All the DC Superheroes Appearing on TV in 2018

On numerous shows across numerous networks and platforms, 2018 is a huge year for DC Comics.

Appearing in live action? Dozens of heroes, and that does not even count the ones who will appear in the Aquaman movie coming later this year.

So, can you tell the players apart without a scorecard? A lot of the time it feels like we can’t, so here we are to give you a quick rundown of, as DC Comics would have said back in the day, Who’s Who.

Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow platoon on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW. The Flash is on at the same time and channel, but Tuesdays. Black Lightning airs after The Flash, and Arrow airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Thursdays.

At that same time, FOX is airing Gotham.

Soon, Wednesday nights will be home to Krypton on Syfy.

And Titans is coming to a streaming service later this year.

Supergirl

The Girl of Steel, the Maid of Might…Superman’s cousin and the last true survivor of Krypton in many ways, since Superman has no memory of the dead world.

Supergirl appears weekly in her own self-titled series on The CW, which is currently on hiatus but will return in April.

The Flash

Barry Allen is the fastest man alive — and now that he is out of prison, maybe he can even use that speed to do something about The Thinker, who has been rounding up metahumans and stealing their powers for…something.

 

Green Arrow

Oliver Queen is arguably the hero who started it all at this point. Following the success of Arrow, executive producer Greg Berlanti convinced DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. TV and The CW to roll the dice on the expensive and effects-heavy The Flash, which not only expanded the DC lineup in primetime but also fundamentally altered the chemistry of Arrow forever.

Oliver Queen, after five years on a desert island (ish) during which he taught himself survival, combat, and archery skills, returned to Star(ling) City with a plan to clean up the streets and make it safe for everyday people.

White Canary

Shipwrecked on the same boat that landed Oliver Queen on Lian Yu, Sara Lance was apparently drowned, but in fact found herself washed up on shore elsewhere, and was rescued by the League of Assassins.

After recovery, and falling in love with the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, Sara trained with the League for 5 years before returning to Starling City herself. She died again, and had to be revived with a little help from a master of the mystic arts, at which point she joined a time-traveling team of costumed adventurers who would come to call themselves the Legends.

Citizen Steel

The grandson of Justice Society member Commander Steel, Nathaniel Heywood was a historian before realizing that something was wrong with history. He ended up taking his concerns to the Legends, who enlisted him to help them fix time.

Ironically, he may be responsible for breaking it even more, as he has fallen in love with a Justice Society member and as a result of their relationship she has not yet returned to the 1940s to have her children and live out the rest of her life.

The Atom

Billionaire tech mogul Ray Palmer moved to Starling City, started dating Felicity Smoak, took over Oliver Queen’s company…and managed to NOT be hated by everyone in the fandom because he was just so damn charming.

When time came for Oliver and Felicity to get back together, though, Ray had to be pushed out, and after an apparent death which turned out instead to be an industrial accident that gave him powers, Ray joined the Legends.

Zari

A Muslim-American woman from 25 years in the future, Zari lives in a world of contradictions. Technology has brought about incredible change in her future — too bad human nature hasn’t kept pace. Fear, prejudice, and a lack of care for the planet have forced Zari to become a “grey hat hacktivist.” A computer nerd with a wry, combative attitude. A woman living a double life who doesn’t realize that she has secret, latent powers derived from an ancient, mystical source.

“We’re drawing on an established character who is not from the comics,” showrunner Marc Guggenheim said back in March. “Let me be very clear: not original to the show but not from the comics and not from any of the other DC Arrowverse shows.”

This appears to be that character: The DC version of Isis first appeared on TV, although with the Anglicized name of Andrea Thomas. A live-action Saturday morning adventure series, The Secrets of Isis was the first-ever weekly superhero series to star a female lead. The series acted as a companion to Shazam!, with which it crossed over numerous times, and starred Joanna Cameron as Thomas, a high school science teacher who gains the ability to call upon the powers of the goddess Isis after finding an Egyptian amulet during an archeological dig in Egypt.

The Adrianna Tomaz version of the character first appeared in 52, the weekly comic book event series that ran in 2006 and 2007. She was a member of a revolutionary movement in Black Adam’s country of Kahndaq, whose beauty captivated Black Adam and so she was taken prisoner rather than killed. Ultimately she won him over to a more populist way of thinking, and he granted her a portion of his powers — again, as Isis, this time alongside Adam and her younger brother Osiris as a kind of alternate take on Shazam’s “Marvel family.” Her death later in the series would push Adam further over the edge than ever.

Heatwave

One of The Flash’s longest-running antagonists both in the comics and on TV, Heatwave is one half of the Heat Wave-and-Captain Cold combo who make up the “fire and ice” portion of Flash’s Rogues Gallery.

Citizen Cold, an alternate-universe version of Captain Cold, has already come and gone, but Mick Rory remains on board the Waverider with the other Legends, working away at his sci-fi romance novel.

Vixen

The grandmother of the original Vixen, Amaya Jiwe was a member of the respected Justice Society of America, before her disappearance was part of a sequence of events that led to their disbanding. 

She had stowed away on board the Waverider to investigate the death of fellow JSA member Hourman, with whom she had a secret romance.

By the time they solved the murder and stopped the bad guys, Amaya and Citizen Steel had started a relationship as well, and she decided to stay with the Legends a little longer.

Currently, She is dealing with some weird stuff, including a water-powered mystical villain who is also Amaya’s granddaughter.

Rip Hunter

The onetime Time Master whose family’s death inspired him to assemble the Legends in the first place has been largely absent from the series for about a season and a half…but he pops up from time to time, and began a new arc in last night’s episode, hoping to harness the power of Kid Flash to save the universe.

Guardian

James Olsen, the best friend of Superman, finally found himself unable to sit on the sidelines and watch his loved ones put their bodies at risk for the greater good.

Working with Winn Schott, Olsen fashioned a costume and acquired some sophisticated weaponry for himself, creating the identity of the Guardian.

Wild Dog

After losing his wife and custody of his daughter as a result of violence on the streets of Star City, Rene Ramirez put on a hockey mask and the thickest clothes and pads he could to become Wild Dog, whose super power is guns.

Wild Dog was a wild card for a while, until Oliver Queen brought him into the Team Arrow fold and helped him learn respect for human life. Now, while he may no longer be working with Oliver, Wild Dog works in the mayor’s office by day while suiting up with Mister Terrific and Black Canary by night.

Black Canary

Dinah Drake, a former Central City police officer who was given a “sonic scream” power when the particle accelerator exploded and created The Flash and many of his allies and enemies, joined up with Team Arrow as Black Canary following the death of Laurel Lance, the previous holder of the name.

Now, she has broken away from Team Arrow to form her own squadron of super-heroes, although whether either team can save Star City alone is anybody’s guess.

Martian Manhunter

J’Onn J’Onzz for years belived that he was the last survivor of his race: green Martians, who lived peacefully until they were rounded up and slaughtered by the vicious white martians.

With super strength, the ability to fly, shapeshift, and read minds, J’Onn could be one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse. Living in National City makes it a little easier to be discreet about all of those things, though, since Supergirl is always out there doing what needs to be done.

By day, he shapeshifts into Hank Henshaw, the director of the Department of Extranormal Operations, and helps to shape US policy in a way that is more accepting of extra-terrestrials. When he needs to, he becomes the Martian Manhunter, suiting up and fighting alongside Supergirl, The Guardian, and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Arsenal

Colton Haynes will return to Arrow for a multi-episode arc in early 2018 which producers promise will bring closure to an “urgent matter” for Team Arrow and continue the story of his complicated relationship with Thea Queen.

Haynes will reprise his role as Roy Harper/Arsenal for a “short arc” beginning in episode 15 of the season. That will air in March.

An easy conclusion to drawn is that Roy’s return plays into the ongoing storyline wherein Oliver Queen’s secret identity is at risk of being revealed to the world. The last time that happened, it was Roy who stepped up, stepped into the Green Arrow costume, and was arrested to save Oliver and protect the team.

Similarly, it seems logical to assume that the game-changing consequences hinted at in the statement above could be a rekindling of their romance. Given the reality that Haynes will probably never be a series regular again, that would probably mean relocating Thea out of Star City and into the land of guest stars.

Haynes joined the series in the first season, and he became one of the first members of Team Arrow, suiting up as Arsenal while dating Thea in his personal life. The character left the show in the season 4 episode “Unchained,” but Haynes has remained open to returning since, making a brief cameo in “Invasion!” and teasing repeatedly his season 6 return.

Speedy

Thea Queen, the daughter of Arrow‘s season 1 big bad Malcolm Merlyn and half-sister to its hero Oliver Queen, became Speedy, Oliver’s costumed sidekick, basically as soon as her estranged father managed to lure her back and train her in combat.

In the comics, Roy Harper was the first Speedy…but on TV, it’s Thea, whose childhood nickname became her superhero nom de guerre.

She has been in and out of the series a lot over the last few years. After briefly dying, Thea’s role was significantly reduced — so much so that fans complained, and producers had to assure them that actress Willa Holland was not being written out but had requested less work. It now appears that she will leave the series at the end of season 6.

Mister Terrific

Another member of Team Arrow who defected to Black Canary’s team of superheroes, Mister Terrific (Curtis Holt) is a gay, black Olympic athlete who came to work under Felicity Smoak after Ray Palmer vanished and left her in charge of his company.

Ultimately the company went away, but the bond Curtis and Felicity forged did not — especially once he realized that he had a knack for the whole catching bad guys thing.

It took him a while, in spite of his Olympic-level athletic skills, to get to the point where he was an effective fighter in the field, but not only can he do it now, but his tech skills and flying “T-Spheres” are a huge asset to…whichever team he’s on.

Vibe

Cisco Ramon, who first appeared in the pilot for The Flash, has the ability to teleport — both within our own universe and between the universes of DC’s mutltiverse, giving the team an opportunity to team up with (or fight against) heroes and villains from all 53 known Earths.

For the first couple of seasons, he rarely used his powers, which came to him slowly after the particle accelerator explosion — but eventually he embraced them, costume, name, and all.

Killer Frost

Another character who was around from the beginning of The Flash, Caitlin Snow eventually became Killer Frost, but only after encountering her evil, Earth-2 doppelganger by the same name. For a while, whenever her powers spontaneously activated, she would become evil as well…although Caitlin and Killer Frost seem to have come to a kind of detene that allows the two to coexist.

“It’s definitely something that I had a lot of questions about at the beginning of the season,” Panabaker explained last year. “The way it was explained to me is that Killer Frost is this evil person who lives inside of Caitlin. She was created out of Flashpoint and she just wants to get out, sort of similar to Magenta, who we had earlier this season. So she’s been inside of her and she’s just jouncing to get out and cause some trouble.”

Elongated Man

Ralph Dibny, better known to comic book fans as The Elongated Man, makes his live-action TV debut tonight on The Flash, in an episode appropriately titled “Elongated Journey Into Night.”

Dibny was first referenced in the season one episode “Power Outage,” along with a number of other DC heroes and villains who seemingly disappeared when the particle accelerator exploded.

One of the Flash’s most iconic allies, Dibny is a fast-talking private investigator with investigative skills that rival those of Batman. Upon discovering he has the power to stretch his body to any shape or form, Dibny uses his new abilities to help Team Flash solve one of Central City’s greatest mysteries.

John Constantine

So, who is Constantine? And why are people more than a little excited about his return? Here’s what you need to know.

John Constantine has been a fixture of the DC Comics and Vertigo world since 1984, when he made his unofficial debut in The Saga of Swamp Thing #25. The trenchcoat-wearing Brit functioned as a sorcerer, occult detective, and occasional con man who was secretly fueled by his guilt and post-traumatic stress. In particular, Constantine felt guilty about an exorcism involving a young girl, Astra, which ultimately sent her to hell.

Throughout the years, Constantine largely appeared in the Vertigo title Hellblazer, but a version of him was brought into the prime DC universe through the events of Brightest Day. The DC version of Constantine has sort of taken on a life of his own, especially as one of the founding members of Justice League Dark. Briefly, the Vertigo and DC Comics versions of Constantine appeared concurrently, until the Vertigo Hellblazer title concluded in 2013.

Since his debut, Constantine has become an increasingly-prominent character, with Hellblazer being Vertigo’s most popular series. The character has since extended beyond the comic world quite a bit, appearing in film, television, and even rock songs.

He first entered the live-action space in 2005, when Keanu Reeves played the role in Francis Lawrence’s Constantine. While the film arguably brought John Constantine to mainstream audiences, it was criticized here and there by fans, largely because of Constantine being very heavily Americanized and not looking much like his comic counterpart.

In 2014, Ryan took on the role, starring in NBC’s Constantine TV series. The 13-episode first season followed Constantine on a journey around America, and crossing paths with various demons and supernatural threats. The show was cancelled in 2015, sparking a sort of movement amongst fans, many of whom were eager for Ryan to reprise his role in some capacity.

Later that year, fans got their wish, as Constantine was brought on to a special episode of Legends‘ sister show, Arrow. The episode saw Constantine’s help being enlisted by Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) and Laurel Lance/Black Canary (Katie Cassidy), who were trying to rescue Sara’s soul after her recent resurrection. At the end of the episode, Constantine parted ways with the group, spent a brief time literally in hell, and has now returned to team up with the Legends.

Outside of these live-action appearances, Ryan has also played Constantine in DC’s animated space. The first instance was in the Justice League Dark animated film, which essentially exists outside of Constantine’s live-action continuity. And he will soon reprise his role in an in-Arrowverse animated Constantine series, which is expected to debut sometime soon on CW Seed.

Adam Strange

Adam Strange is an Earthman who has the ability — and not always on purpose — to travel via the faster-than-light Zeta Beam around the universe. 

After falling in love with an alien princess (as you do), Adam donned a costume, started carrying around some exotic weapons, and become a protector to the world from which his love originated.

In Krypton, he is a time-traveler from Earth who uses his powers to attempt to save Seg-El and Krypton from Brainiac’s wrath.

Seg-El

This one…most counts.

The star of Krypton will be facing off against the likes of Brainiac and Doomsday, so while he technically doesn’t have powers and had had very few stories told about him historically, we’re going to count him in this list.

Seg-El is Superman’s grandfather, played onscreen by Cameron Cuffe.

“He’s a very cinematic hero, like in the Indiana Jones sense that he’s a good guy with a good heart who’s quick with his fists and wit, but he’s totally unprepared for what comes his way,” Cuffe told reporters during a recent set visit. “And it’s a number of things and he takes some convincing and we take some time to explore that, and there are various moments, a lot of times where he’s questioning himself, questioning the mission, questioning his allies. The great thing about the show is that there’s so many shades of gray and there’s no powers, no heroes, so he’s constantly in doubt. Superman’s greatest power is that he knows what’s right. He knows what’s right from wrong and Seyg has no concept of that just yet. So he’s with it because something terrible happens and he feels that he owes it to his family to go down this path and to try and be the hero, but that doesn’t mean he’s set on it, and it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t question that regularly.”

Black Lightning

Jefferson Pierce was an Olympic-level athlete even before he developed powers like enhanced strength, reflexes, and the ability to generate and manipulate electrical currents.

He retired from superheroing nine years ago, but now that some threats to his community, and the school at which he is now a principal, have re-emerged, so much Black Lightning.

Bruce Wayne

The boy who would one day be Batman officially counts now that he is intermittently suiting up and punching baddies at night, right?

The star of Gotham (or at least one of them, sharing the spotlight with Alfred Pennyworth and James Gordon), Bruce Wayne has probably the best known origin of all of these characters, so we will just say: he is the (k)night.

Spartan

John Diggle, a character created for Arrow, was first Oliver Queen’s bodyguard and later his closest confidant.

Eventually he became Oliver’s backup in the field, and when that became a full-time gig, Diggle got a costume, a helmet, some cool gadgets, and a name — Spartan.

Robin

Dick Grayson, a talented acrobat and the son of famed circus performers, watched in horror as his family was taken from him by a mob hit.

After being taken in by wealthy industrialist Bruce Wayne, Dick soon discovered that Wayne was Batman — and appointed himself as Robin, the Boy Wonder, the Dark Knight’s kid sidekick.

On Titans, Robin will be divorced a bit from Batman and well on his way to becoming Nightwing…but with a team of sidekicks to lead and a Nightwing movie in development…well, that might take a while.

Beast Boy

With green skin and the ability to shapeshift into any animal (as well as taking on its characteristics and abilities while doing so), Beast Boy (sometimes called Changeling) has been a member of the Teen Titans for decades…

…when he wasn’t appearing with the Doom Patrol, that is.

More on them later.

Hawk & Dove

Alan Ritchson (Blue Mountain State) portrays Hank Hall, a.k.a. Hawk, in the series. Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights) is playing his partner, Dawn Granger, a.k.a Dove.

In the comics, the pair are a superhero team and a couple who bicker over methods; as their names imply, Hawk is more of a vicious sort of guy, while Dove is a peace-if-you-can heroine.

The duo, who first appeared in DC comics in 1968, join the likes of Dick Grayson, Beast Boy, Raven and Starfire in the live action version of the popular Titans team-up. Warner Bros. previously released the first photo of Dick Grayson as played by the series leading man, Brenton Thwaites (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales).

Raven

Raven, an empath whose father is a powerful demon, is the Titans’ resident supernatural/goth girl whose powers can include energy projection, flight, psychic abilities and more.

Alfred Pennyworth & James Gordon

Lumping these two together: police officer James Gordon, destined to become the commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department, is the last good cop in Gotham.

Meanwhile, Alfred Pennyworth, who has a special operations background, is the man responsible for raising Bruce Wayne, keeping him safe, and (we know, even if he doesn’t) crafting him into one of Earth’s greatest heroes.

Thunder & Lightning (probably)

We have already seen Thunder. Can Lightning be far behind?

In the comics, Lightning takes on a bizarre appearance when she conducts electricity like her father, Black Lightning. Thunder does not have lightning powers but instead has super strength, healing, and a number of other related abilities.

We have already seen Anissa Pierce begin to transition into Thunder, and we know what her final costume will look like. What’s next for Jennifer…?

Overwatch/Winn Schott

These two are getting lumped together not because they are not a huge asset to their super-teams — but because they are original-ish creations (Felicity existed in the comics, but was nothing like her TV version) who do not suit up and go out to fight bad guys.

They are the technical support, the problem solvers, and often the only reason the good guy can stop villains who are at least in theory more powerful than they are. Team Arrow wouldn’t be Team Arrow without Felicity — something she and Oliver knew even when they were on the rocks. Now that they are married, that hopefully won’t be a problem again.

Winn, meanwhile, is married only to his job, where he takes care of Guardian and Supergirl, depending on who’s in the field that day.

Kid Flash

Wally West is the brother of The Flash’s wife, as well as his sidekick.

Given powers by the Speed God Savitar last season, Wally is Kid Flash. He has had a difficult time fitting in ever since he got his powers, and especially since Jesse Quick left him. So where can he find a place of belonging?

With the rest of the Arrowverse Island of Misfit Toys on Legends of Tomorrow, of course…!

Doom Patrol

No one is 100% sure who this is yet, but Titans executive producer Geoff Johns tweeted an image with the message “The Titans are getting some company…” 

The script page he was sharing was for an episode about the Doom Patrol.

The Doom Patrol is a team of superheroes that were created by Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, first appearing DC Comics back in 1963. “The World’s Strangest Heroes,” as they’ve been called, originally consisted of The Chief, Robotman, Elasti-Girl, and Negative Man. Over the years however, that team has constantly changed.

Gerard Way has been writing the newest incarnation of Doom Patrol since 2016. His team consists of Robotman, Danny the Street, Casey Brinke, Crazy Jane and others. It’s unclear which team members Johns will use in the Titans series, but Robotman’s inclusion would be a safe bet.

Jonah Hex

Earlier today, Warner Bros. Television confirmed that the DC’s Legends of Tomorrow finale will feature Johnathon Schaech, the recurring guest star who plays Jonah Hex on the time-travel show.

A former Confederate Soldier who left the Civil War when he lost faith in the cause, Hex is one of the West’s most effective bounty hunters — even if the scar on his face and his gruff attitude often make him a target himself.

In season 1 of Legends it was revealed that he has an existing relationship with Rip Hunter, and so Schaech has returned at least once per season.

Jesse Quick

The daughter of Earth-2’s Harrison Wells, Jesse Quick is another childhood nickname-turned-superhero name.

Jesse got the Speed Force from Barry when they were trying to tinker with it to help him get faster than Zoom in season 2. Ever since, she has been a speedster who helps put her villain-dominated world back on the right path.

Jay Garrick

The Earth-3 doppelganger of Barry Allen’s father, Jay Garrick is the oldest speedster we have met yet. His heyday came in the ’90s — right around the time that actor John Wesley Shipp, who plays Garrick, was playing Barry Allen on the previous TV iteration of The Flash.