DC Replaced Robin in the Teen Titans in Order To Keep Kids Off Drugs
DC Comics took Robin out of the Teen Titans—in order to help keep children from using illegal drugs. In the early 1980s, DC Comics produced a series of anti-drug public service announcement (PSA) Comics, starring the New Teen Titans, but thanks to licensing reasons, Robin was nowhere to be found—and in his place was a new character: The Protector.
New Teen Titans was, alongside Uncanny X-Men, one of the most popular comic books of the early 1980s. Writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez revamped the team, mixing in classic members such as Robin and Wonder Girl in with newcomers Raven, Cyborg and Starfire. Around the same time, the United States government significantly ramped up the decade-old “War on Drugs” programs, such as “Just Say No” and D.A.R.E. were created to deter children from trying illegal drugs. In 1983, DC Comics, in conjunction with The President’s Drug Awareness Campaign, produced a series of anti-drug comics starring the then-popular New Teen Titans—minus one of their founding members: Robin! Years prior, DC had licensed Robin’s likeness to Nabisco, and the anti-drug comics were produced in conjunction with the Keebler Company—taking Robin off the table. Unfortunately, art for the initial special, featuring Robin, had been completed, forcing inker Dick Giordano to replace all appearance of the Boy Wonder with a new character, created for these specials: The Protector.
Related: Nightwing Proved Why the New Teen Titans Deserves a Reboot
The Protector first appeared in the initial New Teen Titans drug issues and can be seen ordering the team into battle—just as Robin would. The Protector’s real name is Jason Hart, who became a hero to save his younger cousin from a life of substance abuse; this would
Read more on screenrant.com
