In Justice League: Outbreak (2017), Cyborg and the Justice League must stop a falling Watchtower from orbit. In a storyline by Bryan Hitch and Neal Edwards, the JL must uncover an unknown villain that has hacked the Batcave and the Watchtower! At the end of the storyline, the League must fight the Fearsome Five along other villains such as Amazo. In the New 52, Cyborg and the Metal Men fight the Secret Society and its Fearsome Five recruits.

In the DC Rebirth continuity, the Fearsome Five are Gizmo, Jinx, Psi-Mon, Mammoth and Shimmer. Though these battles occur early in the series, the Fearsome Five are originally a Teen Titans villain and consist of Doctor Light, Gizmo, Shimmer, Mammoth and Psi-Mon. In New Teen Titans (1981) #3, the Fearsome Five make their first appearance in the Pre-Crisis continuity. Later they appear in multiple Titans adventures, Superman and Outsiders.

Though the Fearsome Five are C-characters, they are a supervillain team with adults. Originally, Dr. Light a former S.T.A.R. Labs scientist began his crime career fighting the JLA. When the team defeated him, he set up the Fearsome Five in order to fight their sidekicks in the Teen Titans.

Among his first recruits was Dr. Simon Jones. Previously, he experimented on contact with other dimensions, when Trigon the Terrible contacted him and turned him into the psychic called Psi-Mon. The other founding members are either adult or in their young adult years.

In reality, the Fearsome Five are metahumans, not mutants. Indeed, in the DC Universe, a large population of heroes and villains gained their powers from the metagene, which was created by the experimentations of the Martian Race on Earth. Specifically, Mammoth and Shimmer are siblings who have remarkable metahuman abilities. For his part, Mammoth has titanic strength capable of rivaling Superman.

In Young Justice (2010), Psi-Mon, Mammoth and Shimmer appear as a super-villain team named Onslaught. In Episode 4 of Season 1, Mammoth was a weak youth who injected himself with a combination of Kobra Venom and Cadmus’ Project Blockbuster formula and gained super-powers. Other villains in the Fearsome Five use advanced technology such as Gizmo who uses technology to make weapons. For his part, Psi-Mon may be considered a mutant.

Really, the Fearsome Five are both petty criminals and an international terrorist group. Originally, the Fearsome Five were a supervillain team that operated as petty criminals. In fact, they attempted to move their operations to Metropolis to commit financial crimes. In Adventures of Superman (1987) #430, Superman must miss his parents’ anniversary in order to fight the team. Though their efforts are vain since the Man of Tomorrow manages to stop them in their rematch.

In the Rebirth continuity, the Fearsome Five operate as an international terrorist group. Under their business venture, Meta Solutions, the team worked to help metahumans control their powers. However, their plan was to steal the metahuman powers and sell them on the black market for an international entity known as H.I.V.E. Previously, the secret organization recruited Deathstroke the Terminator in the Pre-Crisis continuity to defeat the Teen Titans during the New Teen Titans: the Judas Contract saga.

Originally, the Fearsome Five were formed by Doctor Light, their first leader. Indeed, he gave the team its vendetta against the Titans as a way to establish their crime career. But, the team has suffered from too many defeats and deaths due to their ineffectual leadership and teamwork.

For the most part, members such as Gizmo and Psi-Mon are motivated by petty gain. Though other leaders have been Psi-Mon and Shimmer. Overall, the Fearsome Five have functioned well as mercenaries and terrorists. Hence, their weak leadership has served international terrorist organizations such as H.I.V.E.