Teen Titansintroduced five lesser-known DC characters to a generation of kids who would immediately count them among their favorites. An excellent spotlight can turn a D-lister into an icon, and each member of the Titans earned that upgrade. Beast Boy predates the firstTeen Titanssolo series, but he’s considered a mainstay of the modern roster. The show rarely played with his backstory, but the comics dig deeper into how he got his powers.
Teen Titanscreator Greg Murakami famouslyopposed secret identitiesfor his adaptation of the titular team. The Titans rarely use each other’s birth names or refer to their lives before they banded together. Raven and Starfire speak frequently about their pasts on alien worlds and alternate dimensions, but Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy once lived mundane lives on Earth. Beast Boy’s backstory rarely comes up, but it helped make him the young man he is.
How did Beast Boy get his powers?
Beast Boy wasborn Garfield Mark Loganto parents Mark and Marie Logan. His folks and friends often called him Gar. Mark and Marie were geneticists who spent most of their adult lives traveling the world’s jungles and studying their animals. In a fictional West African nation called Lamumba, Mark and Marie grew fascinated with a rare species of green monkey. One of the mysterious primates bit young Gar, infecting him with a disease called Sakutia, or Green Fever. Sakutia attacked its host’s DNA, rendering its genetic and physiological traits instinctively malleable. Mark rushed to save his son, though only seven other cases of humans contracting the disease existed. Most victims died in under 48 hours. Mark developed a serum by combining matching genetic material from humans and green monkeys. His brilliant work saved his son’s life without wholly curing his Sakutia, reducing its lethality while maintaining most of its effects. Gar survived, but his skin and hair became permanently green, and he developed the abilityto change into animals. The disease that almost claimed his life became the source of his powers.
Beast Boy inTeen Titans
In the show, as in the comics, Beast Boy becomes the youngest memberof the Doom Patrol. Fans see him working with them in a flashback in the season five episode “Homecoming.” Beast Boy quit the team after some time together. Mento, his mentor and surrogate father figure, treated him too harshly. Beast Boy grew tired of feeling like the child of a superhero family instead of a team member. He struck out on his own and moved to Jump City, where he met four other heroes and formed the Teen Titans. He seldom speaks about his past, even to his closest friends. Most of theother Titans sufferedchildhoods comparable to his bout with a near-fatal disease and struggled to do good, allowing them to sympathize comfortably.
Beast Boy’s powers differ slightly in the show from his comic book iteration. He can instantly morph into any animal, including those that are long extinct and a few that don’t exist. He is often said to be limited to terrestrial beings, but he has transformed into an alienfrom Starfire’s home planet, the mythical sasquatch, and a Wookie fromStar Wars. Though the entire animal kingdom is available, he has his favorites. Beast Boy becomes dinosaurs regularly for various combat applications. He breaks out big cats for ferocity or running speed. He can match his teammates' flying speed by becoming a falcon. Beast Boy has transformed into dozens of animals for various practical purposes.
Beast Boy in the comics
The most significant difference in Beast Boy’s powers in the comics is that he can speak while in animal form.Teen Titans' Beast Boy is limited to noises while in almost any alternate form and must switch back into his usual body to tell his jokes. Garfield can transform into imaginary creatures in the comics as well. He once lost his temper and flitted between strange chimera-like monsters. He used to grow tired when transforming into larger animals, but he’s overcome that weakness recently. Beast Boy once became a green parodyof Beast fromX-Men,implying he could shift into any non-human organism he could perceive. His comic powers are comparable but sometimes superior to those inTeen Titans.
Beast Boy has one of the most visually fascinating powersets in the DC Universe. Who hasn’t wanted to fly like an eagle or run like a cheetah? If Garfield Logan is any example, all it would take is a bite from a green monkey, a slapped-together serum by a genius scientist, and a lifetime of putting up with green skin and hair. Most might consider that an even trade for being able to turn into a T. rex and hang out with the Teen Titans.
Teen Titans
Based on the characters from DC Comics, Teen Titans follows the adventures of Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy as they fight to protect the world from various evildoers and make a name for themselves. The original animated series spans 5 seasons, and was the basis for the more comedic Teen Titans Go!
