The CW to Get So RAVEN (The Titans Character, That Is)

The CW is developing a series based on the DC Comics character Raven, Variety reported Friday afternoon. Fans have wondered if the network would introduce another comic book-based series, given that Smallville's current, tenth season has been announced as its last (read our interview with John Glover, the show's returning Lionel Luthor).

The choice of Raven as the subject of a TV adaptation is an unexpected one, given that the character hasn't had much of a solo spotlight, other than a 2008 five-issue miniseries. Created in 1980 by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, Raven is known best as a member of several incarnations of the Titans, and was a main character of the 2003-2006 Teen Titans animated series. Young viewers who watched that show are now teenagers, the target demographic of the network whose current shows include Gossip Girl and 90210.

Diego Guitierrez is writing and executive producing the project. He comes to Raven after stints on V and Without a Trace, and wrote "Normal Again," a season six episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Raven's powers are predominantly magic-based, though she also has the ability to feel and feed off of emotions, something that tends to be plentiful on CW shows (the first issue of her 2008 comic was even dubbed on the cover an "emo series"). The character also comes from a unique heritage — her mother is human, but her father is the interdimensional demon Trigon.

Following the success of Smallville, The CW has worked on possible series based on several DC Comics properties, including Aquaman and The Graysons, centering on the family of Dick Grayson, the original Robin. Aquaman never went past the pilot stage, and The Graysons failed to move forward due to concerns about interfering with the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman films. In 2002, CW-predecessor The WB aired a short-lived series loosely based on the DC title Birds of Prey.

A David E. Kelley-helmed Wonder Woman series is in the early development stages, but has yet to be picked up by a network.