Top 10 DC Heroes Whose Powers Drastically Changed
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VOICE OVER: Adrian Sousa
WRITTEN BY: Michael Wynands
Everyone needs an upgrade from time to time, including Superheroes! For this list we'll be looking at the times DC Superheroes got brand new powers such as Shazam, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Superman. Do you have a favorite? Let us know in the comments!
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Top 10 Times DC Superheroes Got New Powers
Even the most iconic characters need an upgrade from time to time. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Times DC Superheroes Got New Powers.
For this list, we’ll be looking DC comic book characters who, at one point or another, received new powers or had their existing powers change - be it temporarily or permanently.
Part of Batman’s appeal is the fact that he’s a mere mortal. Sure, he’s wicked smart, is in peak physical shape and has seemingly endless resources, but despite all that, he maintains a certain level of relatability. Well, that all changed when Bruce took a seat in the Mobius Chair. The Caped Crusader usually has more than his fair share of advanced tech at his disposal, but the Mobius Chair, previously operated by the Anti-Monitor and later Metron, is a technological marvel. When he took the throne, Batman gained all the knowledge of the New Gods, making him essentially omniscient. Sure, he was still Batman, but he was also the God of Knowledge.
The daughter of Wally West and Linda Park, Iris West was born into the weird world of superheroes. Iris and her twin brother Jai inherited their father’s connection to the Speed Force but shared it between them. Initially, Jai was shown as being able to accelerate muscle growth, giving him super strength and speed, while Iris could vibrate her molecules, allowing her to pass through physical objects. When Professor Zoom began causing them both great pain through the speed force however, Iris wound up gaining the entirety of their shared Speed Force connection. This freed Jai from pain, but also took away his powers, giving Iris new ones in the process. It was at this point that she became a full-blown speedster, taking up the mantle of Impulse.
Billy Batson was Fawcett Comics’ answer to Superman. Unfortunately, the similarities were a bit too obvious, resulting in a lengthy legal battle. While Shazam has many comparable abilities to Superman, their origins are quite different. Shazam was originally an acronym for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury, the gods from whom he drew the powers of wisdom, strength, stamina, courage, and speed. Following the events of the Darkseid War, however, Billy’s connection to the old gods was severed and so an alternate bond was formed with the new gods. The result? Shazam replaced his old powers with the Strength of S'ivaa, the Fires of H'ronmeer, the Compassion of Anapel, the Source Manipulation of Zonuz, the Boldness of Atë and the Lightning of Mamaragan. With brand new gods come brand new powers, most notably, power over fire, death, and recreation, granting billy the ability to breath fire!
With his big ego and tendency towards anger, Gardner isn’t your typical hero, but boy is he ever determined. When he lost his ring to Hal Jordan and was forced out of the Green Lantern Corps, he tried a number of approaches to continue fighting crime. After experimenting with guns, he eventually took up Sinestro’s old yellow power ring, which gave him a major power boost. But that eventually burnt out, and so… once again in need of power, he sought out the mystical “water of the warriors”. Apparently tapping into his Vuldarian alien ancestry, this unlocked various powers, including the ability transform his body into various blades, guns, and armor, as well as the ability to adapt to various environments and threats.
After making over a billion dollars at the box office, it would seem that Aquaman’s time has finally come. And quite frankly, it’s long overdue. From the very beginning, his powers were always more impressive than “the ability to talk to fish” and he’s only gotten more powerful over time. In the New 52, he traded Neptune’s trident for that of Poseidon - because apparently in the world of DC comics one is an avatar of the other rather than being the same god with two names. Anyways… with Poseidon’s trident, Aquaman got a major upgrade. Most notably, it allowed him to control not just the seas, but the weather in general. It also allowed him to cause earthquakes and teleport through water.
Moving up the list of fan favorite Green Lanterns, we come to Kyle Rayner, who debuted in 1994 after Hal Jordan went crazy and became the villainous Parallax. Despite making the Green Lantern uniform his own with a more distinct look and a bulkier face mask, his powers were basically the same as those of his peers. Enter: Ion. Ion is the living embodiment of willpower, which resides within the Central Battery of the Green Lantern Corps. When the Battery was broken, however, Ion wound up bonding with Kyle Rayner, giving the Green Lantern godlike abilities - even allowing him to alter reality. He became so powerful, he was able to recharge Oa’s Battery, among other incredible feats.
Princess Diana of Themyscira is arguably one of the most powerful heroes in DC comics, but given her decades-long history, she’s understandably gone through a number of changes over the years. In 2013 however, she got a serious upgrade in terms of power and a heap of responsibilities when she killed the god of War, Ares. Apparently, when you take the life of a God, you take on their role as well. And so Diana became of the new God of War and got everything that comes with it.
When Barry Allen was first introduced, his powers were fairly straightforward: he was really, really fast. Over the years, however, he’s gone from having one of the simplest power sets to the most convoluted. But his connection to the Speed Force, which was introduced in 1994, isn’t what we’re focusing on today. During the events of Blackest Night, the various Lantern Corps banded together to overcome the undead Black Lanterns. It was at this time that Barry was deputized as a member of the Blue Lanterns, a Corps fueled by hope. As a Blue Lantern, he retained all of his usual Flash abilities but also got powers similar to those of a Green Lantern, as well as healing abilities, among others. Now that’s a powerful combination.
As previously mentioned when talking about Kyle Rayner, Hal Jordan hit a bit of a rough patch in the early ‘90s. After the destruction of his hometown, Coast City, he basically lost his mind, largely wiped out the Green Lantern Corps and went full villain. In the end, however, he sacrificed himself to save Earth by reigniting the sun. Like with pretty much every comic book character, his return was inevitable, but Jordan still had a long road to redemption. First, he bonded with the Spectre to become the Spirit of Vengeance. Willful as always, however, Jordan did his best to change mission into one of redemption - with mixed results. Regardless, in this state, Hal Jordan was nigh-omnipotent and omniscient.
Superman’s powers have never really been set in stone. It’s a bit of a product of his age - he was created back in the days before people were taking comic book characters seriously, and so powers seemed to come and go as the story dictated. All that to say, he’s been through more than his fair share of changes. All these various powers, of course, stem from his Kryptonian physiology and the effects of our yellow sun on it. In 2015 however, writer Geoff Johns gave Clark Kent the most notable update in years. Apparently, Superman can take all that excess solar energy and release it all at once in the form of a massively powerful and insanely destructive solar flare. Who knew?
Even the most iconic characters need an upgrade from time to time. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Times DC Superheroes Got New Powers.
For this list, we’ll be looking DC comic book characters who, at one point or another, received new powers or had their existing powers change - be it temporarily or permanently.
#10: Batman
Part of Batman’s appeal is the fact that he’s a mere mortal. Sure, he’s wicked smart, is in peak physical shape and has seemingly endless resources, but despite all that, he maintains a certain level of relatability. Well, that all changed when Bruce took a seat in the Mobius Chair. The Caped Crusader usually has more than his fair share of advanced tech at his disposal, but the Mobius Chair, previously operated by the Anti-Monitor and later Metron, is a technological marvel. When he took the throne, Batman gained all the knowledge of the New Gods, making him essentially omniscient. Sure, he was still Batman, but he was also the God of Knowledge.
#9: Iris West II
The daughter of Wally West and Linda Park, Iris West was born into the weird world of superheroes. Iris and her twin brother Jai inherited their father’s connection to the Speed Force but shared it between them. Initially, Jai was shown as being able to accelerate muscle growth, giving him super strength and speed, while Iris could vibrate her molecules, allowing her to pass through physical objects. When Professor Zoom began causing them both great pain through the speed force however, Iris wound up gaining the entirety of their shared Speed Force connection. This freed Jai from pain, but also took away his powers, giving Iris new ones in the process. It was at this point that she became a full-blown speedster, taking up the mantle of Impulse.
#8: Shazam
Billy Batson was Fawcett Comics’ answer to Superman. Unfortunately, the similarities were a bit too obvious, resulting in a lengthy legal battle. While Shazam has many comparable abilities to Superman, their origins are quite different. Shazam was originally an acronym for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury, the gods from whom he drew the powers of wisdom, strength, stamina, courage, and speed. Following the events of the Darkseid War, however, Billy’s connection to the old gods was severed and so an alternate bond was formed with the new gods. The result? Shazam replaced his old powers with the Strength of S'ivaa, the Fires of H'ronmeer, the Compassion of Anapel, the Source Manipulation of Zonuz, the Boldness of Atë and the Lightning of Mamaragan. With brand new gods come brand new powers, most notably, power over fire, death, and recreation, granting billy the ability to breath fire!
#7: Guy Gardner
With his big ego and tendency towards anger, Gardner isn’t your typical hero, but boy is he ever determined. When he lost his ring to Hal Jordan and was forced out of the Green Lantern Corps, he tried a number of approaches to continue fighting crime. After experimenting with guns, he eventually took up Sinestro’s old yellow power ring, which gave him a major power boost. But that eventually burnt out, and so… once again in need of power, he sought out the mystical “water of the warriors”. Apparently tapping into his Vuldarian alien ancestry, this unlocked various powers, including the ability transform his body into various blades, guns, and armor, as well as the ability to adapt to various environments and threats.
#6: Aquaman
After making over a billion dollars at the box office, it would seem that Aquaman’s time has finally come. And quite frankly, it’s long overdue. From the very beginning, his powers were always more impressive than “the ability to talk to fish” and he’s only gotten more powerful over time. In the New 52, he traded Neptune’s trident for that of Poseidon - because apparently in the world of DC comics one is an avatar of the other rather than being the same god with two names. Anyways… with Poseidon’s trident, Aquaman got a major upgrade. Most notably, it allowed him to control not just the seas, but the weather in general. It also allowed him to cause earthquakes and teleport through water.
#5: Kyle Rayner
Moving up the list of fan favorite Green Lanterns, we come to Kyle Rayner, who debuted in 1994 after Hal Jordan went crazy and became the villainous Parallax. Despite making the Green Lantern uniform his own with a more distinct look and a bulkier face mask, his powers were basically the same as those of his peers. Enter: Ion. Ion is the living embodiment of willpower, which resides within the Central Battery of the Green Lantern Corps. When the Battery was broken, however, Ion wound up bonding with Kyle Rayner, giving the Green Lantern godlike abilities - even allowing him to alter reality. He became so powerful, he was able to recharge Oa’s Battery, among other incredible feats.
#4: Wonder Woman
Princess Diana of Themyscira is arguably one of the most powerful heroes in DC comics, but given her decades-long history, she’s understandably gone through a number of changes over the years. In 2013 however, she got a serious upgrade in terms of power and a heap of responsibilities when she killed the god of War, Ares. Apparently, when you take the life of a God, you take on their role as well. And so Diana became of the new God of War and got everything that comes with it.
#3: Flash
When Barry Allen was first introduced, his powers were fairly straightforward: he was really, really fast. Over the years, however, he’s gone from having one of the simplest power sets to the most convoluted. But his connection to the Speed Force, which was introduced in 1994, isn’t what we’re focusing on today. During the events of Blackest Night, the various Lantern Corps banded together to overcome the undead Black Lanterns. It was at this time that Barry was deputized as a member of the Blue Lanterns, a Corps fueled by hope. As a Blue Lantern, he retained all of his usual Flash abilities but also got powers similar to those of a Green Lantern, as well as healing abilities, among others. Now that’s a powerful combination.
#2: Hal Jordan
As previously mentioned when talking about Kyle Rayner, Hal Jordan hit a bit of a rough patch in the early ‘90s. After the destruction of his hometown, Coast City, he basically lost his mind, largely wiped out the Green Lantern Corps and went full villain. In the end, however, he sacrificed himself to save Earth by reigniting the sun. Like with pretty much every comic book character, his return was inevitable, but Jordan still had a long road to redemption. First, he bonded with the Spectre to become the Spirit of Vengeance. Willful as always, however, Jordan did his best to change mission into one of redemption - with mixed results. Regardless, in this state, Hal Jordan was nigh-omnipotent and omniscient.
#1: Superman
Superman’s powers have never really been set in stone. It’s a bit of a product of his age - he was created back in the days before people were taking comic book characters seriously, and so powers seemed to come and go as the story dictated. All that to say, he’s been through more than his fair share of changes. All these various powers, of course, stem from his Kryptonian physiology and the effects of our yellow sun on it. In 2015 however, writer Geoff Johns gave Clark Kent the most notable update in years. Apparently, Superman can take all that excess solar energy and release it all at once in the form of a massively powerful and insanely destructive solar flare. Who knew?
