Which Leaguers view each other as close friends/work buds/strictly coworkers?

[Lightning Rider]

In an older thread, I once asked what pairings and groupings of popular heroes we hadn't really seen. There are endless permutations.

I was thinking about that thread and then a more interesting question popped into my head: what does the actual relationship tree of the Justice League look like? Over the years and various lineups there are obvious close friendships, but then there are members who get along on duty yet don't seek each other out beyond that. And then there are characters that either don't interact unless they have to, or have a bit of a grudge.

Friends:

Hal and Ollie (and Dinah)

Ralph and Barry.

Barry and Hal.

Wally and Kyle. Connor with both.

Clark and Bruce (over time).

Aquaman and J'onn.

What about the Green Lanterns with each other? Who among them are better friends?

Friendly coworkers:

Wally and Superman. Wally comments in Funeral for a Friend that he never really knew the guy well, and it wasn't until Secret of Barry Allen that he hung out with Clark back in Smallville. But they frequently helped each other out on adventures and never clashed.

Barry and Batman. The forensics definitely brings them together in mutual respect even though their personalities and abilities are pretty opposite.

Wonder Woman and most: I'd say that this one is trickier because she hardly has a secret identity civilian life and is socially intelligent enough to get along with everyone, yet I don't think she's actually friends with any. The closest she comes is seeking guidance from the other two members of the Trinity, but that's only one part of friendship.

Aquaman seems to get along with the Hawks and Diana when on the job.

J'onn seems to converse more with Clark and Bruce on the job, though I'm not sure if that's accurate.

Zatanna seems to have gotten along with most. (Especially the guys, hehe.)

Strictly Coworkers:

Hawkman and most. He seems to enjoy his alone time.

Hal and Bruce are definitely only coworkers. Neither is inviting the other over for dinner.

I'm not sure if Barry and Ollie actually dislike each other enough to go in this category or if they eventually got along enough to be friendly acquaintances when hanging with Hal. Buried, what say you?

Wally and Batman. I think because he grew up with Dick it's too weird to socialize with him (on top of the fact he's Batman).

[Lightning Rider]

Relevant. Anyone know what it's from?

[WonderScott]

Some of the classic pairings don't hold up as much anymore as the League membership has changed and been more restricted over the years, but I'd love to see some friendship dynamics introduced and played up that aren't simply Clark and Bruce over and over again.

There's been a bit of Bruce as a detective and Barry as a police scientist interacting in a friendly way over their mutual disciplines. Arthur and Diana get tossed together a bit from being royals, but I don't see their friendship getting developed too much.

Hawkman and Atom are barely on the team anymore or in each other's appearances in titles very often, so that's another friendship that doesn't have the weight it once had.

I have some problems with the Justice League Satellite years, but one thing it did well was highlight some friendships and relationships between members - even JLU animated did that to a better degree than the ongoing title does.

I'd like to see more characters join the team, so we could get a little more depth in that regard.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I think Barry Allen is physically incapable of not being friends with absolutely everyone, but he's closest to Hal & Ralph. The only Leaguer who rubs him the wrong way is Ollie, who he considers a loudmouthed rich blowhard.

Much like Ollie, Hal Jordan rubs almost everyone the wrong way, particularly Batman, whom Hal goes out of his way to annoy. However, I think there is a deep-well of mutual respect between the two. As Bendis has been having fun with, Hal desperately wants to be best buds with Superman, who is too damned Midwestern and polite to ever rebuff his advances. Hal has tried literally every possible way of flirting with Wonder Woman over the years to no avail, because Diana delights in pretending to not notice and completely ignoring him

Agreed on Hawkman, with the notable exceptions of Shayera & Ray Palmer, who is also a bit of a loner.

Ted, Booster & Scott are old buddies and still go out for beers regularly, as shown so well by King & Gerads recently.

I never understood Meltzer's idea that Aquaman & J'Onn are secret best buds. Aside from their brief time together as the only two JLA founders in JL Detroit, I don't see the connection there. Is there some story where these two bonded or something?

I don't think Dinah & Diana are particularly close. I think they both respect each other quite a bit, but Diana is too damned intimidating to a lot of women. They look at this perfect goddess and only see their own failings.

Ollie & Bruce get along well enough because they both recognize that, at heart, they are cut from the exact same cloth. They are both rich kids who've bought their way into Olympus to stand alongside the Gods. As result, I think Ollie is more competitive with Bruce because he recognizes that he's always going to be seen as a lesser version of Batman.

Zatanna is an outlier. She's closest to Barry, but she keeps her distance from most. She doesn't particularly like being on a team. She likes all the attention to be on her.

The various GLs share a much stronger bond these days, with Simon & Jessica being close. Jessica viewing Hal as a father figure who she both idolizes in an unhealthy manner while also rebelling against to show her own independence. Guy still hates Hal, but only because he's jealous of him. In his dreams, Guy Gardner wants to be as cool as Hal Jordan and never will be. Hal & Kyle have a big brother/little brother thing going on. John & Guy are very tight. John & Kyle less so. John & Hal's relationship is extremely complicated. I would love to see a deep dive on these two and how they both love and hate each other. Alan Scott privately disaproves of all of them and considers them all a bunch of reckless hotshots.

Jay Garrick loves everyone.

[Sacred Knight]

Wonder Woman and most: I'd say that this one is trickier because she hardly has a secret identity civilian life and is socially intelligent enough to get along with everyone, yet I don't think she's actually friends with any. The closest she comes is seeking guidance from the other two members of the Trinity, but that's only one part of friendship.

She's great friends with Superman. Quite often he's described as her best friend.

Late post-Crisis also did more to establish her and Bruce as closer personal friends as opposed to just friendly coworkers to really complete the idea that the Trinity was close across the board. I still think Superman is the tie that binds there, Bruce is closer to Clark than Diana and Diana is closer to Clark than Bruce, but they're all still more than just work friends.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

One of the things I liked about Silver & Bronze Age DC is that the heroes got along with each other and built friendships rather than the Marvel heroes who were most famous for clashing. Yes, eventually, they did stories with The Thing hosting poker parties and developed a friendship between Beast and Wonder Man, but there really weren't a ton of deep friendships over at Marvel. Conflict was their bread-and-butter, not cooperation.

So, as far as Silver and Bronze Age Justice League, one can note that many of the Leaguers had TWO close friendships/relationships. A Leaguer might be a "shared" friend in that he had two friends on the team, but those two weren't necessarily friends with each other.

For example:

Superman - Batman

Batman - Elongated Man (showed a kinship in a few comics due to their both being detectives. Elongated Man solo stories were put in Detective Comics for this reason. This friendship is a bit of a "stretch," I guess)

Elongated Man - Flash

Flash - Green Lantern

Green Lantern - Green Arrow

Green Arrow - Black Canary

Green Arrow - Hawkman (rivalry)

Hawkman - Atom

[Lightning Rider]

I never understood Meltzer's idea that Aquaman & J'Onn are secret best buds. Aside from their brief time together as the only two JLA founders in JL Detroit, I don't see the connection there. Is there some story where these two bonded or something?

JLA Year One had the 5 members all interact on a personal level, and I remember J'onn and Aquaman relating to an extent on the basis of being seen as outsiders. They've also collaborated with telepathy a couple of times.

She's great friends with Superman. Quite often he's described as her best friend.

Late post-Crisis also did more to establish her and Bruce as closer personal friends as opposed to just friendly coworkers to really complete the idea that the Trinity was close across the board. I still think Superman is the tie that binds there, Bruce is closer to Clark than Diana and Diana is closer to Clark than Bruce, but they're all still more than just work friends.

This makes sense because the Trinity is always having heart to hearts and stuff. I suppose my marker could be flawed, but it's whether they hang out when not on a mission. Do they go to dinner?

[bat39]

In current continuity, the Trinity are pretty close on a personal level. Bruce and Diana were both present at Jon's birth. Also, the three of them had met prior to the Justice League forming.

That said, I guess that Bruce and Diana are closer to Clark than they are to each other, at least in the comics. The DCEU, and the DCAU, on the other hand, both had Bruce and Diana being closer.

I feel that after Flashpoint, Barry and Bruce have become a lot closer personally. Also, I have no doubt that Barry is one of the heroes Bruce most respects on a personal level and the two bond over their shared background as detectives and scientists.

Incidentially, I expected Clark and Wally to bond a lot more during Rebirth, particularly pre-Reborn where Clark was literally the version Wally had known pre-Flashpoint. But apart from that one Titans issue, I don't think we've seen them interact much, which is a shame.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

JLA Year One had the 5 members all interact on a personal level, and I remember J'onn and Aquaman relating to an extent on the basis of being seen as outsiders. They've also collaborated with telepathy a couple of times.

That makes sense, I guess. I just never saw any strong connection between the two. I think both J'Onn & Aquaman are both very solitary guys frequently put in group situations.

[kjn]

I don't think Dinah & Diana are particularly close. I think they both respect each other quite a bit, but Diana is too damned intimidating to a lot of women. They look at this perfect goddess and only see their own failings.

There have been a couple instances with the two of them seeking help and assistance from each other on more personal matters, especially with Simone. Wonder Woman asked for infiltration help from Black Canary, and got a makeover party in Simone's WW run, and Black Canary asked Wonder Woman for a combined full-contact counselling session back in Birds of Prey 68 (also by Simone).

I think it's more that many comics writers have trouble writing female friendship.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

There have been a couple instances with the two of them seeking help and assistance from each other on more personal matters, especially with Simone. Wonder Woman asked for infiltration help from Black Canary, and got a makeover party in Simone's WW run, and Black Canary asked Wonder Woman for a combined full-contact counselling session back in Birds of Prey 68 (also by Simone).

I think it's more that many comics writers have trouble writing female friendship.

Bingo. Hopefully, as more talented female writers get to work on the DCU, we'll see this change. For too long, Gail Simone and, to a lesser extent, Devin Grayson, were the only female voices contributing to the larger DCU. Louise Simonson only wrote on the Superman books, so we never got to see her take on anyone else. Jodi Picoult & Shea Fontana never really expanded beyond the WW title. The contributions of Dani Thomas are difficult to even know because she was always a co-writer.

[Ascended]

I think Barry Allen is physically incapable of not being friends with absolutely everyone, but he's closest to Hal & Ralph. The only Leaguer who rubs him the wrong way is Ollie, who he considers a loudmouthed rich blowhard.

Much like Ollie, Hal Jordan rubs almost everyone the wrong way, particularly Batman, whom Hal goes out of his way to annoy. However, I think there is a deep-well of mutual respect between the two. As Bendis has been having fun with, Hal desperately wants to be best buds with Superman, who is too damned Midwestern and polite to ever rebuff his advances. Hal has tried literally every possible way of flirting with Wonder Woman over the years to no avail, because Diana delights in pretending to not notice and completely ignoring him

Agreed on Hawkman, with the notable exceptions of Shayera & Ray Palmer, who is also a bit of a loner.

Ted, Booster & Scott are old buddies and still go out for beers regularly, as shown so well by King & Gerads recently.

I never understood Meltzer's idea that Aquaman & J'Onn are secret best buds. Aside from their brief time together as the only two JLA founders in JL Detroit, I don't see the connection there. Is there some story where these two bonded or something?

I don't think Dinah & Diana are particularly close. I think they both respect each other quite a bit, but Diana is too damned intimidating to a lot of women. They look at this perfect goddess and only see their own failings.

Ollie & Bruce get along well enough because they both recognize that, at heart, they are cut from the exact same cloth. They are both rich kids who've bought their way into Olympus to stand alongside the Gods. As result, I think Ollie is more competitive with Bruce because he recognizes that he's always going to be seen as a lesser version of Batman.

Zatanna is an outlier. She's closest to Barry, but she keeps her distance from most. She doesn't particularly like being on a team. She likes all the attention to be on her.

The various GLs share a much stronger bond these days, with Simon & Jessica being close. Jessica viewing Hal as a father figure who she both idolizes in an unhealthy manner while also rebelling against to show her own independence. Guy still hates Hal, but only because he's jealous of him. In his dreams, Guy Gardner wants to be as cool as Hal Jordan and never will be. Hal & Kyle have a big brother/little brother thing going on. John & Guy are very tight. John & Kyle less so. John & Hal's relationship is extremely complicated. I would love to see a deep dive on these two and how they both love and hate each other. Alan Scott privately disaproves of all of them and considers them all a bunch of reckless hotshots.

Jay Garrick loves everyone.

Agreed on pretty much all of this.

I think the Trinity are all close, but Clark's the glue that holds them together. They get together outside of work on a fairly regular basis.

Regarding Arthur and Diana: I think their royal status puts up a wall around them, to a degree, that makes it hard for them to be close to the rest of the League. Their first loyalties are to their nations, their ultimate end-goals are different, and they touch on the topic of politics, which the League tries to avoid. Diana is just intimidating as hell, too. And Arthur's kind of a broody, grumpy, gruff bastard sometimes. And I think the League thinks he's arrogant beyond his ability.

I think Barry and Bruce are good workplace friends, edging right up to having a real, actual friendship. Bruce is certainly closer to Barry than anyone other than Clark and Diana, but Barry is closing the gap on her.

[Frontier]

I think the Trinity are all close, but Clark's the glue that holds them together. They get together outside of work on a fairly regular basis.

I feel like that role shifts between Diana and Clark depending on the writer, although more often then not I think Diana is the middle-ground between Clark and Bruce (and ever the mediator).

Regarding Arthur and Diana: I think their royal status puts up a wall around them, to a degree, that makes it hard for them to be close to the rest of the League. Their first loyalties are to their nations, their ultimate end-goals are different, and they touch on the topic of politics, which the League tries to avoid. Diana is just intimidating as hell, too. And Arthur's kind of a broody, grumpy, gruff bastard sometimes. And I think the League thinks he's arrogant beyond his ability.

I think a lot of that is true for Post-Crisis Aquaman, although I think current Aquaman is more open to putting his own morals and ideals as a hero ahead of Atlantis and is probably one of the nicer members of the League once you get to know him.

[Buried Alien]

Barry and Batman. The forensics definitely brings them together in mutual respect even though their personalities and abilities are pretty opposite.

This has gone up a notch since FLASHPOINT when Barry passed on the note from Thomas Wayne of the FLASHPOINT universe to Bruce, and probably even more so since THE BUTTON when Barry created an opportunity for Bruce to meet Thomas in person. Even Pre-COIE, though, it was quite strong (though not Superman/Batman level) due to both Bruce and Barry having sidekicks (Dick and Wally) coming of age at the same time, and those sidekicks were themselves best friends growing up.

I'm not sure if Barry and Ollie actually dislike each other enough to go in this category or if they eventually got along enough to be friendly acquaintances when hanging with Hal. Buried, what say you?

I think they get along fine as long as they don't bring up politics (which Barry won't, but Ollie sometimes can't help himself).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[caj]

I think they get along fine as long as they don't bring up politics (which Barry won't, but Ollie sometimes can't help himself).

Yeah, they certainly had their bad blood during the Satellite Era