Ranked: The Top 10 Members To Join After The Original Justice League
There isn’t a supergroup in DC Comics that’s more famous than the Justice League. Not only does it boast some of the greatest stories in DC’s extensive catalog, but it’s also home to some of its greatest heroes.
- Superman
- Batman
- Wonder Woman
- Aquaman
- Green Lantern
- Flash
For all intents and purposes, the Justice League is home to the who’s who of the DC Universe. Any superhero worth their weight aspires to be one and anyone who doesn’t, is often relegated to nothing more than cameo appearances and eventually disappears into obscurity.
The Justice League, however, is far from perfect. They have let some heroes in that probably shouldn’t have ever been accepted. Although we will do a list counting down those heroes, today is not the day for that. Today, we will be counting down the best of the best. Today, we will be counting down the best superheroes to make the team outside of the original Justice League members.
Here are The Top 10 Members To Join After The Original Justice League.
10. Firestorm
What makes Firestorm unique as compared to everyone else on this list is that he’s actually two people in one.
The original Firestorm was the creation of Gerry Conway and Al Migrom. In his initial appearances, Firestorm is both high schooler Ronnie Raymond and Physicist Martin Stein. The two received the ability to become Firestorm after they were caught in a nuclear explosion.
As Firestorm, it’s Ronnie Raymond who’s mainly in control. This means that Ronnie controls the body, mind, and spirit of Firestorm while Martin Stein is relegated to being a mind in Ronnie’s mind. If this sounds confusing, it kind of is.
Think of it like this. Ronnie controls Firestorm and Martin acts as his conscience and mentor.
9. Elongated Man
Debuting in The Flash issue #112, Elongated Man is one of the most important members to join after the original Justice League.
Randolph (Ralph) Dibny is the husband of Sue Dibny and has been a member of the Doom Patrol, Secret Six, Justice League Europe, the Black Lantern Corps, and the aforementioned Justice League of America.
Similar to Marvel’s Mr. Fantastic, he‘s able to shape, stretch and contort his body into just about any shape imaginable. Different from Mr. Fantastic, Elongated Man is also able to smell when things aren’t as they should be. This ability has helped to make him one of the greatest detectives in DC Comics.
Ralph became the Elongated Man after learning that the best contortionists in the world drank a soda known as “Gingold”. After learning the chemical makeup of the Frank, Ralph created an incredibly rare and concentrated version of the drink. After drinking it, Ralph was able to move, bend, and shape himself in manners that no human should be able to do.
8. Red Tornado
Debuting more than 55 years ago, Red Tornado is one of DC’s most recognizable superheroes. In his first appearance, Red Tornado was not the android being that he’s known as today. In fact, the original Red Tornado was a middle-aged housewife who took it upon herself to rid the world of crime in places that the police had failed. Over time, this changed and Red Tornado was transformed into an android capable of controlling and manipulating the wind.
His wind manipulation allows him to create cyclone-type gust. These gusts permit him flight, super speed, and wind storm creation. Because he’s an android, he also possesses superhuman strength, intellect, and durability. Further to these, he also has access to computers thereby making him one of the smartest beings in DC.
Red Tornado joined the Justice League of America in Justice League of America #106. This issue came out in August of 1973. He was by Gardner Fox and Dick Dillin and debuted as Red Tornado in August of 1968.
7. Black Canary
Dinah is the daughter of Larry Lance and Dinah Drake. Because her mother was the original Black Canary, Dinah grew up surrounded by various members of the Justice Society of America (J.S.A). Growing up in the presence of J.S.A. members had an effect on Dinah. That is, being around Superheroes made Dinah want to become one. Although her mother strongly disapproved, Dinah persisted. She sought out former members of the J.S.A. to teach and train her. After years of training with the likes of Wildcat, Lady Shiva, and Wonder Woman, Dinah took over the title of Black Canary. From there she took to the streets and began her assault on crime.
No different from her mother, Dinah also possesses the Canary Cry. Different from her mother (Silver Age version), Dinah is able to control it. When used, the Canary Cry is a devastating superpower. Not only can it destroy both organic and inorganic objects, but it can also cause death. More impressively, it can cause ears to bleed from over 600 miles away. The Canary Cry also gives Dinah the ability to fly.
Black Canary joined the original Justice League in September of 1969. This happened inside the pages of Justice League of America #74.
6. Zatanna
Zatanna has been a valuable member of Justice League Dark, the Justice League, Sentinels of Magic, and the Seven Soldiers of Justice. She is a member of the sub-race of DC magic users known as Homo Magi. And on top of those, are widely considered one of the most powerful users of magic the publisher has to offer.
Of all the characters that DC has, none are arguably more recognizable than Zatanna. In fact, if you’ve ever attended a Comic-Con of any kind you’ll surely have seen someone cosplaying her. Zatanna has a costume that leaves very little to the imagination. Although her costume isn’t without controversy, she has stood by it for almost all of her history.
Before being known as a powerful magic user, Zatanna was (and still is) a stage magician. This is something she got from her father, Giovanni Zatara. What makes Zatanna unique in the realm of magic users is that, unlike most others, to use and control her incantations she recites the words backward. This means that LUOF NOMED EB ENOG translates to Foul Demon Be Gone. Even though it seems strange to recite spells backward, Zatanna does this by choice.
5. Hawkman
Hawkman first appeared inside the pages of Flash Comics #1 back in January of 1940. He was created by the now-iconic duo of Gardner Fox and Dennis Neville.
In his original origin story, Hawkman is actually Carter Hall who is actually the reincarnated version of the Egyptian Prince Khufu. Khufu’s life was cut short after he and his partner (Chay-Ara) were killed by the Egyptian Priest Hath-Set. In the 1940s, American Archaeologist Carter Hall stumbled upon the knife that Hath-Set used to kill Khufu. After finding it, Carter remembers his time as Khufu and realizes that the scientist, Anton Hastor is the reincarnated version of Hath-Set.
Looking to avenge his and Chay-Ara’s death, Carter used the Nth Metal to create a belt that allowed him to operate outside the laws of gravity. He then creates a set of wings, a costume, and assumes the superhero name, Hawkman.
Hawkman joined the Justice League of America in Justice League of America issue #31. Since then he has been an on and off again member with each time proving exactly why he’s one of the top 10 members to join after the original Justice League.
4. Hawkgirl
Also debuting alongside Hawkman in Flash Comics #1 in 1940, Hawkgirl is one of DC’s oldest superheroines. Like Hawkman, Hawkgirl is a reincarnated version of an ancient Egyptian.
Shiera Hall is the reincarnation of an Egyptian Princess. That princess, Chay-Ara, was killed alongside her partner Prince Khufu by Hath-Set. The knife (forged from Nth Metal) retained their memories and was used to “upload” the memories of the two to whoever possessed the weapon. In the case of Chay-Ara, that person was Shiera Hall. After being rescued by Hawkman, Shiera was given a gravity-defying belt and took to the skies as Hawkgirl.
As Hawkgirl, Shiera possesses many abilities. She has superhuman strength, endurance, and vision, is an expert in hand-to-hand combat, is immortal, heals at an accelerated rate, and, due to the gravity belt, can fly.
Unlike Hawkman who joined the Justice League early in its existence, Hawkgirl didn’t join until Justice League of America issue #146. This issue was released in September of 1977.
3. The Atom
The Atom (Ray Palmer) joined the Justice League during issue #14 in September of 1942. He joined just 11 months after making his comic book debut in Showcase #34.
Similar to Marvel’s Ant-Man, The Atom has the ability to shrink and grow his body to various sizes. When shrunk, he maintains the strength he had when he was full size. Ray Palmer is also one of the foremost minds in DC and possesses a Ph.D. in physics.
Before he was The Atom, Ray Palmer was a professor at the fictional Ivy University. His main area of study was matter manipulation. He took an interest in matter manipulation after he theorized that it could be a viable way to combat planet-wide overpopulation and famine. He came to be The Atom after using the remains of a White Dwarf Star. Although initial tests showed that compression by using the star resulted in the object using to explode, he soon found that adding moisture to the equation resulted in the object being able to return back to its normal size without repercussion.
As one of the first recruits outside of the original Justice League members, The Atom was an easy choice to make this list.
2. Green Arrow
Both the Green Arrow and the Aquaman were introduced in More Fun Comic #73. Of the two, Green Arrow became an instant hit.
Oliver Queen was an orphan, playboy, and millionaire, who, while traveling the world, fell out of his yacht. Using his smarts, he crafted a bow and arrow from wood, stone, and some nearby vines. He quickly became an expert with the weapon and learned to make trick arrows. Of them, the most impressive was a net arrow to catch fish and a drill arrow, fashioned from stone, vines, wood, and the elastic from his socks.
After months of isolation, he saw a ship that had docked at his island. Upon closer inspection, he saw that a mutiny threatened the lives of the ship’s crew and took it upon himself to save them. He proceeded to smear anchor grease around his eyes (as a mask) and then, using his special arrows, save the crew. As repayment for his efforts, the crew took him back to the mainland where he devoted his life to serving society as the Green Arrow.
Once home, he used his resources to create trick arrows and vehicles to fight crime. Eventually, he found out that his company, Queen Industries, was manufacturing weapons. This discovery caused him to renounce his fortune and take to the street life to protect the working class.
1. Green Lantern (John Stewart)
John Stewart isn’t only one of the most important members outside of the original Justice League, but he’s also one of the most important superheroes ever created.
John Stewart is arguably one of the greatest tactical minds to ever wear a Green Lantern Ring. As a one-time architect turned U.S. Marine, John was initially given the ring as a way to back up Hal Jordan should Hal not be able to perform his duties. Whereas most Green Lantern build hollow constructs with their Rings, because John is architecturally inclined, his constructs are created from the inside out. That is, his are solids blocks built with every last screw, nail, nut, washer, and fastener considered.
John famously became the first member of the Ultraviolet Lantern Corps. Different from the other Lantern Corps, the Ultraviolet Lanterns draw their power from the Invisible Emotional Spectrum. More specifically, they draw it from the heart of the spectrum, Umbrax. This means that their power doesn’t waiver depending on how controlled their emotions are. Because John is one of the greatest Green Lanterns in history, he was able to overcome Umbrax and wield the Ultraviolet Spectrum under his own will.
And that’s it. The Top 10 Members To Join After The Original Justice League. Agree? Disagree? Who would make your members to join after the original Justice League list?
