For eight years, the Arrowverse has helped introduce new fans to some of the most interesting heroes and villains of the DC Universe while creating some wonderful live-action stories for old-school fans to enjoy. From Oliver Queen's start as Starling City's vigilante to Superman and Lois Lane working together to raise their kids right, the Arrowverse has always found a way to show these classic characters in a new light.
But one of the things that tends to happen when comic book characters come to live-action is that some of their powers are nerfed. In the MCU, heroes like Vision and Thor are not nearly as full of power as they are in the comics, and for the Arrowverse, the same is true for many of the main heroes.
10 Flash Has Never Hit The Speeds Of His Comic Book Counterpart
In the Arrowverse, Flash is fast, but it isn't even made clear that he is the "Fastest Man Alive." Almost every season has seen Barry Allen face off against a speedster who is faster than him. On the other hand, in the comics, no one is faster than the Scarlet Speedster. In the comics, Barry can run faster than the speed of light with ease, but in the live-action series, the hero has to work to get up to those kinds of speeds, and holding it is nearly impossible for him.
9 Citizen Steel Needs To Toughen Up
A member of the Legends of Tomorrow, Nate Heywood has the ability to turn his skin into steel, just like he can in the comics. The two versions even have similar costumes, although fans of the Arrowverse may not know it since the live-action Nate rarely wears his.
In addition, Nate, who goes by the name Citizen Steel in the comics, almost never uses his powers in the Arrowverse, and when he does, he almost always gets knocked out right away. Why turning to steel makes it easier to knock Nate unconscious is a mystery, but the clearest answer is that showing off the power is a big drain on the show's budget, so the decision has been made to use it sparingly.
8 Martian Manhunter Is Missing Some Powers
In the comics, the Martian Manhunter has just about every power a comic writer can think of. Along with flight, super strength, and superhuman durability, J'onn J'onzz can shapeshift, turn invisible, phase through objects, freeze things with his breath, use his eyes for a number of ocular powers, and even stretch himself out just like Elongated Man.
J'onn's Arrowverse counterpart seems to only have a handful of the powers of his comic book counterpart, but this may be for the better. After all, if the Martian Manhunter could do everything Supergirl can, why would the DEO need her?
7 Hawkman Never Hit His Highs From The Comics
Hawkman and Hawkgirl didn't spend much time in the Arrowverse, but, for the time that they were on screen, fans of the reincarnated lovers were less than enthused by what they saw on TV. Neither Hawkman nor Hawkgirl ever had a chance to really show off their flying skills, let alone just how great they are at using maces and other ancient weapons. It seemed obvious that the Arrowverse never quite figured out how to use the couple and removed them from the superhero equation as fast as they could.
6 Vandal Savage Was Missing The Magic
In the comics, Vandal Savage is an undying madman who also happens to be one of the oldest beings on the planet. Originally a Cro-Magnon warrior called Vandar Adg, Savage gained his immortality after encountering a meteor, but that isn't the end of his abilities.
Living for some 40,000 years, Savage learned the ways of war and the mystic arts, becoming one of the most advanced magic users in the DC Universe. Along with some basic magical abilities, Savage can open doorways to other dimensions and travel across space and time with little effort. In the Arrowverse, Savage's magical abilities were far less impressive.
5 Anti-Monitor Failed To Bring The Pain
In both the comics and in the Arrowverse, the Anti-Monitor is easily one of the greatest threats the heroes of the DC universe have ever faced, but the live-action take on this destroyer of the multiverse was nowhere near as powerful as his comic book counterpart.
In the comics, it took the powers of not just every DC hero, but every villain and even the most cosmic of beings to stop the Anti-Monitor from erasing all of existence, and, even then, a great number of characters, including Flash and Supergirl, gave their lives. In the Arrowverse, the Anti-Monitor destroyed a lot of universes, but, for the most part, he didn't hold a candle to the original.
4 Firestorm Stuck To The Basics
In the comics, Firestorm is essentially an unstoppable force. With the power of Molecular Reconstruction, this hero can rearrange the molecular structure of elements, turning them into anything he wants, as long as he knows the elemental make-up of the object he wants to create. With Professor Martin Stein helping Firestorm, Jefferson Jackson should have been the most powerful hero in the Arrowverse. Sadly, aside from once turning a bomb into water during the Invasion! crossover, the live-action Firestorm never really bothered to use his powers to their full extent.
3 Brainiac 5 Is Smart, But Not Smart Enough
In both the comics and the Arrowverse, Brainiac 5 is a Twelfth Level Intellect, arguably making him the smartest being in the universe. In the comics, Brainiac 5 uses his smarts to create devices for the Legion of Super-Heroes, like their flight rings and forcefield belts. In the Arrowverse, Brainiac mainly uses his intelligence to stand around. Somehow, the smartest being in the universe never seems to have an answer to a problem. In addition, the Arrowverse Brainiac 5 has issues understanding emotions, making him more like a Vulcan than the Coluan he is.
2 Atom Never Lived Down To His Abilities
In the comics, Ray Palmer used a White Dwarf Star Fragment to create the bio-belt that allowed Palmer to alter his size and become the Atom. On the four-color page, Atom could shrink to become smaller than his namesake and would even travel through telephone lines at near-instant speeds, all while keeping his density, meaning that even at the smallest size, he could still pack a heck of a punch.
In the Arrowverse, Ray Palmer had a bulky suit that allowed him to shrink down, and, along with rarely using it as a member of the Legends, Ray never went to the same lengths as his comic book counterpart when it came to shrinking down.
1 Supergirl Has Never Let Loose
Just like most of the live-action versions of her cousin, Supergirl is so powerful in the comics that when she is brought to other mediums, she is instantly depowered to better work within the confines of a TV series budget. Supergirl is still amazingly strong, but not quite as strong as she is in the comics. The same goes for her speed, endurance, and countless other powers; the Girl of Steel still has them, but they just aren't up to the same levels as they are on the page.
0 Comments