Heroes teaming up is nothing new in comics, and DC is no exception to the rule. While there are some famous team-ups that are well-known to most comic book readers, there are also plenty of lesser-known pairs. These buddy-ups between DC heroes are either less known owing to the lack of popularity of the superheroes in question, or because fans have simply forgotten that these dynamic duos embarked on challenging adventures together.
Some of these heroes have even worked together as part of a larger group of heroes such as the Justice League, or Justice Society of America, but their individual escapades as a team of two superheroes have largely been ignored or lost to oblivion. These comprise the best team-ups between superheroes in the DC comics that very few fans know about.
Booster Gold And Batman
To even envisage the calm and calculated Batman teaming up with the loudmouth showboat Booster Gold is bizarre in itself. Although Bruce Wayne is not really fond of Michael J Carter’s glory-seeking antics, they have partnered on a number of occasions in the comics.
While the events of Batman #45 and #46 provide a disastrous twist to this partnership, they have also had fruitful collaborations. These include them teaming up during the Infinite Crisis storyline, during the reformation of the JLI following the events of Brightest Day, or when Booster Gold receives Batman’s support in becoming the leader of the JLI during The New 52.
Green Lantern And Flash
The bromance between Hal Jordan and Barry Allen is quite well-known, and while they are integral members of the JLA, future reboots can take some cues from the many adventures that the two of them have shared together. Meeting each other for the first time in 1960’s Brave and the Bold #28, the two had a proper team-up in 1962’s Green Lantern #13.
This was soon followed by Hal Jordan appearing in Flash’s comics in The Flash #131, fighting the Myrmitons together. While these adventures against Black Lanterns and Darkseid are fairly less known; readers would definitely appreciate Hal’s brash, yet courageous personality being perfectly balanced by Barry’s calculated and level-headed demeanor whenever the two get together.
Superman And The Zoo Crew
Apart from the many crazy crossovers that Superman has had, there also exist some strange team-ups with superheroes from the DC universe itself. Introduced to the DC universe in Teen Titans #16, The Zoo Crew, soon bagged their individual series in the year 1982.
Trying to figure out the cause behind the citizens of Metropolis behaving like animals, Superman ends up in an alternate Earth known as Earth C. Still searching for the source of the beam that caused the aforementioned aberrations; he teams up with The Zoo Crew, a group of anthropomorphic animal superheroes, to fight the villain Starro.
Black Lightning And Batman
Jefferson Michael Pierce, also known as Black Lightning has partnered with many members of the Justice League. However, he seems to share a special bond with Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, who has favored Black Lightning on multiple occasions.
Gelling with the Caped Crusader during a case involving student abductions, he was soon approached by Batman to join his team The Outsiders, after Batman had grown tired of the Justice League. He was again one of the top choices for Batman as a team member during the Infinite Crisis storyline.
Flash And Wonder Woman
Being important members of the Justice League, it is a given that The Flash and Wonder Woman has interacted with each other. However, known to very few fans is the fact that the Amazonian Princess and The Scarlett Speedster have also teamed up together to face various odds, just by themselves.
A hero who hugely respects Wonder Woman, The Flash has helped her out during events of Wonder Woman Vol 2 #78 and #79, defeating the assassin Mayfly in the process. The crossover event War of the Gods also saw The Flash feature in the 55th issue of The Flash Vol 2. Diana once again teamed up with The Flash (Wally West), to fight their arch enemies Zoom and Cheetah, during the two-part crossover Truth or Dare.
Superman And The Forgotten Heroes
A pairing between a team comprising of all those heroes who never made an impact during the Golden Age, and the one superhero in the DC universe that is known to everyone, Superman, is what happened during the events of Action Comics #545.
When the Forgotten Heroes, comprising of Cave Carson, Animal Man, Dolphin, Congorilla, Rick Flag, Dan Dorrance, and Rip Hunter came in contact with strange golden pyramids, they were contacted by the Immortal Man, who informed them that the pyramids were the creation of his evil-counterpart Vandal Savage. Heroes as they are, they embarked on a mission to stop Savage from wreaking havoc on the world, teaming up with the Man of Steel himself, Superman, in the process.
Black Lightning And Mister Terrific
Two Black superheroes, one with the power to manipulate electricity, and the other with genius-intellect and the ability to become invisible to all forms of technology; it is only fitting to see Jefferson Pierce and Michael Holt teaming up. While he had originally met Mister Terrific some years ago, it is not until the events of Infinite Crisis that Black Lightning shares a meaningful partnership with the ingenious inventor.
Part of Batman’s special team of eighth superheroes tasked with disrupting the OMACs by destroying the Brother Eye satellite, Black Lightning and Mister Terrific combined their abilities to launch an internal attack that defeated the nefarious AI.
Batman And John Constantine
Despite their differences, Batman and John Constantine have still shared some iconic moments, teaming up to fight against the villainous forces of evil. The most popular team-ups between the Caped Crusader and the Hellblazer in a trench coat have to be 2018’s Batman: Damned Vol 1, 2019’s limited-series DCeased, and 2012’s Justice League Dark.
Batman’s frustration with John’s British dark-humor and Constantine’s irritation with Bruce’s personality as Batman proves to be comedic interludes in fascinating stories that usually involve the weird and paranormal.
Superman and Nightwing
Hugely respected by Superman for his maturity when dealing with adverse situations as well as his growth as a person, Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing is amongst the few superheroes that the Man of Steel enjoys teaming up with- albeit he has specifically done so, only on few occasions.
What’s even more fascinating is the fact that the name Nightwing is actually that of a Kryptonian God, about which Dick Grayson learns in World’s Finest #143, when he and Batman visit Kandor and team up with the pre-Crisis Superman and Jimmy Olsen, disguised as Nightwing and Flamebird. In the post-Crisis universe, Kal-El had forgotten about Kandor and only recounts the Kryptonian legends of Nightwing to a young and impressionable Dick Grayson, who takes up the alias after giving up his mantle as Robin.
Green Arrow And Martian Manhunter
After the cameo appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, fan interest regarding the character of J'onn J'onnz has been reinvigorated. Amongst the trivia regarding Martian Manhunter known only to comic book fans is his old yet iconic partnership with another superhero from the Justice League- the Green Arrow. Originally intended to be a long-standing partnership like that of Superman and Batman, DC Comics introduced the world to the fascinating dynamic duo of Martian Manhunter and the Green Arrow in The Brave and the Bold #50.
The Emerald Archer and Jon Martian teamed up in this story to take down another Martian named Vulkor. The fact that this partnership was meant to feature in other stories as well can be understood through the hints that were dropped in the opening and subscription pages of #50, as well as, a passing reference about the team made in Justice League of America #24. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, DC comics never attempted to resurrect this team ever again.