12 Heroes That Define DC Comics

[Kaijudo]

Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman
Aquaman
Flash
Robin
Green Lantern
Swamp Thing
Harley Quinn (more of an anti-hero these days and the DC equivalent of Deadpool in terms of modern popularity)
Shazam
Supergirl
Green Arrow

[Slim Shady]

Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman
Flash
Green Lantern
Green Arrow
Aquaman
Cyborg
Hawkman
Nightwing
Supergirl
Batgirl

[MoneySpider]

Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman
Green Lantern
The Flash
Aquaman
Black Canary
Green Arrow
Zatanna
Hawkman
Catwoman
Harley Quinn

Isn't Harley Quinn still a villain?

[BatmanJones]

Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman
Aquaman
Flash
Robin
Green Lantern
Swamp Thing
Harley Quinn (more of an anti-hero these days and the DC equivalent of Deadpool in terms of modern popularity)
Shazam
Supergirl
Green Arrow

I really like including Swamp Thing. I really dislike the fact that the only way to properly answer this question is with cisgender, white characters. But that's the way it is with following a mythology that predates the Civil Rights Movement and every other movement that's changed that to the good.

[Güicho]

I really dislike the fact that the only way to properly answer this question is with cisgender, white characters. But that's the way it is with following a mythology that predates the Civil Rights Movement and every other movement that's changed that to the good.

You could always become a champion the Global Guardians who started being introduced as far back as 1977

Some of the original 12^, pictured L to R: Impala (M'Bulaze), The Little Mermaid (Ulla Paske), Huntsman (Albrecht von Mannheim), Thunderlord (Liang Xih-k'ai), Olympian (Aristides Demetrios), Jack O'Lantern (Daniel Cormac), Owlwoman (Wenonah Littlebird),
Mist (Nommo Balewa of Kor), Rising Sun (Izumi Yasunari), Tuatara (Jeremy Wakefield), Godiva (Dorcas Leigh), Bushmaster/El Cascabel (Bernal Rojas)

Also includes, Seraph (Chaim Lavon), Green Fury/Fire (Beatriz da Costa), Icemaiden/Ice (Sigrid Nansen), Tasmanian Devil (Hugh Dawkins).

Wow the original Global Guardians Appreciation thread doesn't even show up in the search anymore, I guess once they drop out they vanish?
There is still this one - https://community.cbr.com/showthread...your-favorites

[Kaijudo]

I really like including Swamp Thing. I really dislike the fact that the only way to properly answer this question is with cisgender, white characters. But that's the way it is with following a mythology that predates the Civil Rights Movement and every other movement that's changed that to the good.

Yeah, I really thought about putting Black Lightning on there, especially given the increased profile with his TV series, but he's someone whose solo books unfortunately don't have much longevity and whose current presence in the DCU is being shoehorned into what's essentially a Bat-book (much more than the original BATO run was). Plus, his show doesn't get talked about as much as it did in its first season.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

I tried to look at it as, who is most representative of the different corners of the DCU.

Batman
Superman
Wonder Woman
Green Lantern (the Corps Four aka Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardener, and Kyle Rayner)
Flash (Wally West and Barry Allen)
Aquaman
Martian Manhunter
Robin/Nightwing
Batgirl
The rest of Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans (Donna Troy, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy and yeah, they’re a team, but you can’t include one of them without including all of them)
Robotman (only member of the Doom Patrol to be on all incarnation)
Zatanna and/or Dr. Fate (representative of the magic side)
Swamp Thing

[married guy]

Superman
Batman
Robin
Wonder Woman
Flash
Green Lantern
Obsidian
Swamp Thing
Sgt. Rock
Aquaman
Wesley Dodds
Chameleon Boy

I think those names cover most corners of the DCU.

[Ascended]

Well you gotta do the Big 6:

Superman (the cosmic guy)
Batman (the street level guy)
Wonder Woman (the mythical side of DC)
Aquaman (exotic earth locales/civilizations)
Flash (science heroes, time travel)
Green Lantern. (aliens and space. I'd use John to represent the Corps).

Past that it honestly becomes a little more vague. I'd include

Nightwing. (As a representative of Robins, sidekicks, and legacy).
Cyborg. (representative of the Titans, and let's be real, another PoC on an all-too white bread list).
Zatanna (representing magic)
Green Arrow (pulp/folklore sensibilities, and can I get Canary in a 2-for-1 deal? )
Harley Quinn (representing the anti-heroes)
Shazam (representing the other companies DC has absorbed).

I think that does about as good a job as you're gonna get (from me anyway!) for a list that combines "big" names with a wide spread representing a large portion of the DCU.

My apologies to Martian Manhunter (who represents a League that's already heavily represented here) and Black Lightning (who should be on this list but has never been as big as he should be).

[daBronzeBomma]

1. Superman
2. Batman
3. Wonder Woman

4. Green Lantern
5. The Flash
6. Aquaman

7. Shazam
8. Green Arrow
9. Martian Manhunter

10. Hawkman
11. Zatanna
12. Cyborg

[My Two Cents]

1 Wonder Woman *** Superman
2 Black Canary *** Batman
3 Zatanna*** Flash
4 Huntress*** Green Lantern
5 Hawk Girl*** Martian Manhunter
6 Power Girl *** Negative Man
7 Mary Marvel*** Robot Man
8 Catwoman*** Nightwing
9 Batgirl *** Spectre
10 Elasti Girl*** Aquaman
11 Mera *** Swamp Thing
12 Harley Quinn*** Green Arrow

[a moment closer]

Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman
Nightwing
Martian Manhunter
Flash
Green Lantern
Aquaman
Hawkman/Hawkwoman
Swamp Thing
Dr Fate
Black Canary

[Adekis]

Childhood "Big 12" pantheon:
The Twins count as one, as do the Hawks as they always showed up and worked as a pair.

I keep trying to come up with a list that isn't just "not all white men and a couple women," but truly ethnically diverse. It's giving me trouble! Most non-white DC heroes are black. Maybe just tapping into the Super-Friends is the right idea. After all, it worked for Young Justice Invasion and their team on runaway metahuman Reach victims, making them lawyer friendly versions of El Dorado, Apache Chief and Samurai, with Static tossed in to replace Black Vulcan. At the same time, that doesn't really satisfy me either, as none of those Super-Friends actually have a big role, if any at all, in DC's history! Yet isn't it annoying to make a list representing DC's history that's 9/12 able-bodied straight cis white folks? But maybe that's just the reality of the DC world. It might get to be less so as the world moves further into the future, but right now DC's history realistically is probably even whiter than that. Whitewashing those numbers (er, so to speak) isn't a great choice either, in effect lying about the DCU's number of non-white characters to make the DCU's history seem more diverse than it is. And that's not even starting to get into the relative lack of non-straight characters or the almost total absence of trans characters! Or at least arguably straight and arguable cis characters. I've seen some great headcanons!

Anyway, I guess I'll start with the gimmes and try my best to include a few disabled and non-white characters as I go along if possible.

1. Superman

2. Wonder Woman and make her look like the Israeli Gadot

3. Batman, who I considered cutting but decided it wouldn't "define DC" without him

4. Robin the Boy Wonder

5. Green Lantern John Stewart

6. Aquaman but make him look like the Hawaiian Momoa

7. Cyborg

8. Captain Marvel, Jr. (Sorry Billy!)

9. Oracle

See, I'm already at nine, with only two historically non-white characters, both black, only two disabled characters, and only one definitively-not-straight-in-a-real-comic character! And no Flashes and only one Robin!

Screw it, my last three are

10. Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes, who despite his relatively short character history is still very well exposed,

11. Martian Manhunter, who is no human race and arguably no human sexuality, and who has been portrayed as genderfluid on at least a few occasions, and besides I just love him.

And finally,

12. Bunker. Yeah, you heard me. From Lobdell's Teen Titans run that most people didn't like. He's Mexican, he's gay, and he's proud of it. He definitely hasn't earned his place on this list, but I'm hoping he gets enough exposure and sticks around long enough that he starts to, as Cyborg and Blue Beetle did.

Nobody is on this list solely because of their diversity cred, though a few got left off because they weren't diverse enough, and even more got left off in spite of it. Could've gone for John Constantine for example, but I wasn't about to leave off, say, Batman. And no matter how I slice it, I just couldn't justify including the Japanese Dr. Light, or my boy Brainiac Five.

[Stromberg]

Isn't Harley Quinn still a villain?

More an anti-hero, but if I were to remove her I would probably use Dick Grayson. I didn't include any characters like Supergirl or Batgirl that are just female counterparts of male characters. IMO, by the definition of "define", the characters they were ripped off of would be the ones "defining" the female ripoffs would be the result unless they surpassed the original in popularity and influence...as in the case of (arguably) Harley being a female counterpart of The Joker.

[Mutant God]

Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman
Shazam
Dr. Fate
Flash
Green Lantern
Aquaman
Green Arrow
Black Lightning
Zatanna
Static or Blue Beetle