This week sees the rerelease of Thunderbolts*, Marvel’s latest team of superheroes. But they’re far from the first. So we’re discussing some of our own favorite superhero teams! Let us know your favorite @SiftPop!
The Brotherhood of Mutants is one of the most complex teams in the X-Men universe, a stark contrast between ideology and action. The group serves as a total opposite to the X-Men, representing the struggle for mutant rights and the darker side of mutantkind. Founded by Magneto, the Brotherhood sought to establish mutant superiority. Of course, they found themselves clashing with the X-Men. Although the X-Men advocate for a more equal and peaceful coexistence with humans, the Brotherhood seeks more militant ways to achieve their goals. This alone makes the group a formidable opposite of the X-Men, and an often misunderstood faction in the ongoing battle for mutant rights. The Brotherhood’s motives, shaped by past trauma, injustice, and a desire to be accepted for who they are, make them more than just mere antagonists. They are radical symbol of resistance, fighting against prejudice, oppression, discrimination, and hatred. The group has gone through several transformations throughout the years, sometimes forming alliances with goals resembling the X-Men. What makes the Brotherhood so intriguing is their different approaches to mutant rights compared to the X-Men. The interplay between both groups highlights the complexity of fighting for civil rights. Both groups do a good job of highlighting the changing landscape of identity, ideology, and conflict. (Christian Grullon)
Bias up front: Green Lantern is my favorite comic book superhero of all time. This character is the embodiment of creativity, gifted with the ultimate weapon in the DC Universe — a ring that can turn your thoughts and imagination into material matter. But the lore of Green Lantern expands far beyond there simply being a Green Lantern. Why is this? Because Green Lantern is not a moniker owned by one individual. There’s only (traditionally) one Batman, one Superman, and one Wonder Woman. Whereas there are thousands of Green Lanterns. They come together to form the Green Lantern Corps, a peace-keeping galactic force that patrols solar systems throughout the universe. It makes for one of the most unique concepts in comics, and it’s a ton of fun. It offers a diverse landscape of different aliens, races, and character archetypes to tell compelling and unique stories. You can do a hardcore action romp, a gritty detective noir-style mystery, a compelling character drama, and so much more. That’s where the GL Corps thrives. Whether it’s the Green Lanterns of Earth that most are familiar with, or some of the extraterrestrials that come from the deepest and darkest corners of the galaxy, this is a massive team that keeps the comic book landscape fun and exciting. (Heath Lynch)
Jules Verne. Bram Stoker. H.G. Wells. Taking the creations of all these legendary authors and weaving them together is quite an exciting prospect. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen might not be a flawless film, but it has plenty of fun and exciting elements. For one, the actual team is one of the biggest selling points. Things can go a long way when you have a screen legend like Sean Connery as H. Rider Haggard’s Allan Quatermain. Connery’s presence is palpable and poignant. Peta Wilson is seductive and powerful as Stoker’s Mina Harker. One of the more unique castings was Naseeruddin Shah as Verne’s Captain Nemo. This Indian tinge to the character, and the Nautilus’ unique sword design, are both big wins for the film. Tony Curran makes for a snarky and funny version of Wells’ Invisible Man. The unique adaptation of Dr Jekyll/Mr. Hyde as a “Incredible Hulk” version is fresh and Jason Flemying makes for a strong addition to the cast. There are clunky elements, aged special effects, and a few miscasting, but this team still makes for a fun ride for sure. (Shane Conto)
The list of Marvel team-ups is almost as long as the list of any universe’s individual heroes, and they all have their parts to play, from the Young Avengers’ babyfaces, to the Dark Avengers’ mirror images of the classic heroes. Marvel’s Midnight Suns brings the universe’s more occult heroes together to do battle against that very same occult, mostly represented by their arch enemy Lilith, the Mother of Demons. The team includes Magik, Blade, Moon Knight, Doctor Strange, the Scarlet Witch, Ghost Rider, and Nico Minoru and her Staff of One for a who’s who of truly broody goody-goodies. Specifically, the video game version of this team plays host to several of the X-Men and Avengers for some good old inter-team conflicts over the course of the story, while the imminent threat of Lilith and her demonspawn looms over the globe. It’s a globetrotting quest to contain the darker evils of the world, and while the game leaves a lot of room for levity (movie nights and book clubs and poolside picnics, oh my!), its more gloomy themes loom large over its members in a way that makes for great comic book angst. (Chris Bakker)
To know me is to know I love the CW series Arrow. So when presented with a Best Superhero Team list, I had to talk about Original Team Arrow. OTA consisted of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), John Diggle/Spartan (David Ramsey), and Felicity Smoak/Overwatch (Emily Bett Rickards). Team Arrow does pick up other members later on, but Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity are pretty much always involved. The chemistry these three have makes the show work. Green Arrow never had a consistent team in the comics (he had Speedy/Red Arrow, who we do see in the show, but not consistently), so it was extra special to see him have one here. Oliver and Diggle always worked as brothers, and you can see that in Ramsey and Amell together, and Amell and Rickards have such good chemistry. OTA flowed together, working to keep Starling City/Star City safe from countless villains. The writers kept changing or shifting the team, but they were their best when it was just OTA. (Austen Terry)
How could we make a list of our favorite comic book teams without including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Keven Eastman and Peter Laird’s fearsome foursome came to life on the big screen in 1990, following three years of dominating afternoon TV viewing with their inaugural animated iterations, to the delight of children and comic book fans alike. Thanks to the work of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop puppeteers, and a team of talented voice and suit actors, the terrapin teens were brought to life in a way that was faithful to the source material, while still appealing to a wide audience. With the overall look of the film being much grittier and true to the comic origins, it’s fun to see the turtles follow suit. Leonardo (Brian Tochi voice/David Forman in-suit performer) is portrayed as mature, and feeling the weight of responsibility to lead the group, while Rapheal (Josh Pais voice and in-suit performer) is a more brooding loner conflicted by his sense of responsibility to fight the foot clan, but maintain the secrecy of the turtles’ existence. We get a similarly fun-loving, immature nunchuck-wielding Michelangelo (Robbie Rist voice/Michelan Sisti in-suit performer) to the animated series, who together with the equally silly science-loving Donatello (Corey Feldman voice/Leif Tilden in-suit performer), provides most of the comic relief of the film. Though they have gone on to be featured in numerous films and series since, 1990’s live action movie set the standard as the best comic interpretation of the heroes in a half shell. (Patrice Downing)
The Teen Titans come in all shapes and sizes (sometimes literally). Each iteration has had their moments, and while from a more serious angle the “Young Justice” version is probably the unequivocal best version, my favorite are the Teen Titans Go! They are parody in its purest form. We’ve had many versions of the Titans over the years; in fact, there has been a live action and serious animated version of this team in the same time frame that TTG has been on the air, giving them the ability to poke fun at all their own iterations in the moment too. But nothing has better shown the dynamic of this team than the movie Teen Titans Go! Vs. Teen Titans, a multiversal tale that pits the 2003 animated team against the Go! team. Both groups get to break the fourth wall, look directly at the audience, and show off why they are important entries in the DC universe. The Teen Titans Go! may be the doofus versions of the Titans, but they also are the team with the most heart, despite being a parodical mess. They weave music and fantasy into their show as a unique offering no other DC show has, and they get to play with the format of animation as well. This team may not consistently save the day, but they do save room for dessert. And waffles! (Nick Ferro)
For decades, the X-Men have been protecting humanity, despite the prejudice and hatred that is shown to them so often. They’ve had a lot of iterations in TV and film, but the definitive version comes from X-Men ‘97. As a continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series, the Disney+ show does an amazing job of expanding the lore, while staying true to the original show. Not only does it get the conflict between humans and mutants correct — it also gets the internal strife between mutants. The philosophical differences between Scott Summers and Magneto drives the story forward. The team is fractured at times, but that’s a natural part of growing. X-Men ‘97 is the best representation of the X-Men in a world where everything in the world can go in so many different directions. (Mike Hilty)