DC Comics has no shortage of rivalries between both heroes and villains. In addition to the expected animosity between superheroes and supervillains, there is also a tendency for two heroes or two villains to decide that they have a deep disdain for one another, and it very often ends in outright battles and, sometimes, death.
Much is made of the rivalry between Superman and Batman, but it is a bit of a nonentity in the regular DC continuity. In fact, the two are actually really close friends. Plus, it's pretty tame compared to some of the animosity that has brewed between other heroes and villains across the mainstream DC Universe.
10 The Central City Rogues Don't Trust Any Reverse-Flash/Zoom
There have been several evil speedsters to cause trouble for the Flash over the years, but the most prominent ones are the Reverse-Flash/Professor Zoom, aka Eobard Thawne, and Zoom, aka Hunter Zolomon. Despite the fact that the Central City Rogues, led by Captain Cold, also want the Flash dead, they have a strict policy to trust no speedster.
This comes from a history of being betrayed by Thawne and/or Zolomon. In fact, Captain Cold and the Rogues are just as likely to fight a Reverse-Flash on sight as they are the Flash himself. In fact, when Kid Zoom, an old sidekick of Thawne, started trying to make some moves years ago, the Rogues killed him.
9 Both Joker And Lex Luthor Absolutely Loathe The Batman Who Laughs
The Batman Who Laughs is an amalgamation of Batman and the Joker from the Dark Multiverse, and he sought to drag Earth-0 into the darkness. This would result in the kind of chaos that the Joker would enjoy and the dead Justice League that Lex Luthor wants. Despite that, both want the Batman Who Laughs dead.
The Joker saw the Batman Who Laughs as an aberration and even helped Batman take him down the first time around. Lex Luthor, on the other hand, saw the Batman Who Laughs as an engine of chaos and more of a danger than the Justice League. Furthermore, Perpetua feared the creatures of the Dark Multiverse, and Luthor became her scion--which meant he had a duty to kill the Batman Who Laughs.
8 Wonder Woman And Hal Jordan Battled It Out While On The Justice League
After the New 52 reboot of the DC Universe, Green Lantern Hal Jordan was the leader of the Justice League for a time. However, his cockiness and bravado began to grate on Wonder Woman. The usually calm and patient Diana found herself challenging Hal's decision-making frequently.
This eventually came to a head with Green Lantern and Wonder Woman, two founding members of the Justice League, fighting out in public streets, and it culminated with Hal Jordan leaving the Justice League altogether.
7 Aquaman And Batman Had A Brief Rivalry Over Leadership Over The Justice League
After this, there was the question of who would be the new leader of the Justice League. Aquaman and Batman both thought that they should head the team. Aquaman was already the ruler of Atlantis, so he had leadership experience on a massive scale. However, Batman thought he was the only correct choice thanks to his intellect and perception.
This led to some sparring between both members, but it did fizzle out by the time of the next crisis.
6 Guy Gardner And Hal Jordan Have A Long History Of Friction
One would think two of the first-ever human Green Lanterns would get along, Hal Jordan found himself a rival in Guy Gardner. Guy was the backup Lantern of Earth for Hal Jordan, but this position led to Guy and Hal learning that Hal was only chosen as the Green Lantern of Earth over Guy because Hal was physically closer to the ring when Abin Sur crashed.
This brewed a lot of resentment in Guy Gardner, and he took it out on Hal at every turn. Eventually, Guy became a full-fledged Lantern, but things didn't really resolve themselves by then. Guy's distrust of Hal worsened after the initial Parallax crisis. When Parallax returned to infect the Green Lantern Central Power Battery, both Guy and Hal had it out one last time while under the influence of the fear entity. The two are good friends now, but Guy still likes to remind Hal that he's an annoying jerk for fun.
5 Joker And The Riddler Had An All-Out War Across Gotham City
The Joker and the Riddler are two of Batman's most maniacal foes, and one would think the chaos they brew would lead to a measure of friendship. However, it was revealed during the Tom King and Mikel Janin era of Batman that they waged an apocalyptic war in Gotham City during the early days of the Dark Knight.
It began with Riddler extending a hand of friendship to Joker, which the Joker answered with a gun. The two began gathering supervillain allies to fight one another across the city until the Batman finally brought this War of Jokes and Riddles to an end.
4 Green Arrow And Hawkman Are Ideological Opposites
Green Arrow and Hawkman have clashed several times over the years as well. Green Arrow is a self-styled leftist, while Hawkman has been implied to be an ideological conservative. On top of that, Hawkman is a lot tougher on crime than Green Arrow.
This rivalry came to a head during the "Slings and Arrows" story in Geoff Johns and Rags Morales' Hawkman, where the two fought one another over an arrow-shooting supervillain in Hawkman's at-the-time hometown of St. Roch. Eventually, Ollie and Carter teamed up to deal with this villain, who was called the Spider. However, they still argued the whole time.
3 Green Arrow And Batman Are Not Particularly Fond Of One Another Either
Green Arrow and Batman are two of the very few non-powered members of the Justice League in the team's existence. One would think this would breed some camaraderie between the two, but it really didn't. Green Arrow is a rebellious loudmouth really quick to question the decisions of other members. Batman, on the other hand, hates it when people are loud and question him.
This has led to several shouting matches between the two men over the team's history, and it has even come to blows on occasion. The two seem to get along right now, but it's only a matter of time before Ollie ticks Bruce off again--or vice versa.
2 Darkseid And The Anti-Monitor Have An Ancient War
Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor are two of the most powerful villains in the DC Multiverse, and both have fought the heroes of Earth on several occasions. Despite the common foes they share, these two gods have different plans. The Anti-Monitor sought to destroy all things in the positive universe, and Darkseid wants to remake it all in his image.
They apparently have an ancient rivalry that came to a head in the "Darkseid War" arc in Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok's Justice League. The war took place on Earth, and it ended with the Anti-Monitor being repelled and Darkseid seemingly dying--only to be reborn as an infant in the care of his daughter, Grail.
1 Batman Has A History With Green Lanterns
Batman has had it out with several Green Lanterns over the years. He famously punched out Guy Gardner while both were part of the Justice League International. When Hal Jordan returned to the land of the living after his death as Parallax, Batman didn't trust Hal and kept trying to hold back Hal from accomplishing his mission of beating the Parallax entity. This led to Hal punching out Batman while Guy Gardner cheered.
Batman got Hal Jordan back for that later. In a more recent story, Batman teamed up with Green Lanterns Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz, the latter of whom used to carry a gun in case his ring ever gave out. Batman chewed out Simon for bringing a gun into Gotham City, and the two got into an argument. However, Simon gave in and disposed of his gun after he and Jessica helped Batman put away Scarecrow.
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