The Justice League officially came together in The Brave and the Bold #28 to stop an alien called Starro the Conqueror. However, later comics revealed the team had actually joined forces before this to fight other alien threats, and even battled a third alien invasion before their first official appearance as a team. This makes their early history a bit confusing, but aside from these two previously unknown fights, their first ten adventures happened in a straightforward order.
However, the Justice League’s first ten comic book villains weren’t all equally challenging, with some being noticeably weaker than others.
10) Xotar the Weapons Master
Following their battle with Starro, the Justice League faced the Weapons Master, their second comic book villain, but he proved to be a disappointing opponent. In The Brave and the Bold #29, Xotar, a character from the distant future (11,960 A.D.), learned he was destined to fight the League. To avoid this fate, he sought advanced weaponry to ensure his victory. However, each League member easily destroyed his weapons, with Superman ultimately defeating him and sending him back to his own time. The Weapons Master failed to live up to his title and was no match for the JLA.
9) Kanjar Ro
Kanjar Ro was a villain the Justice League encountered in Justice League of America #3, but his situation was unusual. Instead of fighting them, he tried to get the League to help him, though his approach was flawed. He kidnapped the Justice League and froze Earth, insisting they assist him in a battle against his rivals – the Jyathis, Kromm, and Sayyar. After the League won the fight for him, he surprisingly refused to let them go unless they promised not to retaliate. They managed to escape anyway, and banished both Kanjar Ro and his enemies to a meteor planet. Ultimately, Kanjar Ro’s unwillingness to fight his own battles and his cowardice revealed him to be a relatively weak villain compared to others the Justice League had faced.
8) Amos Fortune
Amos Fortune was a villain who battled the Justice League in Justice League of America #6. The story started with each Justice League member experiencing a streak of bad luck. Dr. Amos Fortune had dedicated his life to studying luck and learning how to control it to benefit himself. He built a device that caused misfortune by targeting a “luck gland” in the body. However, he didn’t realize that Martian Manhunter’s unique physiology made him immune to the device, allowing him to easily defeat Fortune. Fortune was able to incapacitate the other members of the Justice League, making him a particularly formidable opponent. He later reappeared eight issues later leading a team of his own, but was defeated again.
7) Simon Magus
In an early Justice League adventure, issue #2 of Justice League of America, the team faced an invasion from the magical realm of Magic-Land, led by the villain Simon Magus. The conflict began when all technology on Earth suddenly stopped working, revealing that magic had become the world’s dominant power. Simon Magus, along with Saturna and the Troll King, was responsible for this shift. To defeat them, the Justice League had to enlist the aid of the powerful wizard Merlin, establishing Magus as a significant early threat to the team.
6) Appellaxian Invaders
When the Justice League officially came together as a team, their first mission wasn’t actually their first encounter with villains in DC Comics history. The story, revealed in Justice League of America #9, involved warriors from Appellax who were sent to Earth to compete for the right to rule the planet. These warriors attacked various locations and battled different members of the League, but were ultimately defeated. This relatively easy victory convinced the heroes to formally establish the Justice League.
5) White Martians
In the early days of the Justice League, Starro was originally believed to be their first enemy. However, a later story revealed the team actually first united to fight the White Martians, before they even faced Starro. The Flash was the one who gathered the original members for this initial battle, though they weren’t officially a team yet. These White Martians were incredibly powerful, possessing abilities similar to Martian Manhunter, and it required all of the original Justice League members, along with several other heroes, to defeat them.
4) Doctor Destiny
Doctor Destiny unexpectedly challenged the Justice League, coinciding with Green Arrow’s attempt to become a member. Unfortunately, Green Arrow got off to a rocky start, as his actions appeared to hinder the League’s fight against villains like Captain Cole, the Clock King, Puppet-Master, Electric, Getaway Mastermind, and Professor Menace. The truth was, Green Arrow was actually protecting the team from cleverly hidden traps, because Doctor Destiny had disguised himself as Green Lantern. Doctor Destiny is a formidable Justice League foe, possessing the ability to manipulate reality and a deep understanding of the occult.
3) Starro
The Justice League’s first officially recorded adventure featured the alien villain Starro, though they had actually faced other threats – the Appellaxian warriors and White Martians – beforehand. The League had recently gained two new members, Batman and Superman, after defeating the Appellaxians, and their first big challenge came in the form of Starro the Conqueror. Starro could control minds, but the Justice League discovered he was vulnerable to a common lawn fertilizer, which they used to defeat him. Before finding this weakness, however, Starro proved to be a powerful opponent, even overwhelming Superman.
2) Despero
Despero first appeared as the villain in Justice League of America #1. He was a supremely powerful ruler who controlled the planet Kalanor in another dimension, giving him access to devastating weapons and making him a threat to the entire universe. He was strong enough to dominate the entire Justice League, with only the Flash able to attempt a rescue. Despero possesses a range of abilities, including telekinesis, telepathy, and various magical powers like astral projection, possession, and teleportation. While initially physically weak, he has since become much stronger.
1) Amazo
I’ve always been fascinated by Amazo. When he first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #30, created by the brilliant but dangerous Professor Ivo, he was instantly a huge threat to the Justice League. He wasn’t immediately at full strength, but the idea behind him – an android built with the powers of all the League members – was terrifying! It took real insight from Green Lantern, understanding his own vulnerabilities, to finally defeat him. But that wasn’t the end of it, not by a long shot. Amazo kept coming back to challenge the JLA and its members over and over again, and he consistently ranked among their most formidable foes. He truly is one of the most impressive villains they’ve ever faced.
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2026-02-27 22:18