And yes, in case we all needed the collective reminder: sexual abuse does not always wear the same face.
It can look terrified.
It can look detached.
It can look confused.
It can look compliant.
It can even look "seductive" when what you’re really looking at is a child performing what she has learned is expected of her.
Different expressions.
Different coping mechanisms.
Same violence.
I will never thank Other History of the DC Universe enough for saying it loud and clear
The scene in Judas Contract where Slade realizes that Tara is powerful powerful and could have crushed him like a grape if she really wanted to is beautiful to me. One of my favorite moments in that comic for sure and for Tara as a whole.
Spoiler: very little. And we also need to separate what’s actually true from what’s just part of Tara’s cover.
Hey there, and welcome to another episode of LET’S OVERANALYZE EVERYTHING!
First time she is ever mentioned is in NTT #28, where we see Tara telling the Teen Titans that:
A) Her father is the ruler of another country;
B) Her mother wasn’t married to him;
C) Her mother died in childbirth.
Point A and B will later be confirmed to be true, as for point C… not so much.
Then, in Tales of the Teen Titans Annual #3 (Judas Contract finale), we have Brion confirming at least the first part of the story.
So, yes. Mistress, illegitimate child, all checks out.
But the "died in childbirth" part? That’s where things get shaky.
Because the third time Tara's mom is mentioned is also the first -and only- time we actually see her on panel (The Outsiders vol.4 #24).
Again, we get confirmation she was the king's mistress (or paramour, or whatever you want to call it), BUT she looks pretty alive for a woman who supposedly died in childbirth.
Aaand she seems to have red hair, which is… interesting. We'll get to that later.
Also, in issue #25, our darling girl twists a nursery rhyme into this:
Jeez, Tara… do you want to lie down? A paper bag to breathe into?
And that’s it for New Earth.
Which brings us to Prime Earth and—
WHO THE HECK IS THIS WOMAN??
It seems like she's trying to smuggle Tara out of Markovia when she's a child, and gets killed in the process. We only ever see her in Deathstroke vol.4 #27.
Let me explain why I don’t think this is Tara’s biological mother.
(Some of my darling mutuals have already heard me rant about this)
Genetics rant (bear with me)
Comics genetics are… simplified. Let’s be polite.
Usually, visual media treats traits like this:
If a kid has X trait, one of the parents had X trait.
It’s kinda like they’ve only studied Mendel’s first law and forgot the second altogether.
Enter the Markov family
We see Viktor Markov having brown hair, while his children have:
🤎 Brown hair (Gregor) - 🧡 Red hair (Brion) - 💛 Blonde hair (Tara)
The three of them all have blue eyes (except for Brion, who sometimes had green eyes in the early 2000s runs for some reason), so we can reasonably assume that comes from dear royal Papa.
But the hair color? Well, thanks to Mendel’s magic peas and visual media logic, we can infer that:
🤎 Gregor got his brown hair from Viktor;
🧡 Brion got his red hair from his mom;
💛 Tara got her blonde hair from her mom.
So black hair? Mmmh… not Tara's mom. 🤔
And by the way, if they wanted to imply that the black haired lady was her mother, wouldn’t the comic at least give us a tiny "Mom" speech bubble or something?
No?
Cool.
That’s the nanny. I will die on this hill.
***
So what do we actually know?
A) She was the king's mistress;
B) She was alive when Tara was a newborn;
C) She was American;
D) She was disowned and disrgaced (Tara's words);
E) By comic logic, she’s likely blonde;
F) She is said to be dead by the time Tara meets the Teen Titans.
And what don’t we know?
EVERYTHING ELSE!
When did she die? How did she die? How did an American woman even meet the king of Markovia? What was her relationship with Tara like?
Time for the tinfoil hat 🎩
My personal theory? She was the princes’ English tutor.
Which would:
- explain why an American woman was in Markovia long enough to have an affair with the king;
- give her access to the royal family;
- make the whole situation even messier.
If you’ve read this far, congratulations! 🎉🎉
You now also have a completely normal level of investment in the Markov family lore.
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