12 Heroes That Define DC Comics

[Jon Clark]

Batman (larger and at center)
Robin
Nightwing
Superman
Wonder Woman
Aquaman (movie version)
Green Arrow (TV version)
Flash
Swamp Thing
Cliff Steele
Cyborg (Titans Go version)
Kilowog or Tomar Re (alien with familiar green lantern design)

[j9ac9k]

I tried to work in some breadth to show the range of DCU, so...
1 - Superman
2 - Batman
3 - GL (Hal)
4 - Wonder Woman
5 - Flash
6 - Aquaman (I might not have put him here if not for the movie)
7 - Cyborg - he's JLA, Teen Titans, and now Doom Patrol! He gets props
8 - Constantine - represents magic in the DCU and the bridge to the Vertigo side of the DCU too
9 - Saturn Girl - One of the Legion founders, being in DClock gives her a leg up on the other two founders so she's my pick to rep the LSH
10 - Harley Quinn - anti-hero at best, she's popular and is here mostly to represent a contemporary figure
11 - Orion - a bit of a toss-up between him and Mister Miracle to represent the 4th World, but I like Orion more.
12 - Shazam!

[DrNewGod]

1. Superman
2. Batman (Those first two are really rather the bookends of the entire genre)
3. Wonder Woman (quite revolutionary for her time)
4. Robin (he doesn't rank higher for me because there have been so many of them)
5. Aquaman (he's never out of print very long, and has long surpassed his inspiration)
6. Green Arrow (probably not always this high, but very prominent recently)
7. Flash (see reasoning on Robin)
8. Green Lantern (see reasoning on Robin)
9. Black Lightning
10. Metamorpho (a reminder that DC is more than just the Justice League)
11. Jonah Hex (the biggest of DC's old western characters, and another reminder that DC is more than the Justice League)
12. The Phantom Stranger

The OP asked for Heroes, but there are at least four noteworthy supporting character honorable mentions:

• Alfred Penneyworth
• Lois Lane
• Commissioner Gordon
• Steve Trevor

Also just occurred to me in proof reading that my top picks comprise The Superfriends. Not deliberate

[Güicho]

Let's say a poster is drawn or a mural that shows 12 DC Heroes (not villains, just heroes) that are meant to represent DC Comics, who would those heroes be?

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.

You said- "in effect lying about the DCU's number of non-white characters to make the DCU's history seem more diverse than it is. "

Is it lying?
Sometimes depends what you were exposed to first, as far as defining; Movies, TV, Animated series, arguably have the wider audience and defined it for more than just the comics. Super Friends at it's time is no more a "lie" than posters today choosing characters from Young Justice, JLU, or the TV WB Arrow verse, the Movies or other go to popular media representation today.
Which all help define and reach more people directly.
Just cause the comics failed, where the cartoons tried to make their world better reflect their audience, (it's no surprise both JLU and YJ created analogue versions of the more diverse Hanna Barbera created Super Friends characters)- https://community.cbr.com/showthread...=1#post3982943
Ultimately seems like many here (in choosing their defining 12) want to make DC seem more representative than it really has been.
Either choosing how they interpreted it, or what they want to see.
Doesn't make them a lie and the other the truth. It depends on how (and when) you discovered them ^ and what you chose to focus on.

[Shadowcat]

Are we going by most popular, or our own top 12?

Most popular 12

Superman
Wonder Woman
Batman
Green Lantern
Flash
Aquaman
Robin/Nightwing
Green Arrow
Black Canary
Hawkman/Hawkgirl
Catwoman
Supergirl

[WonderScott]

Here's my twelve who should define DC Comics, even if they don't right now.

1. Superman
2. Wonder Woman
3. Batman
4. Green Lantern
5. Flash
6. Aquaman
7. Black Canary
8. Vixen
9. Black Lightning
10. Hawkman and Hawkwoman
11. Robin
12. Zatanna

It's hard to leave off Atom, Green Arrow, and Martian Manhunter, but there you have it.

[Ultimate Rogue]

Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman
Green Lantern (all)
Aquaman (comic version)
Flash
Robin
Supergirl
Batgirl
Martian Manhunter
Lois Lane
Hawkman or Raven

[j9ac9k]

Are we going by most popular, or our own top 12?

FWIW, I took the OP's intent to emphasize the word "define" when it comes to the DCU. The characters who, when taken together, give you the breadth, depth and character of the DC Universe and what it means - what it's about. (whatever that means to each person) That is, regardless of how much one likes Green Lanterns, the GL mythology is something that would be difficult to leave out when discussing the DC Universe.

[Jackalope89]

Big 3 of;
Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman

After them;
Robin/Nightwing (the character was introduced about a year after Batman)
Green Arrow
Supergirl
Lois Lane/Alfred (both have made their homes)
Green Lantern (take your pick)
Flash
Aquaman
Zatanna

[BatmanJones]

In the purest spirit of "heroes," leaving out anti-heroes (Catwoman, Harley Quinn), heroic civilians (Lois Lane, Alfred, Jim Gordon), and direct derivatives (Batgirl, Supergirl, etc)...

I still have the Superfriends as the top 5...

1. Superman
2. Batman
3. Robin/Nightwing
4. Wonder Woman
5. Aquaman
6. Flash
7. Green Lantern
8. Green Arrow
9. Shazam
10. Cyborg
11. Plastic Man
12. Swamp Thing

[MrBlondey]

Are we going by most popular, or our own top 12?

Most popular 12

Superman
Wonder Woman
Batman
Green Lantern
Flash
Aquaman
Robin/Nightwing
Green Arrow
Black Canary
Hawkman/Hawkgirl
Catwoman
Supergirl

I think you nailed it the best, and I can't do 12, but seems like Shazam could be in there. I personally like Blue Beetle & Booster Gold, but at best they only define a narrow span of DC. Enemy Ace & Jonah Hex are great too, but do not define the brand.

[liwanag]

which heroes would i use to define dc comics? i'll try to reach 12.

1. superman. represents the highest, the noblest of the superhero genre.
2. batman.
3. green lantern. overcoming fear. represents the cosmic side of dc that rivals the lore of star wars and star trek.
4. flash
5. wonder woman. represents the greek myths of old.
6. aquaman
7. morpheus, the sandman.
8. green arrow. the guy who fights gods with arrows.
9. shazam. youthful innocence.
10. beetle and booster. the comedy side of dc.

hmmm... i seem to be missing 2. which i would probably give to teams instead.
11. the titans
12. the legion of superheroes

[Güicho]

Let's say a poster is drawn or a mural that shows 12 DC Heroes (not villains, just heroes) that are meant to represent DC Comics, who would those heroes be?

Came up in another thread if the poster aligned the classic original 12 founding Silver to Bronze-Age League, to the 12 ZODIAC signs channeling the "energies" and corresponding heavenly bodies:

1- Leo - Sun - Superman
2- Scorpio- Moon - Batman
3- Libra - Stars - Wonder Woman
4- Aries - Mars - Martian Manhunter
5- Pisces - Neptune - Aquaman
6- Sagittarius - Earth - Green Arrow
7- Virgo - Venus - Canary
8- Aquarius - Mercury - Flash
9- Cancer - Saturn(rings) - Green Lanterns
10 Taurus - Jupiter(the mighty Titan!) - Atom (ironically)
11- Gemini - Uranus - the pair: Hawkman & Woman
12- Capricorn - Pluto - Zatanna

13- Ophiuchus - Elongated-Man

[Sutekh]

I'd go with the Big Seven, Robin, Nightwing, Shazam, Zatanna (or Dr. Fate), and Green Arrow.

For the seventh of the 'big seven,' would you go with Martian Manhunter or Cyborg? And by Robin, Tim or Damian?

(Otherwise, I pretty much agree, with MM and Tim as my choices for the two options, although part of me wants a Hawkwoman in there. The wings just make for a great visual. Similarly, the Atom fits neatly on someone's shoulder. Similarly, Green Arrow and Black Canary have a pretty high profile lately, possibly more than Martian Manhunter or Robin... Agh! So many choices!)

It is funny that DC's big characters are all Justice League, for the most part. At that other company I'd be agonizing over Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men and even Heroes for Hire or Defenders, and more typical solo acts like Spider-Man, Hulk and Deadpool. Here it's pretty much the JLA and the occasional Titan. No Legion of Super-Heroes or Outsiders or Birds of Prey or JSA or whatever really have broken out to that level, it seems.

[Desmark]

12 teams that define DC
Justice League
Justice Society
Teen Titans
Doom Patrol
Green Lanterns Corps
New Gods
Challengers of the Unknown
Seven Soldiers
Freedom Fighters
Outsiders
Young Justice
Suicide Squad