Television shows tend to require a suspension of belief from their audiences. Some storylines just don’t make sense, no matter how hard someone tries to justify them. Some characters may do the same thing over and over again, hoping for different results. They usually come up empty.

The Arrowverse shows are no different. There are moments throughout Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl that make it necessary for fans to forget about logic.

That may be because of a disguise, whether it’s when the heroes are suited up or going about their everyday lives. It may be because of what happens before, during or after a fight with the bad guys. It may have to do with time travel and the consequences of changing the past (and ignoring those details).

It may have to do with the ease with which one character gets a new codename. Meanwhile, others may take years or be stuck with what’s given to them by a family member.

In some cases, it may simply be a matter of plot and cool poses trumping everything else, even teammates and logic. It could have to do with repetitive storylines and characters and not moving on when a show should have.

Here are 20 Arrowverse Comics That Show Their Shows Make No Sense.

Narration Trumps Focus (And The Truth)

It’s something that has become commonplace (and not just with Arrowverse shows). At the beginning of most episodes, there’s an opening voiceover introducing the main character and offering some backstory. In the case of Arrow, Oliver’s voiceover doesn’t change all that often (even when it does, some of it still stays the same). It has also been used over clips from the show, occasionally offering a look at what’s happening currently. Since it comes from the main character, there’s no reason not to trust what Oliver’s saying in it, right? Shouldn’t it all be true, even if there are some things he hasn’t told other characters? Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

From the beginning, Oliver’s voiceover was a lie. It was an unnecessary one, too.

He didn’t have to share with anyone that he wasn’t always on the island. With some reworking and careful word choice, that issue could have been avoided. Oliver wasn’t always on the island. He spent time in Hong Kong and Russia. Yes, he did return to the island (twice). Yes, his goal was always just to survive, no matter where he was. After six seasons,  is the voiceover really necessary anymore? Perhaps it’s a sign that it’s not heard before every episode.

Impractical Costumes

This can apply to many of the characters across the Arrowverse. More often than not, costumes just aren’t practical. That can be because it’s too easy to figure out who’s under a hood or helmet or behind a mask. Maybe it’s because it’s hard to figure out how someone can suit up as quickly as they do. For example, on Arrow, it’s still unbelievable that the hood and grease paint protected Oliver’s identity. His suit was sleeveless for only one season. It was too easy for him to get hurt with that exposed skin.

Laurel’s Black Canary costume had so many buckles it’s surprising that it wasn’t an issue. Curtis’ Mr. Terrific mask is a headscratcher, and no one knows how he does his hair so quickly. Diggle’s Spartan helmet didn’t do much to hide his identity.Sara, Laurel, Evelyn (briefly) and Dinah have all been some version of a Canary. Fortunately, none of them have adapted the comics look. The fishnets and heels would never work on a TV show.

As seen in the comic above, The Flash’s cowl can be a problem (it hasn’t been on TV yet). It’s easy to look at most superhero costumes in film and TV and find something that should be changed.

Property Damage

Something that none of the Arrowverse shows has addressed is the damage left behind after the masked vigilantes’ heroics. Sure, stopping the bad guys is what’s really important, but what comes next? What about all the broken windows and property damage all over the city? Say Supergirl has to use her super strength to stop a truck, like in the comic above. Say she leaves behind a large dent like that. Say a bad guy stole the truck. Who’s paying for the damage? The bad guy who’s taken away in cuffs and locked up? Doubtful. Supergirl? Considering how many times she’d have to pay if that turned out to be the case, probably not. Maybe the DEO could chip in every so often.

That’s not something that’s ever seen in TV shows because that’s part of everyday life. In a 40-minute episode, there isn’t time to address that. More often than not, once a bad guy is caught or escapes, the masked hero makes his or her exit as well. Unless a police officer works with the hero, something like this comic is never going to be seen on-screen. Even if they are working together, property damage is never a topic of conversation.

Comic by Nebezial.

Forgotten Teammates

One of the worst things Arrow has done that made absolutely no sense is have Oliver forget his teammate. In season 3 episode 17, “Suicidal Tendencies,” Ray fought Oliver and Roy. This was before Ray was an ally and later member of the Legends team. During the fight, Ray blasted Roy while he was standing in water. Roy was down for the count after that. Oliver then focused on talking Ray down and telling him to trust Felicity before leaving. The problem is, when he walked away, he left behind his teammate. (Roy was presumably still unconscious after Ray’s attack.) It was obviously done because Oliver was supposed to walk away, leaving Ray behind to think about what he’d said. That goal was accomplished.

Don’t worry lil’ buddy, we could never forget you. 

While Roy was obviously okay – he wouldn’t leave Starling City until a couple episodes later – it was a major plot hole, one that many fans noticed. Marc Guggenheim even addressed that mistake regarding Roy on his Tumblr page, admitting that they made a mistake. Isn’t it better to imagine that when the show cut to commercial break, something like the above comic happened instead? It’s one thing to not follow every single vigilante as they leave after a fight. It’s very different when one of the team is injured and so obviously left behind.

 

The Flash Vs. Himself

On The Flash, Barry discovered that he could run fast enough to travel back in time. That led to him returning to his own past. He went back to the night his mother lost her life to try to save her. However, just like in the comic, he saw another version of himself there that night. Changing that one event meant changing more than just his mother’s fate. It meant changing so much more. In fact, it created Flashpoint. A world where his mother was alive, but other aspects of his life were very different.

In the season 3 premiere, Barry had to come to the realization that he couldn’t change the events of that night. However, trying to undo what he had done had its own consequences. He even had to ask his enemy to do what he had stopped him from doing, taking his mother’s life. Once he returned to the present, he learned that everything hadn’t returned to what it should have been. In this comic, the problem was Barry was trying to stop his past self from doing something he had already done. It was a vicious cycle, one that Barry couldn’t break. Even once he did, it meant he had to have changed at least one or two things.

How Are Glasses A Disguise?

Some disguises are unbelievable. However, for heroes, they’re also necessary. As explained in the comic above, it’s very important that they’re able to live normal, everyday lives. What’s especially key is that no one finds out who they really are. As has been addressed on Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl, this is to keep their loved ones safe. If their enemies found out who they were, their friends and family would become targets. That argument is sound. It’s understandable that they’d want to keep those they cared about safe. The problem is with these heroes’ disguises during the day. That’s especially true for those who don’t wear masks when suited up.

Clark Kent has famously been able to hide his true identity with just a pair of glasses. Kara has been doing the same on Supergirl for three seasons now. Somehow, Curtis didn’t think that Oliver’s jawline matched the Green Arrow’s when he returned in season 4. However, as Kara points out, it is unbelievable that a simple pair of glasses can do so much. When Kara goes out as Supergirl, everyone can see her face. Yet, she can be around those who know her as Kara when she’s Supergirl without them figuring it out.

What It Takes To Get A Codename

On Arrow, Oliver Queen has had several codenames. He was the Hood when he first returned from the island. In seasons 2 and 3, he was the Arrow. When he returned to Star City in season 4, he became the Green Arrow. (That was despite thinking the name lame when Malcolm Merlyn suggested it in season 1.) Some characters get their codenames as soon as they suit up. Some have to wait. For example, though Diggle didn’t suit up for the first few seasons, he was still in the field with Oliver. It wasn’t until season 4 that he became Spartan. They oftentimes spoke to Felicity while in the field and called her by name. However, she, too, didn’t become Overwatch until season 4.

At least Cisco didn’t give her a code name. 

Oliver’s childhood nickname for his sister was Speedy. When she decided to suit up, she was hoping to become the Red Arrow. Since Oliver couldn’t be the Arrow at the time, there wouldn’t have even been two Arrows in the field. However, Oliver decided that she’d be Speedy and told everyone to call her that. The name stuck. It’s understandable that on Arrow, Oliver Queen, the main character, can easily switch codenames when he wants. (Plus, everyone knew he’d eventually become the Green Arrow.) It’s just too bad that Thea didn’t get to have a say in her codename from the beginning.

Too Many Speedsters

Up until season 4, The Flash was more than a bit repetitive and overcrowded with speedsters. In the first season, Barry’s enemy was the Reverse Flash, a speedster. In the second season, he faced off against Zoom, also a speedster. Then came season 3 and Savitar. Not only did he face off against a speedster in season 3, it was one that was a version of himself.

There’s also the fact that Barry hasn’t always even been the only speedster on the team. There was Jesse Quick, from Earth-2, though she has only helped on a recurring basis. Wally West, a.k.a. Kid Flash, was part of the team until he left and joined up with the Legends. Wally was even faster than Barry when comparing where they were at the same points in their training. Jay Garrick has even helped out a few times, though he has never made Barry “redundant.”

Season 4 seems to have corrected that problem. Wally left. Jesse and Jay have only helped when needed. The Big Bad isn’t a speedster. However, the fact that the above comic even exists shows that the series really needed to make that change. Otherwise, Barry’s opening voiceover probably would have needed to change to address that.

Lies Her Fiance Told

In season 4, Oliver found out that he had a son during the second annual Flarrow crossover. His son’s mother, Samantha, had lied to him for years about William’s existence. When Oliver discovered the truth, she then told him he couldn’t tell anyone. That included Felicity, his girlfriend at the time, and William himself.

Oliver kept that promise for almost a third of the season. However, other people did find out. Barry knew, thanks to his ability to travel through time and other mitigating factors. Malcolm Merlyn found out on his own (and later told Damien Darhk and kidnapped William). Thea discovered the truth as well while working on Oliver’s mayoral campaign.

Arrow focused on the fact that Oliver kept his promise to Samantha. He never did tell anyone himself; everyone else found out on their own. Felicity found out from Damien Darhk.

What the show never bothered doing was explain how Samantha would have found out if Oliver had told Felicity. Instead, Felicity learned the truth and as they began looking for William, found out everyone who knew before her. It’s easy to see why this plot line didn’t make any sense when looking at it I this comic.

Comic by cherchersketch.

Barry’s Go-To Move

Season 3 of The Flash saw Barry Allen dealing with the fallout of messing with the past. It began with Flashpoint, and even when he tried to fix what he’d done, he still changed things. He wasn’t the only one who had to deal with the consequences. His friends suffered, so they certainly deserve to have a say in what he does. In the Arrowverse crossover, he faced the consequences of the characters across the shows finding out what he’d done. The Legends more than anyone else understood why what he’d done was wrong. Sara knew how he felt about losing a family member, but she also knew she couldn’t change it

Poor baby Sara knew nothing anymore, because she no longer exists!

Diggle and Lyla had a boy, not a girl, because of Flashpoint. It should say something that this comic shows that there’s something pretty much everyone can agree on. It’s also not much of a stretch that some may feel that they need to physically stop Barry. In season 4, Barry dismissed time travel as a solution while he and Jesse were dealing with a nuke. However, after the finale, it sounds like that may be a lesson that his future daughter needs to learn.

Comic by omkarpatole.

Hanging Out On Rooftops

More often than not, an Arrow episode will likely have its heroes hanging out on rooftops before a fight. It’s gotten to the point that it’s more surprising if they don’t.

Yes, it makes sense for reconnaissance, but there are times that the heroes simply stand there (there are also times it’s unbelievable that no one notices rooftop fights happening in the middle of the city). Felicity then provides them intel from the bunker, and then they all jump down. Sometimes it seems that one of the vigilantes isn’t even up on a roof long enough to scout the area. Instead, they just perform some unnecessary parkour move to the ground (with or without a pose).

Moments like that make it even more obvious when Oliver shoots a grappling hook arrow seemingly into the air. The audience is left to wonder where exactly it’s hooked into as Oliver swings from the rooftop. Let’s not forget the season 5 winter finale, which saw Thea suit up to only have a conversation with Oliver on a roof. After that, Oliver went after Prometheus himself. Thea didn’t even join him. Posing on rooftops (and other places) just doesn’t work on TV shows. However, every time the heroes go out into the field, they do it.

Comic by theEyZmaster.

Hypocritical Behavior

Oliver Queen isn’t perfect. It took him seasons to admit that he didn’t, in fact, spend five years on Lian Yu. That was his prerogative, considering those years away weren’t a vacation. However, everyone wanted to know everything that had happened to him upon his return. They even kept pushing with questions. These characters ended up having secrets of their own as well that they weren’t jumping to share. Still, secrets are par for the course on superhero shows. Some people know the heroes’ true identities, while others are kept in the dark. Some people know about key moments from their pasts, while others do not. The problem is some people expect to be in the circle of trust even if they haven’t shared themselves.

This is especially true on Arrow. It tends to regress Oliver each season so he can learn a lesson about trusting others by the finale. It’s an easy way to set up conflict between characters as well. Season 6 was a perfect example of this. Upon finding out one of the team was testifying against him, Oliver knew it was one of the newbies. When the newbies found out he was spying on them, they got defensive. That kicked off the entire OTA vs. NTA plot for the rest of the season. Everyone wants to have their secrets, but no one wants to be on the outside looking in of others'.

Comic by Nimaru.

Messing With Time

The most important rule of traveling through time is to not mess with the past. Change one event, and countless others could change as well. As a Time Master, that was something Rip Hunter knew well. That didn’t stop him from traveling back in time in season 1 of Legends of Tomorrow. He then recruited his team of misfit heroes and villains. His goal was to stop Vandal Savage, before the villain could rise to power and take his family from him. Doing so would have drastically changed the history he knew.

Rip let his emotions govern his actions instead of sticking to what is seen in the above comic. Kind of like Barry. 

Time Masters could not interfere when it didn’t endanger the timeline. The most important lesson here is in “the difference between what you want to happen and what must happen.” Rip ultimately wasn’t successful. He also isn’t the only Arrowverse character who has had to learn that lesson. Just look at Barry Allen and Flashpoint on The Flash. Sara has had to accept that she couldn’t save her sister, no matter how much she wanted to. It’s also a lesson that the Arrowverse has fortunately moved on from in recent seasons.

The One Photo Of Oliver Queen

Before Oliver spent five years away from Starling City, he was a billionaire playboy who was in the tabloids. He was pretty well-known in the city. There should have been many photos of him that the media and police could have used. However, only one photo popped up after his return. It was taken from a photo of him and his father. It was the same photo on Moira’s desk in the season 3 flashback when Felicity went into the office.

In season 3 episode 18, “Public Enemy,” Lance led the manhunt for Oliver Queen. For some reason, they were still using that same photo of him from before the island. Lance even commented on it when talking about distributing photos of him to every officer. “No, a current one,” he said. “One with the scruff he’s always wearing.”

Oliver may not have been in the public eye as much as he used to be in season 3. Still, there was no excuse for that photo being the go-to one used.

It’s still unknown why that was the photo chosen of him and his father. They didn’t have any better photos of Oliver with Robert to use after the Gambit?

Ridiculous Plot Lines

Both DC and Marvel TV shows have had some wild storylines over the past few seasons. The major team-ups featured epic battles and plots, but the Arrowverse’s came out on top. In both cases, don’t they sound like events where those who didn’t get involved should have? At least in the case of the Arrowverse shows, almost everyone was involved. There’s also the fact that in one case, a season built up to the event. With the other, it could have served as a standalone adventure.

In the Arrowverse, the annual crossover usually features something major that threatens more than just one city. After stopping aliens, the President even pardoned the heroes, yet that was never mentioned again. This past season, the heroes from the four shows teamed up to stop Nazi invaders on this Earth. There was no way that the public could have been kept in the dark about that, but no one ever brought it up.

That doesn’t change the fact that the Green Arrow in this comic is right. The Arrowverse’s crossover fight against their doppelgängers sounds better and more exciting than stopping ninjas from digging up bones. It allowed the heroes to have to face evil versions of themselves (and loved ones).

Comic by RobertMacQuarrie1.

Speeding Tickets: Not Just For Drivers

First of all, this would never happen on The Flash. Not only does he work with the Central City Police Department at times, but there’s also no way that he would stop for an officer long enough to get a ticket. Still, if it did happen and he did, it would force the series to address one of the problems with his speed. However, it’s hard to ignore the fact that those who drive significantly slower than The Flash runs are pulled over. They do get tickets for endangering the public by speeding.

Then there’s The Flash, whose speed can be dangerous. There was even a moment where running with Felicity set her shirt on fire.

For some reason, that gag only happened that one time and hasn’t happened since. Because of that, it was less about what his speed could do and more about having Felicity’s clothing mishap.The fact of the matter is that Barry has also been trying to get faster and faster throughout the series. That’s especially true when he kept facing off against evil speedsters who were faster than he was. It’s just like with property damage after fights with bad guys. The Arrowverse ignores the danger to the public posed by speedsters running around the city.

Diaz Vs. Oliver’s Suffering

Arrow season 6’s Big Bad was a letdown. With Ricardo Diaz, the audience kept hearing that he was this big bad villain who should have been a major threat. However, that seemed to be more because of who he is in the comics. That wasn’t who he was on-screen before and after he took out Cayden James.

It wasn’t until episode 20 that Oliver and Diaz truly faced off. The latter only won because he used a knife. Without that weapon, without cheating and without Oliver’s plan to get caught, there’s no way that he could have won.

It’s also impossible to imagine that what Diaz did to Oliver could even compare to the ways he’s suffered.

He spent five years away from his home, on the island, in Hong Kong and in Russia. He’s lost friends and family members in tragic ways. Prometheus was a much bigger threat and did worse to Oliver when he held him captive for a week.

His team members left him and blamed him even though they were in the wrong. They also kept blaming him when they crossed paths after. Diggle said some pretty harsh things to him when he left. Felicity broke off their engagement after he lied to her.

The List Of People Who Know Oliver’s Secret

Remember when the list of people who knew Oliver’s secret was short? Remember when Team Arrow was just the Original Team Arrow (Oliver, Diggle and Felicity)? It seems that with every season of an Arrowverse show, the list of people who know the masked heroes’ identities just keeps growing.

In the earlier seasons, it took Oliver a while to trust those he let in on his secret. He told Diggle, Felicity and Roy because he was in situations where he had to, but he also vetted them. He told Tommy because he didn’t have a choice. He eventually came clean to Thea, but that wasn’t until season 3. Laurel only found out because Slade told her.

However, from season 5 on, that changed. He told the recruits to help establish trust. He revealed himself to Dinah when they sought out a new Black Canary. He trusted Susan with his secret even though it meant he could be jeopardizing his teammates as well. (She was also a reporter who was researching him and reminded him of that fact.)

This was, of course, all before he made the deal with the FBI and told the world his identity in the season 6 finale.

When Simpler Is Better

At the beginning of The Flash season 4, Barry returned from the speed force. Cisco had a new suit waiting for him, and he had added quite a few things. In fact, he had tricked it out a bit too much. There was an inflatable raft. There was a self-destruct option. It ended up being less than helpful in the middle of a fight. The meta took advantage of the tech upgrades and gained control of the weapons system. No superhero suit should need an instruction manual, but this one did.

It was played for laughs, but it was entirely unnecessary.

Cisco also should have thought of the problems that Barry could encounter because of his upgrades. He should have gone with “less is more” while designing the suit, hence this comic. Just like it wouldn’t make sense for Barry to need a pancake maker in his suit, he could have done without most of the add-ons. Barry’s new suit wasn’t the only case of add-ons without a purpose in the Arrowverse. Laurel’s Black Canary costume had buckles that didn’t make sense. Sometimes, the designs of superhero suits are flashier than they need to be. Barry’s just happened to take it too far.

Who He Is Depends On What The City Needs

In the comics, the Green Arrow cracks jokes. He’s much more light-hearted than the TV series Oliver Queen’s version (Hood, Arrow or Green Arrow). However, he has also been compared to Batman, especially when the Dark Knight Trilogy inspired some of the series. Batman villains have even appeared.

Oliver has lightened up over the course of the six seasons of the series. When the series calls for it (or when it needs him to regress), he does, returning to his brooding self.

Oliver does tend to be whatever the city and the story needs him to be at the time. In season 1, he pretended to be the same Ollie Queen he was before his five years away. He didn’t care about his family’s company. In season 2, that changed when he had to take over as CEO. Then, at the beginning of season 3, he tried to get QC back. In seasons 4, 5 and 6, he was the serious candidate and then mayor.

The same can be said of who Oliver Queen has been, and perceived to be, under the hood. When he introduced himself as the Green Arrow, he did so as a symbol of hope for Star City.

Arrow needs to stick with Oliver’s growth, as Oliver and the Green Arrow, rather than regress him for plot.

Comic by tellmymotherimsorry.

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Have you noticed anything in the Arrowverse that doesn’t make sense? Tell us in the comments below!