DC Comics has placed a strong emphasis on its legacy heroes. Since the beginning of the Silver Age, the company has led the way in the idea of younger heroes taking over the mantles of their originals. The publisher has made a number of attempts to pass down its best titles to newer characters, but not all of them stick. Various eras of the publisher’s history have seen clumsy and poorly received inheritances that weren’t handled in the best of ways.
DC still leads the way in handling the idea of legacy heroes. Everything from young sidekicks coming into their own identity to a full assumption of an old mantle has created some of the best stories in comics. In fact, some newer heroes surpassed their original so much that they fell into obscurity. For many readers, the newer versions of their heroes are the only ones that matter.
10 Courtney Whitmore / Stargirl
Unlike most heroes, Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl actually combines two different Golden Age superheroes, Starman and Star-Spangled Kid, into her own new identity. Current comics don’t pay much attention to the original Starman, and Star-Spangled Kid has almost entirely faded into obscurity.
Stargirl now represents a wholesome, bright, and patriotic teen hero in the DCU and is something of a yin to Jack Knight’s yang when it comes to the Starman legacy. Her modern membership of the JSA also makes for one of the best legacy additions to the team.
9 Dinah Laurel Lance / Black Canary
Black Canary may be best known as the super-screaming Dinah Laurel Lance, but in the Golden Age, that mantle belonged to her mother, Dinah Drake Lance. The original version of the hero was a powerless, hand-to-hand crime fighter who was married to Larry Lance.
Iconic as the Golden Age heroine may have been, the younger hero, with her signature super scream and membership of the Birds of Prey, is much better. Whether it’s sharing her mother’s affiliation with the JSA, now as a legacy member, or her romance with Oliver Queen, the younger Dinah owns the mantle.
8 Damian Wayne / Robin
Damian Wayne spent much of his early years as something of a controversial addition to Batman lore for multiple reasons. Many fans have grown up with their favorite Robin, be that Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, or Tim Drake. Now, however, Robin has become the definitive Robin, especially as others found their own identities.
In a world where Dick Grayson is Nightwing and Jason Todd is Red Hood, fans have become far more agreeable to seeing Damian as the rightful Robin. Factoring in the fact that Damian is the son of Batman, it’s going to be hard for DC to convince readers of a better fit for the Robin mantle in the future.
7 Conner Kent / Superboy
Though many may associate Superboy with heroes like Conner Kent and Jonathan Kent, the mantle was originally held by none other than Clark. Through an exploration of his youth that saw him join the Legion of Superheroes from the future, Clark donned the mantle now mostly associated with the Man of Steel’s sidekicks.
There have been numerous attempts to fill the Superboy mantle, but Conner Kent is, without a doubt, the definitive take on the hero, even more so than Jon. He may still technically be Clark Kent, as he is, after all, a clone of the superhero, but Conner has carved out his own identity distinct from Superman. He’s even served on the Suicide Squad.
6 Ray Palmer / Atom
The original Golden Age Atom is one of the heroes of his era who has become incredibly obscure due to multiple Silver Age successors. Not only have there been two different Atoms, but Atom Smasher and Damage both borrowed from Al Pratt’s Atom’s design for their own costumes.
Very few modern fans are even aware that Al Pratt was the original Atom, partly due to his common omission from even the modern JSA books. As the team came to focus on the cross-generational appeal, classics like Al fell into obscurity, and Ray Palmer became the best hero to don the Atom mantle.
5 Ted Kord & Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle
For fans of the modern Blue Beetle comics, it can be easy to forget not just that the mantle came from Ted Kord, but even Kord got it from a Golden Age hero. Dan Garrett, the original Blue Beetle, was originally published under Fox Comics and later at Charlton before DC acquired the publisher’s heroes.
For modern fans, Jaime Reyes isn’t only the most important Blue Beetle but by far the most powerful. With the Scarab’s help, Jaime is an even more dangerous Iron Man for the DCU, equipped with heavy weaponry, a sentient suit and the power of flight. Even for Ted Kord fans, Dan Garrett has become a relic of Golden Age history.
4 Michael Holt / Mister Terrific
Mister Terrific began as a Golden Age community-based hero who helped found the Justice Society of America. However, the mantle now almost inextricably belongs to Michael Holt — the only Mister Terrific that even most of the classic Golden Age fans care about.
Terrific has earned a reputation as one of the smartest men in the DCU, as well as one of its greatest inventors — if not the greatest inventor in the world. Now the leader of his own team, the Terrifics, Holt has effectively become the Reed Richards of the DC universe.
3 John Stewart / Green Lantern
The original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, has little in common with his successors in the Green Lantern Corps. The title was first passed onto Hal Jordan, the maverick space cop and sci-fi detective, as well as co-founder of the Justice League of America.
However, as time has passed, fans have made their love of John Stewart known. The hero’s depiction in the Justice League cartoon, as well as his tough, no-nonsense attitude, has helped the hero become the fan-favorite Lantern. In fact, he has even become the mainstay Lantern of the JLA.
2 Wally West / Flash
Originally, the Flash mantle was held by the Golden Age Jay Garrick, who was among the founding members of the JSA. Shortly after, Barry Allen helped usher in the Silver Age by becoming the new, youthful Flash for a new generation. However, even he would later be overshadowed.
Following Barry’s death in Crisis On Infinite Earths, Wally West became the new, light-hearted mainstay Flash for decades. This meant that, for most comic book readers under 40, Wally West was their Flash growing up. He was helped immensely by also being the main Flash of the DCAU.
1 Jack Knight / Starman
Starman is a mantle that has been held by numerous heroes throughout DC’s history, beginning with the Golden Age Ted Knight. In the 1990s, Ted’s youngest son, Jack, donned the mantle and picked up the Cosmic Staff after the murder of his brother, David, and attempts on his own life.
The massive success of Jack Knight as Starman in the 1990s signaled the peak of DC’s attempt to pass on a variety of mantles to younger and more energetic heroes. While having Ted serve on the JSA can be fun, when it comes to a solo Starman hero, fans are only interested in seeing more of Jack.