The Secret Society of Super Villains is a team of fictional supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Over the years, they have featured a large number of ne'er-do-wells as they attempt to subvert the superheroic population of the world for a variety of schemes.
This page lists the known members of the Secret Society of Super Villains:
These members of the Secret Society of Super Villains were secretly gathered by Darkseid when the group was first founded in 1976 through their splintering after the discovery of their benefactor's true identity. Since then, various leaders like Lex Luthor, the Wizard and the Silver Ghost have taken over or re-formed the Society, including old and new members in the roster.
In JLA #119 (late Nov. 2005), it was revealed that Catwoman was an early member of the SSoSV briefly as well (Catwoman was mentioned in the text of Secret Society of Super Villains #1 as being a member, though the penciller omitted her from the issue; this brief mention is the only known connection of Catwoman to the SSoSV prior to the present). Also, Despero brought the memories of the members back, and was responsible of the subsequent attack of the Society.
The next incarnation of the Secret Society was organized by the Ultra-Humanite, who organized foes of both the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America.
When the JLA resurfaced with the Big Seven members, Brain Wave started to gather a new Secret Society to take down the newly formed Justice League (JLA 80-Page Giant #1), but Brainwave was actually the Martian Manhunter in disguise—the formation of this Society was a trap made by the League to defeat more supervillains in the same time (as the tale was told by the Rainbow Raider to Sonar III, it is uncertain whether this tale actually happened; at the very least, there may have been some embellishment).
Members gathered by "Brainwave" were:
Members in other branches that are on TV screens:
Organized by Alexander Luthor Jr. in the guise of Lex Luthor, the Society formed over rumors of the JLA mindwiping Dr. Light. With a ruling council of six members overseeing a structured roster of 200 strong (Villains United #1), the Society is a grave threat to the superheroes of the world. Joker is notably absent from this roster, because he is the only villain the other villains all feared - and rightly so, as the Joker murdered several of the Society's roster in revenge for being left out.
The following had declined to join the Society:
Some former members of the Wizard's Secret Society, also victims of the JLA's mindwiping in the past, had their memories unlocked by Despero and then were summoned back together for revenge by the Wizard. Zatanna reluctantly re-erased their memories of the JLA's identities. Whether they were members of Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Society as well is unknown.
In addition to the Wizard, Felix Faust and Chronos, the membership included:
One year after the events of Infinite Crisis, the Calculator has taken control of the Society, with Talia as the only other original leader left. Felix Faust and the Cheetah (Barbara Ann Minerva), however, have also been linked to this group.
In the lead-up to Final Crisis, the returned supervillain Libra (who happens to be the prophet of Darkseid) takes the scattered remnants of Luthor's Secret Society and uses it to create his own Secret Society of Super Villains to serve Darkseid. The following are confirmed members so far.
Following the Final Crisis, the Cheetah has assembled another Secret Society of Super Villains. Among its members are:
In The New 52, the Secret Society of Super Villains is reintroduced in issues of Justice League of America when "the Outsider" is seen assembling them to deal with the growing superhero community[1] as well as to have members he can offer to the Crime Syndicate of America to assist them once they arrive.[2]
First appearance and any additional info listed in parentheses.
The DC Rebirth reboot featured the Secret Society of Super Villains, where they place Deathstroke the Terminator on trial to see if he is still evil or not.[3]
The lineup consists of:
Chairpersons
This was the line-up seen in Infinite Frontier and Dark Crisis: