There are lots of dark potential futures for many of the heroes of the DC Universe. One of the most chilling is also one of the most plausible: After the demise of their mentors in battle, a number of sidekicks embrace a brutal edge while becoming dark protectors of their world. In fact, this possible timeline has proven resilient enough to endanger the current timeline, one where the Teen Titans become the de facto rulers of the world.

Here's a breakdown ofthe Titans of Tomorrow and how they almost brought down the current DC timeline.

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The Titans of Tomorrow first appeared in the final pages of Teen Titans/The Legion Special#1 by Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Mike McKone, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado. After helping the Legion deal with the Fatal Five, the Teen Titans (Superboy, Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy) end up in their near-future. In this potential future, an undisclosed crisis wiped out many of the core heroes of the DC Universe, leaving their protgs to become darker to reflect the times.

Tim Drake became a murderous Batman, Conner Kent forged a close connection with Lex Luthor after becoming Superman,Cassie Sandsmark trained with Ares and took over the mantle of Wonder Womanand Bart Allen grew up to become a very powerful new version of the Flash.

Meanwhile, Beast Boy fully embraced his animalistic side and became Animal Man, Raven became an emotional vampire on a coastal scale as Dark Raven andLorena Marquezadopted the mantle of Aquawoman. The Titans were horrified by their future counterparts and the lengths they had gone to maintain peace in a fascist world. Their actions had actually led to a split between the Titans, with a second group -- led by Cyborg -- remaining on the East Coast as actual superheroes. When the Titans returned to their proper place in the timeline, the young heroes vowed to avoid that future at all costs.

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Not long after they encountered this dark future, the Titans ended up losing two core members of the team: Superboy died during the events ofInfinite Crisisand Kid Flash was killed by the Rogues while depowered. In this new, modified future, Tim eventually perfected a cloning techniqueand brought back versions of Superboy and Kid Flash. To keep their timeline from falling apart, the Titans of Tomorrow assembled more members -- such as the dark future versions of Kid Devil and Ms. Martian, Red Devil and Martian Manhunter -- and made their way to the past.

Quickly capturing the Justice League, the Titans of Tomorrow force the Titans to try and fight Starro on their own, so they can jumpstart the Titans becoming more powerful figures in the world and ensure their survival. They even try to kill Ravager, Supergirl and Blue Beetle -- each of whom became a genuine nuisance to their rule in their time. The Titans try to do everything they can to prevent the future, up to Tim Drake even putting a gun to his head to prevent himself from ever growing up into Batman. This eventually prompts the Lex Luthor of the future to assemble a Titan Army to ensure their future continues to exist.

Starro -- defeated by the Titans -- instead redirects and targets the Titans of the future. Eventually, Cassie is able to move past her grief over Superboy's death and kisses Tim. This enrages the Superman of the future and he attacks the teenage Tim. Batman is forced to shoot him dead with a kryptonite bullet to save himself. This was the final piece to ensure a new timeline, leading all of the Titans of Tomorrow to disappear.

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This didn't eliminate the potential dark Tim Drake from the timeline, however, as Hypertime means the possibility always continues to exist in some form. The future Tim was plucked from his time-stream by Mr. Oz and held prisoner for over a year. Mr. Oz started plucking other people from across the DC Universe, including the core universe Tim Drake. The older Drake eventually broke the pair out of the prison and tried to convince his younger self that it would be good to grow into him. When the older Tim finds out that the new, younger version of Tim (now living in a post-Flashpoint universe) never became best friends with Superboy, he realizes the timeline can be altered.

Realizing this means he can change the future, Tim goes on to attack two very specific people: Batwoman (whom he blames for the death of the original Batman) and Jon Kent (who could eventually lose control of his powers and cause the deaths of millions of innocents in an accident), hoping to transform his timeline. He even takes up a new identity, the Savior. During his attempts, he's fought by the present incarnations of the heroes, as well as being hounded by Hypertime outbursts that seek to return him to his own timeline. In the end, Tim absorbs the power of Jon's newest outburst into himself as he fades into Hypertime -- diluting the energy and keeping it from killing anyone. The future Tim ends up falling through Hypertime, seemingly at peace with himself.

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Titans Tomorrow: What Happened to the Teen Titans' Darkest Timeline? - CBR - Comic Book Resources