It’s often said that DC Comics is where “gods try to be human” and over the decades, the company has introduced some of the most powerful heroes ever. Superman is the exemplar, but he was just the beginning. Superpowers didn’t really have rules back then; characters were just as powerful as they needed to be. This is why the Man of Steel has gotten so much more powerful or a hero like Batman has gotten more potent. Power levels in the DC Multiverse are extremely interesting; they went up to insane levels, then started to go back down again, and finally have risen back to the prior levels. Many characters have gotten buffs that have made them into titans, even with ones who are ostensibly human.
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Looking at the heroes of DC Comics, there are some out there who are just way too powerful. At first, fans were into it – we’re all a sucker for some insane feats – but many of these characters have gotten way less interesting; too much power can rob stories of stakes and that’s definitely hurt a lot of heroes. These five DC heroes should be nerfed, bringing them back to levels where their adventures are believable.
5) Raven
The Teen Titans/Titans have always been potent, but the most powerful member is Raven. She was introduced in New Teen Titans, running to Earth to escape her father, the demon Trigon. He wanted to use her godlike magical potential to conquer creation and she spent years holding her emotions in check so that she wouldn’t lose control. She kept getting more and more powerful and has reached a level where she can alter reality itself; she’s basically Scarlet Witch. Raven’s powers have always been her biggest problem. Most stories starring her are about her losing control of her powers and becoming evil, which is honestly one of the worst female superhero story arcs ever. It kind of feels like the only idea that everyone ever has for her is for her powers to spike and make her evil. The best way to end that is to nerf her powers. She’s reached a level where she’s basically just a Swiss army knife and this has made her boring. She needs to go in new directions and lowering her power level would force creators to do new and interesting things with her.
4) The Spectre
The Spectre is one of the most powerful heroes in the DC Multiverse. Jim Corrigan was a cop who was killed by the mob and soul-bonded with the power of the Spectre, God’s Angel of Vengeance. He was given the power to do just about anything he wanted to punish the wicked, starring in horrific little tales of revenge. He’s defined by his powers, but they’ve become a huge problem. The Spectre is one of those characters who is very hard to use correctly because of his power level. You can’t really have him lose to anyone who isn’t a god and over the years, DC has tried to come up with numerous reasons why he doesn’t just solve all the problems. It’s the Superman dilemma, but the difference is that Superman is an interesting character, whereas the Spectre usually isn’t. So, the best thing to do would be nerf him. No more wrestling with the Anti-Monitor or killing the Wizard Shazam. Instead, limit his powers to maybe only those who have done something evil or make them smaller scale, so he can only influence a certain area. There are ways to tell good Spectre stories, and nerfing him would help him get to that level.
3) Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a highly underrated hero and DC sometimes gives him his due. Captain Nathaniel Adam volunteered for a dangerous experiment and was fused with the quantum skin of an alien spacecraft, gaining amazing powers. The original Charlton Captain Atom was the inspiration for Doctor Manhattan and in recent years that’s gotten remembered more and more. Post-Crisis Captain Atom was powerful, but he didn’t have all the godlike powers that he would get as the connection to Doctor Manhattan has gotten more played up. However, like with the other characters on this list, I think this has become a problem. We’ve gotten to the point where he can do time stuff, he can do matter manipulation, has all kinds of energy powers, is strong enough to fight Superman, has a shell that is either impervious to harm or easy to puncture when you need a giant nuclear explosion. He’s entirely too powerful and going back to him just being strong, having some energy and matter manipulation abilities, and none of the time stuff might be better for him. He got his biggest push when he was relatively weaker, so maybe it’s time to go back to that.
2) Batman
Okay, so I know what you’re thinking and it’s that Batman doesn’t have any powers, which sure. However, this is a guy who can kick through a big oak tree. He can dodge bullets and has fought people with super speed rather successfully. He can solve every riddle, unravel every mystery, decipher any code, solve any puzzle, create any weapon he needs to win, come up with plans to beat beings that no one else can, and he has the infinite money cheat. Batman is nothing but buffs and it’s long past time he lost them. Everyone is tired of Batgod and the only way to get rid of that is to nerf him. They’ve tried taking away his money many times, but there’s something that I think would work that hasn’t really been tried before – mindwipe a bunch of his training away. It’s one of those plans that’s just so crazy it could work – maybe it’s Joker gas, maybe it’s fear toxin, maybe Hugo Strange does it. A weaker Batman is a better one.
1) The Flash
The Flashes are the most broken characters in comics. The Speed Force allows them to do amazing things; they can travel through time and the multiverse, can move in excess of the speed of light, can dodge any hit, can think faster than anyone else, run through walls, create tornadoes, abuse the laws of physics, and so much more. This has come to a head since the death of Barry Allen. Barry was always fast and powerful, but he doesn’t have anything on the Flash who replaced him Wally West. Wally has clocked some insane feats as the Flash and it’s honestly made it difficult to really get invested in his adventures. See, the thing about Wally that I’ve noticed lately is I like to read about him and his family more than I like the stuff happening in his books. His comics are fun, but it’s gotten to the point where I know that he’s going to win every time. He’s just that powerful; since his return to The Flash, he’s fought Eclipso by himself twice and I never even thought twice about the fact that he was one hero was going up against a guy who usually creams teams. He needs to get nerfed to give his stories stakes again. There are so many easy explanations and it would pay off in the long run.
What DC hero do you think needs to be nerfed? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
