People believe the teenage years to be a difficult time for young adolescents because there are a lot of changes going on in their bodies and minds. They are making choices about who and what type of person they will become. A friend, or group of friends, can be a large factor in how teenagers make their decisions. As a whole, society regards having relationships, platonic or romantic, as a significant part of a person’s life. In adolescence, children and teenagers often form friend groups that reflect the person they will become and how they make decisions. Comic books that focus on young adolescent group dynamics such as the superhero teams The Teen Titans, the Young Justice League, and the Runaways are all prime examples of a group of like-minded and capable teenagers who heavily rely on each other. Although they have super capabilities, they still fall victim to the chaos of puberty, peer pressure, and forming their ethical ideals. Every day small and large decisions must be made, however, to teenagers any choice can seem like the end of the world. The ethical dilemma presented in the choices teenagers must make shows that the decisions can shape a person into who they become in their adult lives. Whether the choice is to give in to peer pressure, be a leader versus a follower, or deal with the trust and betrayal of a group member.
Peer pressure, conforming to a person or group's ideal, does not always have to be a bad thing. In every adolescent’s life, they will be pressured into either good habits or bad habits. Some of the good habits include being more assertive, trying new activities, or stepping out of their comfort zone. In the 2017 comic, Young Justice Book One, Secret was a prime example of how a group could help another member push themselves from what they were used to. While talking with the Red Tornado, Secret discovered the origins of the superheroes of the Young Justice League (YJL), Robin, Superboy, and Impulse’s powers and how they decided to use them for good. During Secret’s discussion about her disbelief in her capabilities to be a hero, a girl yelled for help from outside, and without hesitation, Secret went to save her. The Red Tornado commented, “Well, you didn’t seem to need to think too carefully about what to do there.” To which Secret responded, “Yeah! It was like a split second and I suddenly just knew what to do! That must be what it’s like for others, just knowing what was right.” After hearing the stories about the YJL, Secret was moved to act as they did on missions when a civilian needed help. She was able to push her doubts about herself out of her mind and worked on instinct to help those in need because of the role models the boys were to her. The pressure Secret felt to be as good and heroic as the boys, pushed her to release the doubts she had about herself and take a step in the direction of the type of person she wanted to be.
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Although peer pressure can be a good thing at times, the activities one can be swayed towards can be harmful and detrimental to a person’s moral growth. In, World Without Grown-Ups, the children of the world woke up to find every adult gone. Most young adolescents tried things their parents deemed as unsafe or ‘grown-up’ activities. One child, Justin, was on the roof of a house with two other adolescents who were pressuring him to jump off with an umbrella. The girl called Justin “too much of a baby to be a superhero,” which was the last straw and he jumped. Luckily, the superhero Mary Marvel swooped in to catch him. When teenagers have people around them who care about their well-being, those friends would not ask another member to put themselves in harm’s way. By choosing friends who care about one another’s well-being, they are more likely to have a greater support system going into their adult lives. The concept is slightly different for supers because they intentionally put themselves in harm’s way and they do it for the greater good. In, The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, the Teen Titans are on a mission to stop Brother Blood and the H.I.V.E. Member of the Teen Titans, Tara Markov was being squeezed to death by Blood’s monster and Cyborg comes to her rescue. Surprised, Tara said to Cyborg, “You saved me… you saved me.” Cyborg replied, “You would done the same, kid.” Whether or not Tara would have also saved Cyborg, she realized that for them to work as a cohesive unit and make it out of a mission alive, they must work together. During the mission against Blood, Tara understood the importance of being there for the team and the impact helping each other had on a mission. The choices the Teen Titans were faced with daily were not overtly synonymous with the choices regular human adolescents face. However, the paths or decisions they make can have lasting impacts on their future endeavors.
Problems can arise when it comes to group friendships or teams, and who the leader should be, or if there should be one at all. In every friend group, there is someone who views themselves as a leader and others who are followers. When choosing a leader, there is not always a group consensus and the leader can then have doubts about their capabilities. The author Joseph Allen from the article, Leaders and Followers in Adolescent Close Friendships, states, “Finally, failure to establish autonomy in handling disagreements in important peer relationships appears likely to lead to depressive symptoms related to increasingly doubting oneself and one’s capacity to take one’s place within an emerging social world.” As people grow and develop into adulthood, they can struggle to find their place or doubt their idea of what their respective positions should be in a group dynamic.
In the first panel of, Runaways: Dead End Kids, the narrator explained that “Nico Minoru leads the, ah, ‘team’. Child of the Dark Wizards now controls the Staff of One. Adept at spells. Possibly not so much at leading.” Later on, Nico revealed to fellow runaway, Karolina Dean, that she “sucks so bad” and “folded in that meeting.” Nico tried her best but the pressure to be a perfect leader for their group made her choose a course of action the entire group did not agree to. She then had to realize her mistake and live with them. If a leader is chosen, other members may worry about how they fit into the group and what they bring to the dynamic. In, The New Teen Titans: Judas Contract, mutant and team member, Beast Boy, unveiled his feelings about being the least useful and successful person with shape-shifting powers. Beast Boy said to Tara Markov, “Look at the rest of the Titans. They’d be successful even without their powers. Mine are just a fluke of bad luck. The side effects of a medicine designed to save my life.” To which Tara responded, “So, you’ve got yourself an inferiority complex, eh? The only time anyone’s better’n you are when you let ‘em be.” She acknowledged Beast Boy’s doubt in his capabilities but tried to show him it was all in the way he viewed his situation. The urge to be a part of a pack is deeply ingrained in the human psyche, going back to the days of early civilization and having safety in numbers. As society has developed, the relationships and groups formed are more for the emotional well-being of a person. With the stress and hardship of saving humanity, the teenagers have banded together to keep each other safe and be there whenever needed.
A close-knit group of friends, especially those who rely on each other to save citizens and humanity, need to have trust but may trust too much. Through research, it is shown that friendships are the first relationships teens form outside of their families. People are born into their families without a choice, but they can choose who they want to be friends with. At the beginning of The New Teen Titans: Judas Contract, the Teen Titans were in combat with H.I.V.E members. Tara aided Wonder Girl by taking down an enemy that was going to “ventilate” her. Wonder Girl then responded, “Thanks, Terra – that’s why we’re a team.” Tara said in return, “Yeah. Well, if it weren’t for me, you’d be daisy fertilizer. So why do I feel like an outsider? And I don’t mean like my brother, geo-force.” Kid Flash acknowledged what Tara said and told Wonder Girl that Tara was “one of us.” By working alongside the Teen Titans, Tara was able to gain the group's trust and show that she held the same values they did. The choice to allow Tara to join seemed to be a group consensus, but Raven had reservations about her true intentions. Without proof of Tara’s foul purpose, Raven kept the suspicion to herself to not upset the group dynamic. She did however make Tara aware of her feelings, “If I were certain of my feelings, I would have informed the Titans months ago, but I will not accuse anyone when I cannot be certain of myself.” Tara had been working with the Titans for months and it was not until the final battle against Blood that Tara’s true betrayal was revealed. By not wanting to cause rifts in the group and place doubt where there might not be any, Raven kept to herself and did not alert anyone in the group and placed the Teen Titans in unknown harm by doing so.
Dick was the first to figure out the truth about Tara through Adeline and Joseph’s story. Although it was hard to believe at first, Dick realized the honesty in the story and it pushed him to rejoin the Titans and become Nightwing. Although Dick was overwhelmed with the realization that Tara had betrayed them he had to make another decision of whether or not to trust Joseph. Weighing the outcomes, Dick decided to extend his trust once more in hopes it would aid his friends. Other members of the team found it hard to believe that Tara was capable of betrayal. During the final battle, Beast Boy at one point tried to help Tara defeat Slade because he believed she was pretending to be on his side. Beast Boy turned into an elephant and said, “I knew you were only putting on an act. I knew you were on our side. C’mon, nothing can stop us now, kid. Hear that, Termy? Terra’s with the Titans, pal – She’s one of us!” To which Tara responded, “You stupid moron. I’ve never been with you! I’ve hated you.” Confused, Beast Boy asked Tara why, but she retaliated and said there was no reason other than she only felt hate. Although Tara announces the true nature of her chaotic insanity, the other Titans still attempt to help and encourage her to believe they can find a solution. Raven and Wonder Girl went as far as to lasso her and offer healing to her soul. In the end, Tara rejected all help and buried everything, including herself, leaving a hole in the Teen Titans. Friendships come with benefits and disadvantages but the fallout from negative friendships can be detrimental. Dick chose to trust Joseph, which in turn helped save his friends, but he made a choice to trust Tara which placed his friends in harm’s way. Not every choice for people will be as life-threatening as the one Dick made, however, the outcome can be life-changing for everyone.
Every day choices are made from the moment a person wakes up. The choices can range from, what they should wear to what kind of career they want to pursue. In young adolescents, the decision from a choice can be a deciding factor in who they become as adults. Friendships can be a deciding factor in what type of benefit someone brings to society. By surrounding themselves with friends and partners who hold moral values, one can determine the path they take into adulthood. For the Teen Titans and the YJL, the path they took was one of heroism and courage. The depiction of teenagers forming friend groups is accurately portrayed in the comics because it shows the good and the bad of a life-altering stage in life. Although teenagers may fail miserably at times, the support given throughout a group is what helped not only the Teen Titans and YJL, but everyday teenagers trying to survive the hardships of everyday life.
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