7 DC Superhero Families Ready to Step Out of the Bat-Family’s Shadow
DC Comics has made the superhero family into one of the most important parts of its superhero multiverse and the best example of this is the Bat-Family. The publisher has been building it since 1940, when they introduced readers to the first sidekick Robin. Since then, the Bat-Family has become one of the most popular portions of the DC Multiverse. Sure, we all love the Flash Family, but it’s the Bat-Family that gets all the plaudits and, most importantly, the solo series. It has contained some of the greatest heroes in comic history, legends like Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, and Catwoman all playing huge roles in its development. They’re the gold standard, the one that every other superhero family wants to be.
Looking at the DC superhero community, there are numerous amazing superhero families that deserve their place on the Mount Rushmore of superhero families. However, the Bat-Family is basically the gatekeeper; if you want your place at the top, you have to beat the best. The DC superhero community is vast and there are some families that definitely deserve to overtake the Bat-Family. They don’t get the credit they deserve and don’t always have the caliber of members that the Bat-Family does, but they are sensational. These seven DC superhero families are ready for their close-up, showing that they are better than the Bat-Family.
7) The Superman Family
I tried to keep most of the families on this list lower level, but there are a couple of higher-stature families that deserve to overtake the Bat-Family, including the one from the first superhero. The Superman Family is superlatively powerful but they aren’t as popular as they should be. Consisting of Jon Kent, Supergirl, Superboy, the Steels, Super-Man, Superwoman, and Lois Lane (with Power Girl sometimes considered a slightly removed member of the group), they help the Man of Steel protect Metropolis from the greatest threats. The last few years have seen DC giving them a lot of spotlight, including getting a starring role in Action Comics during the end of the Phillip Kennedy Johnson run. The Superman Family has some of the best heroes that DC has, but they’ve never been able to reach the same stature as Batman’s group. However, I would say that they’ve always been better and it’s about time that they got the love they deserve.
6) The Fates
Doctor Fate is the original magical superhero, first appearing in the Golden Age. Archeologist Kent Nelson found the Helmet of Fate and became a magical titan, helping found the Justice Society and saving the world many times over. Doctor Fate strangely never reached the level of another magical doctor, but there is something of a large family of heroes associated with the character. There’s Nabu, the Lord of Order who powers the Helmet, the nucleus of the whole thing. Kent’s wife Inza took up the mantle, Eric and Linda Strauss would merge to become Doctor Fate, Jared Stevens was the extreme ’90s version of Fate, Hector Hall, who will appear again on this list, held the role in the early to mid ’00s, and Khalid Nassour is the current holder of the Helmet. Most of them are dead, but the history of Doctor Fate is way more interesting than most fans imagine. It’s one of those families that most fans have no idea exists, but has been awesome for years.
5) The Terrifics
Mr. Terrific finally got his big break with 2025’s Superman, with Michael Holt appearing in the movie and wowing fans. However, Michael is the second man to wear the jacket that says “Fair Play” on it. The first was Golden Age hero Terry Sloane. He was a wealthy polymath, a master of numerous disciplines, and decided to use all of his advantages in life to help those less well-off than him. He was sort of the Batman of the Justice Society, a non-powered wealthy genius, battling alongside them until his death at the hands of the Spirit King, who was possessing Jay Garrick at the time. Holt was an Olympic decathlete with multiple PhDs who decided to become a hero after losing his wife. Each of them has relations in the metahuman community as well. Sloane’s granddaughter is the villain Roulette, who runs the House, a supervillain gambling establishment. Meanwhile, Holt has a son he never knew, Jeffrey. Michael’s wife was pregnant when she died and Granny Goodness pulled Jeffrey from her womb, raising him to be a soldier of Darkseid. He was saved when the Flash came to Apokolips looking for his son Wade and is about to become a member of the Teen Titans as Fair Play. Sloane also has a forgotten sidekick who was erased from the timeline in the New 52 changes, Quiz Kid, who has recently been returned to the world. The Terrifics have a lot of potential and hopefully can take their place with the rest of the best.
4) Hourmen
Rex Tyler was a chemist who created a pill that gave him superhuman strength and durability for an hour. Calling it Miraclo, he became the hero Hourman, using his “hour of power” to fight crime. This led to him helping found the Justice Society. He’d become one of the most stalwart members of the group, but there was a reason behind this no one guessed – Miraclo was highly addictive. Rex was addicted to the drug and the thrill of being a superhero; he was one of the only members of the team who kept fighting evil after the House Un-American Activities Committee tried to force the team to unmask. Eventually, he was able to beat his addiction, marrying his sweetheart Wendi and having a son named Rick, who would become Hourman as well. He also got addicted to Miraclo, but he and his father were able to create a non-addictive variety, with Rick taking his father’s place in the Justice Society. Their legacy as heroes would reach into the far future, with Tyler Chemrobotics making a nanite-based hero named Hourman, who has become one of the protectors of the timesteam. The Hourmen are an underrated part of the DC Multiverse and it’s long past time (at least an hour, folks) more attention was paid to them.
3) The Stars
Starman has been a part of DC Comics since 1941. Ted Knight created the Gravity Rod, allowing him to become a superhero named Starman. He fought alongside the Justice Society, modifying his creation, and starting a family in Opal City. He was just the first of many Starmen. There was Prince Gavyn, an alien from another planet. William Payton was made into a sentient star by a blast of cosmic energy. Another alien known as Mikaal came to Earth as Starman, all while Ted kept adventuring at times with the Justice Society. He retired, with his son David taking over the mantle before being killed on his first night, who was then replaced by his brother Jack. Jack became an amazing hero, eventually retiring, ending the Knights’ time with the Cosmic Staff. However, there was a whole cadet branch of the Star family that would end becoming the future of the group. Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy were Golden Age heroes, with the Kid using the cosmic converter belt to power him. He would be killed and the belt would get passed down to Courtney Starsmore, who was the step-daughter of Stripesy. She became a new Star-Spangled Kid, joined the Justice Society with Jack, and was given the Cosmic Staff by him, becoming Stargirl, one of the best teen heroes in comic history. In the far future, Thom Kallor would use his gravity controlling abilities as the Legion of Superheroes’ Star-Boy, eventually becoming Starman as well. The Stars are much deeper than most fans realize, a family of the best heroes you’ve never heard of.
2) The Arrow Family
Green Arrow has long been in the shadow of Batman. Oliver Queen was created to be Batman by way of Robin Hood, with his sidekick Speedy being the Robin analogue. For years, it would be just the two of them, with Black Canary joining when she and Ollie began their love affair. This was the basis of the Arrow family, a group that just keeps getting better as the years go on. Ollie, Roy Harper, and Dinah form the nucleus of the group, with Mia Deardon fighting as the second Speedy, Ollie’s son Connor Hawke working as the second Green Arrow, and Roy’s daughter Lian has just joined the group as Cheshire Cat. Ollie’s half-sister Emiko has become the new Red Arrow and Arrrowette from Young Justice has started fighting alongside the group as well. Black Canary has her own legacy character Red Canary (I am the biggest Red Canary fan of them all) and then there’s characters from the show Arrow that have made comic debuts like Felicity Smoak and John Diggle working as tech support for the group. They can match the Bat-Family in numbers if not quality and have some vastly underrated members, the perfect crimefighting force.
1) The Hawks
Hawkman was Wolverine before it was cool. Carter Hall was an archeologist who has been reincarnating across space and time with his lover Sheira. The two of them became Golden Age heroes Hawkman and Hawkgirl, fighting alongside the Justice Society of America. On Thanagar, the two were reborn as Katar and Shayera Hol, fighting evil throughout the universe and joining the Justice League. Sheira was reincarnated again as Kendra Saunders, who is the current Hawkgirl, while Shayera works as Hawkwoman. Carter is still around as Hawkman, remembering his times with both Sheira and Shayera. Carter and Sheira had a son named Hector, who would fight as the Silver Scarab before dying, his soul pulled into a fake Dreaming by Brute and Glob with his wife the Fury. He would be resurrected as Doctor Fate, searching for his wife and battling against Mordru with the Justice Society before dying. The Hawks are super complicated – we haven’t even talked about the various past versions of Carter or the Deathbringers – but that’s a big part of their appeal. Their legend is convoluted, but worth the effort.
