The Arrowverse brought DC’s costumed crimefighters to the small screen but not all of them were dressed to impress.
There has never been a shared universe on television more successful than The CW’s legendary Arrowverse. What started out with just Arrow in 2012 grew exponentially over the years to offer up a rich selection of heroes, villains, earths, and multiverses across 10 years, 6 TV shows, 37 seasons, and 699 episodes. Yes, what a time to be alive for DC Comics fans.
Throughout that decade, there were plenty of opportunities to see some of the most beloved DC heroes and villains suited up on our very screens (and we didn’t even need to go to the movie theaters to see it). From Scarlet Speedsters to Emerald Archers, the Arrowverse brought some of the most iconic super suits and uniforms to life over the past 10 years.
However, not every costume took to the skies. Whether it was budgetary limitations preventing them from the finishing touches they needed or the design was just all wrong, there were some Arrowverse suits that unfortunately missed the mark.
Taking all of that into account, let’s reflect on the highs and lows of the Arrowverse’s super suits and rank the best and worst of them.
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Batwoman
When it was revealed that Batwoman would be joining the Arrowverse, there was a lot of intrigue about what her suit would look like. How would The CW’s shared universe of superheroes adapt a Batsuit?
The answer was pretty well as Ruby Rose’s Scarlet Knight boasted a suit that looked like the perfect adaptation of the one Kate Kane wore in the comics. From the black and red color scheme to the cowl that bore quite the resemblance to the headpieces seen in the big-budget Batman movies, Batwoman had the look down to a T. That said, when Javicia Leslie’s Ryan Wilder took over, this inadvertently highlighted that there was room for improvement – which the costume designers capitalized on, producing a superior look for the second and third seasons.
The second Batwoman suit upgraded the wig (dropping the artificial-looking red wig), made the Bat symbol sharper and added more red accents to spice up some of the duller elements of the costume. It was the perfect Batwoman look, and we wish the show had stuck around longer to give us all more time to enjoy it.
Nonetheless, Javicia Leslie looked amazing in the suit and she performed amazingly as the original interpretation of the Scarlet Knight. A perfect match.
Verdict: BEST
Wild Dog (Arrow season 6)
The Arrowverse’s need to “upgrade” everything midway through its run meant that we were getting an abundance of ugly looking suit designs that served as nothing but armor, losing much of the identity of the heroes who donned them. There was no clearer example of this than Wild Dog, who got an unnecessary upgrade in Arrow season 6 that just looked like something Rene Ramirez would never wear.
This was a streetwise character who never wanted to be a superhero and the show did a wonderful job bringing his comic-accurate look to life when he first debuted in season 5. This, on the other hand, was a major step backwards for the character. He had conformed as part of Team Arrow, losing his identity and his trademark look. It was also bulkier and far too dark.
Yes, it makes sense that heroes risking their lives would need armor, but there were other ways around this. Couldn’t he have worn armor underneath his jersey? And why did he need to lose his iconic white hockey mask?
Thankfully, Arrow took the negative response on-board (which included criticism from Wild Dog co-creator Terry Beatty) as the armor was quietly dropped after season 6 and Rene began wearing his original suit from season 7 onwards.
Verdict: WORST
White Canary
Sara Lance had already made an impression on Arrowverse viewers when she debuted as The Canary on Arrow so when she was recruited to lead a new team of heroes and villains (or should we say outcasts and misfits) on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, the-powers-that-be needed to ensure they could do the character justice. Enter the White Canary, and with that a brand new white combat suit.
Sara wore two White Canary suits throughout Legends‘ run and we’re choosing to rank both of them together (because let’s be honest, both are pretty badass). The first is vastly superior, as it features a far more unique look, with the neck strap, jacket, and gloves giving White Canary her own identity separate from that of the Canary or the Black Canary.
The second uniform is admittedly more streamlined but this does have more of a generic superhero suit look about it in comparison, and that’s not exactly anything we haven’t seen before. Moreover, the original just had more of an identity – and it matched with Sara’s character much better.
Nevertheless, with their grayish white color and sleek designs, both White Canary suits stand out among the Arrowverse’s very best, showcasing Sara Lance at her badass best in the process.
Verdict: BEST
Black Canary (Arrow season 5)
Before we dive in, we just want to say that Dinah Drake ultimately goes on to get one of the coolest outfits in Arrow‘s whole run when the Black Canary suits up from season 6 onwards. That being said, Dinah’s prototype suit in Arrow season 5 was a little strange. Why? Well, because it really wasn’t a suit at all.
She did don the domino mask that would ultimately become part of her Black Canary uniform, but that’s the only part of her season 5 look that remotely looked like a super-suit. The rest was just a black/blueish leather jacket, a turtleneck sweater, and jeans (with a chain visibly attached).
Now, in the comics and her various animated adaptations, the Black Canary is known to wear a leather jacket, so at least part of the vision here was clear. But the rest of it didn’t quite come together. Wouldn’t she have overheated quickly in that turtleneck/jacket combo?
Yes, it was done to showcase that Dinah was a fighter who could hold her own without a costume, but considering they just went ahead and gave her one (and a very good one at that) at the beginning of the next season, it all just screams (no pun intended) underplanned.
Much of the Black Canary arc was made us as it went along on Arrow and this was just one of the many examples of that.
Verdict: WORST
Green Arrow (Arrow Season 8)
As the very first vigilante in the Arrowverse, Oliver Queen had the coolest suit. His all green body armor, complete with the green hood that he wore on Lian Yu, really gave the TV show’s Emerald Archer a streetwise look that benefitted the character. He wasn’t a hero, but a dark avenger bringing a reckoning to the criminals of the Starling City underworld.
Oliver’s Green Arrow suits have gone up and down over the years, reaching new lows in season 4 (like most of Arrow that year) and new highs in season 5. However, we’re choosing to spotlight his season 8 garb, because it was the perfect look for Oliver to bow out with.
Exhibiting a more pointed hood akin to the one he wore on Lian Yu, the season 8 suit is the perfect example of an upgrade that still maintains the character of the one that came before. Don’t get us wrong, we love the heavily armored season 5 suit, but what sets Oliver’s season 8 look apart is that it bears much more resemblance to the original Arrow suit of the first two seasons.
There are accents, different designs, and a more armored texture, but the resemblance to the original suit is clear.
Like the season 1 suit, it was simple but effective.
Verdict: BEST
Black Canary (Arrow season 8)
Arrow spent such a long time trying to get the Black Canary right. While it was finally onto something with Katie Cassidy’s Laurel Lance, the baffling death of the character disrupted things for a long time. And then Cassidy returned as Laurel’s evil Earth-2 doppelganger Black Siren, who eventually redeemed herself and became Black Canary.
There has been a lot of divisive responses to previous Canary suits, but Earth-2 Laurel’s Black Canary suit is generally regarded as the best of them, and it’s easy to see why. The costume is a nod to multiple suits worn by the character in the comics over the years, consisting of a black jacket and pants combo with yellow accents adding a splash of the Canary’s trademark colors to the mix. While all of the Arrowverse’s Black Canary suits have avoided her traditional fishnets, this one incorporates fishnet-like designs into the stitching.
Laurel’s season 8 haircut is also a nod to some of the character’s looks from the comics, and it just completes what is easily the best live-action version of the Black Canary we have ever seen.
We wish spinoff Green Arrow and the Canaries had been picked up because it’s a crime that we didn’t get to spend more time with her.
Verdict: BEST
The Rival
There was so much excitement around what The Flash would do when it tackled the legendary Flashpoint story. One of the first things it did was give Wally West his own archenemy to take down. To do that, they introduced Flash villain The Rival and, well, the look was… memorable.
Aside from the fact that he looked nothing like his comic book counterpart, he just looked really, really odd. His suit was based on the show’s leather jacket and pants combo for speedsters so the vision was clear, but the execution left a lot to be desired.
With large raggedy elf-like ears and a withered design, The Rival ended up looking more like a fan in a Halloween costume than a terrifying Arrowverse villain. The tattered design also made the speedster uniform – designed to be sleek and effective at high speeds – look unusually bulky.
In its defense, the withered look was a great idea and it could have been amazing, but it just didn’t come together on this occasion. Unfortunately, it feels like one of those designs that would have been better suited for animation.
The Rival looked like many things, but The Fastest Man Alive was not one of them.
Verdict: WORST
Green Arrow (season 5)
Arrow‘s fourth season got everything wrong, but one thing it should be commended for was trying something different with the Emerald Archer’s suit. By “different”, we mean comic-accurate, and even though the short-sleeved look didn’t really work, at least they tried. When the show returned strong with season 5, it gave Oliver another new suit – and this time, they nailed it.
The Arrow season 5 costume was inspired by the early suit from the first two seasons, but it also took some inspiration from the season 4 design, opting for a more armored look. Unlike the short sleeved iteration, this was a choice that made sense given the type of combat that Oliver engaged in with his foes (and the fact that Star City just wasn’t a safe place to live in) and it pulled it off without looking bulky.
It was a logical design, but it was also sleek, streetwise, and even a little stylish; the darker colors suited this version of the Green Arrow much better and Stephen Amell wore it very well. This was the Emerald Archer of the Arrowverse at his very best, and it was a huge upgrade from the suit that came before – perfect for a season that was an upgrade in every way imaginable.
Verdict: BEST
Elongated Man (original suit)
Look, I know this suit was supposed to look bad, but that doesn’t excuse it.
Ralph Dibny’s arrival on The Flash came at the time when the show started leaning into corniness, and unfortunately that was a direction from which it never really returned. Every storyline that involved the character in his early days was just silly, and you don’t have to look much further than this one.
With Ralph joining Team Flash to help build out their team of superheroes, it was time for him to get a suit that would allow him to stretch. That makes sense, because he’s the Elongated Man. He needs a suit that could work with him. What he didn’t need, however, was this… and neither did we.
The grey bodysuit looked so unbelievably cheap that it’s hard to believe any team of qualified superheroes would ever put it together, and don’t even get us started on the mask which inexplicably featured eyeholes that were cut too far apart.
Just another excuse to force some laughs in a season that should have been spent focusing on its intellectual villain in The Thinker, Elongated Man’s original outfit is one we’d all rather forget ever happened.
Verdict: WORST
Superman
There are a lot of debates about whether or not Superman and Lois is actually a part of the Arrowverse. Technically, it’s not, as it exists outside of the post-Crisis On Infinite Earths continuity that established Earth-Prime as being where the Arrowverse’s heroes live. But it is part of the wider Arrowverse multiverse in the same way that Supergirl and Black Lightning were before they were merged into the one earth.
Taking that into account, we’re choosing to include Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman here, and not just because he appeared on Supergirl. While the suit he wore on that show was a unique adaptation that paid tribute to the Man of Steel’s Injustice look, it was the suits used in Superman and Lois that really stood out. There was slight issues with the first one, including the extensive padding and the faded House of El symbol, but it looked solid, paving the way for one of the best live-action Superman suits we have ever seen in the third season.
Instantly recognizable as the Superman from the comics, the suit boasts the right blend of padding, color, and durability, all while featuring the awesome highlighted House of El crest that isn’t just painted onto the suit.
This is Superman, and he has never looked better.
Verdict: BEST
The Flash (season 5)
When the Arrowverse was ready to leave the days of leather uniforms in the rear-view mirror, it decided to experiment with its primary hero: The Flash. In the season 5 premiere of The Flash, the Scarlet Speedster had his one remaining suit damaged, but that’s okay because his daughter Nora West-Allen had an “upgrade” from the future. But was it really an upgrade? Really?
Barry Allen’s season 5 suit is regarded as one of the worst of the Arrowverse. Some had an issue with its lack of padding, but that really wasn’t the problem; it was the giant cowl that lacked The Flash’s iconic chinstrap. It was large, too large, that it looked like it didn’t match with the rest of the suit, and the fact that it was made out of a completely different material just resulted in the whole thing looking cheap, ineffective, and not at all up to the level of the previous Flash suits.
The cowl just didn’t match and that was made all the more clear by the fact that Grant Gustin looked amazing in the suit whenever Barry was unmasked. Thankfully, it set the stage for the superior upgrade in season 6 and beyond.
Verdict: WORST
The Flash (season 6 – 9)
The Flash’s costume isn’t easy to get right in live-action. From the oversized helmet in the series’ fifth season to Ezra Miller’s bulky suit in The Flash movie, we’ve seen the logistical issues that the Scarlet Speedster’s uniform can present costume designers with. And that’s what makes the show’s final version of The Flash suit so darn impressive.
Built from the remnants of the season 5 costume, it instantly rectified some of the issues with that one, adding extra padding to make it look more reinforced and finishing it off with some deliciously comic-accurate yellow accents. It brought the suit to life and made it look far easier on the eye than the all-red felt look of the previous season.
The pièce de résistance is easily the cowl, which brought back the more comic-accurate look of the original suits’ masks, reinstating the iconic chinstrap and ensuring that it actually resembled the suit itself. And when they finally added the gold boots in season 8, it perfectly completed the look, giving us our very best live-action Flash suit of all time.
This is what a live-action Flash should look like.
Verdict: BEST
Cyborg Superman
On the surface, Cyborg Superman might be a bit of a cheat entry considering he never really had a suit, but that right there is more than enough grounds for including him. Yes, it’s great that Supergirl followed through on its adaptation of Hank Hensaw after the Martian Manhunter reveal, but the story itself was let down by the uninteresting character and the poor design.
In the source material, Hank goes insane after the loss of his loved ones due to a solar flare caused by Superman. As a result, he creates a cybernetic body that is identical to Superman and transfers his consciousness into it.
None of that comes into play in Supergirl‘s adaptation. Here, he was simply a modified Hank – and by “modified”, we mean Hank Henshaw but with a metal disk on his face. Okay, maybe that’s a bit extensive, as he did initially have some convincing CGI to highlight his metal endoskeleton when he debuted in season 2. However, every time he returned after that, he had an awkwardly large metal plate strapped to his head (presumably for budgetary reasons).
Aside from the fact that there was no reason for him to be called Cyborg Superman, the bad design and uninteresting character just made him a complete miss on all fronts.
Verdict: WORST
Supergirl (seasons 1- 4)
The Girl of Steel is easily one of the best – if not the best – heroes in the whole Arrowverse for a lot of reasons. Melissa Benoist’s endearing performance ensured that Kara Danvers earned a place in our hearts quite quickly, while the character’s desire to fight for everyone around her showcased what it means to be a true hero who inspires hope. Supergirl also looked amazing when suited up.
The series’ costume designers adopted Kara’s suit from the comics to perfection. While the traditional red, yellow, and blue colors associated with the Fam of Steel were always going to be a part of the suit, it’s the comic-accuracy that makes this one superior to the later suit she wore in seasons 5 and 6. From the all-blue top to the iconic red skirt and boots, this is Supergirl from the comics come to life.
The show also added its own unique little touch, using an original variation of the House of El symbol without the yellow background, which made it all the more specific to Kara. It was a finishing touch of perfection that made the Supergirl suit exclusive to the Arrowverse while also being the perfect adaptation.
This is the definitive version of Supergirl now, and it will be a long time before that changes (if it ever does).
Verdict: BEST
Which Arrowverse suit was your favorite? Which ones missed the mark for you?