The list of superhero teams is very long, especially since it starts in 1934 with DC Comics and continued to grow when Marvel Comics joined the fun in 1939, and then with new additions coming along in the form of Dark Horse, Valiant, and Image to name a few. However, the debate that’s raging is keeping it simple between what seems to be the top three: Avengers, X-Men, or Justice League.
Masters of the Universe, Fantastic Four, and even The Boys could have technically been invited to the discussion if anyone wanted to nominate them. It just seems that human psychology dictates what is currently or most recently on a person’s mind is what they’ll bring to the discussion. With Marvel and DC feverishly building their live-action stories that are centered around the Avengers and the Justice League respectively, while an X-Men reboot remains in the works, the heavy hitters remain front and center.
To think of an iconic team, it has to really be embedded into the memory of the fan. Growing up, reading the comic books, watching the shows, and catching the movies, who was it that made the biggest splash in the industry?
First off, it’s only right to give love to Alex Ross for his legendary artwork in the industry.
The fact that the Justice League has been copied and rebranded as other superhero teams in different forms plays a big role in the discussion.
Other fans agree with that assessment and look, F4 did make it into the conversation, ahead of the Avengers by the way.
Why do the Avengers rank so low with some fans despite the momentum they have these days in the movie theaters?
This doesn’t just explain growing up in the 90s. It was the 70s and the 80s as well. Adventures of Superman with George Reeves was a television series in the 50s that was rerun in the 70s. Batman with Adam West came out in 1966 and lasted three seasons, then it was rerun in the 70s. Where was Marvel back then?
And when it’s put like this, it makes too much sense.
Justice League wins overwhelmingly as the OP predicted, but the Avengers are the superheroes of today because there just seems to be more energy being put into bringing that storyline to life. Will James Gunn be able to flip the script on that? Only time will tell.