Titans: Beast World Will 'Ruin Expectations' & That's A Good Thing, Says Tom Taylor - Exclusive Interview
With the Justice League currently disbanded, the Titans are the premier team in the DC Universe — and in the upcoming "Titans: Beast World" (by Tom Taylor, Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, and Brad Anderson), the superteam will need to work together to deal with an ancient villain with world-ending potential. However, as that happens, they will also be forced to deal with heroes and villains being transformed into beasts.
"Titans: Beast World" spins out of the events of Taylor's "Nightwing" and "Titans" runs. The new event sees Necrostar touching down on Earth, with Beast Boy being the key to stopping the Starro-related foe. But while the Titans are trying to save the day, the DC Universe will be changed. At the same time, Amanda Waller and Doctor Hate will make a play for power while the greatest heroes of Earth struggle with their transformations. With the promise of so many elements in play in the series, we spoke to Tom Taylor about the development of "Titans: Beast World" and what readers can expect from the upcoming event.
How Beast World came to be
How was the idea of "Beast World" conceived? Was it an easy decision to center the book around the Titans?
It was time. It was pointed out to me that DC came to me and said, "Hey, what would you think about writing an event at the end of the year?" It was the very early stages of "Titans." It made a lot of sense for it to be the Titans, for one thing. They were like, "Yes, let's do this with the Titans." But also, it meant that I could build this event organically out of the "Titans" book.
Everything that's happened in "Titans" has been leading to this moment, which is great. Instead of having to shoehorn something in and slow down the momentum, it was already there. A big part of "Beast World" grew out of an original plan I had for "Titans" anyway, so it was not very difficult to pivot to this.
But in terms of the Titans getting an event, I got told that this is the first-ever Titans event, which is a real surprise to everybody who hears it. You assume, "They've been around since the '80s. They must have had events before." But nope — this is their first one. So no pressure!
Why do you think they haven't had a big event like this before?
I have absolutely no idea.
That was shocking to me, too. I was like, "Yeah, they have [had an event]. They were in ..." Then, I kept running it back in my head and couldn't think of one.
They've had things like "The Technis Imperative" and stuff, but they're little miniseries things. But they haven't had an event. They haven't had a thing where they're essential. In a way, it's because they've never had the chance to step up like they have right now. They haven't been a premier superhero team of the DCU. There's always been the Justice League to deal with events, but now it's on the Titans to save the world and protect the world.
As the premier super team in the DC Universe, where do the Titans find themselves, and how fun was it to shape that kind of dynamic organically?
The dynamic has always been there. As you say, it's a very organic one. This is not a group of almost godlike beings who come together on the weekends to punch Darkseid in the face. This is a group of friends who consider themselves family who all live in a shared house. They all live under the one roof. It's a very different thing. They don't go off to do their own thing at the end of the day. Obviously, they do as heroes, but they talk about issues. They don't let team dynamics [or] petty jealousies ruin things. They have adult conversations as you do with your best friends, sitting around the table or sitting around the television with a cup of tea.
They talk things through, and in a way, they are — despite being 20-somethings — quite a bit more mature than the Justice League as a superhero team. It means that they've always got each other's backs because they're so close. The first moment when Garfield Logan comes up with the plan to save the world — and only Beast Boy can save the world — Batman has a plan at the time, which is backed up by Mr. Terrific. It's Gar [who] goes, "Actually ..." And Raven immediately backs him up. Then, Nightwing [backs] him up. Batman steps back and goes, "Okay, you're right — this is you." That's important, and that cohesive team and that unit — we haven't seen this before.
Beast Boy takes the center stage in the new event
You've written the "Titans," you've done "Nightwing" ... What was it like to put Beast Boy in the spotlight here, and how does the book showcase his heroism?
Oh, it's great. It's so much fun. As soon as I started writing Beast Boy, I realized this guy [is] the heart of the Titans ... But if he's the heart of the Titans, then he's the one that I have to make suffer. He's the one I have to use to hurt you, readers out there. Sorry. Particularly because he and Raven are so close, it's even harsher to do terrible things to him. But what can I say? I like making people cry on trains and in public in general.
No — it's great working with Beast Boy and Raven. I love their relationship. This event is enormous, and it's going to have major ramifications for a very long time.
Speaking of Raven and Garfield, what was it like to dive deeper into these relationships as you're writing "Titans"?
It's been great. Everyone assumes that it's consistent, that the Titans have existed like this for a very long time, but they haven't been together like this for decades. Literally, you think that they have, but they haven't. It was coming together and making sure that I read a lot of "New Teen Titans," read other runs, and read what Geoff Johns and Devin Grayson did — reading and making sure I was getting that dynamic right. Then, where they are now — [it was] making sure that it was modern and also reflected where we are in the world at the moment, and where each of them is in their own journeys in their own books.
It was very lucky that I was the "Nightwing" writer because I know where Dick is. For him to be a leader of this team made a lot of sense, and for him to be the person in charge of protecting the planet was an organic growth out of what we were doing with Nightwing. But they haven't been together like this. We just think they have, probably because people have been watching the TV show or "[Teen] Titans Go!" I liked fan service, so I thought, "That's the team that I want to put together again." I do want to see them sitting on a couch, watching TV. I want Beast Boy to say, "Change into any animal." I want him and Cyborg to eat pizza. It's important stuff.
Tying the event to a major DC villain
What was it like to work with Danny Miki, Ivan Reis, and Brad Anderson on this project? The art ranges from being very personal between the Titans and then shifts to a universe-shattering epic. It's amazing to see.
It was one of those conversations when we were talking about the art scene, and I was like, "It has to be Ivan." There is a moment when a giant — the Necrostar, a star conqueror — breaks out of a moon. I'm like, "Only Ivan could do this." Of all the people, we're talking about, "Imagine Ivan drawing that moment." And he smashed it. He draws some of the greatest superheroes on the planet and has throughout his entire career, and it's so exciting when you see those pages that are full of superheroes.
I always feel guilty about writing — I'm like, "I'm sorry there's more than three people on this page." But Ivan nails it. Ivan, with Danny Miki on inks and Brad Anderson on colors — we were all together on the "Batman – One Bad Day: Ra's al Ghul" story. We all really enjoyed that story and us as a unit, as a team, coming up with this and what we produce. Again, having this entire team together for this is so great.
We've also got Lucas Meyer, who's coming in to do a few issues. Everyone's a bit blown away by him. We're like, "No, stop it. You're too young to be this good. Could you draw this worse?" Lucas is incredible. He's blowing all our minds. The way he draws the Titans is beautiful, in particular. He does great personalities, and we're very lucky to have the team on this event.
Starro is one of DC's most iconic villains, with ties to the first issue of the Justice League coming together. How is Necrostar tied to him, and what was it like to fill in gaps for such a major character that has existed for so long but hasn't had that deep exploration you would expect?
Any time you get to build out a history or go back and make an origin larger, it's exciting as a fan. First of all, as a fan — not even as a writer — you go, "I can't believe I get to do this." In particular, you're going to see this in the crossover with "Titans." That's where we see more of Brother Eternity. That's where we see more of Starfire and her history. We're going to see things that haven't really been showcased before, and it's because the Necrostar has faced Tamaranians before. You'll learn that Necrostar has a history with Starro as well.
Any time you're like, "I can make this bigger and wider and encompass more of the DC Universe," it's exciting. Whenever I get a chance to do something like this, whether it's "DCeased" or "Dark Knights of Steel" or "Injustice," I love telling these stories that can only exist in the DC Universe. "This happens because of X. This only happens because of Beast Boy's powers. This story doesn't exist without that." You can't just go, "Yeah, everyone's Werepeople" or whatever. I'm sure you can find a way to do that, but this grows organically from the characters and the powers that only exist in this universe. That's what I like messing with when I'm messing with people and characters and tearing out hearts.
Amanda Waller and Doctor Hate's roles in the event are significant
Amanda Waller plays a key role in this book, and she's been lurking in the shadows with Peacemaker in several different series, in the "Dawn of DC" era especially. What's her deal here, and how is that going to tie into a character like Doctor Hate?
Well, that's exactly it. You've had Amanda Waller building in the shadows for a very long time, and now she's going to step into the light. But her version of light is very dark and scary. She is a character, and it's her time. We've been building her up, and there is a very large status quo shift brought about by "Titans: Beast World." Amanda Waller is central to that, as you'll see. I can't spoil too much, but her alliance with Doctor Hate and whoever the person is behind the mask of Doctor Hate [is] also a very, very big one.
Peacemaker is a blast to write. He's so much fun. Having him on the side there ... Amanda Waller is all grim, and you've got Peacemaker — ah, some levity. He's killing a lot of people, but it's still funny.
You're no stranger to the horror genre. Is that something you wanted to lean into with "Beast World"? What about the transformations gave you free rein to be like, "We'll see things transform"?
I had someone — a good friend of mine who's a producer, director, and filmmaker — years ago tell me how important the transformation is in any sort of horror, that people really want to see that. It's not my jam; I'm not a horror guy. Despite having written "DCeased," I hate horror. I hate zombies. I'm like, "Whatever." Then, I went and wrote five books of them. But other people who know the genre — I reach out [to them] like, "What is it that people are looking for here?"
In particular, I don't have an animal-id. That's not something that, "Oh, I want to see people turned into animals." I reach out to people who do like seeing that: "Hey, what do you want?" I like fan service. I believe in giving readers what they want, or we wouldn't be turning Damian into a cat boy in Nightwing. It's like, "Apparently, the internet wants this. Let's give the internet what they want."
When you're choosing heroes and villains, was there anyone that you're immediately like, "I know that person's going to be this beast or this animal"?
Not really. It was quite a surprise how difficult that was at times. Some of the most fun of this was seeing other creative teams and editorial coming up with their own stuff. We have the spotlight issues that are set in different cities, and someone came up with Harley Quinn as a giant muscled bunny. You'd be like, "Sure, cool. That's funny. We'll go with that."
You've got some people who are like, "I can see some comedy here," and you've got other people who are like, "I'm going to mess people up. I can see absolute horror that can be done here." You're like, "Okay, go for it. You do you."
But some of the changes are strategic. We turned Batman into a wolf very early on to take Batman off the table, because readers have been trained to expect Batman to solve everything. We were like, "He can't solve much. He's a wolf. He can go away and growl and claw and stuff, but that's not going to save the planet."
What can readers expect in Beast World?
You've mentioned the "New Teen Titans" — a super iconic run. But when constructing this world, were there any books you leaned on specifically, or any creators' works?
Not really, actually. I went, "This was my moment to bring my Elseworlds sensibilities to main continuity." This is where I can do twists that are quite messed up. I can surprise people, and DC has let me go with it. There's been lots of emails, basically.
Usually, I write things and then ask for permission, and DC is like, "Yep. Go for it." When I wrote the outline for "Beast World," I wrote the standard outline, and then I wrote a caveat. I wrote this last chapter, like, "Or we could do this at this point in this book," which I realize is quite full-on and quite a moment. "Here's 'Beast World,' but if you want, it could also be this." DC went, "Let's go with that" ...
It's an organic build. This isn't an event that comes along and derails the story we're telling. This was the story we've been telling in "Titans" from Issue 1. This is what we've been building to, and it's quite similar in "Nightwing." In "Nightwing," we've been building this mentorship with John and Dick, and this friendship. When Damian is in trouble, those two come together to help him. That was very organic, too.
We also build a very big supervillain over in "Nightwing" and the "Beast World" crossover. I can't say too much about her yet, but people are going to like her. I think she's going to be around for quite some time making trouble, particularly for the Titans.
What can readers expect from "Beast World"?
I don't want people to expect anything. Everyone has theories already, and so many have been wrong. It's great. I've seen so many people guessing who Doctor Hate is, and they're wrong — it's not that.
"Titans: Beast World" by DC Comics arrives in comic book stores and online retailers on November 28, 2023.
This interview has been edited for clarity.