The Arrowverse started as one of the best TV superhero universes ever created, but over time, it ran out of steam. In recent years, it finally hit rock bottom and the CW has been gradually dismantling it. Now that the Arrowverse’s end is imminent, it’s fair to review some of its shortcomings.
In a way, the Arrowverse failed to evolve over time. It felt innovative at its inception but it went stale and the CW did nothing to fix this problem. Now, fans can look back and easily notice some of these shows’ biggest mistakes, from a lack of meaningful diversity on The Flash and a surfeit of lazy love triangle narratives.
10/10 The Flash Doesn’t Have Any Main LGBTQ+ Characters
The CW is known for striving to make its shows as diverse as possible. Funny enough, they have missed an important mark in The Flash. Throughout its nine seasons, The Flash has featured dozens of main characters, but none of them have been queer.
The series hinted heavily at Nora West-Allen’s homosexuality, but they barely explored it. Considering that one of DC Comics’ greatest speedsters is a nonbinary person, Jess “Quick” Chambers, the Arrowverse missed its best chance to introduce them into this universe.
9/10 Ruby Rose’s Portrayal Of Batwoman Pales In Comparison To Javicia Leslie’s
When Ruby Rose announced that she would be stepping out from the role as Kate Kane, Arrowverse fans were concerned about the future of the series. Fortunately, Javicia Leslie took up the mantle as Ryan Wilder. With her in the lead, Batwoman lasted another two seasons.
Now that the fandom is mourning Batwoman, their original concerns about losing Ruby Rose feel ridiculous. Leslie brought a new incredible and relatable superhero to life. Now that she is set to appear in The Flash as the Red Death, people hope the Arrowverse will reconsider her for other roles.
8/10 The Elongated Man Got Canceled
Portrayed by Hartley Sawyer, Ralph Dibney, aka the Elongated Man, debuted in The Flash in its fourth season. He was a corrupt cop turned hero who became central to Team Flash. In his time with the team, he went from being a jerk to a loyal ally.
Although fans really liked the character, Sawyer was fired for the seventh season after old racist and misogynistic Tweets resurfaced online. After this, he went from a fan favorite to one of the most disliked heroes from the Arrowverse.
7/10 The Crisis On Infinite Earths Crossover Was The Beginning Of The End
Based on the comic of the same name, Crisis on Infinite Earths was the Arrowverse’s most ambitious crossover. It followed all the Arrowverse’s heroes across five episodes as they tried to save the world from the Anti-Monitor. This crossover included references to other DC productions, such as Smallville, the classic Wonder Woman, and even the DCEU. This opened up the idea of a DC multiverse, exciting many fans.
Unfortunately, Crisis also rebooted all the Arrowverse series by folding them into one Earth. This allowed the writers to erase many important storylines that were never concluded properly. The lack of coherence between the pre-crisis and post-crisis Arrowverse universe ended up disappointing fans.
6/10 Mona From DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Was Thoroughly Mistreated
Ramona Young first appeared in the fourth season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow as Mona Wu, an original Arrowverse character with indigenous Hawaiian spirit powers. She was originally a delivery girl, but she joined the Legends after being fired from the Time Bureau.
Fans found Mona annoying from the start but weirdly, so did the other characters on the show. Although Mona was always trying to be kind or useful to the team, they often tried to leave her out of their dynamics because her personality was too cheerful for them. Mona is just an example of how many female characters only exist to become punchlines.
5/10 The Arrowverse Canceled The Wrong Shows
One of the biggest criticisms of the CW is its lack of commitment to certain projects. The Arrowverse canceled Supergirl, Batwoman, and Black Lightning but drug out The Flash long after its expiration date.
The Flash ended up rehashing the same basic stories and, to make this work, couldn’t allow Barry Allen to grow as a character or as a hero. However, Black Lightning could have run for several seasons without running out of material. The Arrowverse’s inability to choose the right projects shortened its lifespan.
4/10 Supergirl And Superman’s Dynamic Was Completely Wasted
When Tyler Hoetchlin first appeared as Superman in the second season of Supergirl, fans were excited to see what kind the cousins would do together. Sadly, Hoetchlin only reprised his role occasionally, in crossovers. Now that he stars in his own show, Superman & Lois, the CW had to confirm that the series takes place in a different universe.
Since the Arrowverse built up a connection between them in Crisis, it’s disappointing that the CW retconned Superman & Lois’s reality. The lack of Supergirl and Superman team-ups in both shows is a complete waste of potential. Kara and Kal-El have a close relationship in the comics and, on top of that, Melissa Benoist and Hoetchlin managed to recreate that chemistry, so fans would have loved to see more of them on screen.
3/10 Female Villains Tend To Work For Male Villains
Even though the CW tries to include strong female characters, they missed the mark with their villains. Female Arrowverse villains can be divided into two categories. They’re either subserviant to male villains (Mercy Graves, Nora Darhk, Evan McCulloch) or they’re toxic femme fatales (Veronica Sinclair, Carrie Cutter, Leslie Jocoy).
Female representation is crucial in media. The Arrowverse created some of the best heroines in the DC universe but their shows still fall for unnecessary sexist tropes. DC Comics provide plenty of memorable female villains, like Amanda Waller, Lady Shiva, and the emancipated version of Harley Quinn so this is entirely the Arrowverse’s shortcoming.
2/10 Love Triangles Are A Lazy Ploy To Create Drama
For a universe that loved dealing with couples, the Arrowverse did a terrible job with its love stories. One of their favorite tropes is love triangles. In Arrow, Oliver fans find themselves caught between Laurel and Sara or Laurel and Felicity, and, in Supergirl, Mon-El returns married to Imra, putting Kara in a difficult situation. Even in The Flash, where Iris and Barry are one of the best pairings of the Arrowverse, they’re originally in the middle of a dramatic situation with Eddie Thawne.
Love triangles aren’t just a lazy and dated narrative ploy, but they also perpetuate toxic romantic behaviors that shouldn’t be reinforced by light entertainment. Producers use these conflicts as a cheap way to keep fans interested, but viewers deserve more believable relationships.
1/10 Supergirl’s Fans Felt Queerbaited By Kara And Lena’s Relationship
From the moment Supergirl introduced Lena Luthor in the series, she had an obvious connection with Kara Danvers. Throughout the series, Kara and Lena went from acquaintances to friends to best friends with an emotional betrayal arc in the middle. This let their friendship evolve in ways usually reserved for romantic relationships.
Writers kept including romance-coded scenes, like Lena sending dozens of flowers to Kara’s office or Kara flying around the globe to get Lena’s favorite treats. However, they always insisted the two were in a platonic relationship. If Lena had been a male character, it’s obvious they would have had a star-crossed lovers arc. The feelings and chemistry were there but the writers weren’t allowed to pull the trigger.
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