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The 7 best (and 6 worst) Arrowverse villains

The Arrowverse has presented us with plenty of villains over the years, but which of its big bads stole the show and which ones fell a little short?

By Michael Patterson

Arrow -- "Deathstroke Returns" -- Image AR605b_0253b.jpg -- Pictured: Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke -- Photo: Cate Cameron/The CW -- © 2017 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Arrow -- "Deathstroke Returns" -- Image AR605b_0253b.jpg -- Pictured: Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke -- Photo: Cate Cameron/The CW -- © 2017 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved. /
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Arrow, Damien Darhk, Arrowverse
Arrow — “Blood Debts” — Image AR410a_0121b.jpg — Pictured: Neal McDonough as Damien Darhk — Photo: Katie Yu/ The CW — © 2015 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved. /

Damien Darhk (on Arrow)

Damien Darhk ended up becoming something of a regular presence in the Arrowverse between 2016 and 2019 and it all started on Arrow. Ironically, that was the worst part of his whole stint, and it wasn’t necessarily down to the character but the fact that he didn’t fit in on a show like Arrow.

Darhk is a mystic with other-worldly power and that just clashed with the grounded nature of the show. It’s well-documented that Arrow fared better with more straight-forward, non-powered, villains and Darhk’s arrival during a time in which it was trying to steady itself just didn’t work. He was corny, uncompelling, and had the most basic of goal to destroy the world – a goal which was a little too ambitious for Team Arrow and really should have involved people like The Flash and Supergirl who could have stopped him much sooner.

It also didn’t help that he was the villain of the worst Arrowverse season of all, and not even Neal McDonough’s incredible charisma could save Arrow season 4 from earning that title.

Thankfully, McDonough got a chance to shine over on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow where the quirky one-liner-spewing villain fitted in perfectly. Oddly enough, it was that show that actually afforded him some decent character development – something Arrow couldn’t quite get right.

Verdict: WORST

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