DC Comics has created some of the iconic superheroes ever, which has been both a boon and a bane. On the one hand, they’ve helped define what a superhero can be in the eyes of the public, creating names that have echoed through the decades. On the other hand, they’ve set a rather high bar for their characters, one that they haven’t always been able to reach. Over the years, they’ve created characters who made quite a stir, becoming favorites of fans. However, as time went on, many of these heroes became lesser while still getting glazed like they were on the conveyor belt at Krispie Kreme.
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Many heroes have been highly overrated by fans and creators, yet their current realities can’t match the spot created for them. These heroes need a boost, something to make them unique and cool again. These seven DC heroes are overrated, but they can become truly great again with a few changes.
7) Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is one of the greatest Green Lanterns, and he’s become something of an icon with fans. He’s often considered the “Justice League’s Green Lantern” thanks to his role in the Timmverse cartoons Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Fans love him and glaze him, but it’s been ages since he actually felt as important as he’s played as. The best way to fix that is to give him his flowers and make him the actual star of the Green Lantern mythos for a while. Stop putting him in team books and just make him the headliner of Green Lantern. Have him be the Lantern for a while, instead of just one of many.
6) Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel is back in DC Comics, thanks to their renewed relationship with Marvel, and it’s long past time he lived up to his potential. Once upon a time, he was one of the most popular superheroes, even outselling Superman, but those days are far behind him. He’s powerful, he’s interesting, and he has a stellar cast of supporting characters and villains. He should be one of the bestselling characters around, but he isn’t. The best way to fix this is to go all out with him. Put him on the Justice League, give him a book with A-list creators, make him the focus of an event comic. Sure, they’ll still have to title any of his books Shazam and not Captain Marvel, but he has all of the tools to make him extremely popular.
5) Starfire
Starfire was one of the ingredients that made the New Teen Titans into superstars, but those days are long behind her. She’s a character that most DC fans love, but the problem is that no one has really tried to do anything different with her. She’s just the bubbly Titan that everyone loves with a warrior side, the same that she’s been since her debut in 1980. Starfire needs to find creators who are willing to take her out of her comfort zone. Take her out of the Titans, give her a city to look after, send her to space or the multiverse, do something new with her. She’s already popular, readers just want something different from her.
4) Raven
Raven is one of the best Titans, reaching a new level of popularity thanks to her appearance in Teen Titans and Teen Titans GO!. She’s become a staple of the cosplay set, but in the comics she’s been stagnant for years. She has the same problem that Starfire does – as much as fans love her, she only ever gets the one story: she gets too powerful and falls to the darkness in her soul. Otherwise, she’s just the team’s inscrutable mystic and Beast Boy’s girlfriend. Creators need to find a new story for the heroine, something that will hype fans up for her again. She’s an icon and she deserves better than the same plot over and over again.
3) Jon Kent
Jon Kent is the son of Superman and Lois Lane, and has become one of the linchpins of the teen superhero community. The character has had a headlining spot for years, but doesn’t have the type of fandom he should. A big reason for this is most fans want him back as a kid again; however, I don’t think going back to that would be good for the character. He’s too good an older hero to regress. The main problem with him is he’s just a younger version of Clark. He needs to become his own person at some point. Look at Conner Kent; he became popular because he was nothing like the Man of Steel. Jon needs to get away from his parents and change, become a hero on his own terms, and he’ll get massive.
2) Tim Drake
Tim Drake earned the Robin mantle, setting out to become the Boy Wonder and help Batman. He became the Robin of the ’90s and ’00s, until Damian Wayne came along and took over. Since then, Tim has been adrift. Drake got popular because he was the first Robin to get his own solo book; most of his adventures weren’t just him and Batman, but him on his own. He even got his own sidekick in Spoiler. So, the best way to make him popular again is simple – give him own adventures. Maybe put him and Spoiler together as crimefighters and deal with their relationship, anything for readers to sink their teeth into. Tim became a fan-favorite Robin because of his solo adventures; just give him more of those and watch him shine.
1) Barry Allen
Barry Allen is the second Flash and the character who birthed the Silver Age of comics. He was perfect for that era – a white bread science hero that fans could look up to. However, as things started changing in the Bronze Age, he lost popularity, dying in Crisis on Infinite Earths and being replaced by his sidekick Wally West. Wally redefined what the Flash could be and when Barry returned to life in 2008, he stepped back into chunky yellow boots as the Flash. However, he was always in Wally’s shadow for most fans and they’d eventually get their way, with West taking over again. Allen has been adrift ever since, but there’s a simple solution – make him the Flash of the multiverse. Have him travel the universes, having adventures and fixing problems. His wife Iris could go along with him. We could get great Barry adventures across the infinite multiverse and just typing that makes me want to read that book.
How would you fix DC’s most overrated heroes? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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