My "Defenders of the Earth"

[The Baron]

What I have attempted to determine here is the fifty heroes that I would want to recruit to defend the Earth from as wide a range of threats as possible.

My main criteria were characters with a wide range of useful powers (with one or two "screwy" ones to keep things interesting) and reasonably stable personailities.  I tried to emphasize useful characters over favorite ones, but there may well be some "questionable" ones on the list.

1. Aquaman (Arthur Curry): Able to explore the depths of the sea and control sea life
2. The Atom (Ray Palmer): Able to explore the sub-atomic world
3. The Bald Cape (Saitama): Limitless strength and speed
4. Batman (Bruce Wayne): Expert detective
5. Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce): Able to control electricity
6. Brainiac Five (Querl Dox): Super-genius
7. Captain America (Steve Rogers): Excellent combatant, inspirational leader
8. Captain Atom (Nathaniel Adam): Able to control nuclear energy
9. Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers): Powerhouse
10. Cosmic Boy (Rokk Krinn): Able to control magnetism
11. Dawnstar:  Expert tracker
12. Dead Girl (Moonbeam): Almost indestructible, can commune with the dead
13. Demon Cyborg (Genos): Powerhouse
14. The Doctor Doctor Who: Ancient alien super-intelligence, time traveler
15. Doctor Mid-Nite (Pieter Cross): Medical man, able to perform autopsies
16. Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange): Sorcerer supreme
17. Dream Girl (Nura Nal): Able to see the future
18. Earphone Jack (Kyoka Jiro): Has sonic powers
19. Element Lad (Jan Arrah): Able to transmute chemical elements
20. Eraser Head (Shota Aizawa): Able to temporarily negate super-powers
21. The Flash (Barry Allen): Super-speedster
22. The Flash (Lia Nelson): Being of living light
23. Froppy (Tsuyu Asui): Level-headed, capable fighter with camouflage powers
24. The Green Lantern (Sojourner Mullein): Power ring that is not dependent on a battery
25. The Human Bomb (Roy Lincoln): Can blow things up real good
26. The Invisible Woman (Susan Richards): Able to become invisible and project force-fields.
27. Ironheart (Riri Williams): Genius with powered armor
28. Joe Pi: Robot with extensive knowledge of human nature
29. The Maid (Joanna Dark): Holy woman, expert combatant
30. The Martian Manhunter (J’Onn J’Onzz): Powerhouse with wide range of abilities
31. Mary Marvel (Mary Batson): Powerhouse with enhanced wisdom
32. Ms. Joke (Emi Fukukado): Able to compel laughter (It sounds goofy, but it’s a good way to incapacitate someone.)
33. Raydeen (Richard Carson): Powerful mecha, useful for fighting kaiju and other mecha
34. Recovery Girl (Chiyo Shuzenji): Healer
35. Sailor Moon (Tsukino Usagi): Powerful magic-user
36. Shang-Chi: Expert martial artist
37. The She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters): Powerhouse, attorney
38. Shoto (Shoto Todoroki): Able to project fire and ice
39. The Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd): Has cosmic powers
40. Singularity: Contains a pocket dimension, able to travel anywhere
41. The Spectre (Jim Corrigan): Basically, God’s understudy
42. Spider-Man (Peter Parker): Powerful combatant with a warning sense
43. Squirrel Girl (Doreen Green): Capable combatant, specializes in non-violent solutions
44. Superman (Clark “Kal-El” Kent): Powerhouse, inspirational leader
45. The Thing (Benjamin J. Grimm): Powerhouse, expert pilot
46. Thor (Donald Blake): Powerhouse, weather control
47. Uravity (Ochako Uraraka): Able to nullify gravity
48. The Valkyrie (Jane Foster): Expert combatant
49. Wolverine (James “Logan” Howlett): Expert fighter, extremely durable
50. Wonder Woman (Princess Diana of Themiscyra): Powerhouse, inspirational leader

[Randy Jackson]

Saitama's unique "one punch to defeat any opponent" power would come in very useful.

Brainiac Five migtt be useful for creating more tension in a story because of his prickly personality, but I'd probably choose Reed Richards instead. Actually, I'd probably choose several scientists that were experts in different discilines:

Reed Richards - theoretical physics

Peter Parker - chemistry

Hank Pym - biological engineering

Tony Stark - mechanical engineering 

Senku - everything else/generalist

I'd probably take Tyroc over Earphone Jack, although both have their uses. 

Since Sei (The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent) can actually restore missing limbs, I'd take her over Recovery Girl. 

Also, I'd really want Swamp Thing on that team somewhere. His power set of being able to promote plant growth and revitalize vegetation would be crucial in many situations, particularly after devastating battles(Sei can do that too but not at the same level). 

Nice list. Now I'm thinking of how I would do it with villains. 

[The Baron]

Interesting choices.  I'd never heard of Sei or Senku, I'll have to look them up at some point.

Swamp Thing, with his connection to the Green, is a good choice.

A villain list would be an interesting idea.  Getting personalities thst would mesh woul be even harder.

Randy Jackson said:

Saitama's unique "one punch to defeat any opponent" power would come in very useful.

Brainiac Five migtt be useful for creating more tension in a story because of his prickly personality, but I'd probably choose Reed Richards instead. Actually, I'd probably choose several scientists that were experts in different discilines:

Reed Richards - theoretical physics

Peter Parker - chemistry

Hank Pym - biological engineering

Tony Stark - mechanical engineering 

Senku - everything else/generalist

I'd probably take Tyroc over Earphone Jack, although both have their uses. 

Since Sei (The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent) can actually restore missing limbs, I'd take her over Recovery Girl. 

Also, I'd really want Swamp Thing on that team somewhere. His power set of being able to promote plant growth and revitalize vegetation would be crucial in many situations, particularly after devastating battles(Sei can do that too but not at the same level). 

Nice list. Now I'm thinking of how I would do it with villains. 

[Randy Jackson]

Senku is from the anime Dr. Stone. Fun and educational.

I doubt a villain team would get along unless they all had a common goal in mind. Still I think it would be fun to try and build one. 

[Randy Jackson]

So I'm working on my lust of villains, and it's interesting how few healers are available in American Superhero comics. Plenty of characters who can regenerate, but hard to find ones that can heal others. 

[The Baron]

That's true, and villainous "healers" would be even rarer.  Wasn't thgere a Crime Doctor?

Randy Jackson said:

So I'm working on my lust of villains, and it's interesting how few healers are available in American Superhero comics. Plenty of characters who can regenerate, but hard to find ones that can heal others.