I've always been obsessed with the "meta" of superhero universes and who's truly important to them, so I may as well ask you guys: who do you consider the core/A-list characters of any barebones/mainstream/quintessential DC universe? List them as characters, titles, or both, I don't mind.
Spoiler: Who I think it is alongside rambling on why.
I've always considered it to be:
1. Superman
2. Batman
3. Wonder Woman
4. Flash (Barry Allen)
5. Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
6. Justice League (founding members, including Aquaman and Martian Manhunter)
7. Teen Titans (basically the New Teen Titans version, Dick Grayson-as-Robin as series lead)
I think you can fit in the vast majority of the DCU into this framework by tying them into one of the solo heroes' books and respective corners, or as recurring characters in team books - IE Green Arrow and Shazam as JL regular guest stars, Supergirl a regular in Superman's book and Batgirl in Batman's and John Stewart in Green Lantern's, split Robin and Wally West between the Batman/Flash and Titans books... etc. I'm also game for Action and Detective Comics being hybrid anthology books with a starring Superman/Batman story and then rotating fan-favorite characters and teams as the second. I also admit I feel there's very few true solo/A-list heroes who have enough narrative or gimmick meat to lead a book, even the same for teams, which is also why I ask. I would imagine in another world a shakeup where superhero books contract to those and give a lot of cool villains or stories to the main hero who can make them work just as well as their not-so-popular associated hero, or a B-list hero elevated by being a good regular supporting character for the A-lister to bounce off of in their own book, would do better for all characters involved.
I debated Aquaman as truly core to a basic/quintessential DCU but... his solo book only came post-JL in '62, it's been cancelled the most, and story-wise he's stuck underneath the sea with little to do outside too many plots revolving around who has the throne of Atlantis. I also have a hard time seeing him with a big solo career on land in-universe, his logical reason to be above ground would be entirely for the JL membership and thus he makes more sense as a pure ensemble hero like Martian Manhunter - Wonder Woman purposely came to Man's World and can at least establish herself in Gateway City to give a setting for solo plots and her existing non-myth villains, Green Lantern would logically hang out in Coast City during Earth hours and fight Earth-based villains of his there, and so forth. Speaking of, Wondy had her continuous own title and Sensation Comics, Flash and GL always had solo titles, since 1940, so of course they're always gonna be around in some form. You can argue the Justice Society proves the League concept existed since almost the beginning, same for Robin leading team heroes as well, hence the League and Titans as core.
Aquaman and Green Arrow are holdovers from the golden age that kept getting published and. . . well they're ever-present to this day. I'd say you lump in classic JL members like them along with classic JSA members (Black Canary, Dr. Fate, Wildcat, etc) as well. Outsiders' classic lineup has had almost all of them join the JL at some point (except for Halo, I think?).
But yeah, the DC mythos are very centered around Superman/Batman and trickle down through WW/Flash/GL->JL/TT->JSA. Fucking Shazam/Plastic Man get recognition because they'd been around for ever but in modern times they're essentially associated with being JLA/JSA members anyways.
tldr, if you're a notable hero in the DCU, you're a member/associate of the JL/JSA/TT at one point. It's probably because any notable '40s character is lumped in with being JSA associated. Any notable silver age or onwards hero is pretty much either league or titans associated at least. If one wants to be really coy, they could bring up "Legion of Superheroes", which would be pointed out as a Superman originated thing. Outsiders? That was a Batman thing that's also league-associated. Something sci-fi? It's Supes or GL associated. But on the offchance it ain't, then it's connectable to other prominent characters like Hawkman.
I think what may have screwed with the new 52 was them not understanding that the history of the league/titans/jsa was kind of an underpinning glue to so much shit. Remove that and you get a nascent universe that they were trying to go for. But it was a nascent universe that was honestly kinda bland.
Oh yeah, I guess Suicide Squad is the one thing that doesn't fit within the realms of connecting to these 7 (8 if we make the JSA a seperate thing) major pivots. I kinda guess they're probably just mixed in with JL antagonists in general these days but I feel like DC's trying to get its own brand of "anti-heroes" off the ground because it's something I notice they lack when compared to Marvel's proliferation of them. Well, that's probably a good thing considering they're the "nicer" universe. (funnily, the only major non-Bat related antihero that comes to mind in DC is John Constantine. I'd love to say Hitman counts, but we haven't seen stories in 20 years. I suppose Etrigan's an antihero?)
DC is a character focused universe, Marvel is an event focused universe. Thats something I think people should understand getting into both respectively. Even Z tier DC characters like Hawk and Dove or Peacemaker are very three dimensional complex characters even if their plots are not necessarily good while Marvel has only a few S tier characters who are complex and three dimensional like Wolverine, Daredevil, Punisher and probably Hulk. Thats partially why DC storylines stand out for their characters and character arcs while Marvel storylines stand out for the carnage no pun intended and scale of the conflict. With that in mind outside of Batman and Superman I dont think DC has any Core characters but any character of DC from the Golden Silver or Bronze Ages can be made into an A tier character with just the right script as we saw with Peacemakers mainstream success, albeit a bit undeserved cause John Cena is a Chink Nigger. Thats partially what happened during the dark ages with Sandman Wesley Dodds from the golden age and Watchmen which was supposed to be full of Charlton characters, The Comedian being a standin for Peacemaker.
Eh Marvel became known for event fatigue but they're still also known for character driven stories more often than DC as they built the brand around "the world outside your window" with relatable heroes that were humanized. Spider-Man's famous for having character-driven stories. But even if we toss out Spidey, Hulk, and Daredevil because they're the biggest examples in character driven stories, there's still the history of Iron Man's character development being largely story driven over 50+ years. Ben Grimm's struggles with his status as a monstrous looking hero. Johnny Storm's awareness of how immature and shallow he can be. Reed and Sue Richards' marriage. Dr. Doom's characterization has been explored consistently as a monarch, hero, villain, emperor, etc. Dr. Strange's sense of responsibility, Steve Rogers' nature as a man out of his own era. Luke Cage's journey from being a thug, felon, and turning into a notable hero. Silver Surfer's musings on the nature of the universe, of mankind's best and worst attributes. Namor's mood swings and focus on being the king to his people but also trying to step up as a hero. Etc. There's dozens of examples. Nightcrawler's stories as a demonic looking mutant that's actually a devout catholic and jolly man. I could ramble on and on.
I don't think there's a single major marvel hero that hasn't been through a character focused story. We've just had the issue of Marvel being a little too liberal with big events in the past 10 years, but they've always tried to focus on the characters. Fucking Hercules has had a lot of characterization and development over the past decade.
DC's had character development for sure but the heroes are often people who typically live up to their "symbol". Hal isn't just a reckless pilot, he's the greatest green lantern of all time. Barry isn't just the flash, he's the living embodiment of hope and self-sacrifice. Bruce isn't just a man, he's a symbol of terror to all criminals.
I'd say DC's more known for events defining their heroes more than Marvel. Death of Superman, War of the Gods, Dark Knight Metal. All events focused around one of the trinity. Even beyond that, we've got Blackest Night, Flashpoint, all the damned Crisis events. So many of these fucking events come down to noting what the DC heroes are symbols of. Marvel events don't really delve too much into "symbols" regarding heroes in that world with the exception of Captain America as the "icon" that people have always admired or maybe the Avengers themselves and the whole strength through unity deal they have.
Both companies have become very event-focused in the last 30 years or so. The characterization of the heroes and how they are just differs quite a bit. DC's just "Gods becoming men" while Marvel is "men with the power of gods".
