Not too long ago I talked about which Batman costumes I thought would make pretty cool DLC for Injustice: Gods Among Us. I've been thinking about which costumes I'd like for other characters, particularly Raven, whose portrayal in the game has left me largely... unhappy. I admit that this is due in part to my preference for the animated incarnations of the Teen Titans characters, but the Raven featured in Injustice doesn't even do her comic counterpart a whole lot of justice. Unfortunately, Raven doesn't have a whole lot to work with when it comes to costumes. I tried my best! Let's see what I came up with...
1. Animated Raven
Of course Raven's animated form was going to make this list, might was well get her out of the way right off the bat. This is the Raven with which I am most familiar, and despite being a rabid fan of this character I'm not completely convinced that the look could be pulled off in Injustice. The Raven featured in NetherRealm's game is a much older Raven than the one from this cartoon, and her outfit just might not look right on a taller character with more adult proportions. Regardless, I'd to see them at least attempt something in this vein.
2. Bikini Raven
I don't know exactly where this Raven is from, but she looks like a fantasy pulled direct out of Beast Boy's mind. It's obviously from the comics, and I'm sure that if I did a little more digging around the DC Database, I could figure it out (though, the DC and Marvel wikis are sorely lacking in a lot of information and are extremely disorganized. I actually hate going there). Either way, I'm always on the lookout for something different when it comes to alternate costumes, and this certainly fits the bill... but not as much as the next one...
3. Witchy-Poo (Elseworlds)
I've never read an Elseworlds comic, but I guess the general idea is similar to Marvel's What If...? series of single issue alternate realities. DC Database assures me that this is an actual alternate Raven and not something ripped out of DeviantArt, so I'll have to take their word for it. At first I wasn't going to include this Raven at all, and I know most people will be appalled at its inclusion, but there's something kind of cool about the anime-esque battle suit she's wearing. Unfortunately it's so against the grain that I'm not even sure if this Raven has the same powers as the one we know.
4. New 52 Raven
I'll just start right off by saying that I absolutely hate this costume. Absolutely hate it. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough Ravens to go around, and I've been reading around on some forums about this costume being somewhat popular. For the sake of thinking like a game producer, I will appeal to an audience (and DC's delicate sensibilities). Really, though, this costume hardly captures Raven's essence at all. It looks more like an updated costume for Dove than anything Raven would wear... Oh well... Sometimes beggars really can't be choosers.
5. Red Raven
Normally I'm against counterpart characters being costumes, mostly because there can be so much done to make them unique characters (Owlman would be a totally different type of character from Batman, for example), but like I've been saying, Raven doesn't do much laundry. Red Raven here is a member of the Teen Tyrants, kind of an Earth-3 counterpart to the Teen Titans and a junior version of the Crime Syndicate. She seems to be partially inspired by Jynx, which is never a bad thing, because I absolutely love Animated Jynx. She's also minor enough that I'd be more than okay with reducing her merely to a costume cameo. Actually, I'd love it.
6. Elseworlds Raven #2
This is another Raven, presumably from a different issue of Elseworlds with a sense of style and attitude much more in line with the Raven we know and... appreciate (will, I love her). Despite bearing a resemblance to Raven's traditional wear, this one is just different enough that she could pull off being a unique costume.
7. Sin Raven
While this Raven's color scheme might not work well with the mechanics of her game play, a compromise could easily be made by giving her the gray skin tone. Otherwise she's pretty different looking from the traditional Ravens, with daddy's four eyes and a pair of pointed ears, not to mention the uncharacteristically long hair and Psylocke-inspired leather suit. This is what happens when Raven's fortitude is compromised by her siblings' demonic influence, and well, she's pretty perfectly suited for the Injustice battle arena.
8. Rachel Roth
I'm not sure how people would react to the iconic superheroes giving each other a beat down in their civilian attired, but in Raven's case it's kind of a novelty. Raven spends pretty much all of her time as Raven and is universally known as Raven. Raven is who she is. Rachel Roth, her secret identity, is more or less an obscure alias for when she feels some desire to expose herself to the nightmares of high school.
9. Raven - One Year Later
Raven's attired after the One Year Later event seems to be heavily inspired by the Bat Family. Finally deciding to cover up, this Raven's clothed limbs alone make her stand out from the rest of the Raven costumes. Personally, this is one of my favorite alternate attires for the character (consider, of course, that I see the animated incarnation as the true Raven), and I would absolutely love it if she showed up at some point as DLC.
10. Raven's Emotional Spectrum
Anybody who's anybody will know that Raven's powers are connected to just how much of a handle she has on her emotions at any given time. When Beast Boy and Cyborg accidentally travel into Raven's mind in the animated episode "Nevermore", they stumble across her hidden emotions which manifest in the form of multicolored Ravens. Of course there's also the White Raven, which symbolizes Raven's freedom from her father's influence.
I've included these all here under one heading as they're technically just palette swaps with only some minor differences (really, only Yellow Raven's glasses would change the model at all). I'm suggesting these more as an idea than anything I'd like to see perfectly translated (although I would definitely like the glasses). I wouldn't care if these were used to color over Raven's other costumes, or if they were all included in one pack as a Raven Color pack. It's just something cool to play with in my mind, and I'm always a fan of a variety of color options.
