The 10 Worst Things Justice League Members Have Ever Done

The Justice League has always been known as DC Comics’ greatest heroes, a team that is the line between order and chaos. However, more than once, a main Justice League member has crossed that line, breaking necks, wiping minds, and even rewriting reality itself. The worst things the Justice League members have done are often when they were mind-controlled or corrupted, but there are other instances where the heroes made cold, deliberate choices. These happen both in company-wide events, like Identity Crisis, Flashpoint, Infinite Crisis, and Forever Evil, and in regular comic books where heroes make these unfortunate decisions.

From classic stories in the 1970s to modern-day DC, here are the worst things that the Justice League members have done in comics.

10) Cyborg Accidentally Created Grid

Cyborg has always been one of the most genuinely pure of the Justice League members. However, as powerful as Cyborg is, it doesn’t take much for him to mess up, and that happened in Justice League #23 (2013) by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Grid was an accidental, unintended byproduct of his cybernetics, and during “Forever Evil,” the Crime Syndicate tore Grid out of Victor’s body as a separate robotic villain, leaving Cyborg mangled, near death, and reduced to barely more than a head and torso. Grid, which he accidentally created, then became a weapon acting against the heroes he was sworn to protect. This traumatized Cyborg and was a defining arc in his New 52 run.

9) Zatanna Erased Batman’s Memories

One of the most polarizing and controversial Justice League storylines of all time came in Identity Crisis. This storyline had someone kill Sue Dibny, and the guilty party ended up as Atom’s ex-wife, Jean Loring. However, before learning the truth, the Justice League believed the killer might be B-level villain Dr. Light. Batman wasn’t sure why they focused on him, but then he learned Dr. Light had sexually assaulted Sue in the past, and he was there. When the League decided to mindwipe Light and turn him into a joke villain, Batman tried to stop them. Zatanna then mind-wiped Batman’s memory of the event. When Batman learned what had happened, it created a fracture between him and the League for years.

8) Martian Manhunter Turned Into Fernus

Martian Manhunter has been one of DC’s most powerful heroes since his introduction, and there are some readers who believe he might be more powerful than even Superman. However, J’onn J’onzz had one strange vulnerability, and that was an intense fear of fire, which froze him in a state of terror when he was around it or presented with it. In “JLA: Trial by Fire” in JLA #84-89 (2003) by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke, J’onn tried to overcome his vulnerability, and that was a mistake since it was a failsafe that kept him from unleashing the buried Burning Martian within him. He succeeded and became the villain Fernus, and overpowered his own JLA teammates, endangering all life on Earth. The JLA had to stop one of its own founders.

7) Green Arrow Abandoned Roy Harper

Many heroes took on sidekicks that they mentored and helped turn into heroes in their own right. Batman had Robin, Flash had Kid Flash, Wonder Woman had Donna Troy, and Green Arrow had Speedy. However, when Roy Harper needed help the most, Oliver Queen turned his back on him. In the two-part “Snowbirds Don’t Fly” in Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85-86 (1971) by Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams, Oliver learned that Roy had become a drug addict. Instead of helping him, Oliver threw him out and let him hit rock bottom alone. Hal Jordan and Dinah Lance (Black Canary) helped Roy, but this abandonment left lasting scars that defined his life’s story.

6) Aquaman Killed Black Manta’s Father

Black Manta and Aquaman are hated rivals, and there are many reasons why this is a blood battle. In classic comics, Black Manta actually showed up and killed Aquaman’s baby boy, something unforgivable that made him one of the most despised villains in DC Comics history. Black Manta has also shown the same level of hatred toward Aquaman. During the New 52 storyline from “Sea Change” in Aquaman #23.1 (2013) by Tony Bedard, Geoff Johns, and Claude St. Aubin, Aquaman was trying to get revenge on Black Manta for killing his father. However, instead of attacking Black Manta, he went after his father, and the older man died of a heart attack. This means Aquaman committed the same atrocity as Black Manta.

5) Green Lantern Turned Into Parallax

The most intense sin any member of the Justice League ever committed was when Hal Jordan turned evil, and the greatest of the Green Lantern Corps became Parallax. This all started thanks to a tragedy. During the “Reign of the Superman” storyline, the alien warlord Mongul and Cyborg Superman destroyed Hal’s hometown of Coast City. When the Guardians refused to allow him to use his power ring to resurrect it, he snapped. The evil Parallax took control, and the Green Lantern flew to Oa, stripped his fellow Green Lanterns of their powers, killed Sinestro and Kilowog, and wiped out the Guardians. After destroying the Green Lantern Corps, he returned to Earth and became one of the most powerful villains there, as Kyle Rayner became the new Green Lantern. This was in “Emerald Twilight” in Green Lantern #48-50 (1994) by Ron Marz and Darryl Banks.

4) Flash Created the Flashpoint Timeline

Flash became a superhero because his mother was killed when he was a child, and his father was wrongly convicted of her murder. Barry Allen became a police forensic scientist, which led to the accident that gave him his powers. However, Barry decided to do something that he knew was wrong. He raced back in time to save his mother’s life. This one act saved her, but it fundamentally changed the world. Bruce Wayne was dead, and Thomas Wayne was a Batman who killed villains. Superman never showed up on Earth. Atlantis and the Amazons were at war. This was Flashpoint (2011) by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert, and by the time Flash and Thomas Wayne’s Batman fixed everything, it became the New 52.

3) Superman Murdered Three Kryptonian Villains

Superman doesn’t kill, and that is just a fact in DC Comics. This was one reason that Zack Snyder’s movies were so controversial. However, the truth is that Superman has killed before in comics, and he actually killed the same villain in the comics that he killed in Man of Steel. In Superman #22 (1988) by John Byrne, Superman was fighting three escaped Phantom Zone Kryptonians: General Zod, Zaora, and Quex-Ul. He finally stopped them by using Gold Kryptonite to strip them of their powers. This should have been enough since they were now powerless. However, Superman knew they would try to regain their powers, so he used Green Kryptonite to kill them in cold blood. Superman knew he had done wrong and went into exile after this, leaving Earth for deep space.

2) Wonder Woman Killed Maxwell Lord

Wonder Woman has almost always been a beacon of good and hope in DC Comics, but there are points where creative teams want to make her deadly and brutal. During the “Sacrifice” crossover event by Greg Rucka and Rags Morales, Maxwell Lord used his telepathic powers to mind-control Superman, turning the Man of Steel into a weapon against his own allies. Wonder Woman and Batman knew there was no way to stop him, and then Diana used her Lasso of Truth and demanded the truth on how to free Superman. Lord said Superman would never be released as long as he was alive. Wonder Woman snapped his neck. Brother Eye broadcast the footage, and Wonder Woman had to stand trial for murdering a man who was already bound with her rope. While the charges were dropped, this damaged her relationship with Superman and Batman and changed how the public viewed her.

1) Batman Created Brother Eye

The worst thing that Batman ever did as a Justice League member was to set up contingency plans on how to defeat and possibly kill all his fellow teammates, just in case they went rogue. An even worse decision came when he doubled down on this by creating Brother Eye. Batman did this after he learned Zatanna had mind-wiped him because he no longer trusted his teammates. This was a doomsday-level surveillance weapon, and when Maxwell Lord hijacked it, he was able to mind-control Superman, which means Batman’s device is what caused Wonder Woman to have to kill Lord. Brother Eye then gained sentience and decided to exterminate all metahumans on Earth, a key driver of “Infinite Crisis.” Once again, this was all Batman’s fault

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