The Biggest Weakness Of Every Arrowverse Hero Explained
The Arrowverse has greatly expanded since its 2012 debut, comprising heroes of all stripes. They are united by their tremendous abilities and great courage, but also by their flaws. These flaws often go beyond physical limitations or built-in weaknesses like kryptonite — they can be phobias, traumas, and the hero's own insecurities. Oftentimes, it is this latter sort of struggle that most defines a hero. In tribute to that resilience, we're here to explore the greatest weakness of every Arrowverse hero, from their crushing fears to their physical vulnerabilities.
Take note: We won't be discussing dead heroes, potential heroes like Zoe Ramirez, support personnel who don't actually suit up for battle, heroes who turn out to be villains, or heroes who have lost their powers.
Dr. Mid-Nite is clingy
Beth Chapel just wants to belong. While she loves her parents, she also resents them a little, as they stopped paying much attention to her once she grew old enough to take care of herself. As a result, this young genius gloms onto Courtney Whitmore and Yolanda Montez when she realizes they're forming some kind of secret club. Upon learning they're superheroes, she gets even more excited. Once Courtney realizes that Beth has somehow managed to activate Dr. Mid-Nite's artificial intelligence goggles, she allows her to join the new Justice Society. However, her clingy nature and desperate desire to prove herself leads her to make mistakes and act impulsively.
Hourman has anger issues
Rick Tyler was raised by his uncle Matt. Unbeknownst to him, his father Rex was the hero Hourman. Rex and his wife were murdered by Solomon Grundy, though Rick was told they died in a car crash. As a result, Rick grows up angry, alienating everyone around him. When Courtney Whitmore reveals to him that his father had been Hourman and Beth Chapel shows him the truth of his death, he decides to turn his anger on the Injustice Society. This anger makes him undisciplined and sloppy. Eventually, he decides to act for justice instead of revenge — however, a lifetime of feeling abandoned still makes anger his first response to stress.
Wildcat struggles with shame
Yolanda Montez has great grades, popularity, a likely win in the upcoming student election, and a boyfriend. When he pressures her to send him a nude photo, however, he shares it with everyone, humiliating her in front of the whole school. Worse, her parents feel that she's disgraced them, and stop taking her to church. It takes a persistent Courtney Whitmore to convince her to become Wildcat and join her new Justice Society. Still, it takes Yolanda a long time to work through her shame: For quite a while, she pushes everyone away. In time, she learns to do things for the right reasons, but part of her will always miss the life she once had. The fact that she can never return to it haunts her.
Wild Dog isn't a team player
Rene Ramirez starts his career as a vigilante with sloppy working methods. Joining Team Arrow is an adjustment for everyone, because he isn't used to working as part of a team, and definitely isn't used to following orders. He chafes at Oliver Queen's rigid leadership style, and constantly blows up. This makes him a major liability. It isn't until much later that he learns how to calm down and not take everything so personally. His passion to do the right thing is his greatest asset, but when that passion boils over, he's a weak link in the field.
Spartan just can't find his place
John "Spartan" Diggle is a man who's constantly trying to figure out his next step. He's been a soldier, a bodyguard, and eventually, a member of Team Arrow. As important as he is to the cause, he is always in Oliver's shadow. This dissatisfaction eats at him, no matter how much he loves Oliver.
Everything changes when Oliver decides to retire for a while, leaving his role to Diggle. Being Green Arrow clearly means the world to him, so when Oliver takes the role back, Diggle is devastated. His need to be something more than he is causes him to leave Team Arrow and move over to ARGUS — but that role doesn't suit him either. It isn't until the end of the series, which implies that he is chosen to be the new Green Lantern, that he finds his place.
Mr. Terrific isn't a fighter
Curtis Holt is an Olympic decathlete, a genius engineer, and an academic, possessing 14 different degrees. Initially serving as part of Team Arrow's support crew, he's beaten up by thugs and vows to never be put in that position again. He learns hand-to-hand combat and becomes fairly good at it, but never quite catches up to his teammates. Moreover, PTSD often makes him hesitate in combat. He later struggles with anger at Oliver Queen for putting all new members under surveillance, the dissolution of his marriage because of his double life, and his distaste for ARGUS' tactics. Eventually, Curtis quits the life, but remains available for research and intelligence.
Speedy goes too far
Thea Queen starts out much like her brother: A privileged partier who gets mixed up with a lot of bad people. When she learns that Oliver's arch-enemy Malcolm Merlyn is her actual father, her life is upended. Merlyn trains her to become a killer using League of Assassins methods. She turns on him in time and becomes a member of Team Arrow, but dies later on. She is revived by the Lazarus Pit, but it gives her an insatiable bloodlust. Once she is cured of this, she takes a job in Oliver Queen's mayoral office and makes some ethically dubious moves. No matter what Thea does, she always goes too far, and rarely considers the consequences of her actions. Eventually, she retires from all kinds of vigilante activity and public life.
Arsenal gets violent
Roy Harper credits Oliver with giving him purpose after a hard start in life. But poor Roy suffers as a result of becoming a crime-fighter, being kidnapped and injected with the Mirakuru serum which boosts his abilities at the cost of his mental stability. While he eventually receives an antidote, he is later killed and resurrected by the bloodlust-inducing Lazarus Pit. He receives the special lotus formula to counteract this effect, but the lingering influence of the Mirakuru continues to urge him towards violence. Only by leaving the vigilante life altogether can he control it, though he does come back one last time to help during the Crisis.
Black Canary has conflicting allegiances
After gaining sonic powers, detective Dinah Drake embarks upon a violent campaign of revenge on the criminals she believes killed her partner. Eventually, Oliver Queen convinces her to join Team Arrow. She ultimately finds herself torn between various allegiances — especially after discovering that the murderous Vigilante is in fact her ex-partner (and ex-boyfriend). She keeps this a secret, which is a major breach of trust. Later, she, Mr. Terrific, and Wild Dog break away from Team Arrow after discovering they've been put under surveillance. She is made chief of police, which puts her allegiance to the law-breaking Team Arrow in jeopardy. Dinah is forced to betray the trust of either the police force, Team Arrow, or both. When she travels to the future after Oliver Queen's funeral, she gives up the adventurer's life for a long time as a result.
Black Siren ignores her conscience
Laurel Lance of Earth-2 wasn't lucky enough to have a loving father around to raise her. She drifts through life until she gains her sonic scream, at which point she signs up with Zoom to help him try to conquer Earth-1. She causes further trouble assisting the likes of Prometheus and Ricardo Diaz — but Quentin Lance, Earth-1 Laurel's father, never gives up on her.
Eventually, she becomes a force for good. Her biggest flaw is her urge to ignore her newly-developed conscience — old habits die hard, after all. Instead of blaming others, she works hard to take her father's love and faith in her to heart, even though she is constantly tempted to backslide.
The Atom can be too much of a peacemaker
Ray Palmer is a genius, but perhaps more importantly, he's the moral compass of the Legends. But his kind and gentle nature can be a liability. He's not a natural fighter, and so he's not the guy who's going to battle to his last breath to save the day. Indeed, he prefers sitting down with his enemies, in the hopes of persuading them to change their minds, rather than fight them. This makes him a decent person, but not always the best superhero. His deciding to leave the group in order to start a new life with Nora makes a lot of sense: As much as he enjoys hanging out with his friends, he's not a lifelong soldier.
Heat Wave hates responsibility
Mick Rory becomes a criminal because he hates authority. He also struggles with guilt over the death of his parents, who perished in a blaze he set as a child. When he agrees to become a Legend, it's because he wants to steal a bunch of stuff while time traveling. While he betrays the team more than once, he eventually settles back in as a cornerstone of the group — albeit, one with a room full of stolen riches.
After he changes a timeline and accidentally fathers a daughter, Mick finds himself with mixed emotions. He doesn't want the responsibility of fatherhood, but also doesn't want his daughter to go through life without a dad. This prove to be the one thing he can't ignore. While he's warming to the role of parent, he is wary of the responsibility he now shoulders.
Ava Sharpe is ashamed of being a clone
Ava Sharpe is recruited by Rip Hunter to work for his Time Bureau, in order to protect the timeline with a rigid set of rules. She's all about rigid rules, and loves her role in running the Bureau ... until she learns the horrible truth about her past. She's a clone who had her memories wiped, which were replaced with fake ones. She is later forced to fight clones of herself, which does a number on her identity. While she finds a home with the Legends (and the love of her life in Sara Lance), Ava's still sensitive about being a clone, and thus not a "real" person.
John Constantine is laid low by guilt
John Constantine pretends to be above it all. In large part, this is because he's brought grief and pain to those around him. What's worse, his guilt with regard to hard choices he's had to make has led him to make even worse choices in an effort to fix things. For example, when he tries to alter the timeline to prevent his boyfriend from being dragged off to Hell, it just makes the ensuing timeline more bizarre: Zari gets turned into a cat and the team is turned into puppets. Trying to assuage his guilt on his own only makes things worse for everyone, but it also makes him even more afraid of relying on others.
Vixen is tied to her responsibilities
Whether it's Amaya Jiwe or her granddaughters Mari and Kuasa filling the role, the heroine known as Vixen is always bound to defend Zambesi Village with the Anansi Totem. Amaya does spend time away from her tribe as Vixen during World War II when she joins the Justice Society, and then joins the time-spanning Legends. But she knows that her time there is limited, as she must return to Zambesi. After the timeline is changed, her daughters Mari and Kuasa decide to share the Anansi Totem, growing up in solidarity, instead of as enemies. However, no matter where they go or what they do, their allegiance to their village and their willingness to do whatever it takes to save it makes this a permanent area of vulnerability.
Charlie has trust issues
A shapeshifter, Charlie has a serious hatred of authority and a general distrust of others. Eons ago, she was Clotho, one of the three mythological Fates. She decided to break the loom that gave her and her sisters control over mortal lives, however. She's been on the run from her sisters Atropos and Lachesis ever since. Even when she's with the Legends, she is guarded about her past, and doesn't trust them enough to tell them her secrets. Coming clean might have prevented a lot of grief, as the other two Fates eventually catch up with her.
Nora Darhk is haunted by her past
In many ways, Nora Darhk is the most unlikely Legend of all. The daughter of their enemy Damien Darhk, her parents died when they tried to destroy most of the world in one of Damien's schemes. She is later connected to a cult and enslaved by the demon Mallus in an effort to resurrect him. She is severely scarred and traumatized by the experience.
Despite all of this, Ray Palmer shows her nothing but kindness, seeing only the good in her. When Damien sees this, he sacrifices his own life to save his daughter's. Nora's time as a Fairy Godmother allows her to work through some of her childhood trauma, but it takes embarking on a new life with Ray as his wife and leaving the Legends behind to truly heal.
Steel is an overgrown kid
Nate Heywood is a big, nerdy kid who gets to use his knowledge of historical data to have the biggest adventure of his life. He loves his friends and will do anything for them. Nate, Ray, and Behrad form a sort of sub-fraternity in the Legends, goofing around together and exchanging many high fives. But this endearing quality of Nate's is also his weakness, as he can be emotionally manipulated in the same way a kid can. Not having a father who showed him love means that he searches constantly for outside approval, and often makes poor decisions based on his feelings. Fortunately for him, he has the Legends to keep him grounded.
Mona Wu has an animalistic temper
Mona Wu is sweet and naive. But that niceness conceals a nasty, violent temper. She doesn't just get angry — she has tantrums. This impulsiveness is what gets her mixed up with the Legends in the first place. When she is scratched by a werewolf-like creature called the Kaupe, she is transformed into one herself. Suddenly, when she gets mad, she turns into her "Wolfie" form and is perfectly happy to attack both friends and foe alike. Anyone who triggers a tantrum is fair game, which makes her more than a little unstable as a teammate.
Zari Tarazi can be majorly entitled
When the Legends change the timeline and Zari Tomaz is replaced by her brother Behrad, it means that she suddenly disappeared into the Air Totem. This is where the spirits of its former wielders live — but Zari the adventurer never existed in the new timeline. Instead, there is Zari Tarazi, the highly-pampered social media influencer. This Zari accidentally discovers her brother is a superhero and starts hanging out with the team. As she learns about her other self and realizes that flashes of her abilities (computer hacking, for example) have started to bubble up in her, she stays with the Legends. However, she's still self-important, arrogant, and high maintenance. She's just aggressive enough to get away with it, but there are definitely times she's tolerated more than loved.
Behrad Tarazi is too laid back
When the timeline is altered, Zari's brother Behrad Tarazi becomes the Air Totem-bearing member of the Legends. On a team of slackers and degenerates, Behrad still stands out as the most mellow member of the Legends, with a supremely laid back personality. He's a little too relaxed at times, in fact, as he doesn't always take things as seriously as he needs to. For him, these missions aren't life-and-death, but a spirited adventure he's glad to be taking. This attitude can be nice to be around, but it also makes him hard to depend on.
Leo Snart just can't deal with sloppiness
Leo Snart is a Freedom Fighter from the Nazi-ruled Earth-X. After meeting the Legends, he decides to briefly join the team and hang out on Earth-1. Quite unlike his Earth-1 counterpart, this Leo is meticulous and hates the Legends' sloppy ways. He particularly chastises Rory for using his flamethrower indiscriminately. He doesn't stay with the Legends for very long, and though the reasons why aren't related to his particular ways, he likely knows he's too fastidious to be a long-term fit with this group of misfits.
Guardian suffers from PTSD
James Olsen is tired of feeling left out — that's why he becomes the armored Guardian. However, when Lena Luthor injects him with the Kryptonian Harun-El serum, James gains actual Kryptonian super-powers ... and loses control of them when he struggles with PTSD-related panic attacks. With professional help, he is able to get through this,and in time, his system is purged of the serum. But the trauma of the experiences, often triggered by hearing gunshots or simply seeing Lex Luthor, is something he will always have to manage.
Dreamer wants to be perfect
Nia takes up the mantle of Dreamer after her mother, the previous Dreamer, dies. Nia is an intense perfectionist and her own worst critic. This is exacerbated by her imperfect control of her precognitive and dream-related powers, which leads her to misunderstand that her mother is going to die. Nia has a lot to live up as Dreamer, and she knows it, putting too much pressure on herself as a result. However, she slowly overcomes this as she becomes more confident and learns to ask for help.
Mon-El can't let Kara go
Mon-El and Kara are an unlikely couple, but their bond is real. Tragically, they are separated when he is forced to go to the 31st century for his own safety. There, he founds the Legion and marries fellow member Imra. When they go back in time and he finds himself face-to-face with Kara, he tries to put her off, but it's not long before he realizes that he's still in love with her. This starts to affect his judgment, his marriage, and even the foundations of his heroism. He bases too much of himself on her and eventually returns to the 31st century because he knows he has to, putting the greater good above his own desires.
Martian Manhunter is swamped with survivor's guilt
J'onn J'onnz hates fire, which scares him so badly, it affects his shapeshifting. However, what haunts him even more deeply is survivor's guilt. He believes himself to be the last of the Green Martians, who were wiped out in a genocide perpetrated by the White Martians. Even though he's since learned that his younger brother and father are alive, J'onn never recovers from the death of his wife and children. He still feels guilty for living while they cannot. Enemies often exploit this chink in his armor through the use of psychic attacks.
Brainiac-5 carries on a sinister legacy
Querl Dox is a tactical genius, an efficient fighter, and an all-around powerhouse of digital might. However, he's wary of his ancestry, being born into the Brainiac clan, descendants of one of Superman's most relentless enemies. Kind-hearted "Brainy" worries that evil lurks within him as well, and not without cause: He is cut off from his emotions when his mind is rebooted, only regaining them and his sense of empathy when he sees the love of his life, Nia Nal, in danger.
Thunder is reckless
Anissa Pierce is a brilliant young medical student, part-time teacher, and community activist. Her strong ideals are backed up by her courage and steely resolve. When she realizes that she has superpowers, she keeps them hidden so she can figure out what she is capable of in private. Still, she is reckless in attacking the various gangs that plague Freeland. When her father finally gives her his blessing in exchange for working as a team, she makes fewer mistakes in the field. Of course, she then concocts an entirely new persona, Blackbird, that robs from gangs and gives money to the church and needy people. She just can't help being a loose cannon.
Lightning is a reluctant powerhouse
Jennifer Pierce never wanted superpowers, but she gets them anyway. As she's not a natural fighter like her father and sister, she tries to minimize their effect upon her life. Her powers just can't be denied, however: When she tries to not use them, they build up and cause her intense pain. Unlike Jefferson, who is something of a battery, Jen is a generator. This means that she can do pretty much anything her dad can, but isn't at risk of running out of juice. Accepting her powers comes slowly to her, but fighting for her family makes it possible.
Vibe stays suspicious
Cisco Ramon is an integral part of Team Flash as a hacker, leader, and tech guy. But being betrayed by his mentor, who is actually the Reverse-Flash, makes Cisco distrustful of everyone. That even includes his best friend Barry Allen, as he creates a weapon to stop him, just in case he turns evil, goes insane, or otherwise loses control of his powers. This approach means Ramon is always a little on edge with everyone, even as he projects an easygoing, friendly demeanor.
Killer Frost contains dueling personalities
After being introduced to the nasty Killer Frost of Earth-2 and realizing that her ex-lover is actually the murderous Zoom, Caitlin Snow slowly starts to feel her long-dormant second personality emerge.
When her other side takes over, she is every bit as vicious as her Earth-2 counterpart. However, the love shown to her by members of Team Flash allows both Caitlin and Killer Frost to co-exist, taking turns "driving." Still, this relationship with her other self has its ups and downs. When her two sides quarrel or don't feel they're getting enough time "driving," Caitlin gets more than a little unstable.
Elongated Man is sleazy
When Ralph Dibny first receives his powers, he's a private detective. He works as a PI because he was disgraced as a cop, having planted false evidence. When he becomes a hero and starts taking Barry Allen's lessons and example to heart, he legitimately changes his ways and stops cutting moral corners.
However, Ralph's icky personality endures — especially when it comes to dealing with women. His romantic "advice" to others is like something out of a pick-up artist handbook. What's more, even as Ralph has gained humility in many ways, he still sees himself as a font of wisdom. He's just too in love with his own patter to take a hard look in the mirror.
Kid Flash doesn't know what direction to go in
Wally West is one of the most unsettled heroes in the Arrowverse. Having grown up in dysfunctional circumstances, he struggles with tension and jealousy. When he gains his own super speed, he is reckless and a bit of a glory hog. He is so overjoyed to have superpowers, in fact, that he starts to use them for the wrong reasons. Though he eventually comes to terms with his anger and jealousy, he leaves Central City — he just never manages to feel like he fits in. He goes off to find himself in a Buddhist monastery, and is later convinced to join the Legends. Wally makes some friends, but eventually quits that too. Kid Flash could be an all-star superhero, but his lack of direction holds him back.
Batwoman has a major blind spot
In many ways, Kate Kane is a better superhero than her cousin, Bruce Wayne: She's more flexible in her thinking and more willing to ask for help. Furthermore, she is a steadying force when she becomes the paragon of courage during the Crisis. However, the return of her seemingly dead twin sister Beth as the psychotic criminal Alice repeatedly leads Batwoman to make major mistakes. Kate captures and lets her go on more than one occasion, despite her homicidal ways. The survivor's guilt Kate feels over the fact that she stopped looking for Beth years earlier is simply more than she can bear. As a result, more than one person she cares about is murdered, and Kate has to deal with knowing that they'd likely be alive if she'd had more resolve.
Superman is terrified of losing his loved ones
As you likely know, Superman's biggest physical weakness is green kryptonite, which is lethal in large enough doses. Furthermore, red kryptonite turns him evil and silver kryptonite makes him hallucinate. He's also vulnerable to magic and mind control. However, his real weakness is the love of his life, Lois Lane, and his adoptive parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent. He's terrified of enemies learning about them, and now he's frightened that something will happen to his new baby. This doesn't stop him from doing the right thing, but enemies who know anything about him know to strike at him through his family. Lex Luthor, his arch-enemy, knows this most keenly of all.
Stargirl acts first, thinks second
When Courtney Whitmore discovers the cosmic staff among her stepfather's belongings, everything changes. The staff allows her to bond with it to become Stargirl, and she sets about forming a new Justice Society. Despite her stepfather's warnings, over-eager Courtney makes a lot of mistakes with her recklessness, even getting people killed. She thinks that having powers and her own team will somehow solve everything, without considering that the original Justice Society also had their own powers, and were still murdered by their enemies. While she eventually calms down a little with regard to leading the new JSA, she still tends to act without thinking things through.
Black Lightning tries to be everyone's dad
Jefferson Pierce's paternalistic attitude doesn't just affect his family, but the people he works with as well. In thinking he knows how to protect everyone best, he often makes unilateral decisions that don't respect the agency of his super-powered daughters, his highly capable wife, his students, and even his allies in the Freeland Police Department. It takes him a long time to figure out that people are going to do what they want to do, and that he has to cooperate. The irony of this is that as a school principal, his whole job is trying to find ways to empower young people. As a superhero, he doesn't do that enough.
White Canary's past has twisted her
Sara Lance starts off as a party girl who has an affair with her sister Laurel's boyfriend, Oliver Queen. After their ill-fated yacht trip, she does what she has to do to survive: She helps torture people aboard the Amazo, joins the League of Assassins, and becomes a trained killer. Eventually, she breaks away to become a vigilante. Though she dies, she is resurrected — but her reanimated body lacks a soul, which leads to her becoming a killing machine. Even when her soul is reunited with her body, she is haunted by the rage inside of her that she often can't control. Nora Darhk is eventually able to help her with this, but it doesn't erase her past.
Supergirl can be blinded by optimism
Of all the heroes in the Arrowverse, Kara Danvers is surely the nicest. She's a kind, compassionate, and loving person who works well on her own and as part of a larger team. She's also willing to see the good in nearly everyone ... which can be a liability. You can't blame her too much: How would you handle birth parents who invent horrifying technology designed to murder and/or enslave people? Her adoptive father, Jeremiah Danvers, isn't much better: He's a double agent who uses Kara's trusting nature to hide his betrayal. Her naivete has faded after these experiences, and she's become more battle-hardened and confident. But she's still the paragon of hope, and while that's very much a strength, this optimism is often used against her.
The Flash is ruled by emotion
Barry Allen's inherent decency is his greatest strength: It makes him a wonderful friend, a great team member, and a stalwart hero. However, once Barry makes up his mind about something, it's impossible to get him to change course. He'd rather learn by catastrophic example than accept the wisdom of others. That's especially true if the stakes are personal. The trauma of seeing his parents killed unhinges him to the point where he alters the timeline, inadvertently changing the lives of everyone he loves ... and not always for the better.
He frantically tries to fix this mess, but things never quite return to normal. It takes Earth-2's Flash, Jay Garrick, to teach him that he simply has to let it go. Barry mostly avoids mucking with the timeline following this crisis, but not entirely.
Green Arrow is domineering
Oliver Queen thinks that he knows best for everyone, and rarely deviates from acting on this belief. He is enormously distrustful, conceals secrets, and openly lies in the name of protecting his loved ones. This alienates much of Team Arrow, and nearly destroys his relationship with Felicity Smoak. Admittedly, his unilateral decision-making does save the universe: Oliver sacrifices himself in order to create the new Earth-Prime and resurrects billions of lives. It's almost as though he knows his form of leadership is no longer viable in this new world. He can't change his domineering ways ... and so he makes one final, sweeping choice that takes him out of the equation.