Yesterday’s inquiry regarding the Marvel Universe was limited to that world for two important reasons: Superman and Batman. It seems to be very difficult for anyone to separate the cult of personality around the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel from their actual effectiveness as super-dupers, and their historical importance can overpower any team they’re on. (See Brad Meltzer’s 2006 JLA revamp.) Besides, under DC’s current editorial direction, it seems every book will eventually become a title featuring one or both of them anyway. Even so, your humble MS-QOTD doesn’t like to play favorites, and there are any number of awesome, powerhouse teams to choose from in the 80 year history of the DCU, including Wolfman/Perez Teen Titans, the massive wartime chaos of the All-Star Squadron, and those kids from the future whose name escapes me. As such, in the name of fairness and balancery, we beg today’s query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) would like to remind anyone who is about to argue “Superman as deciding factor” about the existence of Mon-El, asking: What, to your mind, is the greatest team in the history of the DC Universe?
12 Comments
I really enjoyed Justice League All Stars while it was around.
The classic “magnificent seven” Justice League of America. And whenever it departs from that formula, it eventually falters.
Justice League International, circa the start of the JLE. The two teams as a whole had a nice mix of Powerhouses with Captain Atom & Martian Manhunter mixed in with more street level heroes like Blue Beetle & Elongated Man, with plenty in between to make the perfect team.
DCAU Justice League Unlimited. Multifaceted – Strong, stealthy with the Big 7 and street level like the Green Arrow, Black Canary, the Huntress and the Question.
That works well too, considering a slightly different “Big 7” were still pretty much the core. I was thinking exclusively comics, but I loved JUSTICE LEAGUE and JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED.
Legion of SH. Most of their original run, particularly Levitz’s 80s run, was the definition of a high quality team, V4 adult team (I’m one of those that liked this run) and even the Reboot “Archie Legion” were pretty good and still had the same feel. Threeboot was a good read for the first couple of years but they were a bit too dysfunctional and “angry teens” for me, and I’m afraid the retroboot never quite clicked. It’s true, sometimes you can’t go home again.
The Legion of Substitute Heroes :) Nah Kidding.
Legion of Super Heroes – Baxter run and Grell era especially – are my favourite team, no contest, but if there were no Legion I would have to go with Wolfman/Perez Teen Titans or Morrison/Porter JLA.
The Legion is the comic that made me into a collector.Imagine a team full of people with at least 1 amazing ability!And so many of them.I realize the Legion is shelved for now but they’ll be back.Long live the Legion!
The Club Of Heroes/ Batman Inc I always loved both as a concept and in it’s recent execution. It’s also a bit more interesting of an answer than the JLA or Batfamily..which I might have also answered…
For me, it always comes back to the satellite-era JLA. I love that team!
I sense we’re all defining “greatest” in different ways. For my part, I went basically with “most iconic” or “defining.” That’s not necessarily the same as “favorite” or “favorite run.” As for the latter, while “Big 7” JLA would indeed be my “most iconic/defining,” while “favorite” would be classic Legion of Super-Heroes, with “favorite run” being early 1980s Levitz and Giffen.
Ignore the superfluous “while” ….