10 DC Heroes Who Are Just Walking Cliches

DC Comics created the superhero waaaay back in the Golden Age. This was a different time in comics and entertainment. They were mostly published for young readers and most of the characters were extremely cliche. This is something that would extend into the Silver Age as well, with the publisher creating loads of new characters who slotted perfectly into many cliches. As the readership aged up, the characters became more complicated, with some of the most cliche heroes gaining new facets. Sometimes, this has made them into more complex. Other times, strangely enough, it only made them even more cliche, reinforcing the stereotypes that make them who they are.

Many of the greatest DC heroes of all time are extremely cliche. While this can be a bad thing at times, these heroes have ridden these tropes to the top and become some of the greatest heroes ever. These ten DC heroes are walking cliches, becoming icons thanks to them.

10) Hawkman

Hawkman is DC’s very own Wolverine, although he did come first. The reincarnating warrior was the first leader of the Justice Society and has been a solid B-lister for decades. Carter Hall is basically a walking conservative stereotype. He prefers the old ways and weapons, believing in law and order to solve the problems of society. There’s a reason he’s a fascist in the Absolute Universe; he’s the ultimate defender of their very conservative status quo. While mainline Hawkman isn’t that bad, he’s long been a mouthpiece for more conservative ideas.

9) Green Arrow

Green Arrow is a DC legend, having been around for over 80 years, and has become more well-known than ever because of the Arrowverse of shows. If I’m going to call out Hawkman for being a walking, talking conservative cliche, then I have to do the same with Ollie. Once upon a time, he was just your standard wealthy vigilante but then Denny O’Neil took the character over and made him into a ’60s liberal firebrand. Since then, Ollie has been the biggest liberal in the DC Multiverse, constantly calling out the status quo and advocating for more liberal policies. He’s every liberal cliche rolled into one.

8) Barry Allen

Let’s be real – Barry Allen was more interesting dead. Barry is a product of a much older time. He was the perfect 1950s man and that played a role in his loss of prominence in the early ’80s; fans just didn’t care about the 1956 model after over 20 years of growth of the superhero genre. He’s the epitome of the boring yet competent adult. He’s a great, trustworthy friend, someone you can depend on, and completely uninteresting. When he was resurrected in 2008, they basically just grafted Wally West’s personality onto him, because his own wouldn’t have worked in the 21st century and honestly didn’t; there’s a reason he’s not the main Flash anymore.

7) Hal Jordan

Hal Jordan is one of DC’s greatest heroes and the only reason he got there was because he is a walking cliche. Jordan is, to a tee, the stereotypical fighter jock. He’s a fearless thrill seeker, ready to do the wildest stuff to get the job done, and willing to take any chance. He’s a ladies’ man, another trait of pilots in fiction (and real life). All of this made him perfect for the Green Lantern Corps and is why his return went much better than his friend Barry’s. Hal is easy to modernize because his cliches are actually interesting and make him timeless.

6) Jay Garrick

In a lot of ways, most members of the Justice Society are cliche, but the most is easily Jay Garrick. Back in the day, Jay was the epitome of the “modern” man of the ’40s, a stalwart, pure-hearted person who never gave up and fought for good in all things. In the modern era, he’s become the cliche supportive grandfather of superheroes. He’s always there for the youngsters and is a source of wisdom for the older heroes as well. He’s the ideal of the wise elder and it’s allowed him to become one of the best heroes of all time.

5) Damian Wayne

Damian Wayne made the Robin mantle his own, becoming something of a low key legend since he premiered over 20 years ago. Damian is every teenager cliche amped up to a thousand. He’s a know-it-all, he doesn’t listen, he’s a slave to his emotions, and he thinks that he can do anything better than the adults. It’s to the point where a lot of fans just don’t like him very much because he’s honestly kind of annoying at times. Basically, if you don’t like teenagers then you’re going to hate Damian, but once upon a time we were all him (except without all the money and talent).

4) Nightwing

Dick Grayson has been around for 85 years, going from the greatest sidekick ever to one of the greatest vigilantes in comics. Nightwing is basically everything you want a hero to be – handsome, friendly, smart, skilled – rolled up into one package. There’s an easy reason for this: instead of following in the footsteps of his mentor Batman, he wanted to be more like his favorite hero Superman. He’s a massive cliche, but that’s a part of his charm; he may get knocked down a lot, but he always comes back with a smile on his lips, a sarcastic quip, and an escrima stick.

3) Booster Gold

Booster Gold is a hero from the future obsessed with fame and fortune. He’ll do anything to be considered one of the greatest heroes ever and this has made him the platonic ideal of a comedic character. He has a heart of gold, yet he’s dumb (so very dumb). He’s constantly coming up with schemes that will make him more popular and they almost backfire on him. He constantly makes the dumbest mistakes imaginable and is shocked when everyone is tired of him. He takes every single comedy cliche and brings them to the page, which is part of why we love him so much.

2) Batman

Batman is a massive collection of cliches that somehow has become one of the most popular characters ever created. He’s obsessed with revenge, willing to go to any lengths to make the world a better place. His entire life is devoted to this, even his civilian identity, using the facade of Bruce Wayne to facilitate his war on crime and get as much information. He doesn’t trust anyone but family and will go to any lengths to win. He’s curt with everyone he meets, even his friends, and is known for his scathing rebukes of everything that doesn’t reach his impossibly high standards. However, under it all, he’s just a scared boy who wants his family back, another tried and true cliche.

1) Superman

Superman is DC Comics’ greatest superhero, the original long underwear type who created an entire genre of stories. An argument can be made that since he is the original, there’s no way he’s cliche but most of the cliches that make up the character have been taken from millennia of stories, reaching back to Gilgamesh and Hercules. He’s the ultimate force for good, a character who will always do the right thing no matter how hard it is. He believes in the goodness of everyone and will give his all to save even one person. He’s the perfect hero and that, in and of itself, is a massive cliche.

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