Right now, the DC Universe on TV is thriving. There’s Gotham, Black Lighting iZombie, and of course, the interwoven Arrowverse shows, of which will be a fifth one added soon, thanks to the debut of Batwoman during the much-anticipated “Elseworlds” crossover event.
Before this golden age of DC comics on TV, there were a litany of DC shows that came down the pipeline since the days of the Shazam serials back in the fifties. The original Flash show, all of the tremendous animated series from Bruce Timm. Not to mention some sweet seventies Wonder Woman action, and don’t sleep on the early nineties classic, Lois And Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman. Most famously, the old “wham!” “bam!” “pow!” Batman 1966 series, undoubtedly plenty of fans’ early entrance in comic book fandom in general.
All of these shows and plenty more are very memorable for all kinds of reasons. Most of them were big successes, otherwise, we wouldn’t be talking about them and how they helped pave the way for the shows we see today. The producers of the films might not always have their act together, but the current crop of showrunners have taken what came before and added to all of our favorite heroes’ various mythologies. How different could all of these DC shows look had certain moves been made or not have been made?
Here are 10 Last Minute Changes That Hurt DC Shows (And 10 That Saved It).
Hurt – DC Head Honchos Making Changes
The Cinematic DCEU has been nothing but divisive since Man Of Steel’s supposed controversial ending. The company desires to catch up to Marvel at the movie houses and that has made for plenty of head-scratching decisions.
But as much as the film choices make or break the actual films, it’s the Arrowverse that sometimes suffers the most. The higher up brass at DC Studios seems to want the Arrowverse and the DCEU to be separate and never want one to interfere with the other. That has led to several stops and starts on characters and storylines.
Saved – Moving Supergirl To CW
When the Woman Of Steel debuted in 2015, the series came out on CBS. Considering all of the other Arrowverse shows were on CW, this was a head-scratcher, but they still managed to get a Flash / Supergirl crossover going, so kudos. Even though the series had a bigger budget on CBS, most fans knew they’d be more at home on the CW, with the rest of the Arrowverse shows.
Then it was announced that the series was going to heading to CW for season two. Once all of DC was under one roof, fans would be able to get even more shared references and crossovers. While the show was good on CBS, it didn’t fit their demographics and the show might have been canceled had it not been for the move.
Hurt – Smallville Bosses Leave
Arrow kicked off the DC renaissance on TV, but several years prior to the CW (then the WB) had brought us a new take on Superman - Smallville. Someone got the bright idea that the best way to appeal to the masses would be to retell the Superman mythos with teenagers and no costumes.
Despite the number of costumes on TV nowadays, not so much when Smallville first debuted. The format worked and the show was a success. The show lasted seven years with the original Showrunners, Miles Millar and Alfred Gough. They would leave at the end of the seventh show, and the series suffered from not having its original vision heading into the final three seasons.
Saved – Not Turning Felicity Into “Oracle”
Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak is the heart of Arrow. It was all almost not to be. She only was supposed to be around for one show, before producers asked her to come back. Showrunners decided to take her from a bit role to becoming the point–person for Team Arrow’s field missions.
But one change was when Felicity was shot and paralyzed during the show’s fourth season. Fans immediately jumped to the conclusion that she’d not only be in a wheelchair but take on the mantle of Oracle, which is Barbara Gordon’s codename in the Batman comics. However, by being “taken” by someone else, we now have Overwatch and thankfully very soon, perhaps and Oracle in the Arrowverse’s future as well.
Hurt – No Superman
While there were no capes or tights on Smallville, the show about a younger Clark Kent should eventually show him ready to fly high as The Man Of Steel, right? Series star, Tom Welling didn’t seem to think so. Many fans wound up being disappointed. Welling did defend his stance though.
Welling told Entertainment Weekly, that the finale was supposed to feature him finally becoming Superman and saving Lois Lane the old iconic way. However, he just felt that what the show accomplished for ten years, they just hadn’t earned that moment.
Saved – Changing Blue Beetle To Atom
Casting past DC stars into the current Arrowverse has been a staple of every show. Superman Returns star, Brandon Routh played the Blue Blur in that film. Had the Arrow producers held onto their original idea, Routh was coming on to star in the show as Blue Beetle instead of the Atom.
Routh would have done a fine job playing Ted Kord instead of Ray Palmer. Probably might have even played both the same way. Seeing as how the Jamie Reyes version of the character has overtaken the Ted Kord version, there’s still plenty of time for either Kord or Jamie to don the bug suit.
Hurt – Grossly Underusing Michael Emerson
It might not be as much of a “last minute” change per se, but boy, did Arrow completely waste the talents of Michael Emerson. For nearly ten years prior on both Lost and Persons Of Interest, he effectively played a creepy little bastard. Considering he pulled that off while being both a villain on Lost and a hero on POI is a testament to his greatness.
That greatness really could have made for an outstanding season with a memorable, eery villain for the ages. But the writers not only used him as fodder for the season’s real big bad, Ricardo Diaz. They also made him just another “Arrow killed my (insert family member here),” which might have been impactful had Prometheus not been done a season prior.
Saved – Moving Hawkman and Hawkgirl
Special thanks to the Thanagarian race for bringing us Hawkman and Hawkgirl. They helped nudge the plot of the second Arrow and Flash crossover, which introduced to the Legends. As popular members of the DC Universe, fans were happy to see them in the Arrowverse.
Their biggest contributions helped drive the plot of the first season of Legends Of Tomorrow. But even the writers knew that they didn’t have a lot of story for Carter and Kendra past defeating Vandal Savage.
Lynda Carter famously donned Diana’s golden gauntlets in the popular seventies Wonder Woman series. Adrianne Palicki - no so famously in a pilot that wasn’t picked up by NBC. Plenty of movie fans are fawning over Gal Gadot. But had Arrow Showrunners had their way, Wonder Woman would have a huge part of the Arrowverse.
Saved – Making Hank J’onn
David Harewood has just the right amount of poise to play menacing and touching all at the same time. Which is what made him a perfect Hank Henshaw during Supergirl’s early days. Die-hard fans would know that Henshaw is actually the evil Cyborg Superman. Perhaps the Cyborg Henshaw might one day come back and wreak tons of havoc.
But making the real Hank the Martian Manhunter, J’onn J’onzz in disguise opened up a lot of doors for even more stories. Harewood has been a major part of Supergirl since day one, and him being revealed as J’onn made him instantly a father figure to Kara.
Hurt – No Harley Quinn
Ever since her debut in Batman: The Animated Series, fans just cannot get enough of Harley Quinn. She has become quite the franchise in her own right. Naturally, the writers wanted to capitalize on that and teased the pigtailed psychopath in an A.R.G.U.S. jumpsuit during a Suicide Squad episode of Arrow.
So many possibilities just by introducing Harley Quinn to the Arrowverse went down in flames once the Suicide Squad movie was announced. There’s no telling what the Arrowverse could have done with Harley, she’s a villain, and an anti-hero all rolled up into one.
Saved – Sara Was Almost Ravager
During the second season of Arrow, it was revealed that Sara had survived the crash of the Queen’s Gambit and was also on the Island. Off of Lian Yu, Slade Wilson was busy terrorizing Ollie and company. He also brought his charge, Ravager, who was played by Summer Glau.
But the original idea was to have Sara actually be the Ravager. Thankfully, the creators changed their minds and Sara went on to be the White Canary and the captain of the Waverider on Legends Of Tomorrow.
Hurt – John Astin As The Riddler
The Adam West Batman series was for many fans, their introduction, and indoctrination into the comic book world. Plenty of Batman’s most famous rogues were a part of the proceedings. Frank Gorshin originally played the Riddler and played him with just the right about of flair.
However, when Gorshin asked for more money, the producers let him go and recast the role. Now the Riddler was played by John Astin (Gomez on The Addams Family). Astin made the role his but didn’t have the same panache that Gorshin had.
Saved – Superman
The first season of Supergirl was a fun 22 episodes, but seemingly every other word out of Kara’s mouth was a story about her “cousin.” Even if you never knew who Supergirl was before, it doesn’t take a braniac to figure out that her cousin is the Man Of Steel himself.
Bringing him during the show’s second season not only had Kara stop mentioning her cousin. However, it also introduced Superman into the Arrowverse in a compelling way, while Supergirl still gets to stand on her own two feet and carry her own show.
Hurt – Taking Out Amanda Waller
Nick Fury pulls a lot of strings in the MCU. In the DCU, in the same kind of role, albeit far more adversarial role is Amanda Waller. She’s the director of A.R.G.U.S. and the mastermind behind Task Force X. In the Arrowverse, she was played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson.
The Arrowverse didn’t just remove “The Wall” from the show, she was shot in the head. Another victim of DC higher brass meddling. You’d think, with the introduction of the multiverse that there would be able to be all sorts of versions of a character. Alas, someone at DC doesn’t think TV and Movie fans can discern between the two.
Saved – Recasting Sara Lance
Sara Lance has been a pivotal force throughout the Arrowverse since Arrow’s first episode when she boarded the Gambit with Ollie. Originally played by Jacqueline MacInnes Wood in the Pilot episode.
However, by the time it was decided to bring Sara back, producers recast the role. Caity Lotz has played Sara since Arrow’s second season and hasn’t looked back. While it’s hard to tell how Wood would have done in the role, much like Stephen Amell and Grant Gustin, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing this current incarnation of the White Canary.
Hurt – Recasting Supergirl’s Mom
During the first season of Supergirl, Kara would learn her mother, Alura Zor-El wasn’t all she appeared to be. However, the girl’s mom was still her mother, and actress Laura Benanti was as doing a great job with the role. But she wanted to head back to New York to be with her family.
In her place was Smallville alum, Erica Durance. While it’s always nice to old school DCU actors returning for cameos and new roles, she so far hasn’t been too convincing as Kara’s mother, more like Supergirl’s little sister than her mother.
Saved – A Wells For All Seasons
How awesome is Tom Cavanagh? Throughout the first season of The Flash, he was able to play nurturing confidante to Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco. All the while descending into madness as Eobard Thawne. But stopping Thawne thankfully didn’t mean the end of Cavanagh on the show.
The writers decided to bring Cavanagh back and thanks to the introduction of the Multiverse, Wells can come back as just about anyone the writers dream up, which is another testament to how great the actor is.
Hurt – Taking Suicide Squad Away From Arrow
Imaging the frustration from an entire cast and crew of diligent writers and actors. They do their best every week to entertain us for a measly hour a week. They bust their chops over what stories and characters to introduce. Then the boss’ bosses swoop in and make you change a whole heap of story and characters just to serve their own misguided vision.
Hopefully, the Arrowverse’s producers didn’t have to do much extra work when DCEU bosses came in and decried no more Suicide Squad. A huge chunk of supporting players gone at the stroke of the most powerful weapon in entertainment - the pencil.
Saved – NOT Making Ollie Merlyn’s Son
At some point, it was revealed that Malcolm Merlyn, the show’s first antagonist, was Thea’s father. While it’s a bit of stretch to reveal such a soap opera style bombshell, it’s still much better than the original idea. Merlyn was set up to be Ollie’s real father.
That moment would ruin the whole crux of the show. Oliver returned to Star City to right the wrongs of his father, Robert Queen. Finding out that the big bad was actually your father would complete reshaping your mission statement. Yes, the revelation could have been mined for better drama, but it still would have been a groan-inducing moment.
Do you think these changes hurt or saved these shows? Let us know in the comments!
