Sure Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman may rule the big screen, but the small screen belongs to the Emerald Archer and his friends. For fans of DC Comics the Arrowverse has been a great way to see all their favorite characters get the live action treatment. Starting with Arrow, viewers couldn’t wait to figure out which familiar favorites would show up each week. Once The Flash came along, the world expanded even more to include metahumans and new rogues every week. Add in Supergirl and now we get to see characters from Superman’s history in the mix. Legends of Tomorrow gave supporting characters from Arrow and The Flash a chance to have their own spotlight, while putting a new spin on heroes and villains throughout time.
One of the best aspects of the Arrowverse is how it’s been able to reinvent the origins of fan favorites. We’re not talking about completely switching everything up, but small changes that make the characters more modern and fit the established elements of the series. For example, Oliver spending five years travelling the world and learning different skills, adds new dimensions to what we already know about the Green Arrow. With the room of a weekly TV show, we’re able to spend more time with some villains and get to see the story from their point of view. The extra context has made them more well rounded and interesting. So, let’s take a look at the B-list characters the Arrowverse has moved to the A-list.
20 JAMES OLSEN
Since Superman hit comics in 1938, his photographer pal Jimmy Olsen has been involved in his stories. On-screen versions have ranged from Lois Lane’s assistant in the '80s movies, to Superman’s good friend in the animated series, to investigative journalist in Smallville.
Supergirl took things in a different direction and made him Clark’s best friend who moves to National City to help Kara. The character was matured into a full grown man instead of the cowardly boy he was often portrayed as. James even got his chance to be a hero when he became Guardian. It will be interesting to see where he goes now that he outed himself as the vigilante.
19 NYSSA AL GHUL
In the comics, Nyssa Raatko is Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter and right hand. She eventually decides to leave her father, as she doesn’t agree with his methods. Arrow keeps this same origin for the character, except she has a little less anger and is the former girlfriend of Sara Lance.
Katrina Law’s feisty performance as Nyssa made her a fan favorite and she stuck around, popping up occasionally to help Team Arrow. She ended up being the most interesting member of her family. She recently left with Roy and Thea to destroy the rest of the Lazarus Pits, but we have to think she’ll be back at some point.
18 HENRY ALLEN
For Barry Allen, his father has always been his foundation. Despite being convicted for the passing of his wife Nora, Barry has never believed his father was guilty. Once he becomes The Flash, Henry is one of the people who keeps Barry grounded and doesn’t let him lose himself in his powers.
Henry was accused of the most heinous crime possible, but somehow he never let that make him jaded or cynical. He recognizes how important Barry is to the world and doesn’t want to hold him back from his destiny. As devastating as his end is, as his doppelganger Jay Garrick working as a mentor for Barry, Henry remains a constant presence in his son’s life.
17 THE ATOM
Ray Palmer didn’t start out as the best character. He came to Starling City to take over Queen Industries and ended up as an obstacle between Oliver and Felicity. As he worked on his ATOM suit, he became obsessed with taking down the Arrow. Luckily for us, he figured out the error of his ways, forming a friendship with the team.
When he joined the Legends we really got to see the guy underneath the advanced suit. Ray is endlessly positive. Annoyingly so to his teammates. Really nice guys can get boring, but Brandon Routh has let us see the layers of Ray’s personality, giving him depth we previously hadn’t seen.
16 KILLER FROST
Since The Flash premiered, Caitlin has been waiting for a chance in the spotlight. She and Ronnie had a short lived, yet epic love story in season one, but she didn’t have much to do until Flashpoint saw the return of Killer Frost.
Now we get to see Caitlin struggle to blend both sides of her personality and find a place in the world. Frankly, we didn’t even know Caitlin had a history or a family until Killer Frost came along, The characters are so intertwined that their development can’t happen without one another and it’s been very fun for viewers to watch.
15 ANATOLI KNYAZEV
As The Beast, Anatoli is pretty much a second rate Batman villain. He’s a criminal who fights the Dark Knight on several occasions. On Arrow, he was introduced as a fellow prisoner on the Amazo, who Oliver bonded with once they escaped. Later, it was Anatoli who brought Oliver into the Bratva and advised him that he would lose himself in his Hood persona.
The relationship between Oliver and Anatoli has always been fascinating, as he was something of a surrogate father during Oliver’s time in Russia. Despite his alliance with Diaz, Anatoli still couldn’t fully betray Oliver, remaining far more interesting than he would be as a run of the mill bad guy.
14 FIRESTORM
It’s no surprise that no one is ever really gone on comic book shows. When someone passes, fans know it’s not the last time they’re seeing them. So, when Ronnie perished in the season one finale of The Flash, we knew that wouldn’t be the last time we saw Firestorm.
Without Ronnie, Martin became sick and had to find a new partner. Thank goodness for Jax. On the Waverider, we got to watch the pair bond not just as two halves of Firestorm, but as father and son. When Martin also passed, it was heartbreaking not just because we were losing Victor Garber, but because we knew how hard it would be for Jax.
13 LIVEWIRE
Leslie Willis is an obnoxious radio personality who is struck by lightning while Superman is saving her and ends up with the power to control electricity. She has appeared across several Superman series including Superman: The Animated Series and Smallville.
For Supergirl, the origin of her powers was changed slightly, but Leslie was still a DJ who was feuding with Cat Grant and Supergirl. Leslie’s moment came in her final two appearances, where we finally got to see the toll that becoming metahuman had on a regular person’s life. It was a side of villains that we don’t normally get and it worked because we spent time getting to know Leslie’s life.
12 THE RAY
As part of its annual crossover, Ray Terrill was introduced into the Arrowverse. He was from Earth-1, but came to Earth-X to help defeat evil. Ray, known as The Ray, can use the sun to shoot cosmic light rays, hence the name.
Ray has never been a major hero in the comics, and he hasn't yet played a huge role on TV. With only one season of his animated origin Freedom Fighters: The Ray in the books, we expect we’ll get to learn a lot more about Ray. He may even show up on The Flash again. However, he was our entry into the true awfulness of Earth-X and he also led to us meeting Leo Snart aka Citizen Cold.
11 VIBE
From day one, Cisco has been everyone’s favorite breakout character on The Flash. He was immediately all in on forming Team Flash. He makes all the weapons and costumes for both Team Flash and Team Arrow, as well as coming up with clever names for the rogues.
His discovery that he also had powers scared him at first, but he has since embraced them. As Vibe, Cisco is often the key to finding the bad guy or figuring out what they’re up to. The character works so well because we spent so much time getting to know Cisco long before Vibe ever showed up.
10 PROMETHEUS
For six seasons Oliver has dealt with the worst people in the world and none of them have had the impact on his life that Prometheus had. Adrian Chase showed up in Star City as the new DA, and though he acted like a nice guy, we knew there was something off about him.
The mystery of Prometheus’ identity haunted the team for most of the season. Once it was revealed, he ramped up his plan to break Oliver mentally and take everything away from him. Adrian blew up Lian Yu with everyone he loved trapped on the island, sadly ending his son’s mother. The character reinvigorated the series, leading to a critically acclaimed fifth season.
9 VIXEN
The first time we met Mari McCabe in the Arrowverse, it was the animated version on her web series detailing how she became a hero. Oliver and Barry helped her figure some things out, then she came back to Star City to help Oliver rescue his son from Damien Darhk.
On Legends of Tomorrow, we met Amaya Jiwe, the Vixen working with the Justice Society of America. Amaya was haunted by not being able to save her people, but knew she was needed on the Waverider. Though there have been two Vixens in the universe, Amaya is the one we’ve gotten to know, and she’s the one who’s really displayed everything the hero is capable of.
8 MAXWELL LORD
Maxwell Lord originally seemed like the usual tech billionaire genius with a God complex. He was obsessed with revealing Supergirl’s secret identity, though he did understand the need for her to protect the city. His real motivations may have been to control her, as evidenced by his creation of Bizarro Supergirl.
His character really started to get interesting toward the end of season one where it was hinted at him possibly developing telepathic powers. The show’s move to Vancouver meant actor Peter Facinelli wouldn't return, but there’s still a lot of loose threads and questions we need answered about the character and his story.
7 HEAT WAVE
We thought Mick Rory was just around to be Captain Cold’s sidekick, but he’s actually become one of the universe’s most popular characters. Pairing Prison Break stars Dominic Purcell as Mick and Wentworth Miller as Snart meant instant chemistry, so fans immediately bought them as best friends and partners. Mick did not take to hero work as easily as Snart and his journey has been entertaining to watch.
While Mick is mainly used as comic relief, Snart’s pasing offered him a chance to really change and have character growth. Despite his villainous beginnings and occasional lapses in judgement we now can't imagine the Arrowverse without him.
6 DEADSHOT
Deadshot often appears as a merc for hire working for other villains or as a member of the Suicide Squad. He’s not someone who gets a lot of time in the spotlight. In season one of Arrow we found out he was the one who ended Diggle’s brother. Plus, his attack on Oliver’s stepfather facilitated John finding out Oliver’s secret.
Later, as a member of Task Force X we got to see how Floyd Lawton went from decorated soldier to a merc for hire and it was heartbreaking. In another case of movies imitating TV, Deadshot joined the Worlds of DC in Suicide Squad and subsequently passed away in an explosion. Though, there was no body, which means he’s not really gone.
5 MALCOLM MERLYN
The mark of a great villain is one who nearly destroys the city, but the powers that be still can't bring themselves to write him off. Malcolm Merlyn was first introduced as Tommy’s disapproving, absent father. We later found out he was the mastermind behind the mysterious Undertaking and the sinking of the Queen’s Gambit.
Fan favorite John Barrowman channeled all his swashbuckling charm into making us like Malcolm, only to repeatedly betray us. While he would sometimes act as an ally to Team Arrow, we always knew we could never trust him. His off-screen passing almost certainly means that he will be back at some point.
4 CAPTAIN COLD
As long as there’s been a Flash there’s been a Captain Cold, so we knew he would eventually show up on The CW series. He proved to be new hero Barry’s most formidable foe, even figuring out his real identity. His smartest guy in the room cockiness was a perfect balance for Barry’s aw shucks humbleness.
Wentworth Miller always let viewers know that Snart was more than just a thief. Though, it wasn't until he got to the Waverider that we saw the heart underneath the criminal. He became so central to the franchise that even a heroic sacrifice couldn't stop him from continuing to appear as a past evil version or good doppelganger.
3 CAT GRANT
Over the years we’ve seen several appearances by Cat Grant in Superman shows, but none of them ever made her interesting or likable. Enter Calista Flockhart taking over Supergirl with a no holds barred, over the top fun performance. Throughout season one she is Kara’s boss and mentor, giving her hard, real world lessons that prepared her to become Supergirl. In fact it was Ms. Grant who named her.
When the show moved production from Los Angeles to Vancouver. Flockhart didn’t want to make the move and has been a recurring guest star since. We rarely get to see strong female mentor characters, so it was endlessly fascinating to see the relationship ship between Kara and Ms. Grant grow and change.
2 DAMIEN DARHK
Damien Darhk has been known as a genius who used his tech knowledge to make it appear as if he had magical powers. Over the years he’s battled the Titans and the Justice League, but never seemed like a real threat.
Arrow brought him on as the big bad of season four. He was a constant thorn in the team’s side, as they had no counter to his immortality and magic. Neal McDonough’s menacing yet gleeful portrayal of Darhk never let viewers lose sight of how dangerous he was. Once he became a consistent nemesis for the Legends, we got to see all the layers of his personality. Though he keeps leaving, we know he’s never really gone for good.
1 DEATHSTROKE
There may be no character who benefited more from his time in the Arrowverse than Slade Wilson. Introduced in season one as another stranded soul on Lian Yu, Slade began as Oliver’s mentor and trainer. He taught him how to fight and survive.
We got to know him as a father who missed his son and a soldier with honor and purpose. We then marveled at Manu Bennett’s transformation from friend to foe as Mirakuru took hold and gave way to Deathstroke. He gave the character such new life, Deathstroke was announced as Batman’s first villain in the movie universe. Sadly, this meant he had to leave the Arrowverse, with fans not so patiently waiting for his possible return.