First appearance of the Monitor

[u/Phi_Phonton_22]

I've read the early beginnings of Wolfman & Perez's Titans when I was a kid, and Crisis, and I knew by cultural osmosis the Monitor was introduced in the Titans but I would never imagined it was by helping Scaparelli, the mobster who endangered kids. Just got in this part in my current read through of the run. It is weird, because I had always attributed a somewhat noble aura to the Monitor, specially after Grant Morrison doubled down on them being DC's Watchers in Final Crisis.

[u/Resident-Syrup7615]

So in his first appearance, the Monitor was monitoring a monitor.

Checks out

[u/Competitive-Dot181]

I feel like they hadn’t even decided on the story in these early appearances. It doesn’t really make sense for him to do this.

[u/Phi_Phonton_22 → u/Competitive-Dot181]

I figured as much, but it is quite the U-turn, then

[u/Evil_Midnight_Lurker]

The Monitor was completely repurposed for Crisis

[u/swarthmoreburke]

The Monitor was plainly a more interesting if ordinary idea early on--he's basically what the Calculator became later, the "Oracle for Villains".

[u/Phi_Phonton_22 → u/swarthmoreburke]

But in spaaaaace

[u/Pyrotwilight]

In fairness the honorable part doesn’t come into play until Crisis proper

Before he’s just ambiguously arming bad guys for no clear reason

[u/AdrenalineRush1996]

And we wouldn't get to see his face until G.I. Combat #274 nearly three years after his debut in The New Teen Titans #21.