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Teen superheroes have been a part of comics for a long time. While there were team-ups between sidekicks in the Golden Age, it wasn’t until the Silver Age that a lot of teen teams started to come together. Since then, teen teams have become a huge part of the comic industry. Some of the most well-known team books of all time have starred teenage superheroes, and there are plenty of great teen teams out there.
Marvel and DC both have created amazing teen teams that have stood the time. Fans love to read about young superheroes in teams and will for years to come.
10 The Original Five X-Men Were Marvel’s First Big Teen Team
The original five X-Men were Marvel trailblazers in a lot of ways. The X-Men was one of the first teen super teams to ever have their own book, with even OGs like DC’s Legion of Super-Heroes only appearing in Adventure Comics. Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, Angel, and Marvel Girl became legends and started a franchise that is one of the biggest in the world.
That said, going back and reading the old ’60 series can be a chore. and the teen versions of these heroes’ journey to the present in 2012 saw them quickly wear out their welcome. The O5 are legends and still a massive part of the Marvel Universe, but their impact is more important than who they were back then.
9 The New X-Men Were The Young Mutant Team Of The 2000s
The X-Men have been spotlighting teenage heroes since the beginning but eventually, the main team started having adult mutants as members. Every decade of X-Men comics since the ’80s have had their own teen books, with the 2000s edition being New X-Men. This team starred mutants like Prodigy, Rockslide, Elixir, X-23, and more, gaining a big following.
Unfortunately, their existence coincided with M-Day and the various tragedies that came afterward. The team got the short end of the stick many times but fans still loved them. Many of them have graduated to better things in the Krakoa era of X-Men books.
8 Infinity Inc. Was The Next Generation Of The Justice Society
Infinity Inc. is mostly forgotten nowadays, but that discounts just how great a team they were. The team consisted of Hourman II, Nuklon, Jade, Obsidian, Brainwave II, Blue Scarab, Northwind, Star-Spangled Kid, and Fury, all children or heroic descendants of the members of the Justice Society of America. They were pretty much the Earth-2 Teen Titans and would be folded into the main continuity after Crisis On Infinite Earths.
The team introduced a lot of heroes who would become big deals in the Justice Society and is the lost teen team. Unlike a lot of better-known groups, the team name hasn’t become as memorable, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t among the best of all time.
7 The New Warriors Were A Rare Non-X-Men Associated Marvel Teen Team
At Marvel, teen teams were mostly associated with the X-Men, but the New Mutants changed that. Consisting of Night Thrasher, Marvel Boy, Firestar, Speedball, Nova, and Namorita, the team was a good cross-section of the Marvel Universe and boasted some of the most powerful teen heroes.
The team’s heyday was the ’90s, and while revivals never really brought them back to prominence, it’s hard to deny just how great the original roster was. The New Warriors were trailblazers, as they showed readers that not all teen Marvel heroes had to be mutants and were the forebears of groups like the Young Avengers and Champions.
6 Young Justice Reminded Fans How Great DC’s Teen Hero Scene Was
Young Justice has an important place in DC history. The Teen Titans’ ’80s successes had fizzled out by the ’90s and DC needed a place for its new raft of teen sidekicks like Tim Drake, Impulse, Wonder Girl, and Superboy. That’s where Young Justice came in. The team combined the well-known sidekicks with new teen heroes and reminded readers how great teen DC heroes were.
Young Justice’s success led to the return of the Teen Titans and an eventual 2018 reboot. The team, both the classic and new version, is a great assemblage of teen heroes and still one of the most iconic teen teams of them all.
5 The Young Avengers Have Some Big Name Alums
The Young Avengers seemed kind of lame at first, more of a DC idea than a mid-2000s Marvel one, but it proved it had legs. Introducing fan-favorite characters like Wiccan, Hulkling, Kate Bishop, Patriot, Iron Lad, Speed, America Chavez, and more, the team boasted powerful teen heroes in adventures that would take them to the forefront of the Marvel Universe.
The teen team had been dormant at Marvel for a while when the Young Avengers came along, outside of the X-books, and they brought it all roaring back. They’re still one of Marvel’s most beloved teams, teenage or otherwise.
4 Generation X Showcased The Weirdest Mutants Of Them All
Generation X doesn’t get the love that its teen mutant predecessors the New Mutants did but they definitely deserve it. Generation X did something a little different, showcasing mutants with less than pretty powers like Skin, Penance, Chamber, and more, playing up the body horror aspects of the whole thing. Joined by fan favorites Emma Frost, Banshee, and Jubilee, it was a decidedly ’90s take on the teen mutant team.
Generation X returned in 2017 with Jubilee and Chamber as mentors, with members like Eyeboy, Nature Girl, Quentin Quire, and more filling out the ranks. Generation X was always a different kind of teen team and it paid dividends for them.
3 The New Mutants Introduced The Next Generation Of X-Men
In the ’80s, the two biggest books were Uncanny X-Men and New Teen Titans, so Marvel decided to combine them by creating the New Mutants. The first teen mutant team since the original X-Men, the original roster consisted of Cannonball, Mirage, Karma, Sunspot, and Wolfsbane, all mutants who would play big roles in the X-Men down the road.
The New Mutants had a huge impact on the X-Men line. The team would gain and lose members as the years went by, eventually becoming the first X-Force. They’ve come back together as adults and are still many fans’ favorite mutant team.
2 The Legion Of Super-Heroes Was The First Teen Team Of The Silver Age
The Legion of Super-Heroes is numerically the biggest teen team in comics. They also hold an important distinction in that they are the first big teen team of the Silver Age. Their success was integral in the formation of teams like the X-Men and the Teen Titans and they were a huge part of the Superman mythos.
While they haven’t had nearly as much success in the present as they did in the past, they’re still one of the most iconic teen teams ever and easily one of the most important. They changed the way publishers and readers looked at teen heroes.
1 The Teen Titans Are The Only Teen Team To Truly Rule The Sales Roost
The Teen Titans were an inspired idea, combining all of DC’s most powerful sidekicks under one roof. The team would truly come into its own in the early ’80s when the writer/artist team of Marv Wolfman and George Perez catapulted them to the sales stratosphere. For years, the Teen Titans were one of the biggest books every month and the only time a teen book hit the top of the sales charts.
Over the years, fan-favorite characters like Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Donna Troy, Wally West, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and so many more have called the team home. It’s still the most recognized teen team of them all, its success reaching outside of comics.
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