“Azarath Metrion…ZINTHOS!”
— Raven’s frequent magic spell
Raven is a half-demon, half-human hybrid who is one of five founding members of the Teen Titans.
Arella, Raven’s mother, was chosen to become the bride of the demonic Trigon. Abandoned by the demon rather than her becoming his queen, Arella was bent on suicide (while carrying Raven) when she was taken in by the pacifistic disciples of Temple Azarath, a group who had centuries earlier forsaken life on Earth to pursue their own nonviolent lifestyle.
In their inter-dimensional world, Raven, Arella’s daughter by Trigon, was born. Fearing that the child would bring evil among them, Juris, a magistrate of Azarath, attempted to cast the infant Raven into Limbo, only to be destroyed himself. Azar, the spiritual leader of the temple, then took the young Raven under her personal tutelage, instructing her in the truth of her parentage, and in pacifism, meditation, and the submergence of her emotions to resist Trigon’s influence, while perfecting her powers of teleportation, astral projection, and empathic healing.