DC Comics never stops pumping out new stories starring one of its many, many superheroes. DC has hundreds of heroes to pull from, all with their own histories and specific skills that make them the stars that they are. Some heroes just debuted this year, and some have been around for decades, with the intricate mythos and retcons to show for it. Comics never stop, after all, and they need a constant influx of characters to fuel a never-ending stream of ideas. Of course, over that massive span of time, some characters get stale, or can’t lead the story that someone wants to tell. Instead of introducing a new character, the natural inclination is to use one that’s already established.
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Plenty of established characters that have existed for years eventually made the jump to superherodom, even though they were never meant for it. Today, we’re looking at ten of DC’s best heroes that started as side characters but eventually became heroes. Some of these heroes started as side characters, others as villains, and some were introduced with the intent to become heroes sometime down the line. Either way, all of these characters were introduced to show something in the main hero of their comic, only to eventually take the spotlight for themselves years after they were introduced. With all that said, let’s jump right into DC’s cast of eventual heroes.
10) Ravager
Rose Wilson was introduced as nothing more than Deathstroke’s daughter, first appearing in Deathstroke the Terminator (1991) #15. Slade didn’t even know she existed before he met her, and Rose definitely didn’t have the incredible training or powers that she would eventually develop. After her mom’s death, she set down her father’s path, taking the name Ravager from the assassin who ruined her life. She did everything to prove that she could be a world-class assassin like her father, even gouging out her own eye to prove she had the guts.
What’s interesting about Rose’s turn to heroism is that the seeds were always there, even if she clearly wasn’t meant for heroism. She was left with the Titans after her mom’s death, and Deathstroke had Nightwing train her when she needed to reach the next level. It was Nightwing who saved her soul and convinced Rose that Deathstroke didn’t truly care for her, getting her to join the Teen Titans. She’s since become the poster child for heroes who ride the anti-hero line, and even though she struggles with distrust and others only seeing her as her father’s daughter, she chooses to do the right thing. Heck, she even tries to redeem her dad.
9) Jim Gordon
Jim Gordon started his career as Batman’s slightly incompetent police friend. Originally, he was nothing more than a convenient way for Bruce to learn about strange crimes so Batman could tackle them. Over the years, he developed into one of Batman’s most important and impactful allies. He’s the normal man who is doing everything in his power to change Gotham from within the confines of the law, all while supporting Batman’s fight against crime that the corrupt city can’t stop. Gordon is Batman’s best friend. Heck, when Batman was thought dead in the New 52, Gordon briefly took over as a city-sponsored Batman.
That was a brief stint in the hero business, but what many fans don’t know is that he made his own heroic identity way back in the day. In Detective Comics (1937) #245, Gordon was ordered to turn over a case about smuggling criminals to foreign ports to Batman and Robin. The Dynamic Duo needed Gordon’s expertise in this specific case. To comply with the order and help the Duo, Gordon adopted the Mysteryman identity, letting him fight alongside Batman and Robin for the first time as a fellow vigilante. Gordon is no stranger to superhero tights, even if he prefers a badge.
8) Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is Superman’s number one pal. He’s also DC’s number one magnet for trouble of all kinds. Seriously, Jimmy can be walking to the corner store and trip over the wrong rock, accidentally angering a microscopic civilization who shrink him down to bring him to trial, only for it to be revealed that he was prophesied to be their princess’s husband, angering her evil fiancé who plotted to murder her and rule with an iron fist. Needless to say, there’s a reason that Superman can hear everything in the world and constantly listens to his loved ones, but has only given Jimmy a Signal Watch.
As if to prove this point further, Jimmy holds the record for most superheroic identities across any comic book universe. He has, at minimum, twenty-two different aliases, and I guarantee you I am missing a couple. All of these identities are temporary, but some of his more lasting and well-known ones include Flamebird and Turtle-Man. These two best represent Jimmy’s character. Flamebird is Jimmy’s Robin to Superman’s Batman, where being Superman’s sidekick let him help his greatest hero and learn from him. Turtle-Man is what happens whenever Jimmy decides to experiment with weird sci-fi or magical materials and becomes a menace, which happens a lot. Again, he owns that Signal Watch for a reason.
7) Harley Quinn
Instead of looking at temporary heroes, let’s take a peek at a villain who has redeemed herself far past what anyone originally intended for her. Harley wasn’t even introduced in the comics, originally debuting in Batman: The Animated Series as Joker’s sidekick. She eventually made her way over to comics. Funnily enough, she first appeared during the “No Man’s Land” event, which meant that she appeared when Gotham was undergoing its biggest status quo change ever. I suppose that’s as good a time as any to bring in a character who would shake up so much.
Harley started as a two-bit villain obsessed with the Joker, but there was always an undercurrent of tragedy there. That came to a head when she finally separated from the Joker and set off on her own. She didn’t become a hero right away, instead being an independent villain and then an anti-hero in the Suicide Squad, and was still very obsessed with the Joker. Her redemption was a very slow crawl, with public perception actually accepting her hero status long before the comics did. Some debate whether she should even qualify as a hero today, even after all she’s done to save the day. Harley is an amazing case study in how good PR can turn anyone’s life around.
6) Signal
Since we talked about a character designed to stay a villain, let’s talk about one who was always meant to be a hero. Duke Thomas was introduced near the start of Scott Snyder’s run on Batman (2011). We first saw him as a genius child in “Zero Year,” then watched him develop into a true defender of Gotham, even becoming one of the leaders of the We Are Robin movement. Duke slowly became more intertwined with Batman, and when his parents were mentally destroyed by Joker Toxin, it was only natural that Duke step up and finally take on the role of a vigilante. It was a phenomenal showcase of how to introduce a new hero, even spending time on his training before he became Signal.
The most interesting thing about Duke, to me, is that I’m pretty darn sure he was meant to be the next Robin. His parents were taken out of commission in a tragic event, he was deeply tied to the We Are Robin movement, and his jump to heroism happened just around Damian Wayne’s death. Heck, he’s even a Robin in Absolute Batman, also written by Snyder. However, despite Grant Morrison wanting Damian’s death to stick, he was brought back almost immediately, meaning that Duke definitely couldn’t be Robin then. Duke was designed to become Robin, but he never got the chance, which is an incredible shame.
5) Lois Lane
Lois has been around since the very first issue of Action Comics. She’s the original superhero side character and love interest, and she makes a fine case for still being the best in both of those roles. Even without superpowers, she’s never afraid to throw herself into any situation if it means a good story. That’s how she met Superman most of the time, in the early days. Heck, a good portion of Golden Age stories revolved around Superman specifically following Lois because he knew she’d get into trouble. He was always right, but there are definitely some times when Lois solved the trouble herself.
Those times are when she made the jump to superheroing. She’s actually a part-time hero right now, going by Superwoman, as she’s become the host for General Zod’s powers. However, since she can’t absorb sunlight like Kryptonians can, her powers come and go with no way for her to recharge the battery. Of course, she’s had a couple of other identities over the years, and was even Superwoman a few other times. The New 52 Lois was Superwoman until her death, and her Silver Age version once borrowed Jimmy Olsen’s Elasti-Formula to become Elasti-Lass. Lois has worn the tights plenty, although she does prefer a pen to her fists any day.
4) Abby Arcane
Abigail Arcane appeared very early on in Swamp Thing’s career, debuting just one issue after the titular hero’s archenemy and her uncle, Anton Arcane, in Swamp Thing (1972) #3. She was immediately an important character. First, she was one of the main people hunting Swamp Thing for the presumed murder of the Hollands, and later became his love interest and anchor to humanity. She’s been the normal perspective in Swamp Thing’s constant battle against the supernatural, and the heart that reminds him what it means to be human instead of just an elemental.
Of course, Abby eventually gained elemental powers of her own. Where Swamp Thing was the Avatar of the Green, the New 52 introduced the concept of the Black, also known as the Rot. Anton’s obsession with it led to him becoming its Avatar, only for Abby to take the position from him, using her newfound powers over death and decay for good. Of course, this made it so that she couldn’t touch her husband again, as her very touch was deadly to Swamp Thing. Abby inherited this power at great personal cost, but chose it because she was the only one who could keep it out of evil’s hands. If that’s not the mark of a true hero, I don’t know what is.
3) Lana Lang
Our final Superman-adjacent character is his other best-known love interest, Lana Lang. She was Superman’s childhood sweetheart, and as such, she starred in a whole lot of Superboy’s Silver Age Adventures. Everybody knows that was the best time to develop superpowers and new superheroic identities, even if they only lasted for a moment. While not as many as Jimmy, Lana had her own laundry list of identities, including Insect Queen, the Wisp, Gravity Girl, Bug Belle, and even Super-Girl. However, that last one was Clark convincing her that a special helmet that gave her powers to protect his own identity. Still, this is an impressive list.
Of course, nowadays Lana is best known as Superwoman, having absorbed the energy of the dead New 52 Superman, and currently works as a hero and member of the Superman Family. Lana is a fantastic hero on her own, bringing back the energy powers from Superman’s over-hated energy era. Still, I have to give a massive shout-out to Insect Queen. This was Lana’s biggest identity, earning her an honorary spot on the Legion of Super-Heroes. I find it especially hilarious that she got these powers from a dying alien insect giving her a ring, which is literally just Hal Jordan’s origin copy-pasted for Lana.
2) Star Sapphire
Speaking of Hal Jordan, his first and greatest love interest was never meant to be a hero. She started as a bog-standard hard-to-get side character, but quickly became not a hero, but a villain. Her first appearances as Star Sapphire were as an opponent to Green Lantern, often aiming to destroy him because of mind control and the like. Funnily enough, her second appearance as Star Sapphire was over a decade after her first in Green Lantern (1960) #16, and was actually in Superman (1939) #261. Either way, Carol was a serious villain for decades, until the entire concept of the Star Sapphires was reimagined.
They were completely reworked into their own Lantern Corps, representing the Violet Light and the power of love. Carol now operates as a hero and a main member of the Justice League, with a huge part of her arc in Justice League Unlimited focusing on her self-doubt over whether she can stand alongside legendary heroes after spending so long as a villain. The Star Sapphires themselves still have some strange bits of lore that are clear signs they need to shake off their villainous roots, but Carol has successfully made the jump. From love interest to big villain to true hero, Carol really has been everything a comic book character could be.
1) Renee Montoya
Renee Montoya is perhaps the only character in DC introduced as one hero’s side character, only to eventually take on the legacy of a completely different hero so completely. Much like Harley Quinn, she was actually created for Batman: The Animated Series, although she appeared in comics first, given how much quicker a comic could be released. She was Gordon’s number one detective and the person he trained to replace him. However, she became disillusioned with Gotham’s disastrous spirit, quitting. Vic Sage pulled her out of her depression and inspired her to take on the mantle of the Question after his death.
Renee has always struggled with the question of who she wants to be. Especially in recent years, it’s easy to see her fight between becoming the Question or trying to improve Gotham through the system and shunning vigilantism. Her negative feelings towards crime-fighting definitely aren’t helped by her very tumultuous relationship with Batwoman. Still, at the end of the day, Renee is someone who can’t rest until she solves the mystery and brings about justice. She always puts the mask back on and fights to save the day. Renee is one of the best detectives in DC, and she’ll keep going until there are no more mysteries left to solve.
Which DC character who became a hero years after the fact is your favorite? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!
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