Originally posted by spetznaz
I was about to do the same thing. How you put it is roughly how they are written, which is a darn shame (especially when it comes to MM).
As it should be (IMO) is as follows:
1) Green Lantern (most powerful weapon in the universe has to stand for something)
2) The Flash (he is NOT just a speedster. If you want a speedster head over to MU and look up Quicksilver. The Flash is more of a kinetic energy manipulator, able to do things such as stop the earth's rotation and make energy-field constructs out of the speedforce that look like GL creations. That is not speedster stuff but something that is much much more).
3) Martian Manhunter (many reasons why he is here, and in many ways a more versatile, more scheming, and more lethal version of Superman. Different writers have written him differently, but at his prime he is far more dangerous than Superman in many ways. There is a reason he is referred to as the most powerful being on Earth).
4) Superman (the prime superhero. His only real weaknesses are magic, which is actually more of a vulnerability than a real weakness, and Kryptonite. He can take out most characters before they could ever use any of the above, and kryptonite is not THAT effective by the way. He wore a kryptonite ring when fighting Supergirl, which makes one wonder just how effective big-K is if he can pop it in his finger like it was a candy-ring! Superman is a beast .....and even in his depowered state he is still very intelligent ....based on the stuff he has in the Fortress of Solitude he is clearly genius, he has a superior set of sensory perceptions, and in terms of offensive capability he has a myriad ways of taking someone down. Speed, strength, heat, cold, force, wind, sound, vacuum. Name it he can do it. The only character more versatile is the Martian Manhunter, who has all of the above PLUS telepathic attacks, shapeshifting attacks, and phase attacks. However you look at it Superman is a supreme beast. And woe if his writers decide to take him to the 'next level' .....eg a sun-dipped Superman, or any of the more powerful versions of Superman, can easily move up this list to the very top. Also consider that Superman's greatest weakness, at least according to Batman, is that he is a 'good guy.' That is actually the main thing keeping Superman at number 4 ......the fact that he is a boy scout. If he let lose, and acted in anger, using all his potential .....let me just say that the number of characters that would be truly safe would be few and far between).
5) Wonderwoman (the princess of power. Blessed by the gods with supreme strength ....in essence you fight her you are literally fighting the Earth, with speed ......race her you are racing a character with the speed of a god, and a whole spectrum of other abilities. For example telepathy with animals. Probably the most dangerous thing about WW is how she brings everything together into a cohesive whole .....for instance she is quite possibly the very best fighter in DC earth. Due to a time loop she has around a 1,000 years fighting experience. Now, add this to her superior strength and frenetic speed, plus her battle-tactician's mind, and you have someone who can stand up to Superman if he doesn't stay on his toes. And if need be she is not afraid to kill. Martian Manhunter may be the most dangerous person in the JLA, but I'd personally not want WW to be coming after me in rage. The chances of surviving that are nigh nil)
6) Aquaman (the 'poor man' in the JLA. This guy is straight up disrespected! The reason is virtually everyone else in the JLA is stronger/faster/better than he is, yet looked at objectively Aquaman is a beast as well. He is extremely strong with feats that easily put him, if I use Marvel's strength ratings for a DC character, at Class 100. Easily. When he lifted that city block for example he was lifting quite easily over a million tons. The problem is other characters in the JLA are stronger than he is. He is also extremely fast, but his speed seems like sloth to people like the Flash, Superman, WW and MM. Even GreenLanterns can use their rings to travel exceedingly fast. He is a great fighter, but then there is WonderWoman. He has amazing telepathy, and can use it to great effect offensively .....but his telepathy is like child's play compared to Martian Manhunter. He has a degree of invulnerability, but compared to Superman's what is that! That is the dilemma facing Aquaman .....he is a really great and powerful character, but he is surrounded by characters that may as well be a pantheon of gods! Anyways, objectively viewed Aquaman is really powerful. He also has no qualms about 'permanently silencing' opponents)
7) Batman (he has many attributes, but he has to take this position. Not out of his own weakness per se, but because the other members of this team are simply godlike. However Batman is in many ways the perfect superhero. Superman may be the prime superhero, but Batman best exemplifies what it means to be a superhero. After all he is simply a man. An intelligent highly capable and insanely trained man, but still a man. He has no supersoldier serum, no irradiated body, no Wakandan heart herb, no power ring, no radar sense, no helm of Nabu, no speedforce imbuement .....just him and all him. In many ways he is more of a 'superman' than Superman. Actually Batman should be called Superman, because he best exemplifies what it is to be a real superman. A man who molds himself to such an extent that he is beyond mortal men. In simple terms a veritable 'ubersmench' ....Superman. Kal-El has nothing on Bruce Wayne when it comes to that name since for Kal-El it is just a name he was given, but for Bruce it is a title he has earned. HE may not be Superman, but he is one of the few super men in comics .....another super man is Mr Terrific for example.)
What he said.
