Top 10 DC Superheroes of the ’00s

With the arrival of the new millennium came a new generation of heroes for DC Comics. The superhero genre was becoming more popular than ever because of major blockbuster movies like Batman Begins and Spider-Man. DC Comics continued to produce high-quality content because the company’s writers and artists had more freedom to create unique stories and characters. Stories became more epic and had a greater impact, as three separate Crisis Events — Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, and Final Crisis — all occurred within the same decade. Beloved heroes died, friendships were destroyed, and multiversal disasters became even more frequent. With the DC Universe in such sorry shape, and many of its most iconic heroes dead, missing, or retired, new heroes emerged to fill the void left by their predecessors. 

During the 2000s, DC Comics prioritized paving the way for new superheroes to expand upon the legacies of those that came before them.

10) Spectre (Crispus Allen)

Ever since the Golden Age, Aztar, aka the Spectre, has been the spirit of God’s wrath. A non-physical being in his natural state, Aztar is an entity of untold cosmic power who issues divine wrath upon the sinners of the world. To perform his duties, Aztar inhabits human hosts, enabling him to interact with the physical plane. In 2000, a Gotham police detective named Crispus Allen was killed by a dirty cop because he was investigating corruption in the police force. Aztar approached the spirit of Crispus and requested that the cop become his new host. Crispus refused, but Aztar gave him one year to reconsider. Crispus spent the next year as a ghost trapped on Earth. He witnessed countless atrocities and couldn’t do anything to stop them. When Aztar returned a year later, Crispus accepted the spirit’s offer. The pair bonded, and Crispus became an agent of divine vengeance. 

9) Cyclone

Maxine Hunkel, aka Cyclone, was introduced in 2007 as the granddaughter of the Golden Age Red Tornado, a powerless heroine named Abigail “Ma” Hunkel. When Maxine was six years old, the mad scientist T.O. Morrow kidnapped her and used her as a guinea pig for his experiments. One of these experiments involved injecting nanites into Maxine’s bloodstream. She was rescued and showed no ill effects until the nanites activated when she was nineteen. The nanites gave Maxine the power to generate powerful winds and tornadoes. With these powers, Maxine became the superhero Cyclone and joined the all-new Justice Society. Cheerful and talkative, Maxine is one of the most outgoing members of the JSA and is always ready to protect innocent people.

8) Citizen Steel

Debuting in 2007, Nathan Heywood is the grandson of the World War II superhero Henry Heywood, aka Commander Steel, and the cousin of the previous Steel, Henry Heywood III. Nathan had a promising football career until an injury caused his leg to be amputated. Later, at a family reunion, the supervillain team, the Fourth Reich, attacked everyone who was there to destroy the Heywood bloodline. One of the Fourth Reich’s members, the metallic villain Reichsmark, killed Nathan’s mother and brother by turning them into statues. To defend himself, Nathan stabbed Reichsmark in the mouth with his crutch, causing the villain to spit liquid metal blood all over him. Nathan’s skin absorbed the blood, which caused his body to turn into living steel and his lost leg to grow back. The transformation granted Nathan superhuman strength and durability, but it also removed his sense of touch. Wanting to honor his family’s legacy, Nathan took on the alias of Citizen Steel. 

7) Speedy (Mia Dearden)

Introduced in 2001, Mia Dearden was rescued from a sex-trafficking ring by Green Arrow. Mia eventually figured out Green Arrow’s secret identity of Oliver Queen and begged him to let her be his new sidekick. Oliver was initially against the idea, but after he saw her fighting skills, he agreed to be Mia’s crime-fighting mentor. Mia is the second person to take on the mantle of Speedy after the original Roy Harper, who grew up to be the hero, Arsenal. Mia quickly mastered the bow and arrow under Oliver’s tutelage and became one of Star City’s prime protectors. She is a loyal member of the Arrow Family and the Teen Titans. Mia fights to protect the people of Star City who can’t defend themselves, in the same way that her Green Arrow had protected her.

6) Atom (Ryan Choi)

Ryan Choi was introduced in 2006 as a student of Ray Palmer, the second Atom. When Ray disappeared and his identity was unveiled to the world, Ryan felt inspired to carry on his mentor’s legacy. Ryan found a duplicate of Ray’s belt that allowed him to alter his size. Ryan quickly mastered the belt and became the new Atom. Fighting evils both big and small, Ryan joined the Justice League as one of their smartest members. Ryan eventually found Ray, who had disappeared because he was stranded in a parallel universe for years. Ryan rescued his mentor, and now the size-changing duo shares the mantle. Together, they help the Justice League combat all manner of scientific mysteries and threats.

5) Saint Walker

In 2008, a new Lantern Corps shone its light across a universe that needed hope. Two exiled Guardians of the Universe, Ganthet and Sayd, founded the Blue Lantern Corps. They forged the first Blue Lantern ring, and it found its way to Bro’dee Walker, aka Saint Walker. When his planet’s sun began to die, everything on his world began to die with it. Desperate to find the savior who had been prophesied to appear on Mount Helious, he climbed to the top of the mountain, but upon arriving, no one was there. Bro’dee’s faith was crushed, but he resolved to become the savior his people needed. He became a beacon of hope for his planet, and their sun was rejuvenated, turning blue. The Blue Lantern ring chose Bro’dee to be the first member of the new Blue Lantern Corps. Powered by hope, Saint Walker and the rest of the Corps are pacifists who wield their rings to protect the innocent while also giving nearby Green Lanterns a power boost.  

4) Miss Martian

A native of the planet Mars, M’gann M’orzz, aka Miss Martian, was introduced in 2006 as the younger female counterpart of Martian Manhunter. But despite her appearance, she is not a Green Martian at all, but a White Martian. On Mars, the White Martians exterminated the Green Martians and tried to conquer Earth. M’gann escaped on a rocket to Earth to get away from the White Martians’ cruel regime. Ashamed of her people’s bloodlust, M’gann shapeshifted herself to look like a Green Martian so that she could be accepted on Earth. She also took on the human identity of Megan Morse. With all the powers of Martian Manhunter, including telepathy, shapeshifting, and intangibility, M’gann is one of the most powerful members of the Teen Titans. Despite coming from a race of vicious tyrants, Miss Martian has transcended her heritage to become a hero of Earth.  

3) Batwoman (Kate Kane)

DC Comics introduced one of its first openly lesbian superheroes in 2006: Katy Kane, aka Batwoman. A former army cadet and Bruce Wayne’s cousin, it seemed like Kate was destined to don the cowl. One night after a party, Kate was attacked by a mugger. She managed to fend him off, and Batman arrived to arrest the mugger. Seeing the Dark Knight in person inspired Kate to become a vigilante. As Batwoman, she quickly made her mark in Gotham City as she shut down multiple criminal operations. Kate fought alongside many of Gotham’s other vigilantes and soon became a member of the Bat Family. Due to her military background, Batwoman is one of the most disciplined members of the Bat family. However, she is also more willing to cross the line if she sees no other option available to save people in need.

2) Robin (Damian Wayne)

In 2006, the leader of the League of Assassins, Talia al Ghul, introduced Batman to someone very special: their ten-year-old son Damian Wayne. Talia had raised Damian in secret within the League of Assassins. She trained him to be a cold-blooded killer like her. While Damian’s willingness to kill people made his moral code and character very different from Batman’s, his unconventional upbringing made Damian just as dark and brooding as his father, if not more so. Hoping to disrupt Batman’s work to enact her own evil schemes, Talia revealed Damian’s existence to him and left the ten-year-old in the Dark Knight’s care. Damian quickly became the new Robin, but his anger issues and his disregard for human life put him at odds with his father. Over time, thanks in part to Batman’s influence, Damian became less violent. Ultimately, he renounced his mother and the League of Assassins. While he’s still an angsty kid, Damian has softened up a bit and has even formed his own Teen Titans.

1) Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)

First appearing in 2006, Jamie Reyes is the third and most iconic Blue Beetle. Jamie was a teenager when the biomechanical alien parasite known as the Scarab latched itself onto Jamie and made him its new host. The Scarab permanently fused to Jamie’s back and formed a telepathic link with the teen. At Jamie’s command, the Scarab will cover him in armor that gives him super-strength, durability, and the power of flight. The armor’s most impressive feature is that it can construct a wide array of tools and weapons, including swords and blasters. Now a crime-fighting duo, Jamie and the Scarab defend the innocent from supervillains and alien invasions while also working with the Justice League and Teen Titans. A unique take on the Blue Beetle identity, Jamie has taken the heroic mantle to new heights and become one of the most well-renowned teenage superheroes in DC Comics.

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