The Justice League formed in DC Comics initially to battle a villain that was too overpowered for any one of them to defeat alone. This was a big deal, since this team included some of DC’s heavy hitters, including two of its most overpowered heroes in Superman and Martian Manhunter. There have been a few storylines that have changed up the original Justice League members, including retcons to how they formed and who was on the team first. However, if you ignore the retcons and look at the first time they ever teamed up in comic books based on when the issue was sold, the team formed to battle Starro.
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This team featured heroes who mostly aligned with the Greek Gods, and looking at them in that manner, it was clear why these heroes were among the most powerful in DC Comics history.
7) Batman
Batman was the only original Justice League member with no superpowers, which leaves him as the weakest of the group. However, it is essential to understand that his strength lies in the fact that he has no superpowers. Instead, Batman is one of the most brilliant battlefield leaders in DC Comics, and he has a plan to beat anyone, no matter how powerful they are.
Batman has beaten Superman, which shows how resourceful he is when he has to be. However, he is also the one member of the Justice League who is powerless, and that makes him very vulnerable to powerful enemies. This means he remains the least powerful of the team, regardless of his innovative skills as a fighter.
6) Aquaman
Aquaman is one of the strongest members of the Justice League, and he can hold his own in a fight with Superman and Wonder Woman when needed. However, there is one major thing holding him back when it comes to his power levels. He has to be in the water to be at full strength, and the longer he is out of the water, the weaker he becomes.
Since most of the Justice League’s battles are not underwater, Aquaman is still strong and can hold his own, but he is not at his strongest. He is invulnerable and can win a hand-to-hand fight with just about anyone. However, that said, his one main weakness leaves him at the bottom of the list of the original Justice League members who have actual superpowers.
5) Green Lantern
Green Lantern is basically a space cop with a powerful ring that can do anything he can imagine. He is one of the most powerful members of the Green Lantern Corps, and he has an indomitable will. He can lead the team when needed, and his ring can get them out of almost any predicament, and also serve as a powerful weapon against nearly anything, as long as it’s not yellow.
However, Green Lantern’s powers come from his power ring and his trained military skills as a warrior. He is strong, and his actions as Parallax show how deadly he can be when he cuts loose and doesn’t care about collateral damage. That said, he is still only a human, and that leaves him in the bottom half of the original Justice League members concerning power levels.
4) Martian Manhunter
Martian Manhunter is one of the most overpowered DC Comics heroes, and he was so OP at one point that DC just wrote him out of stories for a long time to let others catch up. Martian Manhunter pretty much has Superman’s powers, as he is super strong, fast, and invulnerable. He also has powers Superman doesn’t have, which is what made him so overpowered at the time.
Martian Manhunter has psychic powers and can alter a person’s memories and even force them to do what he wants with a single thought. He can also change forms and take the appearance of anyone, making him a DC hero who can also double as a spy. As powerful as he is, he is still a step below the top of the line DC heroes, including three of his original Justice League teammates.
3) Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman struggled somewhat when the Justice League was formed because of the era in which she was introduced. At that time, the male writers wrote most female heroes as lesser than their male counterparts. Diana was an Amazon warrior and could beat anyone she fought, but the writers actually made her the Justice League’s “secretary” in early issues.
Once she got past this insulting role, she proved over time that she was as powerful as anyone in the group. While some fans might consider Martian Manhunter to be more powerful, Wonder Woman has proven more than once that she can fight Superman head-to-head, and she might be able to beat him thanks to the magic in her powers. Either way, she is DC’s most powerful female hero and one of the most powerful original Justice League members.
2) Flash
It might be surprising to see Flash ranked so high, but there are some hints that he might be even stronger than Superman. While Flash is a normal human, he also has access to the Speed Force. He can move faster than pretty much anyone in DC Comics history, except another Flash family member, Wally West. Honestly, there is no reason that Flash can’t win every single fight he is in before his opponent even knows the battle has started.
DC Comics has had to find ways to handicap Barry Allen, and later Wally West, thanks to their immense speed. However, when they are at the top of their abilities, no one can really stop them, and Barry has even proven to be powerful enough to change all of reality, which he did in Flashpoint. He might be the most powerful DC hero of them all, but there is still one person stronger.
1) Superman
Superman is the strongest DC Comics hero of all time. Honestly, it is the fact that he was raised by good people that keeps him from displaying his full power all the time. Superman holds back and barely goes full strength in battle, knowing he could kill someone with just the flick of a wrist. When he battles the most powerful beings in the universe, like Darkseid or Doomsday, he cuts loose and shows why he is so strong.
Superman is also fast, and while not as fast as Flash or Wally West, he is still fast enough to keep them from getting too much of an advantage on him when they face off. Superman can move planets and destroy stars, and there isn’t anyone with his power levels in DC Comics, making him the most powerful original Justice League member of them all.
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