teen Titans #1 Review – A Next Generation Team

Teen Titans #1 (DC Comics, 9/2/26): Writer Kyle Higgins & artist Daniele Di Nicuolo head to Washington State, where a group of friends gathers to help people, but don’t call them Teen Titans just yet. Higgins’s script has the right tone with solid pacing, but the shortcoming may just be the most important element. Verdict: A promising but flawed start.

• Writer: Kyle Higgins
• Artist: Daniele Di Nicuolo
• Colorist: Marcelo Costa
• Letterer: Becca Carey
• Cover Artist: Daniele Di Nicuolo (cover A)
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Release Date: September 2, 2026
• Comic Rating: Teen
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Page Count: 32
• Format: Single Issue

Covers:

Analysis of Teen Titans #1:

First Impressions:

Look, if you’re going to call yourself the Teen Titans, that name comes with a lot of history, baggage, and responsibility. This new team that Higgins has assembled could get there one day. I’m just not convinced today is it.

Plot Analysis (SPOILERS):

This issue begins in the state of Washington. Parents of a missing team call Jason Todd, aka Red Hood, for assistance and a tip that their missing son was networking with other teens who may or may not have powers on a chat server called Teen Titans.

Cut to the new group of friends who refuse to adopt a team name – Fairplay, Cheshire Cat, Proxy, Eugene Choi, and Wildcard – at an arcade as they discuss what minor crimes they can tackle. Fairplay researched options from e-bike thefts to underground dog fights. Suddenly, a group of masked men storms the arcade, giving the friends a chance to show off their skills. The armed robbers flee with the friends in pursuit.

The chase works its way up to the city rooftops, where Eugene Choi almost falls to his death. Saved, Eugene joins his friends, but the rescue caused them to lose ground against the robbers. Suddenly, Jason Todd arrives and takes the robbers down. He explains he wants to speak to the friends because they run the Teen Tians chat server, and the missing teenager he’s after was an active user. He also suggests the group of friends have the potential to be real Teen Titans, under the right training and mentorship of Nightwing.

Jason calls Nightwing to arrange a meet and greet with the group at Mount Titan. Meanwhile, the group and Jason Todd learn, through separate means, that the robbers are involved in a prepper group the missing teenager was mixed up with. Jason pays the robbers a visit when they get out on bail and learns that more than one teen has gone missing.

The issue ends with the group no-showing Nightwing. Instead, they show up at Jason Todd’s apartment.

How is the story in Teen Titans #1?

Kyle Higgins does a lot of things right in this issue. The teens have the right level of (im)maturity, the setup of a fellow teen going missing is solid, and grounding a lot of the detective work in online logistics like chat servers similar to Discord makes sense for the current state of teen interaction.

Furthermore, Higgins smartly keeps the dialog relatable and suitable for the age groups, without devolving into dated slang that would come off as corny or out of touch.

Where the issue doesn’t quite land in the writing is in the one piece that matters most – the individualization of the characters. Each teen sounds a little too much like every other teen in the group. There’s not enough distinctiveness to separate one character from another. Yes, sure, you get little data cards to explain who’s who and what’s what, but the personalities are too similar.

That lack of individual personalities may evolve over time, but it’s a shortcoming for such a storied title.

How is the art in Teen Titans #1?

Much like the writing, the art is mostly good, but it stumbles in one area that may be too important to slip up on. Daniele Di Nicuolo’s Manga-adjacent style is clean, focused, and lively. A new team with fresh, almost reckless, sensibilities should give off a slightly poppy visual aesthetic. On that count, Di Nicuolo nails it. Plus, Marcelo Costa’s colors are bold and vibrant, elevating that fresh, poppy aesthetic.

Where the art doesn’t quite work, almost in the same way as the writing, is the lack of visual distinctiveness in the costumes. The teens are simply wearing bright, baggy street clothes, which don’t read as “superhero” by any stretch. To be fair, the group is not yet a team, so they could adopt more superhero-like outfits in time, but the lack of distinctiveness in the character designs, combined with that same lack in the character voices, feels like the team is largely a blank slate by the end of the issue.

Characters

Even in an ensemble cast, there should be at least one character that stands out and acts as the focal point for the reader to follow. That focal character can switch from one act to the next or one issue to the next, but the focus should be clear. Again, Higgins mashes the group together, so you’re really following a collective. It’s hard to get a read on who to pay attention to, and more importantly, who shows development over the course of the issue. Here, it’s just a blur.

Originality & Concept Execution

Higgins’s core theme of a team that’s not yet ready to be a team is not a terribly original idea, but it works well enough to get the title going. The concept of a fellow teen who may or may not have been kidnapped in association with a prepper group he may or may not have been involved with is a good enough motivation for the group to get serious and push the narrative forward.

Pros and Cons

What We Loved

• Good central plot to justify a new team
• Solid pacing and tone
• Solid action art

Room for Improvement

• The voices aren’t distinctive enough from each other
• The character designs aren’t distinctive enough from each other.
• The robbery was too convenient

Art Samples:

The Scorecard:

Writing Quality (Clarity & Pacing): 3/4
Art Quality (Execution & Synergy): 3/4
Value (Originality & Entertainment): 1/2

Final Thoughts:

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Teen Titans #1 sees a group of sidekicks and powered teens coming together when an online acquaintance is kidnapped (maybe). Kyle Higgins’s script walks a fine line between how teens today act and how an adult thinks teens today act, and Daniele Di Nicuolo’s artwork is solid. That said, the downside is a complete lack of distinctiveness between the heroes in look and voice.

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