What makes a good superteam?

[Cyr]

Okay, I'm just curious, what is is that you think makes a good superhero team, like the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the X-men, or the Justice League?

[Viscount Einstrauss]

Interaction. You can't just have all the coolest heroes and expect a good team out of them. There has to be a good story between them all.

[Jibar]

You also needs brains, brawn and firepower.
No super group can make it without one of each.
Fantastic Four? Reed, Ben, Johnny.
Avengers? Stark, Wolverine, Stark.
Justice League? Batman.

[TheNifty]

You need a good mix of powers and personalities.

Powers-wise, you want a big strong meatshield-tanky type; (Superman, the Hulk, Luke Cage) a techie or gadget guy (Forge, Batman, Iron man,) a guy with cool "magic-type" powers; (Dr Strange, Green Lantern, Dr Fate, Zattana), and a guy with no useful powers, but somehow contributes just as much through martial arts/coolness/stealth/sexiness/brains (Batman, Hawkeye, Daredevil, Black Canary(when she was depowered)).

Personality wise, you almost always have:

The calm, lawful, stoic leader: (Mr Fantastic, Captain America, Superman, Cyclops, Leonardo)

The rebel/angsty conflict causing one: (Batman, Wolverine, Namor, The Hulk, Raphael)

The wisecracking one: (Johnny Storm, Xander, Spiderman, the Flash Michaelangelo)

The thinker: (Mr fantastic, Batman, Iron Man, Mr Terrific, Donatello)

The wizened mentor: (Dr Strange, Professor X, Giles, Splinter)

The hot one: (Black Canary, Power Girl, Sue Storm, April O'Neil)

People can fill multiple categories, for instance; Buffy is the Hot One and the Leader, Mr Fantastic is the Thinker and the Leader. Batman can be the Leader, The Rebel, The Thinker and the Mentor (to Robin, usually) all in the space of one issue.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Interaction. You can't just have all the coolest heroes and expect a good team out of them. There has to be a good story between them all.

Damn. You beat me to it.

A good superhero team is like an assembly line.

The defensive character stops the villan from doing damage (Sue Storm)

The intelligent one works out the villain's weakness (Reed Richards)

The strong one beats the villain (Ben Grim)

Johny Storm is annoying and I can't think of a job for him. He can fly away looking cool as a distraction or something.

[Damon]

I agree. You can't have a group of hack and slashers that run into battle gun ho, you gotta get a balance and let everyone do their own thing.

[Teal Kuinshi]

Bah. The F4 aren't a good superhero team, not if it takes all four to do the same thing as one lone squirrelgirl.

But yes, you need a variety of people to cover every field for a good team.

[Logic]

Bah. The F4 aren't a good superhero team, not if it takes all four to do the same thing as one lone squirrelgirl.

But yes, you need a variety of people to cover every field for a good team.

If that is the case, then there is no good (Marvel) superteam, since no single individual has defeated a few of her foes that she has defeated. (Dr Doom, Thanos)

[Viscount Einstrauss]

It also means the only "good" superhero team is Superman and Batman. Though it's rightly true that there's exponentially too much win in that pairing. They can and have beaten practically everything in existence at one point or another.

[Logic]

It also means the only "good" superhero team is Superman and Batman. Though it's rightly true that there's exponentially too much win in that pairing. They can and have beaten practically everything in existence at one point or another.

Both have an AC vs plot of eleventy billion.

[Finn Solomon]

Plus they hate each other. Okay well maybe not hate, but they can never see exactly eye-to-eye on things.

A great superhero team to read needs a different mix of personalities, past history together, and complementing abilities. Why on Earth would Ms. Marvel team up with Ares and the Black Widow? It just makes no sense.

A great superhero team that would actually logically work needs to be single-minded to a cause and come under the unquestionable authority of one leader. Plus they should be pretty powerful in terms of abilities, at least intergalactic warfare level, and have official sanctioning of some kind.

[SeptimusMagistos]

Comic relief. Any superteam can be great if you just add the comic relief.

[Jerthanis]

Comic relief. Any superteam can be great if you just add the comic relief.

If Marvel were aware of this all-encompassing truth, Deadpool would be in every single superhero team instead of Wolverine.

[Viscount Einstrauss]

Then you could actually have characters asking questions like "Wait a minute. Aren't you also a member of the X-Men, the Avengers, and fighting crime in Tokyo this month?"

"Yeah, so?"

"The X-Men are in England right now. Tokyo is in Japan. The Avengers are fighting the Skrull in space. And... and this is NEW YORK!"

"I travel through plot holes."

[Green Bean]

The key concept in a good superteam is diversity. Imagine having five guys with the exact same power on a team. How boring is that? Plus it gives you better plot options. Need the villain to survive to the next issue? The idealistic hero intervenes. Need a dramatic death? Call in the tough guy. Need people to be mauled to death by rodents? Call Squirrel Girl. You need to have everyone a little bit different, enough that they don't blur together.

[TheNovak]

Comic relief. Any superteam can be great if you just add the comic relief.

It is that exact logic that gave us the Wonder Twins.

[ravenkith]

IMO a good superteam has a theme. Something to rally around.

The fantastic four are themed after the traditional western elements of Air (Invisible Woman), Earth(The Thing), Fire(The Human Torch) and Water(Mr. Fantastic).

The X-men, at their best, are a family tying to overcome adversity: they fight against anti-mutant sentiment, and for the idea of "can't we all just get along?". Professor X was inspired by Malcolm X and Martin Luthor King, Jr., but white, crippled, and privileged... "I have a dream" anybody?

The reason he has telepathy is so that he can find the others...who are all (in the original comics) individuals who can manipulate kinetic energy.
Beast: Physical application of kinetic energy, enhanced reflexes.
Cyclops: Manifests blasts of kinetic energy
Iceman: Manipulates kinetic energy to cool things off (making things cold is basicall stopping them from moving, in terms of physics)
Jean Grey: Telekinesis....
Angel: Uses kinetic energy, via his wings, to get off the ground and fly.

They are all also embodiments of wishes that human beings have had since time immemorial: to be able to fly, to LOOK at something and hurt it, to be physically perfect, to make things move just by willing it so, to freeze things in their tracks...

The avengers were originally built to embody the greatness of the american nation, in the height of the cold war. The 800 lb nuclear gorilla that is the hulk. The strength of the US techno-industrial base, given form in the person of Iron Man. Ant Man was the ultimate spy. The wasp, full of glitz and glamor, was the very lure of capitalistic commerce & fashion. Thor was the embodiment of the mystical and moral rectitude, the mandate from God (if not the Judeo-Christian deity). Captain America, when he replaced the hulk, stood for the US armed forces, directing the fight: instead of a nigh uncontrollable weapon of fear, we now had a precision soldier, the peak of all that man could be (but not more than other men), whose only weapon is a shield: there to defend, not attack.

They were movie stars, bigger than life...

The JLA's best arc, if you ask me, was the one where their membership was modeled after the greek pantheon. It would have made more sense if Supes had been replace by Captain Marvel, but I'll take what I can get...

Batman: Hades
Superman: Zeus
Wonder Woman: Hera
Aquaman: Poseidon
Flash: Mercury
Green Lantern: Apollo
Martian Manhunter: Ares
Oracle: Athena
Steel: Hephaestus
Plastic Man: Dionysus

So: Come up with a theme, or a rallying idea, to build your team around...

all the cool kids are doing it!

[Grod_The_Giant]

Batman: Hades
Superman: Zeus
Wonder Woman: Hera
Aquaman: Poseidon
Flash: Mercury
Green Lantern: Apollo
Martian Manhunter: Ares
Oracle: Athena
Steel: Hephaestus
Plastic Man: Dionysus
Kinda have to disagree here. Wonder Woman's not Hera- the goddess was bad-tempered and regal. Wonder Woman's much more like Athena (and she's her champion, so go figure).

[ravenkith]

Mark Waid called it Hera. I was leaning Athena, too, but I went with what he said. (google JLA vs. Greek pantheon, top result)