Terry Long was a college professor at Manhattan College, teaching history and sociology, who fell for and eventually married Donna Troy, a member of the new Teen Titans. Previous to meeting Donna, he had been married to a woman named Marcia, and had a daughter named Jennifer. He remained in contact with both after his divorce from Marcia. Other than his previous marriage, little is known about Terry's past prior to meeting Donna.

Soon after their marriage, the couple discovered that Donna was pregnant. While she was pregnant, a group of future Titans calling themselves the Team Titans confronted them, wanting to kill Donna before she could give birth to a future Lord Chaos. A Lord Chaos from the future also emerged, determined to safeguard his past. Donna gave birth to Robert and then, with the help of the Teen Titans and Team Titans, defeated Lord Chaos.

Following these events, Donna decided it was best to give up her identity and become a normal human. The Titans of Myth granted this wish and also removed Robert's powers so he wouldn't become Lord Chaos. Terry and Donna moved to a remote farm house in an attempt to live out a normal life

However, Donna then had a change of heart after suffering successive supervillain attacks. Believing her powers were actually necessary to protect her family, she petitioned to have her powers returned to her, but was denied. As Donna sought to regain her superhero identity as a member of the Darkstars, Terry grew resentful and estranged. While Donna was away, Terry decided to leave her and took their son Robert with him. Terry eventually divorced Donna officially and was able to secure sole custody of Robert. However, as the initial bitterness of the divorce cooled, Terry permitted Donna to visit Robert on weekends.

This relative peace was shattered when Terry lost control of his car during a raging storm with both Jennifer and Robert on board. Their car careened off of a cliff, killing all three of them.