The Arrowverse seems to be on an ever-expanding path with new characters being introduced each season on every show. Sometimes the new recruits are fun and likeable allies, other times they're grand evil masterminds. Either way, if the character is interesting and has an engaging storyline, chances are they will be welcomed by the fandom. However, some characters seem to be getting in the way, rather than actually contributing to the story. In fact, there is a number of characters, both old and new, that the Arrowverse could honestly do without.
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With numerous shows and a rather wide range of characters, there’s bound to be some bad apples in the mix. Certainly, each of us can think of a few we wouldn’t miss, should the showrunners kick them out. On the other hand, there are also those characters we miss dearly and wish The CW would bring back. Fortunately, considering the fact that no one really stays dead in the comics, or The Arrowverse for that matter, our wishes could technically be granted. Besides, there are other non-dead characters that left The Arrowverse prematurely and we're desperate to see their return. Without further ado, here are the eight characters The Arrowverse doesn't need and the seven we desperately want back.
15 DOESN'T NEED: WILD DOG
Arrow certainly went through a lot of changes in season five, mainly due to the introduction of the new Team Arrow. With Thea, Diggle and Laurel gone, Felicity felt the need to go out and assemble a new team, which would have been great if said team didn’t completely blow. Still, the weakest link has to be Rene Ramirez, aka Wild Dog. Sorry hoss, needed to be said.
While the Wild Dog from the comics is an interesting character, his TV counterpart kind of dropped the ball. From the very beginning, Wild Dog did not establish himself as an essential or particularly appealing character. At best, he can be described as a budget version of Arsenal considering his problematic attitude, troubled past and love-hate relationship with Oliver. Just give Rene a happily ever after with his daughter and send him on his way.
14 WANT BACK: RA'S AL GHUL
Adrian Chase, aka Prometheus, was surely a formidable opponent and turned out to be quite an interesting villain at the end of season five of Arrow. No doubt, a vast improvement from Damien Darhk. However, there was another villain that came before Prometheus who gave Oliver a run for his money. The fearless leader of the League of Assassins, Ra's al Ghul, brought out the best and the worst in Oliver.
The third season had Oliver struggling with his life as Oliver Queen, apart from the Green Arrow. Ra's had Oliver let go of his identity in order to fully embrace the monster within. His scheme to turn Oliver into the new leader of the League for the purposes of giving Oliver's plans a greater scale, was an interesting turn of events. And we're kind of curious as to what Ra's al Ghul would have in store for Oliver now.
13 DOESN'T NEED: DINAH DRAKE
One thing is crystal clear, the new Team Arrow just doesn’t work as well as the Original Team Arrow did back in the day. So, with that in mind, we can't discount the new Black Canary -- Dinah Drake. As if killing off Laurel at the point where she actually became a great hero in her own right wasn’t bad enough, the writers decided to replace her with a newer model.
However, replacing characters they killed off too soon with lesser versions appears to be a trend over at The CW. Black Canary is an iconic character that definitely should be on the show, but not like this. Arrow spent four seasons developing Laurel Lance as the Black Canary. To have her replaced so suddenly, and with a completely new character, is kind of frustrating and feels like a waste of time and character.
12 WANT BACK: LAUREL LANCE
While the Laurel from the beginning of the show certainly wasn’t one of Arrow’s strongest points, killing her off was definitely the wrong move. After struggling for three seasons, the writers finally figured out how to make Laurel an awesome character. Yet, as soon as she became the badass hero we know and love, they decided to send her packing.
However, the fact is Laurel deserves to be on the show. Not the hot mess from the first three seasons, but the fierce vigilante from season four, worthy of the mantle of Black Canary. The show spent four years with Laurel and while they didn't seem to always know what they're doing, they did get Laurel to the place she needed to go. We finally got Black Canary. Which is why killing her just to give Oliver a reason to want to kill Darhk is a cheap trick.
11 DOESN'T NEED: GORILLA GRODD
While Grodd did provide his share of entertainment, there is only so much you can do with a giant sentient gorilla and Grodd seems to have reached his limit. Grodd had a good run on The Flash and managed to give our heroes quite the headache a few times, but perhaps it's time for the big guy to take a bow.
The whole Gorilla City ordeal was definitely an impressive feat to pull off on a TV budget. Plus, watching Barry fight in a Colosseum was indeed entertaining. However, using Grodd whenever the show needs a distraction from the main plot line is getting kind of old. Let’s hope A.R.G.U.S. has Grodd confined in a well-secured prison and we get to see some new comic book characters on The Flash.
10 WANT BACK: MAXWELL LORD
While season two of Supergirl did introduce a lot of interesting storylines and characters, the first season wasn’t without its standou perks. Namely, the evil billionaire mastermind, and that-hot-guy-you-desperately-hope-doesn’t-turn-out-to-be-a-complete-jerk, Maxwell Lord.
Maxwell Lord’s story on Supergirl had only just started and it is such a shame is was cut entirely too short. There is so much the writers could've done with this character. Besides, Lord did kind of steal the Omegahedron at the end of season one and we are very curious as to what he was planning to do with it. But, if that truly was the last we see of Maxwell Lord, then he was a real waste of a potentially great character. Maybe The CW should consider bringing Peter Facinelli back on board.
9 DOESN'T NEED: RIP HUNTER
During the last season finale of Legends of Tomorrow, Rip Hunter himself admitted that he basically brings nothing to the table as far as his role with the Legends goes. Rip’s position on the team has certainly been compromised by the new Waverider Captain, Sara Lance who, if we may say so, seems to have a better handle on the team anyway. So, could this be the time for Rip to move on?
Considering that the entire first season mostly revolved around Rip, one could say that he has had his moment. In the end, he completed the mission he set out to accomplish and got the closure he so desperately wanted. Not that we have anything against Rip, it just seems like the perfect time for him to move on. The poor guy has been though hell and he deserves to ride off into the sunset.
8 WANT BACK: ROY HARPER
Oliver's first sidekick and Thea's first love, Roy Harper, absolutely had to be on this list. Roy came a long way from the thieving, untrained vigilante in a red hoodie. During his time on team Arrow, Roy developed into a dependable ally to Oliver and a really sweet boyfriend to Thea. In fact, Roy grew so much that in the end he took the fall for Oliver.
When he briefly returned in season four, fans were delighted and many were hoping that Arsenal was coming back. But, evidently, The CW had other plans and Roy was gone once again. Well, we say Roy needs to come back for good this time. His chemistry with Thea was amazing and he worked exceptionally well with the rest of team Arrow. Besides, with all that's happened, Oliver could use a friend.
7 DOESN'T NEED: JOE WEST
Joe West definitely had an exciting year. However, instead of getting in on the action, he hasn’t had a clear purpose this past season. Yes, he’s still the coolest dad on TV and the undivided love and attention he gives his family warms our hearts, but he’s kind of losing his status on team Flash. In other words, he's becoming idle.
As much as we like Joe, he’s starting to turn into a liability. Joe used to be a valuable ally, helping team Flash catch bad guys. Yet, the third season mostly used Joe for the purposes of exposition. Even though Joe is not a scientist, it is a bit implausible that a cop of his experience would constantly need everything to be explained. This gives the impression that his only purpose on the show is to ask questions, so that the writers can explain the science.
6 WANT BACK: CAPTAIN COLD
Do we even need to talk about this one? Seriously, whoever thought killing off Leonard Snart was a good idea clearly wasn’t thinking straight. Captain Cold was the coolest member of the Legends. No pun intended. And on top of that, Snart was finally getting some real character development on The Legends and he definitely had much more to offer.
Not only was Captain Cold hilarious as a comic relief, he was also a valuable team member. Sure, his sarcastic remarks and silly banter with Sara and Mick provided tons of entertainment, but let's not forget that Snart saved the Legends quite a few times. He even sacrificed himself. So figure something out, time travelers, and bring Captain Cold back on the Waverider where he belongs.
5 DOESN'T NEED: JAMES OLSEN
Yes, James Olsen is a rather important character in the comics. However, the James Olsen we have on Supergirl just doesn’t work. Apart from the name, he doesn’t share much with his comic book counterpart and the writers apparently don’t know what to do with him. During the first season James was the main love interest. However, since that didn't pan out, poor James was stripped of that status.
But seeing as he's supposed to be the male lead of the show, the writers needed to give him something else to do. Enter: The Guardian, which managed to make him even more insignificant. In season two, James became The Guardian, but his storyline fell flat and no one really cared about it. Once again, James is going through an identity crisis. With Winn as the goofy best friend and Mon-El as the main love interest, what is Jimmy to do?
4 WANT BACK: HARRISON "HARRY" WELLS (EARTH TWO)
While the coffee addict H.R. certainly did have his moments, Harry Wells from Earth Two definitely takes the cake when Harrison Wellses are concerned. Tom Cavanagh’s portrayal of all versions of the character was flawless. However, the Earth Two Harry was the best fit for team Flash. Not only did he contribute to the team, but he also established meaningful relationships with the members of the team, especially Cisco.
Harry's grumpy persona, raspy voice and no-nonsense attitude made him a fan favorite. The fact that team Flash needs a Harrison Wells is irrefutable. Thus far we haven't had a season without a version of Wells and it is doubtful that Tom Cavanagh will be unemployed come fall. So, why not bring Harry back instead of searching parallel universes for yet another Harrison Wells?
3 DOESN'T NEED: CLARK KENT
OK, calm down. We’re not saying the DC Universe doesn’t need Clark Kent. However, the Arrowverse could definitely go on without him just fine. From the start The Arrowverese belonged to the "little" guys. Those comic book characters that are not not part of DC's Trinity.Having the Man of Steel himself dropping in every once in a while kind of ruins the whole idea.
Besides, since Kara did kick his ass, it’s clear that she’s just as good as her big cousin. It appears as if the only reason The CW brought Clark Kent on board was to boost ratings. But, The Arrowverse and Supergirl don’t exactly need Superman sweeping in to save the day. Perhaps, DC’s rule about not having Superman on TV wasn’t such a bad idea and ought to be reconsidered.
2 WANT BACK: CAT GRANT
Supergirl’s move to The CW did not come without a price. In other words, due to relocation to Vancouver, the show lost the mighty Cat Grant. The queen of sass and pep talks has been profoundly missed on Supergirl’s second season by both fans and the Girl of Steel herself. Cat’s four appearances this past season received a warm welcome by the fans, who have been craving her feisty one-liners.
It is no secret that The Arrowverse has been struggling with female characters, specifically Iris West and Laurel Lance. Supergirl, thankfully, has a plethora of strong female characters and Cat Grant might actually be the best one. Here’s hoping the season two finale wasn’t a ruse and Cat really does return as a series regular in season three.
1 DOESN'T NEED: IRIS WEST
Yet another character The CW is having problems with is Iris West. Her uselessness on the show has become so blatantly obvious that it makes us wonder why is she still there? Her entire existence has been reduced to the role of the love interest and she’s barely had a story apart from her relationship with Barry. The only reason we even care about Iris is because we know that at some point she marries Barry.
The Flash has had Iris on the sidelines ever since the get-go. However, the last season was definitely the worst for Iris. With her fate locked, she basically had nothing to do except wait for team Flash to come to her rescue. It is unfair for the supposed female lead of the show to be relegated to a plot device. Iris has become a mere convenience for writers to use whenever they need Barry to suffer, with no real purpose of her own.
Which characters would you like to see back in The Arrowverse? Let us know in the comments!