The past decade has arguably been one of the most important decades for the comic-book industry ever. With massive hits likes Avengers: Endgame and Shazam sending audiences flocking to the cinema in droves, it seems that there has never been a better time to be a comics fan.
While the film industry has been successfully turning previously rather smalltime heroes into household names, the comic-book industry has been doing some reinventing of its own. Over the past decade, DC Comics has introduced some of the most unique and powerful heroes to have ever hit the panels of their comics. But just who are these heroes? Let’s dive in and find out.
10 Wallace West
Despite originally being introduced as a new incarnation of Wally West, Wallace West has since made a name for himself as an original character, and cousin of Wally West. Unlike the original Wally West, however, Wallace has some truly disconcerting branches of his family tree.
While originally being introduced as Wallace’s uncle, Daniel West (the most recent speedster to take on the mantle of the Reverse-Flash) is later revealed to be Wallace’s father. Rather than let this fact get the better of him, Wallace instead chooses to use it as fuel to drive him to become a better hero.
9 Simon Baz & Jessica Cruz
While there are a staggering number of members of the Green Lantern Corps, Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz are perhaps some of the most relatable. Simon, a Lebanese-American, was often persecuted in his hometown of Dearborn, Michigan because he happened to be alive during following the attacks on September 11th.
This upbringing leads Simon down a somewhat dark path and after stealing a car only to find out there is a bomb inside, Simon drives it to an abandoned where it explodes and is pinned as a terrorist act before a malfunctioning Green Lantern Ring selects him as its wielder. Jessica Cruz, on the other, is forced to accept a ring after being traumatized by the murder of her friends after she discovers two men burying a body. These two have certainly had to overcome quite a bit in order to prove to themselves that they are capable of being heroes.
8 Gotham Girl
Claire Clover and her brother Hank wanted to be superheroes so badly that they would have traded nearly anything to become heroes, even years off of their own life. And after purchasing powers, that’s exactly what they did. With these new abilities, she could ostensibly become a god for a few hours or live a being similar to Superman for around two years.
After the death of her brother, Claire is comforted be Batman, who tries to show her that a way through her grief. While Claire may have eventually been outed as a plant meant to destroy Batman both mentally and physically, she did plenty of good before that revelation.
7 Jackson Hyde (Aqualad)
Much like Wallace West, Jackson Hyde, as the hero Aqualad, has a bit of a dark shadow to overcome. Being the son of the villain Black Manta, Jackson has devoted his life to undoing the legacy his father has established for their family.
While his mother tried to suppress this aspect of Jackson’s personality due to fear of him standing out more than she desired, Jackson is openly gay and although he seems to have entered his relationship with his boyfriend Kenny simply to spite his mother, he remains open about who is despite her controlling nature.
6 Caitlin Snow
Much like her counterpart in the Arrowverse, Caitlin Snow is a version of Killer Frost who prefers the more heroic side of the law.
While she originally wasn’t on the straight and narrow due to a constant vampiric need to siphon the heat off of beings and constantly seeking out Firestorm (whose powers left her temporarily healed) in order to do battle with him, Caitlin eventually reformed and was invited to join the Justice League by none other than Batman himself.
5 Sideways
While Marvel has been raking in the money with its golden boy, Spider-Man, DC comics has been stuck profiting off of Super, Batman and friends for as long as they’ve been around. Well, with the introduction of Sideways, DC comics hopes to introduce a Spider-Man of their own.
Though he may not be swinging around New York with webs, Sideways has the ability to teleport pretty much anywhere as long as he knows where he’s going and to anyone so long as he knows who they are. He may not be the wallcrawler but he’s definitely earned his place in the DC universe.
4 Duke Thomas (The Signal)
Though Batman has taken on his fair share of proteges (many of whom have died only to be later resurrected, but that’s beside the point), most of those proteges have taken on the mantle of Robin. Duke Thomas, though he played a major role in Robin Wars and the events leading up to it, was never cut out to be Robin.
While he was certainly talented and brilliant enough to become a member of the bat-family, Duke was meant for something more than the Robin mantle could provide. He was meant to become The Signal.
3 Luke Fox (Batwing)
Much like Duke Thomas, Luke Fox (the sone of Batman’s long-time accomplice Lucius Fox) was far beyond taking the mantle of Robin. When the original Batwing retired due to personal reasons, Batman knew that there was no one better to take over the mantle than Luke.
Though the decision meant he would have to leave to fill the void left behind by Batwing in Africa, Luke covered by saying he wanted to take a sabbatical to the motherland, which greatly upset his father who views the decision as reckless. Since then, Luk has proven himself a valuable and capable member of the bat-family time and time again.
2 Jonathan Samuel Kent (Superboy)
Much like with Robin, fans of DC comics have been introduced to Superboy time and time again. There’s the one who lost his mind and went a hero killing spree, the one who was cloned using a combination of Superman’s DNA and Lex Luthor’s and finally there was Jonathan Samuel Kent, the son and official heir to Superman’s legacy.
While initially unable to control his powers, after some travels through time and space with his grandfather, Jor-El, Jonathan comes back not only much more in control of his abilities, but older as well.
1 Harley Quinn
The 2010s have been a crazy decade for comic book fans. Not only have they seen some of the greatest heroes to ever hit the panel brought to life to spectacular effect onscreen, but they’ve seen some of their greatest heroes fall to the side of villainy. Superman, Batman, Doctor Manhattan, all heroes that have recently let their darker impulses control them and fall from grace.
On the flip side, however, some villains have dramatically reformed and let go of their violent pasts and embrace a more legal lifestyle. Exhibit A: Harley Quinn. After dropping the Joker like a criminally bad habit and taking up her previous profession in psychology, Harley seems to be on the straight and narrow. Well, straight enough. For now.