Over the years, the Justice League has recruited many different superheroes to combat evil. But since these great defenders rarely fight amongst themselves, it is difficult to determine the League’s hierarchy of power, especially since many of them are very much gods amongst humans. Nevertheless, the list below ranks the strength of the top 10 members of the Justice League.
10. Batman
Though Batman is one of the leaders of the Justice League, Batman isn’t technically a superhero since he lacks special powers. Nevertheless, he is still one of the smartest and most skilled combatants on Earth. And with his seemingly endless amount of money and resources at his disposal, Batman can build weapons, armor, and vehicles that allow him to take on a myriad of superpowered foes, including Superman, who has starred in many memorable movies over the years.
For instance, in the comics, Batman created a contingency plan to defeat every member of the Justice League in case they ever turn against humanity, and he managed to subdue the League when the Joker brainwashed them into fighting him. This shows that when Batman has the time and the tools, there’s no one he can’t beat.
9. Cyborg
Though Cyborg started out as a member of the Teen Titans, he has since been known as one of the founding members of the Justice League, and why not? Having been fused with technology from the alien world, Apokolips, Cyborg has powers that rival those of the New Gods. He has been depicted with the ability to fly, fire a plasma cannon, generate extra limbs, and summon Boom Tubes to travel across dimensions.
He can also hack into any computer system on Earth, so he could even launch the planet’s nuclear arsenal and destroy everything if he wanted to. But the greatest thing about Cyborg is that he is constantly changing, allowing him to gain new abilities and become more powerful with each passing moment.
8. The Flash
The Flash can harness the power of the Speed Force to run at super-fast speeds, heal quickly, summon lightning bolts, create tornadoes with his arms, and vibrate his way through solid matter. He can even use this cosmic energy to run back and forth through time, travel to other universes, and outrun Death itself.
As a result, there have been times when the Flash altered the fabric of reality by changing the past and creating drastically different timelines. While the Fastest Man Alive isn’t powerful in terms of physical strength, his powers as a Speedster still make him one of the most influential forces in the DC multiverse.
7. Aquaman
Despite what many people believed in decades past, Aquaman is no joke. As an Atlantean, Arthur Curry possesses super strength and durability and can swim astonishingly fast and communicate with aquatic creatures.
With his enchanted trident, Aquaman’s powers are enhanced to the point that he can control every beast in the ocean and make them part of his undersea army. He can even use it to generate waves of energy and control water, making him the undisputed King of the Seven Seas.
6. Green Lantern
Many have served as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, but Lanterns like Hal Jordan and John Stewart have acted as leading members of the Justice League over the years. While wearing their Power Rings, each Green Lantern can summon “constructs” of anything they set their mind to, based on their strength of will.
Hal Jordan was also able to emit kryptonite radiation with his ring, showing that they could go up against Superman himself. The Lanterns can even travel across the universe at incredible speeds and survive in any environment, making them one of the strongest protectors of the cosmos.
5. Wonder Woman
Who will be the next Wonder Woman? No one knows. But what we do know is that Diana is immensely powerful. As the daughter of the Greek God Zeus, this immortal Amazon grew up to be one of the most formidable fighters on Earth. Not only can she fly, run super fast, and lift colossal objects, but she can also control anyone caught in her Lasso of Truth and generate a massive shockwave with her bulletproof Bracelets of Submission. She even takes after her father with her ability to control lightning.
Though Wonder Woman is already incredibly powerful, it was recently revealed in the comics that her bracelets are meant to contain her divine powers and keep them under control. Removing them would give her an incredible boost of power, which once allowed her to defeat the Goddess Artemis.
4. Doctor Fate
Thanks to Black Adam, many audiences may now associate Doctor Fate with the Justice Society of America, but he has repeatedly served as a member of the Justice League in the comics. Having been granted divine power from the Lord of Order Nabu through the Helmet of Fate, Kent Nelson stands as one of the greatest sorcerers in the DC Universe.
Doctor Fate’s helmet grants him access to superhuman strength and durability, telepathy, telekinesis, and interdimensional travel. He can also shoot bolts of eldritch lightning, create force fields and other magical constructs, cast illusions, project his astral form, see the future, and even resurrect the dead. With so many magical powers at his disposal, Doctor Fate has rivaled the likes of Superman, Black Adam, and even the nigh-omnipotent Spectre, making him a magician who can make almost any foe disappear.
3. Martian Manhunter
As the name implies, J’onn J’onzz is an alien hailing from the planet Mars who came to Earth and became a crimefighter while assuming a human identity. The Martian Manhunter’s strength is on a whole other level, as he was able to knock Shazam out cold, move the Earth out of its orbit with Superman and Wonder Woman, and destroy the Moon. Even Superman himself has stated in JLA (1997) #86 that J’onzz is the most powerful being on Earth.
Aside from incredible strength, Martian Manhunter’s powers include telepathy, flight, shapeshifting, telekinesis, phasing through solid objects, regeneration, and invisibility. However, while J’onzz has a wide variety of superpowers and is more than a match for Superman, like the Man of Steel, he also does have a strong weakness to a specific element: fire.
2. Shazam
After being empowered by the wizard Shazam, Billy Batson was able to reach his full potential by saying his name and transforming into a champion of the gods. With the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury, Shazam ranks amongst the most powerful superbeings in the universe.
The only thing that can harm Shazam’s magical body is magic, and Black Adam recently established the element Eternium as his version of Kryptonite (at least in the DCU). However, he is also held back by the fact that he is still just a child, with his naivety and inexperience being exploited by many adversaries over the years.
1. Superman
Everyone saw this coming, right? Harnessing the power of Earth’s yellow sun, Superman is nigh-unstoppable on his adoptive planet. He can fly, lift heavy objects, use heat vision, move extraordinarily fast, and freeze objects with his breath. He has even displayed the ability to release heat energy from all over his body in a gigantic solar flare. On top of that, his body is durable to the point that not even a nuclear bomb can kill him.
All these powers have allowed him to go toe-to-toe with ultra-powerful Superman villains like Darkseid, General Zod, Brainiac, Black Adam, and Doomsday. While Superman’s greatest weakness is Kryptonite, he is also susceptible to magical spells and weapons, making him vulnerable to the powers of beings like Shazam and Doctor Fate. Nevertheless, these weaknesses are difficult to come by, and Superman’s seemingly boundless physical strength and years of experience hands-down make him the strongest member of the Justice League.
