More than eighty years have passed since New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1 was published, and in that time, the DC Universe has become home to thousands of heroes. Each passing year more and more are introduced, with some going on to bigger and better things and others falling into obscurity.
DC's writers have long memories and often reintroduce some of these forgotten heroes and make them major players in their stories. Characters like Detective Chimp or the Metal Men can spend years and years in narrative limbo before being brought back to prominence. Others aren't as lucky and remain forgotten, at least, for the foreseeable future.
10 The Sea Devils
The undersea adventurers called the Sea Devils were first introduced in Showcase #27 in 1960, and never achieved the recognizability of the similar Challengers of the Unknown. Led by Dane Dorrance, they were a group of deepsea divers who fought ocean-based threats like giant monsters and uh... sea gorillas.
They had their own series that lasted more than thirty issues, and afterward made several cameo appearances in other titles. Most recently a revamped version of the team, now an eco-terrorist cell, appeared in a single issue of Aquaman in 2013. They haven't made an appearance since.
9 Lady Blackhawk
Zinda Blake was a young aviator who's dream was to join the legendary WWII the Blackhawks. Despite saving the entire team from the pirate Scavenger, Blake was still barred from joining the group due to the "Blackhawk's Code" forbidding female members. She only became an honorary member after saving the group from the Scavenger for a second time several months later.
During the events of the "Zero-Hour" crossover, she was thrown into the future where she became the resident pilot of the Birds of Prey. After DC's continuity was rebooted in The New 52, a character called "Lady Blackhawk" was featured in the new Blackhawks series, but her real name was never given. Blake's title was also used for a time by Kendra Saunders before she once again becomes Hawkgirl.
8 The Atomic Knight
A popular series of back-up stories in Strange Adventures were those of the Atomic Knights. Set a few years after WWIII, it centered on a post-apocalyptic town in the Midwest where a group of heroes led by former US military man Sgt. Gardner Grayle find a collection of irradiated suits of armor from a nearby museum. They use this armor to overthrow the despot who controls their town of Durvale and to help rebuild civilization.
It was later revealed that this group existed in the same future as Kamandi and Hercules (from the short-lived Hercules: Unbound series.) Another version of Gardner Grayle, who operated under the name Atomic Knight existed in DC's regular continuity and has made several appearances since his introduction.
7 The Green Team
Created by the legendary Joe Simon, the Green Team first appeared in 1st Issue Special #1 in 1975 but had their planned series scrapped before it could be published due to the "DC Implosion" in 1978, which saw numerous titles canceled. The Green Team was a group of preteen entrepreneurs who used their vast fortunes (the requisite to join their group was having a million dollars) to travel the world. They would give money to anyone who could offer them a worthy adventure.
Their further adventures were published in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade, a collection of previously unpublished work. The boy millionaires made several other appearances over the next thirty years before finally receiving their own title in 2013, lasting for eight issues.
6 Acrata
Created during the Planet DC event in 2000, Acrata was a young Mexican national who fought organized crime in her country with the help of a mystical Mayan symbol. How she came across the symbol is unknown as her origin was never fully revealed, other than her father being a professor in indigenous studies.
She was at one point invited to join the Birds of Prey but turned the offer down. Her other claim to fame in the DC Universe was being mind-controlled by Eclipso during the Eclipso Rising event. Acrata makes up for her limited previous appearances in comics by being featured on several DC live-action shows like Smallville and Supergirl.
5 The King
The Man of a Thousand Faces, King Standish was a master of disguise who was hunted by both the mob and the police. He first appeared in Flash Comics #3 and became a regular back-up character for the next several years of the series. His adventures would often see him battling the Witch, a villain who was almost as good at disguises as him.
During WWII, he joined the OSS and helped the All-Star Squadron and the Justice Society of America on occasion. Little is known about his personal life or what happened to him after the war, and he was last seen in Starman #60.
4 The Human Target
Christopher Chance, known as the Human Target, was another master of disguise. He was a freelance bodyguard who would disguise himself as his client to smoke out assassins, making him... a human target. He made his first appearance as a backup in Action Comics, before jumping around to The Brave & the Bold and Detective Comics for a handful of stories.
He starred in a Vertigo series in the 90s, but his main claim to fame since his original stories are the two unsuccessful tries at television series featuring him as the leading character. The first from the 90s starred singer Rick Springfield as the title character and only lasted seven episodes while the second with Mark Valley lasted two abbreviated series before it was canceled. The character does, however, appear on two episodes of Arrow, where he was portrayed by Jessica Jones actor Wil Traval.
3 Max Mercury
Originally known as Quicksilver, the character who would become Max Mercury was a speedster who appeared sporadically in National Comics throughout the 40s. He was later reinvented by Mark Waid during his tenure writing The Flash and became a major supporting character in the series.
He was originally Maxwell Crandall, a US cavalry scout from the 19th century who was granted super-speed by a dying shaman. Using his new ability to enter the Speed Force to travel forward through time, stopped at several points in the future to fight crime under new aliases. Mercury was last seen in the pages of Flash: Rebirth in 2009.
2 Pandora
Even though her last appearance was in 2016, it's surprising how easy it is to forget Pandora, especially given her prominence in the early days of the New 52. She was the character who (allegedly) caused Barry Allen to merge the DC, Wildstorm, and Vertigo Universes to create the current Earth-Prime. She also made a cameo in the first issue of every New 52 title when the reboot launched in 2011.
Pandora was supposed to be a big deal. Despite appearing in a slew of different events and having her own title, she never really caught on as well as her prominence suggests she should have. In the DC Universe: Rebirth Special she was blown up by an unseen Doctor Manhattan (which would have been an unthinkable sentence in the innocent days of 2011.)
1 Jack O'Lantern
Irish national Daniel Cormac was the first Jack O'Lantern, one of the members of the Global Guardians, which included heroes from various nations. Originally a poor farmer until he received a magic lantern from a fairy, he aided the Justice League on several occasions until he sided with Queen Bee during her bid to take over the world.
He was left for dead after a fight with the Justice League only to be nursed back to health and return to his heroic roots afterward. Later, it is explained that he died of natural causes and has had his mantle taken up by two others. The latest, a freedom fighter named Liam Mchugh, made several appearances in Justice League Quarterly, before joining the Ultramarine Corps. The character, in any of his incarnations, has not appeared since the 1990s (besides on TV.)