The latest “Dark Nights: Death Metal” one-shot reveals exactly why Donna Troy is the all-time greatest leader of the Teen Titans.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for the story “Together” in Dark Nights: Death Metal: The Last Stories of the DC Universe #1 by Joshua Williamson, James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder, Travis Moore Tamra Bonvillain, and Deron Bennett, on sale now.
At what seems to be the very end of the DC Universe, the heroes are left with some time to reflect on their adventures together, their lives, their regrets, and their loves. For none is that more true than Donna Troy, the little sister of Wonder Woman. And, for Donna, that time is spent reflecting on the thing that matters to her the most, the people who have been both her friends and her family: the Titans.
Everyone who was ever a member of the Titans gathered in the same spot on the eve of their last mission together. This even includes some characters whose Titans tenure was thought to be erased from continuity by the New 52 reboot, like Argent, Risk, and Cyborg. While making her way through the crowd, Donna remarks that maybe they’ve all gathered here together because they’re just naturally drawn to each other. After all, she says, that’s how it’s always been with the Titans. It was always more than just a superhero group. It was a place for people who were “young and hoping to make a difference in the world.”
However, she soon notices that everyone around her is not in their usual jovial mood. This is to be expected given the circumstances they find themselves in. But, Donna takes it upon herself to tell the team what they need to hear: the world has tried to bury them before, but they always came back every time.
This, in many ways, reflects Donna’s own history with both the Titans and in the DC Universe in general. Over the years, Donna Troy has had her origin rewritten more times than most characters, to the point where the confusion over her origin has become part of her character. First, she was just a younger version of Wonder Woman, then an orphan who Wonder Woman rescued from a fire, then a mirror duplicate of Wonder Woman, and then an Amazonian construct designed to be the ultimate weapon.