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10 most disliked Arrowverse storylines, ranked

The CW's Arrowverse provided plenty of entertainment over the past decade, but which of its storylines did it miss the mark on?

By Michael Patterson

Supergirl -- "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One" -- Image Number: SPG509c_0093r.jpg -- Pictured (L-R): Ruby Rose as Kate Kane/Batwoman, Tyler Hoechlin as Clark Kent/Superman, Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer/Atom, Grant Gustin as The Flash and Melissa Benoist as Kara/Supergirl -- Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW -- © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Supergirl -- "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One" -- Image Number: SPG509c_0093r.jpg -- Pictured (L-R): Ruby Rose as Kate Kane/Batwoman, Tyler Hoechlin as Clark Kent/Superman, Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer/Atom, Grant Gustin as The Flash and Melissa Benoist as Kara/Supergirl -- Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW -- © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved. /
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Supergirl, Superman and Lois, Arrowverse
Supergirl -- "The Last Children of Krypton" -- Image SPG202a_0174-- Pictured (L-R): Tyler Hoechlin as Clark/Superman and Melissa Benoist Kara/Supergirl -- Photo: Robert Falconer/The CW -- © 2016 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved /

8. Superman and Lois disconnecting itself from the Arrowverse

Superman and Lois' relationship with the Arrowverse has always raised some eyebrows. It wasn't until the season 2 finale that it was officially confirmed that the show existed on a separate earth from all of its counterparts - an announcement that resulted in a pretty strong reaction from Arrowverse fans.

The show separating itself from the rest of the Arrowverse made sense as The CW had either ended or cancelled the majority of the DC TV shows at that point so crossover potential just wasn't there anymore. However. the revelation that this was "always the plan" didn't sit too well with audiences, because there were clearly hints and references in the Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover that the two universes were originally intended to be one.

From the fact that the baby son of Earth-Prime's Superman and Lois Lane had become twin teenagers after the Crisis to the confirmation that Lois was supposed to have a picture of Clark and Supergirl's Kara Danvers on her desk, the groundwork for the Arrowverse-set Superman and Lois had been laid. But the last minute rework left fans feeling short-changed.

Arrowverse, Cicada
The Flash -- "Cause and XS" -- Image Number: FLA514b_0437b2.jpg -- Pictured: Chris Klein as Cicada -- Photo: Katie Yu/The CW -- © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved /

7. Cicada's reign of terror

The Flash had a bit of trouble finding convincing villains after it moved away from its original trio of speedsters. Cicada was perhaps the biggest example of that, as the metahuman killer quickly irritated fans. The monotone bad guy muttered his way through one-liners too stiff for an '80s action movie and offered up little of value to the plot. When his backstory was finally revealed, fans had stopped caring.

The biggest issue with Cicada was the cycle that we all went through watching him. He would lose every battle with Team Flash and would still be allowed to escape by them, and it went on all season. He wasn't a convincing villain and could have easily been stopped by Team Flash (specifically Killer Frost, who was immune to his dampening dagger). And yet, he stuck around for almost all of season 5, raising questions about Team Flash's effective as heroes, and Cicada's effectiveness as a villain.

Arrowverse, Khione
The Flash -- “A New World, Part Two” -- Image Number: FLA911fg_0006r -- Pictured: Danielle Panabaker as Khione -- Photo: The CW -- © 2023 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved. /

6. Khione and Caitlin

Perhaps no storyline on The Flash raised as many eyebrows as its random decision to kill off original, long-standing character Caitlin Snow in its final season. It wasn't just Caitlin's apparent death that received outrage from fans, but the underwhelming way it happened - because the truth is that it just happened, and not a single tear was shed. In fact, all of Caitlin's friends went out to a club to "honor" her?

It was all done to bring Danielle Panabaker back into the fold as a new character named Khione. A force of nature who spent the majority of the season figuring her powers out (and was mostly unable to), she suddenly became an unstoppable goddess in the final few episodes (after a time jump). There was no coherent storytelling here; no reason to justify this character's existence. And when the season came to an end, she just "ascended" and Caitlin was miraculously able to return.

There was a lot of dialogue revolving around the bizarre decision to tell this story in the show's final season, with the vast majority of fans considering it disrespectful to Caitlin more than anything. They aren't wrong for feeling that way.

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