Raven (DC Comics)

Raven is a fictional superhero that appears in comic book published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in DC Comics Presents #26 (October 1980), and was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez. Raven is an empath who can teleport and control her "soul-self," which can fight physically, as well as act as Raven's eyes and ears away from her body. Raven's chronology is typically separated into three lives. Her first life, 18 years, was spent in the Temple Azarath and creating The New Teen Titans. Her second life began once she started wearing the garb of White Raven, and lasted under two years. Her third life is her current form. Unlike the transition between her first and second lives, with her third life came a new, younger body.

The character was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. The description from Wolfman to Pérez was of a female phantom stranger type character. Pérez notes that:

A character with a morbid past and origins, Raven is the half-breed daughter of a human mother named Arella and the interdimensional demon Trigon. She grew up in an alternate dimension called Azarath, with pacifistic inhabitants whose spiritual leader was the mystic Azar. In her homeland, she was taught to "control her emotions" by Azar, in order to suppress her inherited demonic powers. Essentially, it was feared that if Raven was allowed to feel any strong emotion, she could become a demon like her father.

During this time, Raven rarely saw her mother and grew detached from her. Upon Azar's death, Arella began the task of raising and teaching Raven. Around this same time, Raven's demonic heritage was revealed, as she met her father face to face for the first time. Soon after her 16th birthday, Raven learned that Trigon planned to come to her dimension; and she vowed to stop him.