The blue and the green

Changeling- Nightcrawler


Upcoming posts will indicate that, for the most part, members of the X-Men from 1964 to the late ‘80s will be paired with Teen Titans from the same period. Therein, one rule will be observed (sidekicks are too numerous in the DCU) and another will be broken (Kounterparts must come from a similar place of origin). This is because the X-Men and Teen Titans books in the 1980s are dear to me and many many other nerds (TT writer Marv Wolfman has said that his book took no inspiration from the X-Men, which is very hard to believe) and thus I’m wedded to pairing them up —there will, however, be some exceptions…

But here we speak of Gar Logan, of whom I insist on referring to as Changeling as opposed to Beast Boy, and Kurt Wagner. Logan was introduced as a kid sidekick in the 1960s Doom Patrol, and is now known to lots of real, live kids via the early aughts cartoon the Teen Titans. Wagner, on the other hand, was glimpsed briefly in the 1990s X-Men cartoon and in the second X-Men film only. He also has been foolishly established by Marvel PTB as the son of Mystique and a demon of some sort—why they can’t leave it with him as a mutant that resembles a demon is beyond me…

Commonalities:
Both are immediately distinguishable without exhibiting extraordinary abilities: Logan is green, Wagner is blue. Both provide levity to their teams, but these goofball exteriors mask tortured interiors.

Differences:
Logan shape-shifts into animals; Wagner teleports, has a prehensile tail and blends into shadows. Wagner is German, whereas Logan was born in Africa to his scientist parents.

Alternate histories:

CH: Teenage circus performer Garfield Logan is ostracized in his community, first for his green hair and skin and then for his shape-shifting abilities. He joins the Teen Titans and serves therein on and off for many years.

NC: Young mutant Kurt Wagner loses his parents and is adopted by Reed and Susan Richards of the Fantastic Four. After the apparent demise of the FF, Wagner joins the X-Men for a number of years.