While DC continues to figure out its big-screen franchises, its TV series are dominating network and cable programming. Of course, The CW has pretty much built its schedule around the Arrowverse quartet of Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl, but it has also found success with the recent breakout hit Black Lightning. The company’s big two, Batman and Superman, each have prequels that have developed their own unique origins separate from comics and movies. AMC’s Preacher has found fans by just being itself and not copying any other comic book series. With the cult favorite iZombie also a perennial anchor for The CW, DC has built up a solid roster of TV heroes.

There are some heroes that are clearly stronger than others. (We’re looking at you, Kryptonians.) However, it’s not always about pure strength or power in the superhero world. Specifically, on DC TV shows, experience and training come into play a lot. As we wait out the summer to find out what will happen in Gotham’s final season, how the Arrowverse will introduce Batwoman during its annual crossover and whether Black Lightning will eventually join the rest of The CW’s superhero series, we decided to rank the top 25 strongest fighters of DC TV series.

25 JIM GORDON

Gotham was sold to fans as a young Bruce Wayne origin story. The series begins with the death of his parents and was supposed to track his journey to becoming the Dark Knight. The one major problem was that Bruce was a pre-teen when the series started, so it would be a very long journey. In the meantime, Gotham City was being protected by Detective Jim Gordon. A veteran who truly believed in the difference between right and wrong. Gotham may not have been the best place for him to settle down.

Over four seasons, the series has actually been more of a Gordon origin story than a Batman one. It’s only connected to the Bat-franchise through the frequent appearances of well-known bad guys. Throughout his battles with these various villains, Gordon has shown himself to be a relentless pursuer of justice, though at times he doesn’t take the smartest route to get there. More often than not, he gets lucky when he catches the bad guys. How many times have we seen him figure something out at the last minute and somehow end up in the right place at the right time? Unfortunately, the TV version has never embodied the same strength as his comic book or movie counterparts.

24 LYTA-ZOD

In a show about the early days of Superman’s family, no one was expecting his mortal enemies, the House of Zod, to actually be the heroes of the series. However, that is exactly what has happened on Syfy’s Krypton. Focused on Adam Strange traveling back in time to save Kandor from being bottled by Brainiac, the series follows Superman’s grandfather Seg as he attempts to help his friends prevent and survive the coming danger. Seg is in a secret romance with General Zod’s mother Lyta. The planet’s strict class system means they cannot be together. Lyta begins as a soldier in the elite Sagitari unit, but later challenges her commander when she disagrees with how he plans to handle the poorer members of the city.

That's when we see the true warrior within Lyta-Zod come out.

She wins the fight, offering no mercy in the process, and leads her squad with honor and compassion. Her emotions are often seen by others, including her mother, as a weakness, a fair assessment, since wearing her heart on her sleeve makes her easily manipulated. There’s no question Lyta is a strong leader and soldier. However, if she wants to defeat her evil son from the future, she’s going to have to take a page out of her mom’s book and toughen up.

23 FELICITY SMOAK

In modern comic stories, the tech specialist who hacks into everything for the hero has become a common character. When Arrow started, Oliver figured out pretty quickly that he would need someone smarter on his team, enter Felicity Smoak. Introduced as a geeky I.T. associate at Queen Consolidated, she was the person who helped him with bullet-riddled computers and locating his missing stepfather. Of course, she developed feelings for him, but surprisingly, the show had him reciprocate those feelings. As the series has progressed, we’ve learned that Felicity is a mathematical genius who can hack into anything and solve any problem. She has become the glue holding the team together and the love of Oliver’s life.

Whenever Team Arrow has a problem that can’t be solved, it’s Felicity to the rescue. She’s also one of the few people who can talk Oliver off the ledge when he can’t handle the obstacles facing him as the city’s savior. It’s true that Felicity doesn’t go in the field and fight criminals, but considering how much of the world is digital nowadays, she might be able to do more damage in front of her screen than Oliver could ever do with a bow and arrow.

22 ALEX DANVERS

For Kara Zor-El, the drive to use her powers for good is directly related to everything she learned from being raised in a family like the Danvers. Though she and her sister Alex had a rough start, they eventually became very close. Saving Alex was the catalyst to Kara becoming Supergirl. Once she joined the D.E.O., Alex trained her how to fight and be an effective agent.

Even without superpowers, Alex is an extremely dangerous D.E.O. agent.

Her advanced weapons and combat training have given her the confidence to stand toe-to-toe with any alien or metahuman with bad intentions. In a recent episode, it was great to see her finally get the super-suit and cool gadgets that she deserves. In fact, Alex is so awesome in the field, it often gets lost in the shuffle that she’s a former med student who’s also a scientific genius. In the "Crisis on Earth-X" crossover, we got to see her hold her own with some of the best heroes in the Arrowverse and frankly, she surpassed a few of them. The only reason she doesn’t rank higher is that she's limited by her lack of superpowers in a franchise full of people with truly deadly and life-altering abilities.

21 JAYNA-ZOD

Krypton was meant to be an origin about Superman’s grandfather Seg, but the most interesting characters have been the women of the House of Zod. Seg’s love interest Lyta has proven herself to be an extremely good fighter and leader. This is no surprise considering how tough her mother Jayna is. The show's first scene with the two features Jayna using her daughter’s lack of focus as a teachable moment for the rest of the Sagitari. Their fight ends with Jayna stabbing Lyta in the hand, showing her that they don’t ask for mercy. This tells us everything we need to know about their relationship. Jayna takes pride in her family’s name, her rank as the Primus of the Sagitari and her loyalty to Rao.

Jayna is a woman who seems to know that all eyes are on her at all times, waiting for a weakness to show itself. She will not give those around her the satisfaction. Once everything goes sideways and they have to battle to get control back from Brainiac, she is the only one who recognizes Dru-Zod’s true intentions to take over. She wins every fight that she’s in, whether through sheer force or because she fights with her wits as well as her fists.

20 DINAH DRAKE/BLACK CANARY

Since its premiere, Arrow has gone through several different Canaries. First, there was Sara, then came Laurel and recently Dinah has taken over the mantle. While Sara and Laurel used a device for their canary cry, Dinah is a metahuman with sonic scream powers. She’s also a police officer whose training gives her extra leg up on the bad guys. Her investigative abilities help the team track down leads and decipher plans.

Dinah doesn't have to rely on her abilities to get out of trouble, but they certainly don't hurt.

Since her canary cry is a natural power, she’s able to use it in ways that Sara and Laurel never could. We’ve seen her stop trains, knock down walls and bounce it off buildings to take out attackers. The characteristic that gets her in trouble the most is her impulsive temper. When she’s riled up, Dinah has a problem slowing down and seeing the big picture. It was one of the many things that led to the huge civil war between Team Arrow. If she could just get her emotions under control, she could be unstoppable. She may not be most fans’ favorite Black Canary, but she is the most powerful.

19 LIV MOORE

As the main character of iZombie, Liv isn’t a hero in the traditional sense, but in her world, she’s one of the few who cares about keeping her humanity, which makes her very heroic. In her job as a coroner’s assistant, she uses her hunger for brains to solve the murders of the victims that come through the morgue. Despite her access to plenty of brains, she can still go into full zombie mode from time to time. When she’s in this state, she’s pretty much unstoppable.

When Liv goes full zombie she has super-strength and by all the usual zombie traits. Liv also takes on the personality of the person whose brain she eats. In the past we’ve seen her become a martial arts expert, so if she ate the right brain, she could even become a super-soldier. Everyday, normal Liv is just a regular person who wants to help people. She’s willing to fight against the system, but not necessarily with her fists. Even when she acted as Renegade, it was something she did to reunite families. There was no jumping off of rooftops or flying through the air with special gadgets. Unless she goes full zombie or eats some special brains, she’s really not going to do much in a fight.

18 CAITLIN SNOW/KILLER FROST

We’ve known that Dr. Caitlin Snow was one of the most brilliant minds in the Arrowverse for a long time. As The Flash’s resident doctor and expert on metahuman biochemistry, she often figures out what exactly makes the Rogue-of-the-week tick. Frankly, she was underrated for the first few seasons. Perhaps, the only good thing to come out of "Flashpoint" was that it brought Killer Frost into Caitlin’s life. Killer Frost has the power to harness ice and snow, freezing whatever she wants and can throw ice daggers.

Unlike most other heroes, Killer Frost is a completely separate personality from Caitlin.

In the beginning, she felt that this made her weak, but lately she’s embraced her dual life and has discovered some measure of balance. Killer Frost has an edge and isn’t nearly as nice as Caitlin. Her attitude helps her see things differently when the team is in the midst of a battle. Her time working with Amunet has given her a new perspective on how the face the bad guys. She’s not into the whole hero team thing, but she’s also not pure evil. Her powers combined with Caitlin’s intellect make her an extremely strong ally for the Flash.

17 CISCO RAMON/VIBE

As the brilliant scientist behind Team Flash and Team Arrow’s suits and equipment, Cisco is the glue of the Arrowverse. Just count how many times you hear about Cisco making a new suit or upgrading Oliver’s bow. Literally no one would be able to get anything done without him. He’s usually the one who figures out the science that will help them defeat the metahuman of the week. He also comes up with all their catchy names. While those are all important contributions, for our purposes, it’s his abilities as Vibe that make him so dangerous. Cisco can create breaches to other locations and worlds, "vibe" into other moments in time and shoot energy blasts that incapacitate his foes. There’s also the idea that he may be even stronger than he wants to explore.

When the team first visited Earth-2, they met their evil doppelgangers. That world's Cisco, Reverb, told him that he hadn’t even scratched the surface of his powers yet. He has expressed reluctance to go further with his vibing, as he’s scared of becoming more like Reverb. If we’re being honest, Cisco isn’t the greatest fighter in the universe, but he’s smart and brave. He’s also likely to have invented the perfect weapon to take down his foe. With these qualities and his powers, Vibe is a very formidable opponent.

16 RAY PALMER/THE ATOM

A real argument could be made that Ray Palmer is the smartest person in the Arrowverse. That’s really saying something in a franchise full of geniuses. He came up with the idea for the shrinking technology to use in the A.T.O.M. suit. Though Felicity cracked the code that made it work, he developed the plan and engineered it. On the Waverider, he’s able to understand future tech enough to make modifications and fixes to Gideon. He’s also the Legends’ engineer, inventing all their weapons and suits. However, as brilliant as he is, he’s never been the best straight-up fighter. He’s always willing to do whatever it takes to protect people, but fighting has just never been his strongest quality.

Ray Palmer relies heavily on his A.T.O.M. exo-suit in battle.

During his very first outing, he got owned by Oliver. Not completely embarrassing, since he was clearly fighting above his weight class. With some training from Oliver, he got slightly better, but still tends to rely heavily on his suit. It’s helped that he’s updated his suit, making it less vulnerable to bad guys. He’s improved since joining the Legends. Being around Sara, Mick, Snart and Amaya, he couldn’t help but to get better, but he still wouldn’t be your first choice in hand-to-hand combat.

15 AMAYA JIWE/VIXEN

Amaya spent her life preparing to wield the ancient Spirit Totem. It gives her the ability to embody the spirit of any animal and use its power. She learned how to fight while mastering a balance with the world around her. Amaya’s spirituality has made her more grounded and well-adjusted than her colleagues, something that gives her an advantage in most situations. During WWII, she left Zambesi to join the Justice Society of America, giving her even more experience in fighting the evils of the world.

As a Legend, Amaya has continued to grow, learning new skills from Sara and Mick. Her friendship with Mick has been one of the best aspects of the character, as we’ve gotten to see her loosen up and enjoy life a little more. This has translated to her being more open to adapting her style when in the field. Being open to change is a prerequisite for the Legends. In Zambesi, she is revered as a fierce warrior who protected her people for generations. She’s a woman who can do anything and never lets anything stop her. Her warrior background means she never gives up, while her innate goodness makes her someone the team can always trust to have their backs.

14 WALLY WEST/KID FLASH

Wally West came to The Flash in season two when Joe found out his ex-wife secretly had a son after she left him and Iris. We first met him as a speed-obsessed street racer, so it was no surprise that once he discovered he was a speedster in an alternate timeline, he wanted those powers for himself. Once he finally became Kid Flash there was no stopping him. He barely slowed down for any sort of training. The lack of training has repeatedly been his weakness.

When it comes to fighting, Wally is totally reliant on his super-speed powers.

Wally has been proven to be a smart engineer and asset to Team Flash, so it doesn’t make sense that he is so gung-ho to rush into situations without taking any time to figure out what he’s up against. He also seems to think his powers make him invulnerable, as he’s often unconcerned with how dangerous some situations are. His time on the Waverider has already seen him mature. Hopefully, working with the Legends will teach him to use his brain sometimes, instead of his speed all the time. Still, Wally is very good at using his speed to round up bad guys or punching them without them ever knowing what happened, but he’s not what anyone would call an intimidating presence.

13 JOHN DIGGLE

As Oliver says in Arrow's first season, “There’s a reason [he] chose Diggle to be his partner.” When Oliver returned from his five-year journey with the plan to save Starling City, he needed a steady hand to help him. Lucky for him, his mother hired security expert John Diggle to be his bodyguard. Once John learned Oliver’s secret, it took him awhile to be okay with the whole vigilante thing, but he came around. Dig is a former special forces soldier who has fought in battles around the world. He suffers no fools and takes his job very seriously.

It was way too long before Diggle got a codename and a suit, but he was finally dubbed Spartan, with a crazy oversized helmet included. He’s the team’s second-in-command, even taking over as Green Arrow for a while. He’s still hilariously uncomfortable with some metahumans and time travel, but Dig never lets that get in the way of him saving the day. When he and Oliver had it out, we thought we were going to finally find out who would win, but Felicity interrupted and it was pretty much a draw. So, basically Dig might be better than Oliver, which would put him ahead of a lot of other heroes in the Arrowverse.

12 JAY GARRICK

The Flash’s version of Jay Garrick is first introduced as a prisoner of Zoom, who had been impersonating him to the team. Barry was originally reluctant to get to know him, as Jay is a doppelganger of his recently-deceased father. Eventually, they become close friends with Jay acting as a mentor to Barry. Jay’s experience means that he understands the Speed Force in a way Barry hasn’t yet. He also seems to have a respect for their powers that some of the other speedsters we’ve met haven’t gained yet. Since Jay is from Earth-3, we obviously don’t get to see him in his daily crime-fighting life, but we know that he’s very good at it.

Jay Garrick is the hero that other Arrowverse heroes aspire to be.

The times that we’ve gotten to see Jay fight alongside Barry, it’s clear that he’s an experienced hero who’s fought every kind of criminal and has answers to a lot of problems the kids haven’t faced yet. As wide and varied as the backgrounds of all the Arrowverse characters are, Oliver has been doing this the longest, and he's only been a vigilante for about six years, maybe 11 if you count his five-year journey home. That means they’re all still relatively new to being costumed heroes. Jay is who the other heroes call when they need help.

11 JOHN CONSTANTINE

As a master of the dark arts, John Constantine has a whole library of magical knowledge at his disposal. He has a spell and a witty comeback for every situation. He’s actually one of the most powerful characters in the Arrowverse. Both Oliver and the Legends have called on him for assistance. We know he can handle himself in a magical duel, but how is he in a one on one fight? Actually not bad. He was introduced to the universe in Arrow. He met Oliver on Lian Yu while they were both trying to stop Baron Reiter. It was here that we got to see how good Constantine is with his hands, as he had no problems freeing himself from his bonds and escaping from his captors.

He returned to assist the Legends with their battle versus Mallus. Again we really only got to see him use his magical skills, but his determination to right his wrongs is what drives him. This is a common theme among the heroes of the Arrowverse. We know John’s a fighter, it’s just something that hasn’t really been highlighted in his Arrowverse appearances yet. However, with Matt Ryan joining Legends of Tomorrow as a series regular for season four, we may finally get to see this version throw down with some bad guys.

10 MON-EL

Mon-El is introduced to Supergirl as the former prince of Daxam, a neighboring planet that was destroyed when Krypton exploded. After a tense start, he and Kara become friends, eventually falling in love. His alien origins give him powers similar to those of Supergirl and Superman, but he’s definitely not as strong. When he first awakened on Earth, it was Kara who taught him how to control his powers and use them to help people. He has super strength, speed and invulnerability.

On Earth, Mon-El's powers aren't quite on the same level as the Kryptonians.

He was forced to leave Earth when it was flooded with lead to stop his mother’s invasion. His ship went through a portal and he ended up in the future, forming the Legion of Superheroes based on the values Kara taught him. Upon his return Mon-El has been more mature and has a greater mastery over his powers. He’s also picked up a few things in the future, teaching Kara new fighting skills. Apparently, life on his own gave him a new perspective on being a real hero. The new, improved Mon-El would probably still lose in a fight with Supergirl, but at least he’s not a detriment to her in the field.

9 JESSE CUSTER

A running debate among comic book fans is whether telepathic powers are stronger than physical strength. Basically, the question is who’s stronger, Superman or the man who can control him? This is an interesting question to ask about Jesse Custer on Preacher. Though, he’s not the biggest guy in the fight, his ability to command others to do what he wants will always make him the strongest. The thing to remember about Jesse is that he’s not really a hero. He’s not the guy who's overly-concerned with the greater good. Before Jesse was a preacher, he had a long and storied criminal past, so he’s no stranger to getting into fights. Frankly, he needs to get in a few less.

Jesse doesn’t have what others would call formal training, he just has the experience of someone who’s lived a hard, tough life. It helps that Dominic Cooper portrays him as not the most likable guy, but a character that’s always fascinating to watch. Of course, when fists don’t work, it doesn’t hurt to have the Word of God on his side. While he may not fit what the world considers traditional heroes to be, Jesse is never boring and not someone who’s bad side you want to be on.

8 J’ONN J’ONZZ/MARTIAN MANHUNTER

On-screen versions of J’onn J’onzz have always been the father figures of DC’s universe in animated productions like Justice League and original movies and live-action shows like Smallville. With this in mind, Supergirl took it a step further and made J’onn a surrogate father for Alex and Kara. Every superhero team needs a wise, older member who acts as a dad for everyone else. When we first met Hank Henshaw, we knew he was definitely keeping a secret. We just didn’t know if it was good or bad. When we found out he was actually Martian refugee J’onn J’onzz, everything made sense.

J'onn is a battle-hardened fighter with several ways to control his opponents' thoughts and actions.

As Martian Manhunter, J’onn has the ability to shapeshift into others, read minds and wipe away certain memories. In his natural Martian form, he can also fly and has super-strength. His telekinetic powers make him an important asset for the D.E.O. He’s much older than his human friends so he also has the benefit of experience. Unfortunately, most of that experience came in a devastating war that tore Mars apart.  This makes him a coveted ally, as well as a dangerous enemy.

7 ANISSA PIERCE/THUNDER

The addition of Black Lightning to The CW’s superhero lineup introduced Jefferson Pierce, a hero we had been waiting for. The series couldn’t have premiered at a more appropriate time. What we weren’t expecting is how important Thunder would become to our comic book TV viewing. Jeff’s daughter Anissa discovered that she had super-strength after being rescued from kidnappers. This tracks, as a lot of heroes’ powers are revealed during traumatic times. Anissa was already a fighter in her community, organizing marches and protests to shed light on the problems they’re facing. When she developed powers, she was instantly ready to use them for good.

As Thunder, she is super-strong and can also use her thunder clap to create destructive sound waves. Anissa already knew how to defend herself before she got abilities, so as a superhero she had a head start. During the first season, we got to see her improve as a hero, learning new ways to use her powers and really coming into her own. This was never more evident than in her classroom fight with Syonide, a scene that was the best battle of the season. Thunder was the breakout star of Black Lightning and is already one DC’s most interesting TV heroes.

6 SARA LANCE/WHITE CANARY

No one has had a better character arc than Sara Lance. She started out as a selfish party girl who ran off and cheated with her sister’s boyfriend. Then, the Queen’s Gambit sank, and Sara began a hard journey of self-discovery. Her time on the Amazo led her to the League of Assassins, where she learned from Ra’s al Ghul himself. She even fell in love with his daughter Nyssa. After a while, she decided to leave the League and return to Starling to protect her family. It takes someone of great inner strength to walk away from the League of Assassins. She would call on this strength once again when she came back from the dead. Needing to find her place, she joined the Legends on the Waverider.

At this point, there's not really a challenge Sara can't find a way out of.

Sara was already a formidable warrior, but becoming a leader on the Waverider has made her even more awesome. She has gone toe to toe with the likes of Damien Darhk, Malcolm Merlyn, Julius Caesar and evil Nazis from another Earth. Pretty much the only heroes that can beat her have either been in the life for a while or have superpowers.