DC Comics brought together their greatest heroes of the Golden Age as the Justice Society, a monumental moment in comic history. This group set the standard for what a team comic could be and since then, we’ve gotten the greatest teams in comics from the original superhero publisher. Over the decades, groups like the Justice League have been able to rise to the top of the pecking order, setting the standard for other teams, inspiring heroes and villains alike to come together to reach their goals. Some of these teams have become legends and we get to see them constantly. However, other teams get a lot of attention for a time and then fade from prominence, being brought back every few years for another try.
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In recent years, the publisher has been redefining what their team comics could be with books like Justice League Unlimited, Titans, and JSA. However, there are lots of great DC teams that are missing that should get their next chance at stardom. These seven DC teams need to make their major comeback, rejoining the publisher in one of their hottest periods in recent memory.
7) Justice Legion A
DC One Million is the best event of the ’90s and it introduced us to one of the coolest Justice Leagues ever. The Justice Legion A is the League of the 853rd century, made up of legacy heroes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hourman, the Flash, Aquaman, and Starman. They are the leaders of their superhero community, their powers reaching levels that heroes in the present couldn’t hope to, battling mind-boggling threats. They’ve made numerous appearances over the years, but it would be awesome if they got their own book. Bring them to the present, leave them in the future, have them travel the multiverse, just give them a book. They’re a team that deserves way more attention.
6) Secret Society of Supervillains
The Legion of Doom is DC’s biggest supervillain team (they’re technically the same team as the Injustice League/Injustice Gang) but there’s another one that doesn’t get nearly the attention it should: the Secret Society of Supervillains. This Bronze Age villain team was made up of lower-level villains than the Legion of Doom, with members like Reverse Flash, the Wizard, Star Sapphire, Floronic Man, Blockbuster I, and loads more. The name has been used interchangeably with the Legion/Injustice team in recent years, but it would be excellent to see the original conception of the team return. They were the first villain team to get their own book and they should get one again.
5) The Freedom Fighters
The Freedom Fighters were a Golden Age superteam published by Quality Comics, but they would eventually be folded into the DC Multiverse when Quality went out of business. The team consisted of Uncle Sam, Phantom Lady, Doll-Man, Human Bomb, Black Condor, and the Ray. At DC, they were put on Earth-X, the world where the Nazis won and would be brought into the main universe after Crisis as Golden Age legacy heroes (except Uncle Sam, who is the living embodiment of freedom and immortal). DC has tried several times to make them popular, but it’s never really worked. However, the group definitely has the potential and now would be a great time to give them another chance.
4) Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad was a novel idea that paid off. The original Suicide Squad was a military unit who took on crazy dangerous missions, hence the name, and Amanda Waller decided that it was time for a new version, this one made up of villains. Since their movies came out, DC has tried to bring the team back to prominence but has never been able to make them stick. With the situation in the DC Multiverse right now, it would be awesome if a new version of the team was brought together, working behind the scenes to do the jobs no one else would.
3) The Secret Six
The original Secret Six was a group of skilled people brought together by Mockingbird but the concept failed and faded away until the months before Infinite Crisis, when a new Mockingbird brought a group of villains together to help him fight the Society, the latest group of DC villains at the time (based on the Secret Society of Supervillains, but using Legion of Doom level heroes). The team made a big splash, but has faded a bit. A new version got a mini in 2025 but we need some ongoing Secret Six. Maybe take that version and meld it with the Infinite Crisis team, giving readers the best of both worlds (personally, I want Dreamer and Catman to get together; really, I just want more Dreamer and Catman).
2) Teen Titans
The Titans are holding down the name in the current DC Multiverse, but it’s long past time we got a new Teen Titans. One of the biggest problems with the Teen Titans is that New Teen Titans has dominated the conversation for so long that new versions of the team without those members fail. However, we’re at time where there are loads of cool teen heroes and DC has the best writers in the industry. They can make this work. Maybe have Tim Drake, Cassie Sandsmark, and Superboy recruit teen heroes and train them, a la the ’00s Geoff Johns run of the group that brought them back. We haven’t had an important Teen Titans team in ages and it’s time to change that.
1) The Outsiders
The Outsiders are way cooler than they get credit for. The first Outsiders were brought together by Batman, who wanted his own team of heroes who would listen to him. They were a B-list ’80s team that wouldn’t have a successful run again until the ’00s, when Nightwing brought a new group together. Batman would take over this team and its book would get canceled (this is how you know it was a different time in DC Comics; books with Batman in the cast don’t get canceled easily nowadays), with a new version not appearing again until 2023. However, this one was just Planetary set in the DC Multiverse with Batwoman, ignoring everything cool about the team’s previous runs. Maybe Damian Wayne could decide to bring a new Outsiders together; really any important Bat-Family member would do the trick. The last attempt failed but it’s about time we got an actual comeback for the team.
What DC teams do you want back? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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