Since its inception in 1935, DC Comics has become one of the biggest and most successful comic book publishers in the world. The comic book titan has created some of the world's most iconic and popular superheroes, such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and many others.
But there are also dozens, if not hundreds, of DC superheroes that the average comic book fan doesn't even know exist. Their stories and colored panels are a blip in DC's 89 years of business, a forgotten piece of the company's history.
Many of these characters are zany creations that never had a chance at gaining momentum. Others are interesting characters with legitimate potential, but for whatever reason, they never quite took off. Here are ten of the many, many DC Comics superheroes that you've probably never heard of.
10 Hot Spot
Fans of the animated series Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go! might recognize Hot Spot. Part-alien, part-human, he's a former member of the teenage superhero group, the Teen Titans. At first, Hot Spot could only sense heat, similar to infrared vision, and increase the temperature of any object he touched. Not exactly the most exciting superpowers.
Hot Spot's abilities have thankfully evolved over the years to make him a more interesting character. Now he can fly and engulf himself in flames. Since his debut in 1996, Hot Spot has appeared sporadically in comic book storylines, though he's hardly been a major player. His most notable appearances are in the aforementioned Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!, where he played a minor role.
20 Greatest Superhero Arch Enemies of All Time
Every great hero needs the perfect villain to balance things out. These are the greatest superhero arch enemies ever created.9 Tommy Tomorrow
Tommy Tomorrow is a science fiction superhero, whose comic book history goes way back -- all the way to 1947. After graduating in the distant year of 1988, Tommy Tomorrow became a Colonel in the Planeteers, a police force in the 21st century. His tales were meant to be futuristic imaginings of space travel. He's assigned missions that send him into space, where he explores various planets and fights different alien life forms.
Tommy Tomorrow doesn't have any superhuman abilities. Rather, he was meant to be a "future everyman", just your Average Joe taking on space missions. The character has appeared sporadically over the years, though both DC and their audience have largely forgotten about his existence. His most recent appearance was a non-speaking cameo in the animated television series, Harley Quinn.
8 Jet
Fans of the animated television series Young Justice might recognize Jet, a superhero that debuted in 1988. She has the ability to control electromagnetic energy, such as firing blasts of electricity, generating electromagnetic pulses, moving and manipulating metal with magnetic fields, and using Earth's electromagnetic field to fly. Her hair resembles green flames whenever she uses her abilities, even though she doesn't possess any fire-related powers.
Jet was given her superhuman abilities by the Guardians of the Universe, a race of extraterrestrials who founded the Green Lantern Corps and are known as the oldest living beings in the DC Universe.
The Guardians foresaw that their successors, a race of new Guardians, would originate on Earth. So they gathered ten individuals, taught them about the universe, and gifted them with immortality and superhuman powers. Celia Windward, a young Jamaican woman living in Great Britain, was one of those ten people.
Donning her new alias, Jet joined this superhero team and became a member of the New Guardians. One of the most pivotal and unique moments in her biography is when she contracted HIV while fighting the Hemo-Goblin.
As the virus developed into AIDS, Jet sacrificed herself by expending all her energy to thwart an alien invasion. A 2006 comic book arc confirmed that she was still alive, though she hasn't done much since. Jet played a minor role in the animated television series Young Justice.
7 Triumph
Based on DC's Director of Creative Services Neal Pozner, Triumphis a superhero who debuted in 1994. The son of a low-ranking henchman for supervillains, Triumph was determined to become one of Earth's greatest superheroes. He has the ability to control electromagnetism, which includes projecting powerful electrical blasts, creating force fields, hearing TV and radio signals, and decoding satellite transmissions.
He also possesses superhuman strength and speed and near invulnerability. Interestingly, he's been able to hold his own in a fight against DC's most iconic hero Superman, arrogantly remarking, "I'm as strong as you, I'm as fast as you, I have powers you don't even have names for..." Superman himself even admits that Triumph could kill him by cutting off the solar energy in his body.
Triumph's arrogance and self-righteousness caused many DC fans to dislike him. DC editors humorously played into this by having other superheroes dislike the character as well. Triumph was actually a founding member of the Justice League and even served as their leader -- until he was teleported into a dimensional limbo, resulting in everyone losing their memories of him, including his superhero allies.
Because of this, Triumph felt that he was denied his destiny to become Earth's greatest superhero and transitioned into a more villainous character. He was eventually transformed into an ice statue and stored away in the Justice League Watchtower, labeled "Founding Member of the J.L.A.".
Triumph is so obscure that writer Grant Morrison literally forgot that the character's frozen self was in the Watchtower when the building was destroyed, unintentionally killing off the character. The character later returned in the 2009 comic book arc, Trinity -- only to be killed off a second time.
6 Kid Eternity
Kid Eternity is one of the more unique superheroes on this list. Known at first only as "The Kid", this nameless character was killed during World War II. But because of a supernatural mix-up, he was accidentally killed 75 years too early. The Kid was revived for another 75 years and endowed with the power to summon any good historical or mythological figure or animal by saying the word "Eternity". This world also granted him the power of invisibility.
Kid Eternity actually didn't start out as a DC Comics character. He was a part of publisher Quality Comics until 1956, when all of Quality's intellectual properties were sold to its competitor, DC Comics. DC kept a number of Quality titles running.
Kid Eternity, however, was one of the series that got canceled. In the 1980s, DC took a look at its long list of canceled superheroes and, similar to this character's origin story, decided to bring Kid Eternity back to life. He was given an actual name this time, Christopher Freeman, and was folded into DC's Marvel family, also known as the Shazam family.
In the 1990s, comic book writer Grant Morrison revisited the character yet again and, in typical Morrison fashion, revamped his origins and made him a darker character. But all these efforts failed to help Kid Eternity resonate with fans. He still exists in the DC Universe, but he appears so infrequently that it's no surprise if you've never heard his name.
5 Doctor Occult
Everyone knows that DC's greatest detective is Batman. But there's another detective character in DC Comics that you may not know about: Doctor Occult. Unlike Batman, Doctor Occult, also known as the Ghost Detective, is an occult detective who specializes in paranormal and supernatural cases.
He's also a user of magic and wields a powerful talisman called the Mystic Symbol of the Seven, which grants him the powers of clairvoyance, fighting exorcism, and force field projection. Doctor Occult also has the powers of telekinesis and hypnosis and can create illusions.
Created by the same creators as Superman, Doctor Occult made his first appearance in 1935, which makes him the oldest recurring, originally featured fictional character that still appears in the DC Universe. Even Superman and Batman, who debuted in 1938 and 1939 respectively, haven't been around as long as this guy.
Doctor Occult still makes an appearance every now and then, but he's never been as popular as other similar characters like John Constantine.
4 Breach
Breach's 2005 debut makes him one of the youngest characters on this list -- and his cancelation later that same year makes him one of DC's most short-lived titles. Breach was originally intended to be a reboot of another DC superhero, Captain Atom. But at the last minute, DC decided not to revise the character and instead create a brand-new superhero.
Despite his 2005 cancelation, Breach has made cameos in other comic book storylines. But for the most part, he's become a forgotten piece of DC lore.
Breach is the classic case of a scientific experiment gone wrong. US Army Major Tim Zanetti becomes caught in an accidental dimensional rift that leaves him in a 20-year coma. When he finally awakens, Zanetti learns that his body has become a conductor for a mysterious and deadly dimensional energy.
In addition to super-strength and flight, Breach can now project energy blasts and is capable of atomic transmutation and atomic absorption. He can also melt biological substances with just a single touch, a dangerous ability that he needs to dampen with a special containment suit.
The most intriguing thing about Breach is how his series distanced itself from the standard superhero formula, focusing on the character's tragedy rather than on his triumph. Thanks to that dimensional energy, Breach is constantly on the verge of madness. The only things keeping him sane are the memories of the family that he lost long ago.
3 Ambush Bug
Ambush Bug is one of the weirder superheroes in DC's catalog, probably because he was intentionally created as a ridiculous character. Originally pitched as "Bugs Bunny as a super-villain", Ambush Bug started out as Superman's enemy when he first appeared in 1985 but morphed into a crime-fighting superhero over time.
Unlike most DC characters, Ambush Bug doesn't have a definitive origin story. Even his real name, Irwin Schwab, is disputed due to the character's mental problems, which prevent him from differentiating reality from delusion.
What is known about Ambush Bug is that he's a skinny man in a skintight green suit, which grants him the power of teleportation. After an explosion, however, his costume becomes permanently affixed to his body, and Ambush Bug gains the power to teleport by himself. He's also aware that he's a fictional comic book character, often breaking the fourth wall.
Ambush Bug isn't very powerful and is easily defeated by his opponents. Despite this, Ambush Bug has been a member of several DC metahuman groups, such as the Justice League and Suicide Squad. Because he's such an absurd character, Ambush Bug is rarely used by DC writers aside from comedic cameos, sometimes with as little as his antennae being visible in the panel.
2 Ultra the Multi-Alien
We're really diving into the weirdness of DC Comics now. Ultra the Multi-Alien is a science fiction superhero who debuted in 1965. He was originally an astronaut from Earth named Ace Arn, living in an unspecified future.
After crash landing on a distant planet, Ace is attacked by four different alien species, who shoot him with rayguns that are meant to transform him into an obedient member of their respective species. But because all four rays hit him simultaneously, poor Ace is instead transformed into a combination of all four aliens, taking on the traits of each race.
The upper right section of Ultra's body is covered in green fur and possesses superhuman strength, though it isn't isolated to this one location. The upper left section is blue and has gained magnetic powers. His right leg is covered in feathers and has granted him the ability to fly. And his left leg is a bolt of lightning, capable of projecting blasts of electricity.
Ultra is like the Frankenstein monster of superheroes, a bunch of different body parts all strewn together. While the concept behind his character is unique, Ultra's silly appearance prevented him from ever gaining traction with fans.
1 Hero Hotline
If the Justice League is too busy to save the world, then have no fear: you can always call 1-800-555-HEROand ask forthe Hero Hotline instead. Hero Hotline is a ridiculous, hero-for-hire company. A 24/7 corporate service consisting of an entire group of oddballl superheroes that you've probably never heard of, like Mister Muscle, Zeep the Living Sponge, Marie the Psychic Turtle, and Private Eyes.
The group was created by the Coordinator, a shadowy figure who only communicates with the agency via a screen. The agency comprises three different groups of superheroes: the day shift, the night shift, and the support staff. Hero Hotline will occasionally take on eccentric supervillains but are mostly known for taking on smaller, everyday man sort of missions.
Unsurprisingly, their series was short-lived and canceled. Hero Hotline still exists somewhere in the DC Universe, mentioned mostly in passing by other superheroes.
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