It is not uncommon to find comic book characters whose powers have been nerfed for their appearance on television. This has a lot to do with many practical issues of the media industry, such as budget, special effects, costumes, and even acting skills. After all, comics present a fantasy that can be hard to achieve in a live-action setting.
Given that the paper is way more flexible to tell a story than the screen, it is also very strange to encounter superheroes and supervillains who happen to be stronger in live-action than they are in the comics. However, it is not impossible. In the Arrowverse, there are certain characters whose powers and abilities on the screen outmatch their strength in the comics, whether it is because they are better written or because they encounter different adventures.
10 Nia Nal Can Use Dream Energy As A Weapon
Nia Nal, also known as Dreamer, is an original character on Supergirl, but she is definitely inspired by Nura Nal, and it is a confirmed fact that Dream Girl is her descendant and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Although their powers are similar, while Nia can blast dream energy from her hands, Nura can only use it for precognition.
Granted, Nia is not the strongest superhero, and Nura would probably defeat her in battle even without dream blasts, but many fans believe the audience was not able to see Nia’s full potential in the show. This would mean that once she achieved her strongest self, she could be more powerful than her great-granddaughter.
9 Black Lightning Doesn’t Need Any Technology To Have Powers
Although Jefferson Pierce has a peaceful life as the principal of Garfield High School, he is forced out of his superhero retirement by The 100, a powerful gang run by Tobias Whale. This means Black Lightning is already a seasoned vigilante when the series starts. In addition to this, his powers are different than his comic book counterpart.
While in the comics Jefferson Pierce had powers thanks to a technologically advanced belt that granted him electrical powers, in the Arrowverse he received his powers after he was given a vaccine that turned him into a metahuman, which means he doesn’t depend on a gadget to be powerful.
8 Cat Grant Is Way More Interesting In The Television Series
While Cat Grant has a successful career as a journalist in the comics, she is not as prolific as the version of Cat Grant that exists in the Arrowverse. In Supergirl, Ms. Grant is an often snarky but wise woman who owns CatCo Worldwide Media, her self-made business empire. She is constantly helping Kara and Supergirl with moral dilemmas.
Although Cat Grant does not have superpowers, she is a media giant, which gives her a lot of influence on National City's citizens. Besides, Callista Flockhart’s input on the character made her so interesting, DC Rebirth took inspiration on the show for the new Supergirl comics.
7 Malcolm Merlyn’s Grief Pushes Him To Go Further In The Arrowverse
Merlyn, also known as the Dark Archer, is a contract killer who acts as Green Arrow's archenemy in the comics. In Arrow, Malcolm Merlyn is a successful businessman that lost his wife after she was shot during a mugging and, swearing to avenge her, became a trained assassin.
Both versions of the Dark Archer are coldblooded killers trained by the League of Assassins, but the Arrowverse’s Merlyn is fueled by grief, which sometimes makes him irrational. This does not weaken his power, but in fact gives him a purpose, which makes him stronger than his comic counterpart.
6 Sara Lance Is More Capable As White Canary Than As Black Canary
Originally Oliver Queen’s lover, Sara survived the Queen’s Gambit shipwreck and ended up training as an assassin in Nanda Parbat. After she returned to Starling City, she became the vigilante known as Black Canary but died on the job. Thankfully, Sara was resurrected in the Lazarus Pit and was baptized as the White Canary by her sister.
Even though Sara Lance does not have the Canary Cry as the White Canary, she is still a master in several martial arts and has resources the Black Canary doesn’t have in the comics, such as her time-traveling spaceship as the leader of the Legends of Tomorrow.
5 Lena Luthor Has Magical Abilities In The Arrowverse
Originally L-Corp’s CEO, Lena soon becomes one of Supergirl’s closest allies. During the sixth season, Lena decides to revisit her past, and after visiting her mother’s town, Lena learns that the woman was a witch and that she has inherited her mother's powers.
Not only is Lena Luthor not a brunette in the comics, but she is also not a witch. While both iterations of Lena are just as smart, in the books she is just a regular woman, who had psychic powers at some point but lost them after brain surgery.
4 Roy Harper Does Not Use Any Enhancing Substances In The Comics
In the Arrowverse, after being injected with Mirakuru, Roy Harper develops abilities beyond human nature, such as super strength, super stamina, super reflexes, and an enhanced healing factor. These gifts, in addition to his peak physical condition, make him a superhuman that can be very difficult to defeat.
In the comic books, Roy does not possess any superhuman abilities, but he is a gifted athlete that has trained his way into being an archery prodigy and a master in hand-to-hand combat. Although Roy loses his Mirakuru powers very soon in the series, there's a brief period of time when he is way stronger than the comic books intended.
3 Damien Darhk May Be Smart In The Comics, But He Doesn’t Possess As Much Power
While Damien Darhk is an important figure in the criminal world of the DC comic books, his Arrowverse version is a trained assassin by the League of Assassins, who obtained powers after finding a Khushu Idol. Since he is immortal, Darhk is known as the murderer of thousands of people over the years.
The Arrowverse’s version of this supervillain is more ruthless than the one seen in the comics and he is also better connected to other supervillains of the show, which allows him to join forces with them.
2 Jimmy Olsen Gets Tired Of Waiting On The Sidelines
Superman’s best friend has never been known for being super powerful in the comics. Jimmy Olsen's influence in the world depends more on his photojournalist career than anything. This is the same situation for Jimmy in the Arrowverse, who works as a journalist in CatCo, up until he decides he wants to be a superhero.
With the help of his tech-savvy friend, Winn Schott, James Olsen becomes Guardian, a vigilante that fights crime using his abilities in hand-to-hand combat and a built-in shield that generates shockwaves to repel his adversaries.
1 Arrow Never Becomes The Spectre In The Comics
Although Oliver Queen is just as strong as Green Arrow in the comics as he is in the Arrowverse, he can be considered even more powerful when taking into consideration that he becomes The Spectre during Crisis On Infinite Earths.
As The Spectre, Oliver obtains all of the abilities of a god from a version of Jim Corrigan, the original Spectre. With these abilities, Arrow is able to help Flash reach his true potential. In addition to this, he defeats the Anti-Monitor, saving the world in the process.