Super Friends: 10 Of The Best Comic Book Teams Ever

Sometimes just one superhero isn't enough to save the day. Or, at least, sell a lot of issues. Across the decades, comic book companies have repeatedly pulled their most popular heroes together in order to rake in more sales and ramp up the cash. On the one hand, it's often a financially-motivated exercise, but hey, that doesn't take away from the fact that us fans love crossovers. Besides, superhero team-ups have resulted in some of the most exciting comics of all-time. With more superheroes involved, the stakes are higher, the drama is raised and the amount of punches flying around increases exponentially. These teams can either be a union of some of the legendary characters still going strong, or a bunch of bargain-bin heroes you've never heard of individually; either way, a team of superheroes is generally better than just one single individual. So, on that note, we've gone back and looked through the many, many teams that populate the comic book world and chosen the 10 absolute best. Before we being though, we should note that we won't be taking into account the various adaptations in other media during this list - we'll only be basing the rankings off the status of the teams in the comic book world. Also, this list is almost all Marvel and DC, due to their dominance, so commiserations to the likes of WildStorm's The Authority and Valiant's Harbingers. 10) Justice Society Of America The very first major superhero group in comics was the Justice Society of America, first conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox in the winter of 1940. Little did they know at the time just how much their idea would change the shape of superhero comics forever. The JSA brought together some of the biggest superheroes around at the time - the founding members being Jay Garrick's Flash, Alan Scott's Green Lantern, Doctor Fate, Spectre, Sandman, Atom, Hourman and Hawman. Back then, DC - or rather All-American Comics, who were later hoovered up by DC - liked to keep the big guns separate and so the likes of Superman and Batman were only ever 'honorary' members of the JSA. Over the years, the JSA has stuck around, even after the formation of its more popular successor the Justice League. Through a series of reinventions and reboots, the JSA has been kept fresh and has often been allowed to explore darker and more dramatic areas than the more mainstream JLA. 9) The Defenders Forget the group of street-level heroes you know from Marvel's Netflix series, the traditional comic book version of the Defenders is very different. While Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist (though not Jessica Jones) have all served on their roster at one time or another, the team is usually for the outsiders and the anti-heroes of the Marvel universe. First forming in 1971, the founding members of the Defenders were Doctor Strange, Hulk and Namor the Sub-Mariner, with everyone from Silver Surfer to Spider-Man to Howard the Duck joining them later on. Unlike the more straight-laced Avengers, with all their pretty boy heroes, the Defenders were a much more volatile team, made up of misfits with abrasive personalities. Besides that, in its heyday the comic was known for its satirical edge and offbeat humour. The team has taken several different forms over the years, some more memorable than others, but the Defenders have always been the anarchic younger brothers of the Avengers, and for that we love them. 8) The Legion Of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes might be the least-known of the teams on this list for a wider audience, as the group has never really found the on-screen success of many others (despite the old animated appearance). Still, their incredibly long shelf life and the abundance of ideas surrounding them ensures that they earn their place here. From the mind of Otto Binder and Al Plastino, the Legion of Super-Heroes dates back to 1958 - predating more famous names like the Avengers and the Justice League. A major part of Superman's adolescence in Smallville, this team of time travellers - including Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad - from the 30th (later 31st) century became firm allies to the Boy of Steel. Most known for their handy Legion flight rings, the team have been rebooted so many times over the years that it's hard to keep track, but they've always embodied a Star Trek-like positive vision of the future - one where the heroes of the present have inspired the citizens of the future to follow their ideals. 7) Watchmen Alan Moore has made many huge contributions to comicdom over his career, but arguably his biggest is Watchmen, which spawned one of the most dysfunctional superhero teams ever created. Namely, the Minutemen - often called the Watchmen, due to the confusion with the book's title. Watchmen shook the medium to the extent that it did because, for one of the very first times, it presented the darker, more grounded side to superheroes. From the godlike Doctor Manhattan to the vicious Rorschach, every one of the Minutemen is a flawed, troubled individual and, being the guardians of the world, they have no one to look out for them and keep them from going over the edge. In other words, who watches the watchmen? With the recent reveal of Batman finding the Comedian's bloodied button in the Batcave, it looks like Watchmen's heroes are belatedly being introduced into the mainline DC continuity. It's a bold, controversial move, but it could usher in some great new material for the team. 6) Suicide Squad It's often said that villains are more interesting than heroes, and that's a mentality that has definitely aided the Suicide Squad's success over the years. The task force of supervillains forced into doing good is currently in the worldwide spotlight due to the recent movie, but comic book readers have been extolling their virtues (or rather lack of them) for years. A reboot of a WWII-set team from the 1960s, the Suicide Squad as we know them today launched in 1987, at the hands of John Ostrander. The team hooked readers with its concoction of volatile, violent anti-heroes and the fact that it never shied away from killing off its characters. They aren't called the Suicide Squad for nothing, you know. Their roster has changed a lot of over the decades but mainstays like Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and other Belle Reve inmates have become fan-favourite characters. With the aforementioned movie increasing their recognition, the Squad is currently bigger than ever. 5) Teen Titans There have been many 'junior' superhero teams over the years - Young Avengers, Runaways, New Mutants - but the best is by far DC's Teen Titans. Uniting the many sidekicks of the Justice League (Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl), as well as a few unique teen heroes (Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy), the Teen Titans initially didn't make much of a splash when formed in 1964. However, a strong revival in the 1980s ensured that the team has remained one of the most prominent on DC's roster ever since. These guys might be younger and less experienced than their Justice League counterparts, but their adventures are no less epic, smart or mature for it. The case in point being that the fan favourite Deathstroke began as the group's arch-enemy. Though Cyborg, one of the Titans' breakout members, has been snatched up by the Justice League in recent years, the Teen Titans can't be put down. As of the DC Rebirth initiative, their popularity is such that there are now two separate versions of the team running concurrently. 4) Fantastic Four Stan Lee's influence on superhero comics cannot be overstated - and it all started with the Fantastic Four of Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing. What Lee did that hadn't been done before was to root the superheroics in the characters; in their interpersonal conflicts and friendships as a family unit. There's Reed and Ben's bromance, Sue and Reed's marriage, Johnny and Sue's brother/sister bond, etc. Unlike other teams that can fall apart at the smallest provocation, the Fantastic Four can't be broken (at least not for good). In recent years, the Fantastic Four have sadly been written out of continuity due to 20th Century Fox holding the movie rights to the characters. At least they went out with a bang though: Reed Richards saved the multiverse from Doctor Doom, sending him and his family off into another dimension. Rest assured, though, that Marvel's First Family are not gone for ever. 3) X-Men In 1963, Lee came up with a fresh, exciting take on the superhero team idea; a group of naturally-born superheroes who come together to protect a world that fears and hates them. Lee might have created the X-Men, but the team really took off with the tenure of Chris Claremont and John Byrne - who introduced major characters like Mystique and Rogue and developed Wolverine into the most popular X-Man that he is today. For a long while, the X-Men were by far Marvel's most beloved superhero team, which led to them being adapted for the first modern superhero movie in 2001's X-Men. In the last few years, much like the Fantastic Four, that pesky rift between Marvel and Fox kept the X-Men from the forefront of Marvel comics. Thankfully, that looks to have been fixed with new series like Inhumans vs. X-Men and X-Men: Blue/Gold putting the team back where they belong. 2) The Avengers Marvel's mightiest superhero team can only be the Avengers. In 1963, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had the idea to unite Earth's Mightiest Heroes for one continually bestselling comic book series. Originally consisting of Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man and Wasp (with Captain America joining shortly afterwards), the team has expanded over the years to include pretty much every single Marvel hero at one point or another. As well as all the extra action and scale that comes from all these superheroes teaming up, the Avengers stands head and shoulders above other superhero teams because of the basis in its characters. From a man out of his time to a tragic scientist with a terrible affliction, the Avengers also face personal and social battles as well as global and interplanetary ones. They've been one of the hottest comic book groups around for years, but right now, with the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the big screen, they've also become one of the most popular superhero teams in the world. 1) Justice League It's basically a coin-flip between the Avengers and the Justice League, but we've plumped for DC's all-star superteam here because of the, let's face it, more iconic nature of its heroes. After all, the team is led by the terrific trinity of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Not even the combined might of Captain America, Iron Man and Thor can match that. Over the years, the JLA has gone through many revamps and various rosters but the core seven - the Trinity joined by Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Martin Manhunter (or Cyborg since 2011) - has largely remained in place. With such fearsome enemies as Darkseid, the Crime Syndicate and the Injustice Gang, the team has been through some dark times, with lots of moral conundrums and multiversal crises along the way. Created in 1960, the League is also the first of the modern superhero team-ups and therefore has inspired basically every single one that has come since (not least the Avengers). It's a close call between them and Marvel's crown jewel, but the mythical, grander nature of the JLA ultimately puts them on top.