Team Spotlight: Global Guardians

Before we get started, I should note that I'm not really sure if they count. Although they appeared first in an animated series tie-in comic, they never actually appeared on the show. Still, in the interest of thoroughness, and because of how relatively well-known they are, I'm going to include them. Feel free to object in the comments.

The Global Guardians are an international team of superheroes that first appeared in a three-part storyline in Super Friends #7-9 (Oct. - Dec. 1977), in which they team up with the Super Friends to save the world from an evil villain named Grax who wants to blow it up. They later appeared sporadically throughout the series and gained members several times during the run. The original team line-up was as follows:

Super Friends #9

Tasmanian Devil (Australia) - First Appearance: Super Friends #7 (Oct. 1977)
Owlwoman (USA) - First Appearance: Super Friends #7 (Oct. 1977)
Seraph (Israel) - First Appearance: Super Friends #7 (Oct. 1977)
Godiva (England) - First Appearance: Super Friends #7 (Oct. 1977)
Impala (South Africa) - First Appearance: Super Friends #7 (Oct. 1977)
Jack O'Lantern (Ireland) - First Appearance: Super Friends #8 (Nov. 1977)
Rising Sun (Japan) - First Appearance: Super Friends #8 (Nov. 1977)
Tuatara (New Zealand) - First Appearance: Super Friends #8 (Nov. 1977)
Thunderlord (Taiwan) - First Appearance: Super Friends #8 (Nov. 1977)
The Little Mermaid (Denmark) - First Appearance: Super Friends #9 (Dec. 1977)
Olympian (Greece) - First Appearance: Super Friends #9 (Dec. 1977)
Icemaiden (Norway) - First Appearance: Super Friends #9 (Dec. 1977)

And the following joined later:

Doctor Mist (Africa) - First Appearance: Super Friends #12 (July 1978)
Green Fury (Brazil) - First Appearance: Super Friends #25 (Oct. 1979)
Wild Huntsman (Germany) - First Appearance: Super Friends #45 (June 1981)
Bushmaster (Venezuela) - First Appearance: Super Friends #45 (June 1981)

Super Friends #45

The team would make the jump to regular continuity a year later in DC Comics Presents #46 (June 1982), with a roster consisting of Doctor Mist, Little Mermaid, Rising Sun, Jack O' Lantern, Green Fury (renamed Fire), Seraph, Olympian, Thunderlord, and Bushmaster. The other members would make the transition over time:

Owlwoman and Impala first appeared in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 (Mar. 1986), Tasmanian Devil and Icemaiden in Infinity Inc. #32 (November 1986), Godiva and Wild Huntsman in Infinity Inc. #34 (Jan. 1987), and Tuatara in Justice League International #12 (April 1988).


The Global Guardians have disbanded and re-formed several times since their introduction and their roster has significantly expanded and changed over time, but their most lasting contribution to the DC universe is probably as the spiritual precursor (and farm team, in a way) to the Justice League International.