Legion of Substitute Heroes

The Legion of Substitute Heroes are a group of fictional characters in the future of the DC Comics universe. The "Subs", as they are often called, are rejected Legion of Super-Heroes applicants who band together to prove that their powers are not as useless as they claim. They first appeared in Adventure Comics #306 (March 1963), and were created by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte. The group were depicted as reasonably effective superheroes until Keith Giffen, during his tenure as Legion writer, began depicting the team as something of a joke.