Undoubtedly the most successful team of supervillains had to have been the Crime Syndicate of Earth-Three, due to a few key factors. First, they were a tight-knit band of felons bound by a common interest, that dealt decisively with any competition... be it criminals or other costumed characters. Second, there world only had one actual superhero... Alex Luthor. Third, the only other individuals that dared to oppose them were bounty hunters such as Johnny Quick's adversaries in the Rogues Hunters. As such, they were the longest lasting team of caped and cowled crooks, that proved unbeatable for years. However, the Crime Syndicate's dominance came to an end following a battle with the Justice League and Justice Society, leading to their banishment into interdimensional Limbo for an untold period of time, encaged in a globe created by their enemies. This green globe prevented the Syndicators from using their specific powers and skills to break free.
Yet perhaps none had as wide-spread a tyrannical grasp on villainy across various universes as had the Secret Society of Super-Villains. Originally created from behind the scenes by Darkseid of the extra-dimensional world known as Apokolips, several villains led this team on Earths One and Two throughout the decades, from Manhunter to Gorilla Grodd to Lex Luthor to the Wizard. After the Villains broke apart into two teams, one on each Earth, they disbanded.
However, the last leader, Ultra-Humanite, assembled a new Society which nearly won before internal scabbles once more fractured the villains' once more. Ten members of the Society, from Earths One and Two, were then left in interdimensional Limbo. Prior to this, five former Society members under Wizard’s leadership also were trapped there when journeying from Earth-Two to Earth-One.
The Earth-One villains later led by Ultra returned to their world, to be sent to various prisons, while Society pulled the Earth-Two villains from the early 1980s into the 1940s for a battle with the All-Star Squadron, which they ultimately lost.
Those six remaining members were then sent back to Limbo... according to Johnny Quick... save for Ultra. Although later, only Brain Wave was shown as still there! Where were fellow members Mist, Monocle, Rag Doll, Psycho-Pirate and Vulcan when Ultra-Humanite and Brain Wave had a final battle in that realm? Well, recall that the Crime Syndicate was likewise trapped in Limbo. Logically, it seems that those five Secret Society cronies helped the Crime Syndicate escape their globe-prison, and the Syndicate returned the favor by returning all of them to their respective Earths. At least for a few years, until the Crisis on Infinite Earths pulled them all into a Multiversal conflict.
* For those who might say, “But the Crime Syndicate were still shown in their green bubble within Limbo in 1984, remember that time is meaningless there. And Luthor mentions having several battles with the Syndicate since 1982. Plus all points in the timestream of Earths One and Two were accessible to the "present" in Limbo as the Secret Society of the 80's traveled to the 40's, as one such example.
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