Comics

5 Most Overrated Teams in Comics

When it comes to Marvel Comics and DC Comics, there are always fans who want to see their powerful heroes team up, and that has always been the case. The first Marvel Comics series was The Fantastic Four, and it didn’t take long for the company to put its powerful solo heroes into a major team as well, with the introduction of The Avengers. DC Comics was the same, as it placed its godlike heroes all on the same team when it created the Justice League. Since those introductions, countless teams have filtered through Marvel and DC, and many of them have become legendary, although some remain highly overrated in terms of their actual history in comic books.

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From mega-successful comic book teams that are way overrated to those who just seem to lack something in the end, here is a look at the most overrated teams in Marvel and DC Comics.

5) The New Mutants

The New Mutants in Marvel Comics
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

In 1980, Marv Wolfman and George Pérez re-introduced an exciting new team to DC Comics with the New Teen Titans. Two years later, Marvel Comics followed a similar approach with the creation of the New Mutants. However, the comparison between the two teams ends there. The New Mutants never came close to matching the brilliance of the Teen Titans, and that hurt them in the long run. Marvel even realized that the New Mutants wasn’t working and ended up turning them into X-Force, which was the most interesting the team has ever been. Despite that, Marvel continued to bring back the New Mutants, hoping to use the team to introduce new teenage mutants, but nothing ever seemed to remain memorable. The New Mutants even got their own movie, but the comic books never really did enough to warrant that, as they remain nothing more than a low-tier, forgettable mutant team.

4) Green Lantern Corps

Green Lantern Corps
Image Courtesy of DC Comics

The Green Lantern Corps has always been considered to be the most important source of law and order in the universe. However, have they ever really been as interesting as their reputation makes them seem? Hal Jordan was considered the best of the best for many years, but after he died, the Green Lantern character actually improved with Kyle Rayner taking on the role. It seems that the different-colored spectrums of Corps prove that the Green Lanterns might be the least interesting in that corner of the DC Universe. Once in a while, something exciting will happen that makes the Green Lantern Corps look important again, but most of the time, they are never as interesting as DC Comics tries to make them seem.

3) Guardians Of The Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy in Marvel Comics
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

The Guardians of the Galaxy in Marvel Comics suffer from one very important comparison. This team is nowhere near as exciting as the ones that James Gunn put on the big screen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The team in the comics wasn’t even the same one on the big screen for most of their existence, and the movie lineup didn’t appear together in comics for the first time until 2008, six years before the movie. The problem with Guardians is that fans expect to get the fun movie version of the team, but that isn’t what they are in the comics, and the books are nowhere near as enjoyable. The only times this team matters are in significant events, such as Annihilation. While Rocket Raccoon is excellent in the comics, no one else matters outside of the big event series.

2) Justice League

The Justice League in DC Comics
Image Courtesy of DC Comics

The Justice League might be the most overrated team in DC Comics. The fact that the Titans have mostly replaced them as the A-League team in DC recently is a smart move. When the team first formed, it was to battle an otherworldly threat, which is when they are at their best. When fighting someone like Darkseid, it is important to see these heroes fighting together. However, most of the time, it is just to bring in the big guns at the same time in the same comic. They are never interesting together unless it is a team of lesser heroes (like Justice League International) or if they are at each other’s throats (Identity Crisis). While Justice League is the grandfather of all superhero teams, it is also the most boring of them all.

1) X-Men

The X-Men in Marvel Comics
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

The X-Men are one of the most popular teams in comic book history, whether looking at Marvel or DC Comics. The allure is simple. These various mutants are mostly exciting characters, and they represent the battle against racism, bigotry, and blind hate in real-world society. However, their level of popularity makes them overrated. It seems that the writers have failed to find ways to keep them interesting without creating never-ending X-Men events. If there is no Age of Apocalypse, Days of Future Past, or a complete reboot like the Krakoa Era, the main X-Men comics aren’t any better than others. They often tell regurgitated stories that have been done better in the past. The X-Men can be great, but they are nowhere near as special as they used to be.

What Marvel or DC Comics team do you consider to be overrated? Let us know your picks in the comments below.

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