DC Comics has created iconic superheroes, many of whom are quite intelligent. This is very important, as oftentimes their foes have as much brains as they do brawn. DC's villains can challenge anyone in a game of wits and there have been times when their plans have perplexed even the smartest heroes, leaving them on the back foot as they try to overcome their foe's advantages.
With the fate of the entire multiverse often at stake, DC's mightiest heroes have found themselves tricked by their foes in a variety of ways. The fact that they've been able to come from behind and triumph is a testament to their ingenuity.
10 Zod Used His Son To Break Out Of The Phantom Zone
Superman: The Last Son of Krypton, by Geoff Johns, Richard Donner and Adam Kubert, stands tall among Superman's greatest stories. A young Kryptonian boy landed in the middle of Metropolis, and Superman took responsibility for him, even breaking him out of government custody. Clark and Lois considered adopting the boy, but there was more going on than met the eye.
The boy was actually Lor Zod, and was part of an attempt by his father to break out of the Phantom Zone. Zod, Ursa, and Non were able to get free, and they led an attack on Earth, beating Superman and the heroes of the world. Lor Zod was just a pawn in his father's game.
9 Mordru Was Able To Fool Doctor Fate
The threat of Mordru brought the Justice Society back together, with new Doctor Fate Hector Hall imprisoning the Lord of Chaos in his amulet. Unfortunately, this played right into Mordru's hand. From within the amulet, Mordru was able to fool the new Doctor Fate in multiple ways, acting like a repentant villain trying to make amends.
His best trick was overpowering Nabu and taking his place. This was no easy task and it showed just how cunning Mordru was. He may have lost against the Justice Society at first, but it put him into position to strike at the team form within, something none of them expected.
8 Maxwell Lord Spent Years Fooling Everyone In The Justice League
Maxwell Lord played the long game with the Justice League. Seemingly a greedy businessman who was more of a buffoon than anything else, no one suspected that Max could be up to anything more criminal than embezzlement or some other white collar crime. Lord, though, had everyone fooled, his place in the Justice League the perfect cover for his true motives.
Lord placed himself into the center of the metahuman community in order to learn everything he could about them. He was secretly working with Checkmate the whole time and rose to the rank of Black King. Using what he learned, along with the Brother Eye satellite and its OMACs, Lord launched an attack on the heroes.
7 Hush And The Riddler Pulled The Wool Over Batman's Eyes
Batman is a top-notch vigilante, known for his detective skills, but even he can be fooled at times. This is what happened when Hush came to town. The villain was Tommy Elliot, a former childhood friend of Bruce Wayne, out for revenge against his old friend. Hush entered into a partnership with the Riddler and the two worked together against Batman.
From little things like curing Two-Face to suborning Batman's old friend Harold, the two led the Caped Crusader on a merry chase throughout Gotham. Hush and the Riddler showed Batman that no matter how good he was, there was always someone better.
6 The Murders At Sanctuary Perplexed The Planet's Greatest Heroes
Wally West has grown a lot over the years, but DC did a lot of bad things to his character in the 2010s. A big one was making him the murderer of the patients at Sanctuary, a superhero mental health facility. It wasn't a malicious act–and it was later revealed to be a Speed Force surge and not at all his fault–but he still went to great lengths to cover it up.
He was able to fool Batman's security systems and even used releasing the records of the facility to the media as a misdirect. Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold were finally able to figure the whole mystery out, succeeding where the Justice League's greatest minds failed.
5 The Murder Of Sue Dibny Had The Best Superhero Detectives Stumped
The Justice League's darkest secrets were laid bare by the murder of Sue Dibny. Jean Loring was the Atom's ex-wife and wanted her husband to get back together with her, so she used an old costume of his to attack Sue Dibny, shrinking and traveling through the phone line. Unfortunately, she was too big when she landed on Sue's brain and killed her.
Jean covered up the crime and escaped, sending threats to the families of Justice League members, faking an attack on herself, and paying Captain Boomerang to murder Jack Drake. Jean had the entire superhero community looking at everyone but her, fooling the greatest detectives.
4 Darkseid Was Able To Hide His Takeover Plans Until It Was Too Late
Despite what it seems, the Justice League makes mistakes and when they do, they can be devastating. After the destruction of their bodies, Darkseid and his minions were able to take over bodies on Earth and Oa, and began to test out the Anti-Life Equation. Next, he had Batman captured and brought to Command D in Blüdhaven, while having Hal Jordan arrested by the Alpha Lanterns.
Superman was taken off the board as well, sent into the Bleed looking for a way to save his wife, and Darkseid struck with the Anti-Life Equation. Half of humanity were suddenly Darkseid's slaves, his plan working perfectly.
3 The Anti-Monitor Had One Last Trick For The Heroes
The war against the Anti-Monitor tested the heroes of the multiverse like no other conflict. Eventually, the heroes came up with a two pronged plan, sending a group of villains to Oa's past to prevent Krona from witnessing the creation of the universe while they attacked the Anti-Monitor at the dawn of time. They were able to stop the Anti-Monitor, or so they think.
After the conflict, they all woke up on an Earth that seemed like it's always been one, but there were strange little things that reveal that it's a trick. The Anti-Monitor pulled this Earth into the anti-matter dimension, finally ready to devour the last positive matter Earth left.
2 Pariah Showed How Little The Heroes Were Ready For A Concerted Attack
As Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths winds down, it's easy to see how easily the heroes were fooled by Pariah. The Justice League was lured into a foolhardy against his Dark Army, imprisoning them on alternate Earths where he could harvest their energies and use it to bring back the old multiverse. On Earth, he got Deathstroke and a new Secret Society to begin their own war against the heroes.
Pariah was one step ahead of everyone for most of the conflict. Eventually, his plans were laid bare, but it was only after he had mostly succeeded. The return of the Justice League spelled the end for his schemes, but the damage was already done.
1 Alexander Luthor Kept Everyone Guessing
Infinite Crisis was a huge test for the heroes. Alexander Luthor and Superboy-Prime, working from their other-dimensional home, were able to break through to the DC Universe and set up a series of plans. From Alexander posing as Lex to rebuild the Secret Society of Super Villains, using Eclipso to manipulate the Spectre into destroying magic, getting Brother Eye to work with Checkmate, sparking a way between Rann and Thanagar, and moving the center of the universe, they had the upper hand.
It was made all the worse by the division sowed between the Trinity because of then recent events. The heroes were finally able to figure out what was going on, but they almost lost everything.