Toon Tunes: Raven

curated by Mo Wilson

Dark times call for darker heroes, so what better time to inject some Raven vibes in your life. For those of you who don’t know, Raven is the sarcastic telekinetic witch from Teen Titans. The show was an update of the Titan comic series, where Robin (Batman’s twink sidekick) lead his own team of super heroes. The early 2000s-era cartoon recast the team as teenagers and gave the show a healthy dash of slapstick humor. Raven was the wry, Daria-like calm the center of the storm, but beneath her icy demeanor there was a history of trauma. Her father was a giant red demon who tried to end the world one season, and gave her a damming prophecy along with passing along his powers to her. These powers were what made her a superhero, but if she ever lost the tight lid she kept on her emotions she would lose control of them to terrifying results. Despite evil comes so naturally to her, she works hard to be a force of good. As Albus Dumbledore said” We must choose between doing what is right, and doing what is easy,” and Raven lives out that inspiring quote.

To capture her essence, I used a lot on new-wave and synth heavy songs with dark witchy vibes, as well as capturing the turmoil of her fighting against the shadow of her father. The first song is of course the Daria theme, because for most Teen Titan’s run Raven was the quintessential snarky intellectual running low on patience. Put this mix on when you’re feeling annoyed at the world and want to inject some quiet bad-assery into your day.