DC is home not just to numerous iconic heroes and villains, but the teams or organizations that many of those characters come together to form when one person isn't enough to face the forces of evil, good or otherwise. But for every bit of exposure that teams such as the Justice League or the Suicide Squad, or the Justice Society of America get, there are just as many teams in the DC Universe that remain underexposed or underdeveloped.
Not only have a lot of these promising or unique teams in the comics or in other mediums gotten very little time in the spotlight, but they don't even have an ongoing comic series to their name. Giving each of these teams its own ongoing series would be a step in the right direction and would take advantage of so much underused potential.
8 The Bizarro Justice League Are Entertaining Even When They Don't Succeed
In the 2007 storyline Superman: Escape from Bizarro World, Superman's backward clone known as Bizarro was exposed to radiation from a blue sun, which allowed him to create other Bizarro versions of people from Earth. Naturally, this led to him creating his own Bizarro version of the Justice League.
These Bizarro clones of Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Green Lantern are the complete opposites of their Earth counterparts in the most deranged and hilarious ways, such as Bizarro Flash being incredibly slow while Bizarro Green Lantern is scared of pretty much everything. While this good-intentioned team hasn't gotten a whole lot of time on the page, a whole series surrounding their attempts to be heroes on Bizarro World would be nothing short of comedy gold.
7 The International Ultramarine Corps Have Potential As A Different Kind of Super Team
The International Ultramarine Corps was originally a group of government-sponsored superheroes led by the corrupt General Wade Eiling. Realizing that Eiling was very much evil, they switched sides and teamed up with the Justice League to take him out. The Corps declared themselves independent of all other nations and built the floating city of Superbia to reside on.
The last time the Corps made an appearance was in Final Crisis, in which the team tries holding off the forces of Darkseid before an enemy attack causes Superbia to plummet from the sky. What happened to Superbia and the Corps remains unknown, but a new ongoing series could reveal that the Corps members are alive, but Superbia has been destroyed. Not having a homeworld leaves them open to an assault by the government--perhaps led in part by Eiling--with the Corps having to go on the run while recovering themselves enough to fight Eiling and his forces once more.
6 It's A Mystery Why The Guild Of Detection Isn't Bigger Than They Are
So many of DC's iconic heroes happen to be brilliant detectives, so it came as no surprise that most of them, including Batman, Martian Manhunter, The Question, Detective Chimp, and their leader Slam Bradley would serve on a secret society known as the Guild of Detection. The Guild has been around for ages, and its members work to solve the greatest unsolved mysteries in existence.
Outside of their first appearance in Detective Comics #1000 in May 2019, the Guild hasn't come together in a while. But given the all-star lineup and their unique mission, there are so many possibilities available that the right creative team could crack in a proper ongoing book.
5 Justice Underground Deserves More Recognition
The Justice League's Earth-3 counterparts, known as the Crime Syndicate of America, are pretty popular in their own right, but that group's own antagonists, Justice Underground, deserve more recognition as well. Originally hailing from the Anti-matter Earth, Justice Underground is made up of heroic versions of popular villains like The Riddler, Gorilla Grodd, and Star Sapphire.
Alternate universe teams don't often get their own ongoing series, but since the Crime Syndicate have gotten their own book then it's only fair that Justice Underground gets one as well. Kurt Busiek created the team, and he should certainly pen the ongoing series that explores them in more detail compared to their regular villainous counterparts.
4 A Comic Starring The Forgotten Heroes Could Revitalize Underrated Characters
The Forgotten Heroes, as their name suggests, are a group of heroes who each failed to become popular in one way or another and were forgotten in the wider DC Universe. Despite this, Superman himself has helped the team take on equally forgotten villains and several of the team's original members, such as Animal Man and Cave Carson, later found success and acclaim in the hands of new writers.
Perhaps an ongoing series starring the Forgotten Heroes could work not only as a Justice League International-style comedic group of misfit heroes taking on less important threats but also as a sort of testing ground for revamped or improved versions of several underrated characters, from Gunfire and Sparx from the 1990s-era Bloodlines event to more recently discarded heroes like Naomi McDuffie and Sideways. Doing so could change the opinions of these characters in the eyes of fans for the better.
3 Defiance Minus Deathstroke Could Be DC's Answer To Marvel's Thunderbolts
During Christopher Priest's run on Deathstroke, Slade Wilson/Deathstroke decided to turn over a new leaf and devote himself to justice, though the rest of DC's heroes weren't buying it. Bringing together his children Rose Wilson/Ravager and Joseph Wilson/Jericho alongside others like Wallace West/Kid Flash and Tara Markov/Terra, Deathstroke formed his own team codenamed Project: Defiance. This team--and Deathstroke's redemption arc--didn't last too long, but the idea behind the team has potential.
While a team of reformed villains devoted to doing good sounds an awful lot like Marvel's Thunderbolts, a new take on Defiance could separate itself from that comparison by really honing in on how the reforming of these villains and their actions are viewed by both the main heroic community as well as the public and how the members each respond to that level of respect or scorn. Given Deathstroke's less-than-stellar reputation over the years, maybe having the team be led by less controversial figures like Mark Richards/Tattooed Man and Hector Hammond, for instance, would attract more positive attention.
2 The Champions Of Angor Should Be DC's Take On The Squadron Supreme
Given their long history as competitors, it’s no surprise that Marvel and DC would each have characters or teams inspired by the other's characters or teams. In the case of Marvel, their Squadron Supreme is pretty clearly based on DC’s Justice League, though with a number of differences that have made the team fan-favorites. DC has had a number of Marvel team analogs over the years, with the first being the Champions of Angor. Unlike the Squadron, however, the Champions never took off in their own right, but it doesn’t have to stay that way.
Revisiting the Champions in their own series, particularly one that gives them a revised backstory and a new set of members that resemble the Avengers, would be a good way to bring this team back to prominence. With the right creative team handling their ongoing comic, the Champions could definitely become DC's answer to the Squadron Supreme.
1 The Legion Of Substitute Heroes Are More Effective Than Their Name Suggests
With a team that's as held in high regard as the Legion of Super-Heroes is, not every person with superpowers can earn a spot on the team's roster. With that said, several of that team's rejects went on to form their own team known as the Legion of Substitute Heroes, with members such as Stone Boy, Chlorophyll Kid, and Double Header using their oddly specific powers to take on bad guys and solve other issues.
Despite often being seen as jokes, the Subs (as they're often referred to) are very much deserving of a series of their own, as the possibilities for a team of heroes whose powers aren't the most useful but still effective are endless. Bringing on legendary writer Keith Giffen--who penned the seminal Legion of Substitute Heroes Special--to be involved with an ongoing comic series would ensure that it's brimming with the kind of humor and surreal imagination that the Subs have been defined by.