We pick 5 characters from the DC Universe you HAVE heard of who never seem to realize their full potential
DC Comics is no stranger to creating characters ranging from god-like (Darkseid) to the downright ordinary (hey there, Jimmy Olsen). Some characters have endured the test of time longer than most people reading this article have been alive (Superman). And others, well, failed to grow beyond an occasionally curious cameo (Polka-Dot Man).
The characters that endure and gain popularity have been pushed to their limits in a myriad of ways, but even the most recognizable of underrated DC heroes have yet to be pushed to the top-tier status they deserve. For each entry on the list, we looked at the character’s capabilities, how far their abilities could take them when pushed beyond anything we’ve seen before, and what their new status could look like.
Why have they been underrated for so long? Well, there is no one, right answer. Let’s chalk it up to not yet getting the right creative team in the right place at the right time.
With that said, let’s take a look at our picks for the top 5 most underrated DC characters. The results may surprise you.
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5. Animal Man
Yes, for the first entry on the list we’re going with Bernhard “Buddy” Baker aka Animal Man.
What Makes Animal Man Special?
Buddy has a long and complicated history. As a young man, he came into contact with and connected to The Red, the energy field that connects all animal life everywhere. With this connection, Buddy has the ability to mimic the ability of any animal on land, sea, or air. He has been known to “talk” in a rudimentary way to animals, and he’s even been known to transfer his consciousness into animals when his own body is severely injured or even dead.
How Far Could Animal Man Go?
How about the ruler of the planet? The key element that holds Buddy back is his hippie-ish approach to life – vegetarianism, an almost zealous desire to find harmony between humans and animals (he tried to start a religion once), and a slight bent towards pacifism. None of those qualities make him a bad person or even a bad hero, but let’s give Buddy a little push.
Imagine a scenario where some uber-powerful alien invades Earth. Mongul, for example. Animal Man has the ability to commune with all animal life on the entire planet. In the absence of Superman or Green Lantern showing up to save the day, Animal Man could summon all animals everywhere to attack simultaneously.
Mongul would not have an easy time of it when faced with a herd of thousands of charging rhinos, elephants, bulls, and any other large animal you can think of. Millions, possibly billions, of claw-raking, beak-pecking birds swooping down in a tidal wave of feathered fury. And if Mongul heads for the oceans, Animal Man could call every whale, shark, giant squid, and whatever else we don’t know about from the murky depths.
There would be nowhere for Mongul to go. The sheer weight and speed of attack would be impossible for Mongul to fight off. Even the tiniest insects would choke Mongul out by invading every orifice en masse.
Animal Man makes Aquaman look like a sidekick, and he outclasses Swamp Thing’s connection to The Green in terms of sheer power, speed, and reach.
4. Harley Quinn
Oh, Harley. Why can’t DC figure out you’re meant to be the greatest villain Gotham — perhaps the world — has ever known?
What Makes Harley Quinn Special?
On the spectrum of superpowers, there really is nothing special about Harleen Quinzel aka Harly Quinn. She’s just an ordinary mortal. However, what Harley lacks in physical power she makes up for with a unique blend of very mild insanity, exceptional psychological skills, and a dash of empathy.
When you put those elements together, Harley has the ability to masterfully manipulate civilians, heroes, and villains into doing whatever she wants by exploiting their psychological weaknesses. She’s a greater puppetmaster than… well… the Puppetmaster; both of them (Marvel’s Puppet Master and DC’s Puppeteer formerly known as the Puppet Master).
“But wait,” you say. “Isn’t DC trying to slowly turn her into a hero?”
Yes, and they’re failing miserably at it. There’s a strategic approach playing out over and over where a popular character has to be made a hero, but it hasn’t worked. What DC does and doesn’t do right could fill up ten more articles, but if you want a really nifty explanation of what makes sense for Harley Quinn as a hero, anti-hero, or villain, check out our opinion piece (Is Harley Quinn a Villain, a Hero, or an Anti-Hero?).
Harley’s talent as a criminal psychologist, her experience working with the worst of the worst from Arkham Asylum, including the very worst in the Joker, and her mild infection of insanity from her relationship with the Joker put Harley Quinn at ground zero to become the Queen of criminal masterminds.
How Far Could Harley Quinn Go?
Take the top hero on Earth, then consider who his or her greatest arch-enemy would be, now put that person under Harley Quinn’s manipulative control. That’s right. How powerful would Harley Quinn become if she had the great Lex Luthor, the Joker, and even Ares the God of War under her thumb?
Lex Luthor is an uber narcissist with an undying need to destroy Superman. It wouldn’t take much for Harley to exploit Lex’s sense of self-importance to give her all the resources she needed.
Joker is an agent of chaos. What power could Harley wield if she finally broke ties with him, but offered to help him spread chaos through his neverending army of henchmen and crazies? Imagine a whole army unconcerned with the pain they inflict or the pain they feel at her disposal.
Ares feeds off suffering and war. With Luthor’s resources and Joker’s crazy zealots, Harley could instigate one or more wars anywhere in the world to make Ares dependent on her.
An ultra-rich tycoon, an agent of chaos, and a god — all there in the palm of Harley Quinn’s hand.
3. Flash
I know, I know. “Poppycock!” you say. “Flash has his own book, and TV show, and (maybe) a movie coming up. How could you possibly say he’s underrated?”
Simple, Flash is an Earth-killer, and nobody’s talking about it.
What Makes the Flash So Special?
For this explanation, we’re talking about Barry Allen but the same could apply equally to Jay Garrick or Wally West.
Barry Allen is a criminal forensic scientist who was struck by lightning while he was accidentally doused with a random mix of chemicals. The accident imbued Barry with super speed, which has since evolved to the point where Barry can run fast enough to break the time barrier and the barrier between parallel universes.
What’s so often not addressed or outright ignored is the effect a speedster has on the physical environment around him while he’s moving at superhuman speed. The air simply doesn’t move around the Flash without disturbance. The ground is not immune from the heat and friction generated by something moving along the surface faster than the eye can see.
The laws of physics may not apply to Flash, but they certainly apply to everyone else. All it takes is a push in the right direction to destroy the world, demonstrating just how powerful Flash is compared to his Justice League colleagues.
How Far Could Flash Go?
In later years, Flash canon has evolved to include the Speed Force as the source of Barry’s power. Are you noticing a trend here? The most powerful heroes and villains are conduits for some natural force.
If the effects of Flash’s speed were addressed head-on, imagine the possibilities.
Spinning at high speed on a single point, Flash could drill down to the Earth’s core and unleash a catastrophic, volcanic eruption.
A technique Flash has used in the past is spinning his arms in a conical motion to generate mini tornadoes to deflect attacks or cushion falls. Imagine that same move at ultra high speed while running and Flash has the capacity to suck the air out of an entire region, or possibly remove all of Earth’s atmosphere.
One more technique that’s never been used, but one we imagine would be called “Buzzsaw,” has the most devastating potential. Flash can circle the Earth in moments with all momentum pointed in a forward direction. What if he angled that momentum down slightly to cut through the ground like a plow scooping up freshly fallen snow? With enough trips around the globe, Flash could cut the world in half.
In short, the Flash is a walking (running?), talking, natural disaster of extinction-level proportions. For all his great feats of speed, nothing he’s done in recorded canon comes close to the scenarios imagined here
2. Firestorm
This one is a heartbreaker for its almost criminal amount of misuse. Where Flash is a world-killer, Firestorm has the capacity to recreate the world in a manner not seen since Genesis.
What Makes Firestorm So Special?
Sticking with the first origin of the character, Ronnie Raymond was unwittingly caught up with a group of activists intent on sabotaging a nuclear facility. During the explosion, Ronnie fused with a scientist working at the facility, Dr. Martin Stein. The merged being is a combination of Ronnie’s body and consciousness and Dr. Stein’s consciousness that could speak to Ronnie. Over time the merged minds would begin to share intelligence and memories, and thankfully, the two could separate when needed.
If that wasn’t freaky enough, Firestorm has the power to manipulate matter, including his own body, at an atomic level. Firestorm could reduce his own density enough to fly and fire blasts of energy that (here’s the big one) transmute matter from one form to any other he could imagine.
An easy example would be turning flying daggers into daisy flowers or turning gold into stone.
How Far Could Firestorm Go?
Is remaking the world, possibly the galaxy, as he sees fit far enough for you?
The atom is the building block for the entirety of existence. Nuclear bombs can wipe out cities. Nuclear fusion could conceivably create near-limitless sources of energy. When the only limit is human imagination and his understanding of the new form’s structure, Firestorm has the capacity to wipe out the entire planet and rebuild it from scratch.
Superman becomes an afterthought when faced with a being that could disassemble his Kryptonian body with a snap. Green Lantern’s constructs are only as good as the strength of his will and only last as long as the charge on his ring.
Firestorm is the ultimate powerhouse. Nobody can surpass him, except maybe one.
1. Wonder Woman
“Okay,” you say. “This is just crazy talk. Wonder Woman has been around since forever. She has one hit film, a television show, and she’s considered part of the Justice League’s holy trinity. She can’t possibly be considered underrated.”
Oh, but she can and she has. Here’s why. Every entry on the list until now is a mortal with some advanced skill or as a conduit to some greater power. But they’re all still mortals.
Wonder Woman is the proverbial god all others aspire to be. So why does she continually seem to be playing second best to Batman and Superman?
What Makes Wonder Woman So Special?
For this, we’ll go with the current origin. Princess Diana of Themyscira is the daughter of Queen Hippolyta, formed from clay and given life by Zeus. She’s not just an immortal Amazon. She’s the daughter of the King of the Gods.
Wonder Woman’s enemies range from enhanced warriors (Cheetah) to gods in their own right (Ares). Her realm of influence always connects to myths, legends, and magic. Where Firestorm has mastery over the physical world, Wonder Woman is the unbeatable, immortal warrior with the capacity to rule the realms of magic and everyone in it.
How Far Could Wonder Woman Go?
Queen of life and death itself would be an amazing start.
Imagine Diana deciding the gods have created more trouble than they’re worth, and she moves to wrest control of Olympus from Zeus. War, disease, love, life, and death would all be hers to command. At the very least, Diana would control all supernatural forces throughout the world and every magical being, mortal or otherwise, would be subject to her will.
It may seem like we push these characters into villainy, but that’s not the point. The goal is to see how powerful these characters could be when they take the proverbial gloves off. Wonder Woman’s nickname is “God Killer” after all, so it makes total sense that killing the gods would put her in charge. Superman may get top billing as the most powerful, but he’s a distant second when Wonder Woman lets loose.
Well, there you have it — our Top Most 5 Underrated DC Characters. But let us know what you think. Did we get one of the entries completely wrong? Is there a more worthy character you would rather see on the list?
Let us know who you would pick for your Top 5 most underrated DC characters in the Comments section, and if you’re lucky, we might just do a follow-up with your suggestions.
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