The Justice League formed in The Brave and the Bold #28 when the world’s most powerful heroes needed to team up to fight an alien invader known as Starro the Conqueror. However, two issues later in the series’s run showed that they teamed up before this to battle other alien invaders, and then had a battle against yet a third alien invasion when they actually formed before their first DC Comics appearance. While that makes their timeline a little complicated, other than the two earlier battles that the comics revealed later, the rest of the team’s first 10 opponents played out in a linear fashion.
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That said, the first 10 villains the Justice League fought in comics were not on the same level, and some were a little less powerful than others.
10) Xotar the Weapons Master
The Weapons Master was the second-ever villain the Justice League fought in comics, and he was a huge letdown from Starro the Conqueror. This happened in The Brave and the Bold #29 when a being from the future (11,960 A.D.) known as Xotar knows he is fated to travel to the past and fight the team, so he tries to find futuristic weapons that can beat them so he can change the future. However, every member destroyed his weapons, with Superman eliminating his last weapon and sending him back to the future in defeat. The Weapons Master didn’t live up to his name and was nothing compared to the JLA.
9) Kanjar Ro
Kanjar Ro was a villain the Justice League faced in Justice League of America #3. However, this was a unique situation because he wanted the JLA to help him, but went about it the wrong way. Kanjar Ro was an alien who abducted the Justice League and then immobilized Earth, demanding that the JLA help him fight off his enemies (Jyathis, Kromm, and Sayyar). When they succeeded, he refused to release them unless they promised not to attack him, and they were able to get free anyway and banished Kanjar Ro and his enemies to a meteor planet. The fact that he wasn’t willing to fight on his own and was cowardly when the end came showed his lack of power compared to other JLA villains.
8) Amos Fortune
Amos Fortune was a villain who fought the Justice League in Justice League of America #6. This issue began with each member of the JLA suffering from bad luck, and Dr. Amos Fortune is a man who has spent his life studying luck and how to manipulate it for his own success. This caused him to create a device that causes bad luck through a “luck gland” in the body. However, there was one thing that he didn’t take into account. Martian Manhunter’s Martian physiology made him immune to it, and he defeated AMos Fortune easily. He was able to take down the other JLA members, making him a little more dangerous than other villains. He also returned eight issues later with a team he had formed, but lost once again.
7) Simon Magus
In Justice League of America #2, the team battled invaders from Magic-Land, and they were led by the villain known as Simon Magus. This all started when all man-made machines on Earth stopped working, and the JLA learned that magic had overtaken technology as the dominant force. Simon Magus was one of the evil magicians behind this, along with Saturna and the Troll King. The JLA needed the help of the great magician Merlin to stop these evil magic users, making Magus a powerful threat early in the Justice League’s career.
6) Appellaxian Invaders
The first villains that the Justice League fought when they officially formed for the first time weren’t the first villains they fought in DC continuity. Instead, this was a story retold in Justice League of America #9, and it had Appellaxian warriors sent to Earth to see who could conquer the planet first, and the winner would be the new ruler. They attacked different parts of the planet and faced the different members of the JLA, falling in defeat. After this victory, which wasn’t as hard as expected, the members agreed to form the Justice League.
5) White Martians
The first villain that the Justice League fought in DC Comics publication history was Starro. However, in Justice League of America #144, the real origin of the team was revealed, and it turned out they teamed up before Starro. This was a battle against the White Martians, and it was Flash who brought the team together for this battle. They didn’t officially form, but this was their first battle, and all the original members were present in the fight. These are similar to Martian Manhunter, with his power set, making them incredibly powerful, and it took the entire original Justice League and several other heroes to stop them.
4) Doctor Destiny
Doctor Destiny was a surprise villain for the Justice League. This was when Green Arrow wanted to join the team, but he was off to a bad start because it looked like he was sabotaging the JLA as they battled villains like Captain Cole, the Clock King, Puppet-Master, Electric, Getaway Mastermind, and Professor Menace. However, in reality, Green Arrow was saving them from traps because Doctor Destiny was posing as Green Lantern. Doctor Destiny is an incredibly powerful Justice League villain, with the power to alter and warp reality and a mastery of the occult.
3) Starro
The first villain the Justice League fought in the comics was Starro, although this was their first recorded adventure, despite battling both the Appellaxian warriors and White Martians before this adventure. The Justice League had just convinced Batman and Superman to join them after beating the Appellaxian warriors, and their first major battle was against the alien known as Starro the Conqueror. He can control people’s minds, but when the JLA learned he had a weakness to a lawn solution, they easily beat him. However, it took this one weakness, and before that, Starro was easily beating everyone, including Superman.
2) Despero
Despero was the villain in Justice League of America #1. Despero was a god-tier despot who had become the ruler of Kalanor, a planet in another dimension, and this gave him access to some incredible weapons that made him a universal threat. Despero was powerful enough to put the entire Justice League under his power, except for Flash, who had to find a way to save his teammates. Despero has telekinesis and telapathy, and he has access to magic, including astral projection, possession, teleportation, and more. His first appearance had him as a weak physical being, but he has since powered up there as well.
1) Amazo
Amazo was the most powerful Justice League villain when it came to their first 10 opponents, although it took a little while for him to fully power up. He debuted in The Brave and the Bold #30 and was the android creation of the immortal Professor Ivo. This android was created with the powers of all the Justice League members in one being, which explains its immense threat. It took Green Lantern knowing his own weaknesses to beat Amazo. This was only the start, as he battled the JLA and each of the various members numerous times, and he was always one of the most powerful villains they ever had to face.
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