Donna Troy may have the single most complicated backstory of any character in DC Comics history. Many superheroes have backgrounds that have been retconned repeatedly. However, the first Wonder Girl is one of the few characters born of a retcon! Her history since then has been one increasingly muddled mess. Titans Annual 2025 finds comic creator Phil Jimenez trying to cut through the Gordian knot that is the life and times of Donna Troy. I am happy to report that not only does he manage this daunting task, but he does it with style.
The plot of Titans Annual 2025 finds Donna Troy in New York City. She is there to respond to a letter from her biological father, who seemingly abandoned her and her mother when she was a baby. As she steels herself for what will likely be an uncomfortable conversation, Donna thinks back on her life.
We see every moment of Donna Troy’s life from childhood onward. From her induction into the Amazon society, to her formative years with the Teen Titans. We also explore Donna’s complicated feelings regarding her romantic missteps, the husband and child she lost, and how her abandonment issues shaped her into the hero she is now.
Titans 2025 Annual is Phil Jimenez’ magnum opus
It cannot be understated just how phenomenal Titans Annual 2025 is on every level. Jimenez has not only crated a backstory for Donna Troy that acknowledges most of her complicated history. He has also managed to make her story easily accessible to anyone who has never read a Titans comic.
Beyond streamlining her history, Jimenez truly unveils Donna’s soul, revealing why her character has remained popular for so long. Far from a clone of Wonder Woman (which she literally was in two different retcons) Donna is shown to be loving and bold. So much so that Batman is impressed when she stands up to him. Yet even that is just scratching the surface of her life as a daughter, a sister, a friend, a lover, and a hero.
The artwork is equally complex. Jimenez is rightly hailed as one of the definitive Titans artists and every page of this comic shows why this is so. The artwork is vividly detailed, yet the line work is uncluttered. The colors by Arif Prianto and Wes Abbott‘s letters provide the perfect finishing touches.
Titans 2025 Annual is required reading for any fan of the Teen Titans and Donna Troy. It is a perfect introduction to one of DC‘s most underrated and complicated heroes. It is also, in my humble opinion, the finest thing Phil Jimenez has created in an already distinguished career.
Grade: 10/10
Titans 2025 Annual arrives in comic shops everywhere on July 30, 2025.
