Titans: Ravens Mother Discussion

General Discussion
1

So, I’ve wondered this for a little while now and after today’s episode of Titans “Koriand’r” I’ve wondered even more why the producers/casting director decided to do what they did.

Okay, so, for those of you who are caught up to the current episode of Titans you’ve seen Rachel’s pretend mother in the first episode and her real mother now. A few questions have crossed my mind regarding her such as:

  1. The pretend mother looked exactly like Ravens mother in the comic books. Why did the decided to kill her off and use the other lady that doesn’t look like her as the real mother?

  2. In Titans Rachel’s mothers name is Angela, but in the comics it’s Arella. What made them decide to give her a name other than what was in the comics?

At first I was really confused as to why they would make these decisions for the show, but after tonight’s episode I wonder if maybe Angela isn’t Rachel’s real mother, but rather an excommunicated member of Azarath? (if that makes sense?)

I’d really love to hear what others have to say about this, if anything at all, or if maybe someone has a straight answer as to why they decided to make these decisions :slight_smile:

2

I feel like they should explore more into Azarath. Raven is not from this planet just like Kory.

3

Regarding point 1, children don’t always look exactly like their parents, and we all know that, but it is an incredibly common thing in fiction. I’d guess it is more a happenstance of casting, but I suppose someone also may have thought that it made the “she’s not your real mom” reveal more interesting.

Regarding point 2, in the 2016 Raven miniseries, when Raven goes to live with her aunt in San Francisco, there is a brief interaction between Raven and her aunt, where Raven mentions Arella by name, and her aunt says something like “Oh, is Angela still calling herself that?”.

As for Azarath, maybe we’ll get to see it (I’m guessing not) though we get a nod to it as Angela was listed as “Angela Azarath” in the cult’s computer system in “Asylum”. In Titans, Raven doesn’t seem to have been to Azarath, based on what we know about her from the series so far, assuming what we’ve been told is true: Raven is born here, mom goes on the run and leaves Raven with Melissa, and they spend some time at Creepy Convent before leaving.

In the comics, generally, Arella is from Gotham, joins a cult, gets preggo by Trigon after a “Bride of Satan” type ritual, eventually manages to flee him (back to Gotham IIRC?), where she is found by the monks of Azar and is taken to Azarath, where Raven is born and raised. A rather different backstory than what we’ve seen so far in the series.

I’m curious about whether Angela has actually become a true believer, or was caught and reprogrammed by the cult, or whether going back home (where it seems Trigon must have had some influence to cause all kinds of weirdness to happen) has messed with her head?

Likewise, she goes home after having been gone for apparently years, as a prisoner, and there is still electricity at the house? really?

Did Angela poison Beast Boy, or was it just happenstance? Rachel didn’t eat the soup, after all, or at least not much of it. Risky, but maybe if both were poisoned, it would have been a “summon your dad to save yourself” play.

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Ravens mothers name “is” Arella & Angela in the comics. She escapes to Azarath almost immediately after birthing Raven with Trigon. Azarath forbids citizens to leave a la’ Themyscira. I believe the “mother” now is just a member of the brother blood cult. She was planted in the asylum to trick Raven into summoning Trigon & posed as a victim b/c the Titans were dominating everybody in the place. Ravens real mother would never beg let alone ask her to summon Trigon. She escaped to Azarath to be as far away from him as possible & nobody can leave Azarath & return except Raven who does it with her soul self. Members can leave, but with the exception of Raven their not allowed to return if they do as a general rule. Although eventually depending on what Titans your reading, they do return to Earth to help fight Trigon or in some instances by force to serve him. Without knowing the exact rules for this group of Titans, I would say if one things for sure, she hasn’t met her real mother Angela Roth/ Arella yet.

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