The '90s were an interesting time for Justice League. After years in the proverbial comics desert, with B-list rosters and seemingly infinite branches in different parts of the world, the title revamped in the middle of the decade by returning to the original seven heroes who formed the team.

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The new focus certainly helped, but that doesn't mean it was all smooth sailing. There were some clunkers among the stories and certainly among the villains. Let's take a look at ten JLA villains from the 90s that weren't so hot.

10 The Contessa

Most fans probably always think of Mrs. Tessmacher when they think of Lex Luthor and potential love interests but in 1995, we found out Lex was married to (deep breath) Contessa Erica Alexandra del Portenza. She's also the mother of Lena Luthor, who has evolved to become a major player in the Supergirl series. Her mother did not. While she gave the whole villain thing a go, by 2001 she was dead and largely forgotten, a mere footnote in the history of the Luthors.

9 Dreamslayer

Dreamslayer

Dreamslayer destroyed an alternate version of Earth called Angor and then decided that it just wasn't enough. Joining up with The Extremists, he tried to destroy the DC Universe Earth. Despite having an explosion for a face, he threatened to destroy Earth with stolen nuclear weapons. Maybe all he wanted was some attention. This nuclear plot didn't work out so well (ask any James Bond villain) and he was confronted and defeated by Justice League Europe. Though he appears in an episode of Justice League Unlimited, Dreamslayer faded quickly from comic book pages.

8 The League Busters

Before the Suicide Squad, there was the League Busters. No, really. Looking more like Marvel Comics Transformers background extras, this team was put together by the United Nations on the off chance the Justice League ever went rogue and needed to be taken down. Naturally, the UN turned to the best of the best: Spellbinder, Ultraa, the Mirror Master, Peacemaker, and Chromax. This terrifying team lasted all of one issue (Justice League International #65) before being committed to the ash heap of comics history.

7 Gog

gog-superman

Gog has interesting origins, to say the least. An outgrowth of the legendary Kingdom Come series, Gog turns from a fanatical follower of Superman to his eventual murderer. Gog then goes full Groundhog Day by going back in time, killing Superman, again and again, just to feel better about it.

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Gog was able to absorb the powers of each Superman that he killed, making him extremely powerful and dangerous. He was defeated by the Justice League in the end, though alternate versions of the character have since appeared to make things tough on them.

6 Solaris The Tyrant Sun

Solaris The Tyrant Sun taunting Superman to a fight

A product of the DC One Million project in 1998 (an especially '90s experiment imagining the 853rd century, in which DC publishes its millionth issues), Solaris the Tyrant Sun is a lot of fun. He hails from this distant future and is an opponent of the Superman Dynasty. Solaris is a very classic, gonzo Silver Age type of villain and consequently, his best moment comes in All-Star Superman, where Grant Morrison utilizes him in the context of a big love letter to Superman's sci-fi origins.

5 Mageddon

A Grant Morrison creation appearing at the tail end of the '90s is Mageddon, an ancient war machine used by the Old Gods. These planet-sized machines destroyed the Old Gods, ultimately paving the way for the rise of Apokolips and New Genesis. Mageddon gets teased for a while before his big reveal, and when he arrives to destroy the Earth as the Justice League tries to stop him. That proved hard; Mageddon created fear and anger in people and was able to control them through it, including Superman.

4 The SuperMan (Harvey Dent)

Another very '90s experiment was the DC imprint Tangent Comics. This imagined a DC Universe much more heavily influenced by the reality of superheroes. Along with this came some opportunities to radically reimagine some of the characters, and that's how The SuperMan was born. Not Clark Kent but Harvey Dent, this SuperMan is different from the one in the regular DC Universe in just about every way. Of course, he found his way into the main universe and fought Superman, but ultimately lost.

3 Queen Of Fables

A Wonder Woman villain and perhaps one of the lamest in her Rogues Gallery, Queen of Fables riffed on the Wicked Witch, the Red Queen and a lot of other evil women from folklore. A sorceress from another dimension, she turned New York City into a forest and cast a sleep spell on Wonder Woman.

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The Justice League ultimately defeated her by simply convincing the vain Queen of Fables she wasn't, well, pretty. They trapped her in the New York City phonebook, a move that could not be repeated today, and they all lived happily ever after. Well, not really.

2 Neron

Oh, Neron. Oh so extreme. A demon from you know where, Neron was introduced as a big, big bad in 1995 and for a time he was. He made a splash in the Underworld Unleashed story, trying to take over Earth (why is it people who can live forever and do pretty much anything always want to rule the world?) by trading the souls of superheroes and supervillains alike for their greatest desires. This gets him far enough to be a menace, but he's ultimately defeated by Captain Marvel (Shazam) among others.

1 Triumph

DC Comics Triumph

Another big deal - for a moment - in the '90s was Triumph. Established as one of the founding members of the Justice League through an iffy retcon, Triumph saved the world but paid for it, becoming trapped in another dimension. He eventually returns, but bummed about missing out on all the JLA fun for the 10 years he was gone. He makes a deal to get the decade back with - you guessed it - Neron by trading his soul. This leaves Triumph a villain and for his trouble, he gets turned into a block of ice and stored in the basement of JLA headquarters. Which later gets demolished. With him in it.

NEXT: The 10 Worst New DC Villains Of The Decade