7 Best Batman-Related Teams In DC Comics

Batman has unsurprisingly been involved in several super teams over his career as a vigilante. Batman has been one of DC Comics’ most popular characters since the start, the second-ever hero for the company after Superman. From the start, he was a hero who preferred to work alone, or at best, with only one partner in Robin and his butler Alfred to help out at home. However, DC knew it had a money maker if it created a comic book series that put its godlike legendary heroes together on one team. This was the Justice League, and Batman soon became a team player in more than one group as the years wore on.

Here is a look at the seven best Batman-related teams in DC Comics.

7) Batmen of All Nations

The oldest version of the Batman Inc. idea came all the way back in 1955 when the Batmen of All Nations was introduced in Detective Comics #215. This group consisted of heroes from all over the world, inspired by Batman to suit up and fight crime in their own countries. They also went by the names the International Club of Heroes (or Club of Heroes), and the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths version moved away from Batman and was based on the Justice Society of America instead.

However, this earlier version of the team was clearly inspired by Batman, and when he learned about them, he set up a giant meeting with all his counterparts in Gotham City. Batman even worked on training different heroes, such as when he trained South America’s Bat-Hombre (who betrayed him), and also invited new heroes to join, including  the Knight and Squire, the Musketeer, the Gaucho, the Ranger, and the Legionary.

6) The Guild of Detection

The Guild of Detection existed before Batman even knew about them. In fact, the Guild had existed for eons as a secret society of detectives who are all heroes and who are drawn to solving mysteries just to solve them. Hawkman is the member who has been with the group for the longest, as he is the oldest of all the heroes in the group of detectives. This is also one of the newest introduced in DC Comics, debuting in Detective Comics $1000 in 2019.

The members include some great detectives, including Detective Chimp, The Question, Elongated Man, Sue Dibney, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter. Batman was one of the last to join, as they left clues for the Caped Crusader to find them, since this is how they initiate new members. While the Guild of Detection has only been two appearances to date, this is a group that deserves its time to shine in DC Comics.

5) Gotham Knights

Gotham Knights is a spin on the Batman Family, and when it had its pre-New 52 comic book run, that was what the series was all about, was the Batman Family solving crimes and fighting villains. However, in more recent times, Gotham Knights has separated itself from the main family and is a stricter organization that is also known as the Knights Program.

This version of the team debuted in Detective Comics #934 in 2016, but they disbanded just two years later in Detective Comics #974. This was a group of between five and 10 highly trained vigilantes fighting crime alongside none other than a rehabilitated Clayface.

4) Batman, Inc.

Batman, Inc. took the idea of the Batmen of All Nations to an even higher level in modern-day DC Comics and had Batman actually incorporate all the different countries heroes into working for him. This was a New 52 idea where Bruce Wayne funded a global organization that would aid Batman in creating a world-wide group that followed his crime-fighting agenda and ideology. He would choose the heroes in other countries, train them, have them swear an oath to follow his values, and then allow them to defend their countries.

Batman Inc debuted in Batman and Robin #16 in 2011 and it featured members like Dick Grayson (as Batman), Damian Wayne (as Robin), Cassandra Cain (as Black Bat), and international members like Bat-Man of China, Batman of Japan, El Gaucho, Grey Wolf, Knight/Squire, Man-of-Bats, and more.

3) Justice League

The first team that Batman ever joined was the Justice League, which makes sense because DC Comics wanted to sell a giant book that had all its major heroes working together. The original comics saw Batman teaming with Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and Superman, and since that time, the three core members have always been Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, the Trinity.

This team has not been without its problems. Batman has proven he doesn’t trust anyone and has contingency plans to beat any of his fellow teammates, which has caused more than one problem over the years. The Justice League have also betrayed Batman, such as when they erased his memories of Sue Dibney’s sexual assault and the mind manipulation of Doctor Light. In fact, it was his disagreements with the JLA that caused him to create his greatest Batman-adjacent team.

2) Batman & The Outsiders

The greatest Batman-adjacent team, at least when it comes to an organized group[, is easily the Outsiders. This team debuted in The Brave and the Bold #200 in 1983 when the Justice League refused to rescue Lucius Fox, who had been kidnapped on a business trip to a foreign country. Since the Justice League refused to help, Batman quit the team and worked undercover with Black Lightning to find Lucius. Along the way, they met up with other heroes and they formed Batman and the Outsiders.

This team included Batman, Black Lightning, Katana, Halo, Metamorpho, and Geo-Force. The team got their original series, which was a fantastic comic book that ran for 46 issues and presented a team that was more flawed and human than anything in the Justice League comics at that time in history. The Outsiders have returned since that time, both with and without Batman, and always remain a great read.

1) The Batman Family

The Batman Family is not an organized team, but it is a family unit that offers up some of the best Gotham City heroes who are almost always there to help each other when the need arises. As the name indicates, this is all about Batman and the people he trusts the most, as well as those who will always stand by his side, even if he doesn’t have the greatest trust in them. It started with Batman and Robin (Dick Greyson) and has only grown.

This involves all the Robins (Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian), Batgirl, Batwoman, Catwoman, Azrael, Batwing, The Signal, Huntress, Clayface, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, and just about anyone else who has Batman’s back when the need arises. While not an organized team, there is nothing that means more to Batman than his Batman Family.

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