There comes a time in comics when socially relevant stories will creep into what many people consider “funny books.” The most notable of these from the DC Comics stable is from the title Green Lantern/Green Arrow by Denny O’Neil as writer and Neal Adams on art duties.

Well, Batman has Robin right? If Green Arrow is an analogue of Batman, it would follow that he would have a sidekick as well, yes? In fact, our entire conversation tonight is about the original five sidekicks and the character that ties the new story in New Teen Titans with the past is this character, Speedy.

Roy Harper became Green Arrow’s sidekick ages ago and is almost as old as Robin is in DC lore. Eventually all the sidekicks at the time would team up in Brave and the Bold for adventures. Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad at first, then joined by Wonder Girl, and finally Speedy joined the Terrific Teens in this issue below..

The issue of Green Lantern/Green Arrow was published in 1971, a year that has already seen the civil rights movement be fairly victorious, woodstock has happened, hippies are all over the place and not just in Haight-Ashbury, yet Dr. Frederick Wertham and the self-imposed regulatory committee of the “Comics Code Authority” whose seal appeared on almost every comic published by a mainstream publisher after the Senate investigation into how comics are corrupting our youth had forced our characters into this vanilla world where really they could not act like human beings would. They showed an almost zombie like obedience of the law, no officials in power were portrayed as corrupt, and everything almost always had a satisfying if not happy ending.

You will note that the Green Lantern/Green Arrow comic was published WITHOUT the Comics Code Seal of Authority. A major “whoa” back in the day.

When faced with the reality of the world around them.. drugs, Vietnam, political corruption…it becomes very difficult to hold super-heroes who are such cardboard cutouts to a realistic standard of portrayals of how things really are in the real world. You’ve seen this before on shows like G.I. Joe, Masters of the Universe, and Super Friends, where our heroes give a handy lecture at the end of the adventure in order to teach us kids at home that we should “stay in school” or “lying is bad” or other such axioms of every day life. This nugget of morality was put into every cartoon show almost back in the day to make sure the cartoon had “educational value.” Same with comics.

For DC Comics this policy ended with this Green Lantern/Green Arrow run. The Green Lantern title was changed and Green Arrow was given equal billing as a co-star bringing along his supporting cast of Black Canary and Speedy along for the ride. The era of relevance began really with this panel that opened up the tenor of this series.

The very real issue of the time hits Green Lantern hard and he finds he does not have a good answer for his past actions. Does he truly care more for alien races than his fellow man with a different skin tone?

Feel free to mull on that one for a bit, however GL isn’t the only one with a problem here. GA has neglected his fatherly duties and his sidekick Speedy has been hooked on heroin. Whether for the high, the need for attention, the thrill of doing something “bad” Speedy’s addiction becomes one of Roy’s defining character traits. GA is unable to really deal with the reality of the situation and leaves Speedy in the hands of Black Canary who sees Speedy through the worst of his withdrawals. Roy cleans up his act and becomes an advocate for kids trying to get off drugs in addition to working for the government part time doing spy work.

When the Titans reformed, Speedy and Aqualad were not among the original members sought out by Raven to assist her with the team.. and while we will cover Aqualad a little later, Speedy comes into the picture in New Teen Titans #26…

This issue introduces our heroes to the very real threat of Organized Crime, Drugs, Teenage Prostitution, Parental Shunning, and Violence. The story follows a group of kids who have run away from home hoping that New York City will take care of them somehow. Of course, that’s not the case and its a sour apple for many of these kids. Hooked on drugs and living in poverty these kids really have no chance on the mean streets. The Titans do manage to save a few of them and get them to shelters or even back home, even so, it is a drop in the bucket as more Runaways show up at the bus station at the end of the story for the cycle to be repeated endlessly.

Meanwhile #26 does feature the first appearance of Tara Markov or Terra. Terra is a villain who seems unsure of herself and not really committed to her mission. She has a run in with Changeling and then takes off for the hills only to be fought by the entire team in #28. Terra reveals to the Titans that she is a pawn of a terrorist organization that wants to use her to commit crimes. The Titans defeat the organization with ease and Terra sticks around for the time being. Speedy sticks around for a few issues after the Runaways story as well and then who should show up at the Titans’ front door? Frances Kane. From She’s Possessed!

Nothing like a possessed girlfriend showing up on your doorstep, eh?

While the Titans seem to be gathering another sinister force has targeted the Titans.

But before we get to that we must hop into the Time Bubble and meet C.O.M.P.U.T.O.

Next Time: The Legion and Why Brainiac Five seems determined to kill his comrades.