The 6 Best And 6 Worst Characters In The Arrowverse

Starting out his Arrowverse career as a member of the Flash's Rogues Gallery, Mick Rory (played by Dominic Purcell) is now one of the foundational members of the Legends. This curmudgeonly poet has changed more than any other Arrowverse character, starting out as a brutish thief loyal only to his friend Leonard "Captain Cold" Snart. In his career as a legend, Rory double-crossed his team twice, tried to kill them several times, and eventually realized how much he cared about them. He's still hard-drinking, mean, and larcenous, but he's now mostly fighting for the good guys. His interactions with the other characters are a particular point of delight, as his insults of nice guys like Ray "Haircut" Palmer land hard because they're true. Mick's best running subplot is his career as fantasy-romance novel writer "Rebecca Silver." Those books are pure Mick, with titles such as Heatwaves: An Erotic Sex Odyssey and Uncaged Desire making so many fans that he appeared (for a paycheck, of course) at "Romanti-Con." Mick even uses a magic book to summon Garima, the purple-skinned, triple-breasted barbarian heroine of Heatwaves to defeat a monster and then makes sweet love to her. Even though he seems like he's just a lout, his writing reveals a side that understands just how important human contact is.

Zari Tomaz (played by Tala Ashe), the wise-cracking, smartass wielder of the mystical Air Totem, is a perfect match for the misfits on the Waverider in Legends Of Tomorrow. Originally from a bleak future in 2042, she joins the Legends after tricking them into helping her, which is pretty much par for the course for the group. It's the little details that make Zari so fun: as someone from a future where she had to scrape to get by, she's delighted by the past's bounty and is constantly eating the most delicious food she can get her hands on. Her irascible nature makes her fast friends with the other troublemakers on the ship, like Mick Rory and Charlie the shapechanger. Zari is a central figure in the best episodes of the show, like when she gets stuck in a Groundhog Day-style time loop or another where she gets turned into a cat. Like the best Arrowverse characters, her air-related powers are far less interesting than her personality, which is cynical but also deeply moral. Her mix of simplistic glee and sense of being haunted by her past makes her the perfect example of a character trying to live in the moment. 

Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) is everything that makes The Flash great. He's a super-smart smartass who gleefully leans into the absurdity of having to fight meta-humans every week. His self-appointed role in naming the Flash's villains is one of the series' best running gags. His pop culture and meme references feel natural, like shouting "LEROY JENKINS!!!" before one fight scene. He's an ideal secondary character who can carry the show at times, but also fits naturally with the other members of Team Flash. His relationships with Caitlin Snow, the various Harrison Wells, Ralph Dibny and others all show off different aspects of his personality: a protective older brother, competitive scientist, and utter goofball. Giving him the Vibe persona and powers almost feels redundant, as Cisco doesn't need powers to be cool. Most of all, his friendship with Barry Allen is one of the anchors of the show, as they have gone through a lot together. Of all the Arrowverse characters, Cisco is the one that would be the most fun to hang out with at CC Jitters, geeking out over pop culture and technology for hours.

As portrayed by Jesse Rath, "Brainy" replaced Winn Schott in the awkward, lovable, and geeky tech wizard role in Supergirl. Brainy is much more than that, though. His mix of naïveté, arrogance, and empathy as a cybernetic being have made him comic relief, a tragic figure, and a compelling romantic lead. His relationship with Nia Nal/Dreamer (played by Nicole Maines) is one of the best romances in the entire Arrowverse, portrayed as both adorably cute but also going through surprisingly relatable rocky patches. Like everything Brainy does, his romantic overtures are intense, awkward, and sometimes tone-deaf. When Nia expressed delight at being served breakfast in bed, for example, he responded by serving her ever-more elaborate meals, not understanding that he was smothering her with affection. 

Brainy is also a straight-up badass, thanks to his empathetic relationship with technology, strength, and his "twelveth-level intellect." He single-handedly took down A.M.A.Z.O. during the Elseworlds crossover, for example, simply because his mind worked faster than his robot foe's. Brainy's best qualities are his undying loyalty to his friends and a deep sense of compassion, quickly becoming a key D.E.O. agent and a key part of Team Supergirl. Love is what defines him, however, as a rejection of his cold, evil ancestors. When his circuits got fried and he started going down that emotionless path, it was the love of Nia that restored him.    

Black Lightning's daughter Thunder, a.k.a. Anissa Pierce (played by Nafessa Williams), is perhaps the most socially conscious of all of the Arrowverse characters. A politically-minded med school student who isn't afraid to stand up to injustice and her city of Freeland's gang infestation, Thunder realizes she has powers when she accidentally starts breaking things. Before long, she figures out that the longer she holds her breath, the stronger and more invulnerable she becomes. A stomp or a clap can send shockwaves, and one of the funnier sequences of Black Lightning's first season was seeing her test the limits of her powers in a junkyard. 

She's a badass and she knows it, and that cockiness often lands her in trouble. While she likes being her dad's partner in fighting crime, she often disagrees with Black Lightning on how she should help others. So she created another alter ego: the hoodie-wearing Blackbird, who robs from bad guys to help out a church. In one of the best scenes of the series, Blackbird beats up and robs an entire gang in an intense, tightly-choreographed fight set to Parliament's "Flash Light." Thunder is one of many LGBT characters in the Arrowverse, although her relationship problems are unusual: her girlfriend, Grace Choi, is secretly a shapeshifter slowly losing control of her powers. Anissa has rich, deep relationships and her emotionally complex plots, which is par for the course in a show that gives all of its supporting characters plenty to do. 

This list has mostly avoided the stars of the Arrowverse shows, but Kate Kane (played by Ruby Rose) is the sole exception. From her badass introduction in the Elseworlds crossover to her star turn in Crisis on Infinite Earths, Batwoman has proven to be a formidable presence in the Arrowverse. Though she has a grim, no-nonsense attitude like her cousin Bruce Wayne, her bone-dry sense of humor often shines through. Kane is given enormous depth as her character has been fleshed, especially as she tries to save the sanity of her sister, Beth. Beth's transformation into the psychotic Alice and all of the accompanying Lewis Carroll imagery has given Batwoman a morally complex dilemma in how to deal with the crimes of someone that she loves. 

Kane's relationship with her ex-girlfriend, father, and stepsister are all equally fascinating, especially as Kate is frequently shown to make the wrong decision. This first season of Batwoman is a fascinating companion piece to the first season of Arrow, as the protagonists start out sure of their actions and soon learn that they can't control everything. At least Batwoman has Supergirl in her corner, as that duo proves to have instant chemistry as friends and crimefighters. Future crossovers between those shows are something to look forward to.