5 DC Heroes Who Are Terrible Leaders

DC Comics has its fair share of superhero teams, with the Justice League and Teen Titans sitting at the top of the list. However, not every version of these teams has been successful, and even worse, not every leader who has led them has been effective. While some heroes are exceptional tactical leaders and can lead anyone to victory over their enemies, this does not mean they possess the right temperament to serve as an effective leader of people. In some cases, leaders can be too intense and drive a wedge between themselves and their teammates. In other cases, the leaders are just too narrow-sighted and struggle to get people willing to follow them into battle. Finally, there are those leaders who don’t care about their teams at all and consider them just cattle led to slaughter.

From leaders who don’t care if their team members die to those who are too selfish or insecure to lead successfully, here are the worst leaders in DC Comics.

5) Damian Wayne

When Damian Wayne named himself the new leader of the Teen Titans, things did not go very well. First, he demanded that people be part of his team and follow his every order, and didn’t seem to understand when that turned people away from him. Damian has his goals, where he feels he knows best when leading his team into action, but he rarely, if ever, takes his teammates’ opinions or feelings into account, and this causes many heroes to refuse to continue working with him. Damian’s problem is his arrogance and the belief that his way is the only way, which makes him a terrible leader in DC Comics.

4) John Constantine

While Damian Wayne is someone whose arrogance drives him to become a more aggressive leader, ultimately pushing away his team in the long run, John Constantine is the opposite. John really just doesn’t care at all. Constantine was not born to be a leader, and he has spent his entire life conning and swindling others to get what he needs. When he took over as leader of the Justice League Dark, he was possibly the worst person for the job. Even those teammates who slightly like him, such as Zatanna, know that he isn’t someone who should be leading any team. He is powerful and a great person to have in battle, but when it comes to leading the team, there were many better options.

3) Guy Gardner

When Maxwell Lord took over as the financial man behind Justice League International, he made some interesting decisions. He brought in Booster Gold to be a prominent member and helped push him to a leadership role. However, there was one other member who considered himself the leader, no matter what anyone else said. Guy Gardner never considered anyone above him in the JLI, and he demanded that everyone acknowledge him as the leader. Even worse, he belittled all his teammates, a terrible quality in a leader; he insulted anyone who disagreed with him, and led his team into one disastrous situation after another. Even when Superman returned, Guy only slightly shut up and only then when the Man of Steel was around. Guy has been better in the Green Lantern Corps, but his impulsiveness and anger issues keep him from being anywhere near a great leader.

2) Amanda Waller

Amanda Waller might be one of the worst leaders in DC Comics history because she doesn’t care about anyone at all under her charge. Whether it was a member of the Suicide Squad or an actual government employee working under her, Waller didn’t care if any of them lived or died. She has killed members of her Suicide Squad simply to scare the other teammates into following her direct orders. Waller has left her team to rot when she was finished with them, and she has sent them into hopeless situations just to get what she needs. She is a villain who pretends to be a hero and is a terrible leader who leads by fear rather than by respect.

1) Batman

While Batman never leads anyone to their death like Amanda Waller, that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t put kids in danger his entire career. Batman sends out teenagers dressed as Robin and puts them in harm’s way constantly, and he was even responsible for one of their deaths. Then, when any of them stand up for themself, he belittles them and dresses them down. On top of that, there might not be a worse leader of the Justice League than Batman. He doesn’t trust any of his teammates, and this was before they even gave him a reason not to trust them (Identity Crisis). His contingency plan to take out the entire Justice League is well known, and his refusal to trust people to follow his lead is legendary. Batman is a terrible leader because he refuses to trust anyone other than himself, and he should always allow someone else to take the lead within the JLA.

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