The DC Universe is full of some of the most dangerous threats in superhero comics. Darkseid is a despotic ruler of an entire planet, seeking an equation to allow him to subjugate the entire universe. Brainiac is an alien super genius that captures entire cities in glass bottles then destroys the planets of those cities so he can keep the knowledge of those worlds all to himself. Vandal Savage is an immortal as old as humanity itself, with plans upon plans he's had millenia to perfect, all in the service of eventually making him ruler over Earth. When you're dealing with threats like that, a single hero just isn't enough to get the job done.
But fortunately for the civilians of the DC Universe, there's no shortage of heroes willing to work together for the sake of keeping the bad guys in check, and stopping the Earth from becoming conquered by madmen or turned into smoking ruins. For this list, we're counting down 15 of the most powerful of DC's super teams, from the Justice League to the Legion of Super-Heroes, and ranking them according to their experience levels, their teamwork, and how strong their powers are. Think you can figure out who's at the top of the list?
15 SUICIDE SQUAD
The Suicide Squad we know and love began in John Ostrander’s Legends #3, as a team assigned to take out Brimstone, a member of Darkseid’s army. The classic Suicide Squad’s membership was Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and Enchantress, but the line-up changes quite frequently given the nature of the work they're involved in. Even if it didn’t though, it wouldn’t necessarily matter. The Suicide Squad is most often made up of a bunch of criminals who were sloppy enough to get caught. We love the Squad for their characters, but the best villains --Ra’s Al Ghul, Lex Luthor, Vandal Savage, and the like?
They’d never be caught dead here. And generally, more powerful villains like Darkseid or the Anti-Monitor are such threats that they have to be transported somewhere “else” rather than placed in a simple jail. They aren’t the type anyone could place deadly brain chips in -- they’d just shrug them off then kill everyone who tried to control them to begin with. This isn’t to say these guys are trash -- if they were they would never survive the dangerous missions they get sent on all the time. But they're mid-tier at best, and generally they can't keep up in power, never mind teamwork.
14 BIRDS OF PREY
The Birds of Prey made their first appearance in the mini-series Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey, from Chuck Dixon and Jordan B. Gorfinkel. Everyone’s favorite superhero ladies, they’re all undeniably talented, and although the roster can change from arc to arc, what we’re usually dealing with is the typical trio of Oracle/Batgirl, Huntress, and Black Canary. Each of them brings something unique to the team: Black Canary is one of the top five martial artists in the world, and whether as Oracle or Batgirl, Barbara Gordon is one of the smartest people on the planet. And Huntress is…well, good at quips and skewering people with arrows?
But while they can all put in work on the streets of Gotham, they simply don’t have the powerset to compete with most teams. Black Canary’s the only actually super-powered individual on the main team, while the other two rely on their exceptional human traits to get them by. But the Birds also trust each other in an instinctive way that most teams couldn’t even fathom. After so many years together they’ve become like sisters, and their ability to work together and do whatever it takes to accomplish their goals should never be underestimated.
13 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF CHINA
As a new team, this group is still expanding, so it’s hard to settle on a concrete line-up for them. But for now, let’s work off the team of: Batman, Robinbot, Wonder Woman, Super Man, Flash, and their newest member Aquaman. Even just with that, they’ve got a lot of heavy hitters: Batman has received extensive training to make his skills rival that of the Dark Knight. Wonder Woman is an ancient demigod with supernatural abilities, Flash is gifted with the Speed Force, Aquaman is the descendent of a dragon ruler from the seventh century, and Super Man has qi abilities which mimic those of the Man of Steel.
The group has power in spades, but what they lack is experience. The Justice League of China first debuted in New Super Man #2 in October of 2016. They’ve barely been together a few months, and some of them haven’t even had their powers for very long. While their strength is unquestionable, they need years more of being tested in battle before their abilities don’t outstrip their knowledge to use them. They could also stand to pick up a few more teammates -- maybe poach a member from the Green Lantern Corps of China.
12 OUTSIDERS
The original Outsiders team was introduced in The Brave and the Bold #200 by Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo. In a rare instance of the Dark Knight caring about something happening outside of Gotham, Batman forms the team after noticing a conflict in the East European country of Markovia. While the rest of the team thinks taking sides in a war is a massive political minefield and declare there’s nothing they can do, Batman quits and wound up forming his own team. Made up of Geo-Force, Katana, Halo, Looker, Black Lightning, and Metamorpho, they operate under direct supervision of Batman for a few years. But eventually, Bruce’s proclivity for not respecting his teammates ticks them all off enough for him to decide to disband the team. Still, the group reunites and sticks together for another few years operating off of Markovian funding.
Ultimately, the fact that this team doesn’t have as much experience as other teams is largely offset because they’ve been led and trained by Batman. Though he wasn’t with the team for long, just the time has left them better trained than some groups that have been together for longer periods. Their power sets don’t quite push them into the upper echelon, but they’re still a force to be reckoned with.
11 YOUNG JUSTICE
In the late '90s the Teen Titans name was being used by the same characters from the '80s -- a group that very much weren’t teens by that point. So when DC decided to place the newest kid heroes on a team together, they needed to come up with a new group name, and during their comic book event "GirlFrenzy", they settled on the name Young Justice.
The group started out small, only featuring Superboy, Robin, and Impulse on their first couple outings, but eventually it expanded thanks to a healthy dose of Girl Power. Wonder Girl, Arrowette, and the mysterious mist-girl “Secret” all joined up and rounded the team’s numbers out to an even six. Over the years numerous other characters would be added, as the series became a haven for lesser used young characters towards the end of its run. In the five years the title was on the stands, the Young Justice crew went up everything from against fifth dimensional imps to the forces of Darkseid and Apokolips itself, and they always came out on top. But what really holds them back is their age -- their powers are still growing, and so it’s hard to have them match up against teams that are fully grown.
10 SHADOWPACT
Long before the words “Justice League Dark” were ever uttered by a creator, there was another super-team that dealt with magic in the DC Universe. Shadowpact debuted in the Infinite Crisis spin-off mini-series Day of Vengeance #1 in 2005 by Bill Willingham. The team consisted of Enchantress, Ragman, Detective Chimp, Blue Devil, Nightshade, and Nightmaster, and they originally formed to put a stop to the Spectre destroying all the magic in the universe. After succeeding at that task, the group would get their own comic just a year later, as the rules of magic underwent a major shift and Shadowpact were left to navigate this new world on their own.
Though they’re certainly more of a rag tag group than your average Justice League or Teen Titans, they achieved no small measure of success for the few years they were around. Though Shadowpact was initially a name referring to mages who fought for lost causes, this Shadowpact even managed to reverse the failures of other versions of the teams throughout history -- not bad for a group that only lasted three years. Shadowpact’s talent with magic makes them a wild card for any team attempting to face them. Though most of their membership aren’t heavy hitters in the world of magic, they are skilled enough to be a problem to anyone who isn’t particularly experienced in that area.
9 JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL
The Justice League International was introduced in Justice League #1 from Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire. The first version of the Justice League coming out of "Crisis on Infinite Earths", GIffen intended for this to be the return of the “Big Seven” era of the Justice League, where he would get to assemble Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter. Unfortunately, coming out of both Crisis and the crossover "Legends", many of the characters he wanted were declared off limits. Forced to create a different, more eclectic cast, DeMatteis and Giffen would usher in the era of the “Bwahaha” League, where the heroic action was balanced with a healthy dose of comedy in each issue.
These days the JLI era is treated as a joke, as the Giffen/DeMatteis run has been recontextualized over time, making the entire team’s existence almost farcical. The fact that they’re almost the black sheep among JL eras was even a major part of the plot twist to the Infinite Crisis lead in, “Countdown to Infinite Crisis” in 2005. Nevertheless, when they get serious they’re just as capable of putting on the hurt and being dangerous as any other group.
8 BATMAN INCORPORATED
It’s a tad unfair putting this team here. After all, the full version of Batman Incorporated is less a proper team and more of a loose association of individuals who were all employed by Batman for a brief period of time because they were needed for a specific task. They’re basically superhero temps. But regardless of how long they were together, Batman Incorporated certainly managed to make themselves known in the superhero community. Assembled after Wayne returned from the past in Batman & Robin Vol. 1 #16 by Grant Morrison and Frazer Irving, Batman Incorporated saw Bruce Wayne announce he was personally funding the Batman project to take things worldwide.
Of course, Bruce’s actual intentions were to fight the global organization Leviathan run by his baby mama Talia that was taking over the world, but that’s Batman for you. His plans have layers within layers. Nevertheless, even though most of the members in this group don’t usually work together and aren’t used to team battles, they’ve still been outfitted with gadgets and tech from one of the most legendary superheroes ever to walk the Earth. Plus, the central members such as Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain, Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne have plenty of combat experience both together and apart. The only thing holding this team back is a severe lack of power -- going further up this list, we’re essentially running into teams that are mostly or entirely made up of super-powered individuals.
7 ALL-STAR SQUADRON
Created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler, and Jerry Ordway, the All-Star Squadron was introduced in Justice League of America vol. 1 #193, and got their own series just one month later. The team was meant to tell the stories of the Justice Society of America, the heroes on the kinder, gentler world of Earth 2. Rather than set the stories during then present time of the 80’s, Thomas decided he would place his team in the thick of the World War II era. The All-Star Squadron was assembled by President Franklin D. Roosevelt himself in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, with heroes from several different teams all being asked to work together: the Justice Society, the Freedom Fighters, the Seven Soldiers of Victory and more, all in the service of protecting America from ever being attacked again.
As for why the team never went over and solved the whole Nazi problem themselves? Well, turns out Hitler possessed an artifact known as the Spear of Destiny, which was capable of controlling any person with magic powers or a weakness to magic. Still, this is a powerful cast of characters ... but they’ve also never really seen some of the threats that other heroes higher on this list have overcome.
6 TEEN TITANS
The most recognizable version of the Teen Titans, the Wolfman/Perez run began back in November 1980 in The New Teen Titans #1 by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. The team consisted of Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven. While half the team was made up of newcomers, the rest were sidekicks to some of the greatest heroes who ever lived. The Titans don’t slouch when it comes to teamwork or experience, with the group repelling Raven’s father Trigon when they had barely even been together for very long.
United by shared backgrounds of being teenaged individuals with amazing powers, along with years of surviving battles together, the Teen Titans are a huge threat that could overcome many of the teams lower on this list. But what they lack are the same level of powers, polish, and sheer numbers that many of the teams further up have in spades. Though they have successfully gone up against the Justice League and held their own, more often than not mind control or the League was holding back out of a desire not to truly hurt their protégés, so while they’re certainly dangerous, they’ve all still got quite a bit of growing to do.
5 JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Elder Statesmen of the DC Universe, the Justice Society of America was the original superteam, created by Sheldon Mayer and Gardner Fox and made their first appearance in All-Star Comics #3 in 1940. Like many of the more established groups on this list, the Justice Society has been through multiple rosters throughout the years, but for this list’s purposes we’re talking about the Geoff Johns’ version from the 2000s. Centered around a core roster of the Jay Garrick Flash, Alan Scott GL, and Wildcat, the Society would gradually build outwards to take in descendants of heroes they worked with in the past -- Mr. Terrific, Jakeem Thunder, Atom Smasher, Stargirl, Hourman, Liberty Belle and many, many more.
Together, this group has gone up against some of the toughest, most dangerous villains of the DC Universe. They’ve battled against time travelers like Degaton, immortal madmen like Vandal Savage, and international evil organizations like Kobra. Each time they’ve come out on top time and again. This team has nearly everything -- the experience, decades of teamwork, and no shortage of people with vast powers. If the group has any one flaw, it’s that the organization is just a tad too large. They’ve welcomed in nearly two dozen members at any given time, and not all of them are as well trained as Power Girl or Mr. Terrific.
4 JUSTICE LEGION A
The Justice Legion A made their first appearance in 1998 in Grant Morrison’s JLA vol. 3 #23, which served as a lead-in to the "DC One Million" event. Each member of the main team is in charge of a different planet in the Milky Way Solar System, and the group unites together if threats become larger than that. It seems odd to have a team like this so high up given most of this list talks about years of experience. But in reality this team when we see them has years of experience. They’re made up of futuristic versions of the most well-known version of the Justice League, and each one of them seems to be even more powerful than the versions we know and love.
The 853rd century Superman for instance, is said to be faster than a speeding tachyon, stronger than the pull of a collapsing star, able to leap from planet to planet in a single bound -- that’s a far cry from the days of the Golden Age Superman outracing a speeding bullet. But while they’ve got all three of the major factors that would make them noteworthy players, there’s still a reason they wound up being second fiddle in a story that was supposed to be about them. They just lack that *it* factor to keep up.
3 LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
The Legion of Super-Heroes made their first appearance in Otto Binder and Al Plastino’s Adventure Comics #247”in 1958. They were initially far less serious, and were something of a club of teenaged superheroes in the future. Inspired by the actions of Superboy even all the way in the 30th century, they traveled back in time to bring Superboy to the future, testing his abilities before awarding him with membership in their group. Over the years, Superboy would return to the future several times over, helping the team on their many adventures.
Made up of a number of aliens from different planets in the organization known as the United Planets, the Legion has often been a symbol of hope and a beacon that all these different cultures and races could indeed work together for the common good. The team’s ranks would gradually swell from an initial three to several dozen members, a true “Legion” of characters instead of a normal team. Over the years, they’ve faced some of the most dangerous threats the DC Universe has to offer, such as battling the Daxamites, and going up against Darkseid. They absolutely terrible at defeating their biggest threat though: the constant reboots. They’ve experienced four over their 50-year history.
2 GREEN LANTERN CORPS
The Green Lantern Corps is the intergalactic police force of the DC Universe. Dividing the entire universe into 3600 sectors that each have two Lanterns a piece, the group stands at over 7200 members -- each of them granted with the Most Powerful Weapon in the Universe, a ring capable of coalescing the ambient willpower of the universe into hard light constructs based on anything the user can imagine. Though the Green Lantern Corps was first introduced in Showcase #22 by John Broome and Gil Kane in 1959, in universe the Corps has existed for billions of years, standing against the chaos of the universe and benevolently keeping the peace.
Still, the Green Lantern Corps isn’t without its flaws. Each ring comes with a yellow impurity, activated whenever the user feels fear -- which means every Lantern must always have the utmost confidence in their abilities and never lose faith, or it would be deadly for him. And the whole “Most Powerful Weapon in the Universe” tagline is a bit overblown too, as over the last two decades several other Corps with rings nearly as powerful have been introduced. However, there’s no team as well trained or disciplined, and few who could ever stand a chance against the Corps.
1 JLA
Over the '90s, the Justice League had gradually splintered into several Justice League books: Justice League International, Justice League Europe, Justice League Task Force, Extreme Justice, and Justice League Quarterly. This attempt to maximize the popularity of the Justice League eventually led to flagging sales for all of the books, and by 1996 DC wanted to try something new: build a single team, made up of the most iconic superheroes in the DC Universe.
Enter Grant Morrison, who managed to use the “Big Seven” and give the comic the epic feel so desperately missing for several years. Morrison viewed the team like a Greek pantheon, and gradually filled the team out from seven characters to fourteen, adding Zauriel, Big Barda, Orion, Huntress, Oracle, Steel, and Plastic Man in his second year on the title. Morrison’s Justice League was subsequently capable of going up against the biggest, most dangerous threats the DCU had ever seen up to that point. They started facing alien invasions and ended facing a smart weapon from the gods. But no matter who they went up against, the JLA would always come out on top. This is the without question one of the most powerful teams ever assembled, not just in this, but any universe.