The Justice League is widely known as the greatest superhero team of all time, with a stellar roster of DC Comics’ mightiest heroes. The League’s popularity, along with its 1960 debut, ensured that almost every other comic company looked to it for inspiration when developing its own teams. Across Marvel, Image, Dynamite, and other companies, there’s a plethora of Justice League analogs and homages. Such copycat superhero teams have rosters that mirror the League in aesthetics, costumes, and powers. These copycats often use simulations of the Justice League’s iconic team to tell stories that either deconstruct or celebrate the entire superhero genre.
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When a superhero reaches a certain level of popularity, rival companies often make their own pastiches to ride on their coattails. These superhero teams outside DC Comics are reflections, often dark reflections, of the Justice League.
5) The Union
In Image Comics’ Jupiter’s Legacy, the Union was the paragon of the Golden Age of heroes. Like the Justice League, the Union followed a strict moral code. It used its powers to help people without resorting to killing. Most of the team’s roster had costumes and/or abilities reminiscent of those of the League. The Union’s leader and most powerful member, the Utopian, had powers very similar to Superman’s. Additionally, the brooding Skyfox imitated Batman; Wonder Woman inspired the mighty Lady Liberty; the super-fast Flare was based on the Flash; and the energy-manipulating Blue Bolt is an ersatz of Green Lantern. The only fully original member of the Union was Brainwave, who ultimately became the team’s downfall. With his vast psychic and telepathic powers along with an army of evil next-generation heroes, Brainwave massacred the rest of the Union and took over the world. Luckily, Utopian and Liberty’s daughter, Chloe, along with Skyfox’s son, Hutch, managed to defeat Brainwave and reform the Union.
4) The Authority
The Authority may now be an official part of the DC Universe, but they started as a twisted anti-hero version of the Justice League from Image Comics’ WildStorm Universe. Instead of simply fighting crime, the Authority believe the only way to truly make the world a better place is to deal with threats preemptively. This mindset has led the Authority to slaughtering criminals without a care about collateral damage and imposing their will upon world governments. Led by the electrokinetic Jenny Sparks, most of the Authority’s roster aren’t exact counterparts to Justice League members. However, the two major exceptions are Apollo and Midnighter. Apollo is solar-powered with god-like abilities and is an obvious parody of Superman. Similarly, Midnighter’s dark aesthetic and martial arts skills are meant to reflect Batman. But like the rest of the Authority, Apollo and Midnighter are utterly ruthless and will kill criminals on sight. The Authority explores what would happen if god-like heroes had no morals and believed that the ends justify the means.
3) Guardians of the Globe
Image Comics’ Invincible series is full of copycat characters who are based on the most iconic heroes and villains of DC and Marvel Comics. And in this universe, the premier superhero team is the Guardians of the Globe. The original team consisted of Darwing, War Woman, Red Rush, Green Ghost, Martian Man, and Aquarius. These heroes’ names, costumes, and abilities were obvious pastiches of League members Batman, Wonder Woman, Red Rush, Green Ghost, Martian Man, and Aquarius. The only exception was their leader, the super-strong Immortal. Instead of being based on a Justice League member, the Immortal was actually inspired by one of their archenemies: the unkillable conqueror Vandal Savage. Unfortunately, aside from the Immortal, the rest of the original Guardians were slaughtered by the Invincible Universe’s Superman-homage character, Omni-Man. Their deaths paved the way for the Viltrumite Empire’s invasion. Since then, the members of the Guardians of the Globe have become far more distinct and can stand out on their own.
2) The Seven
The Justice League is arguably the most popular superhero team in comics, which made them prime targets for Dynamite Entertainment’s The Boys satire series. In a world where superheroes, or “Supes,” are created by the megacorporation Vought, the company’s shining mascots are the Seven. However, every good deed that was supposedly done by the Seven was, in fact, a product of Vought’s marketing team. In reality, the Seven are vile villains who use their powers to fulfill their most twisted desires with no regard for human life. Homelander is a psychopathic man-child Superman; Black Noir is a murderous Batman; Queen Maeve is an alcoholic Wonder Woman; A-Train is a drug-addicted Flash; Lamplighter is a child-killing Green Lantern; the Deep is a dysfunctional Aquaman; and Jack from Jupiter is a hedonistic Martian Manhunter. Starlight is the only true hero in the Seven. But aside from her, the Seven are certifiable monsters who serve as the central villains of The Boys.
1) Squadron Supreme
Marvel Comics is no stranger to copying its biggest rival when it comes to new characters.So when Marvel sought to make a pastiche of the Justice League, the Squadron Supreme was the result. Over the years, Marvel has introduced numerous different versions of Squadron Supreme across the multiverse, ranging from villains to heroes. However, most of the time the Squadron is portrayed as a well-meaning group of heroes whose desire to protect their world leads them to become authoritarian rulers. Yet no matter the universe, the Squadron is always presented as a clear homage to the Justice League. The Squadron’s most consistent members are Hyperion, Nighthawk, Power Princess, Whizzer, Doctor Spectrum, Amphibian, and Skymax. Naturally, these heroes mirror the League’s roster of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter. And because of their frequent moral failings, whenever the Squadron Supreme crossover with the Avengers, they battle each other. The Squadron Supreme prove that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
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