Liefeld has explained that the version of "Youngblood" that eventually saw print in "Youngblood" #1 was based partially on his 1991 plan for a new "Teen Titans" series for DC Comics to be co-written with Marv Wolfman. According to Liefeld, he and managing editor Dick Giordano failed to reach an agreement on the project, and Liefeld merged his "Teen Titans" ideas with his previous, creator-owned "Youngblood" property. According to Liefeld, "Shaft was intended to be Speedy. Vogue was a new Harlequin design, Combat was a Kh'undian warrior circa the Legion of Super-Heroes, ditto for Photon and Die Hard was a S.T.A.R. Labs android. I forgot who Chapel was supposed to be, but I'm sure it would have rocked". Given the failed deal with DC and Liefeld's increasingly strained relationship with Marvel Comics over his "X-Force" royalties, he joined other Marvel artists to form Image Comics in order to publish "Youngblood" in their own series.