Warning! Spoilers for Teen Titans Academy #4 ahead!

In Teen Titans Academy #4, one of DC’s newest characters, Stitch, channels Deadpool by comedically breaking the fourth wall. The device was around long before Deadpool but he is easily one of the most popular examples of its use. His films and comics are massively successful largely because fans enjoy when he comedically disrupts the flow of a plot to address the viewer directly. Marvel, DC, and their fans take canon very seriously, yet Deadpool is one of the few characters given the leeway to freely act outside of continuity without any consequences. He does so by making jokes pertaining to the real world, comics themselves, the reader, or creators in a manner that would be impossible for a character within the continuity to understand. In Teen Titans Academy, Deadpool may have finally met his DC match.

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The reader is first introduced to Stitch in Teen Titans Academy #1. Stitch can be described as a genderqueer quilted nonbinary effigy. They have the appearance of a ragdoll in clothes, with highly visible stitches separating their colorful sections. The most similar DC character in appearance would be Ragman, however no relation between the two has been confirmed. Much is yet to revealed about Stitch, including a good idea of where their personality lands. Thus far, they seem well intentioned and easy going, getting along well with their fellow classmates. They are lighthearted with a tendency to make silly jokes. Their sense of humor is reminiscent of Deadpool’s. They both have mostly juvenile humor with a slew of self deprecating jokes, tending to poke fun at their own unusual anatomies.

The similarity to Deadpool hits a high in Teen Titans Academy #4 by Tim Sheridan and Steve Lieber when Stitch breaks the fourth wall and speaks to the reader. The issue is guided along by the narration of the character Chupacabra. When the narration references Stitch, they cut in and speak directly to Chupacabra and then to the reader. This occurs later in the issue as well when Stitch interjects after a page turn reveal with a simple, “Oh snap!” A notable similarity between Stitch and Deadpool is that both their word balloons have signature looks. Deadpool’s have a yellow background, usually with a gradient leading to white in the middle. Stitch’s have wavy outlines with a thick pinkish-purple border. The unique word balloons help with both identifying who is cutting into the narration as well as indicating to the reader that the contents may be fourth wall breaking and exist outside of canon.

Teen Titan Academy covers the opening of the Roy Harper Titans Academy, a school created by the original Titans to train newer heroes. The series somehow manages to still feel fresh while following closely in the footsteps of series like My Hero Academia, Strange Academy, and of course the X-Men. This is likely due to how well the series balances its impressively large cast of characters. The series follows the five original Titans who serve as the teachers, the currently active Teen Titans who are considered upper classmen, and a group of eight freshman with shadowy pasts and a slew of interesting new powers.

Hopefully Stitch will be able to jockey their way into a larger place in the plot as the character has a a lot of potential. The book, as well as DC as a whole, would benefit from a character similar to Deadpool. Done right, Deadpool‘s style of humor can be very effective. Breaking the fourth wall can add a unique element to storytelling as well. Both work especially well in team books when the story is forced to remain grounded by other characters and the humor is more dispersed. Much is yet to be revealed about Stitch, including their powerset. The mystery behind Stitch‘s origins and their true nature of existence promises to make for interesting stories as Teen Titans Academy continues in July.

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About The Author


Amal Desai
(30 Articles Published)

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Stationed out of the Chicagoland area, Amal Desai letters comics, edits comics, writes comics, and writes about comics. Outside of comics, his primary interests are comics and comics. More details of his comic-related work can be found at https://lettersbyamaldesai.crevado.com/

Everything he does is dedicated to his incredibly supportive wife and son.

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