4 DC Characters That Looked Really Bad On TV (And 3 That Looked Amazing)
DC Comics’ properties debuted on TV in 1952 with the Adventures of Superman(1952-1958) with George Reeves playing the titular role. The 1960s Batman became a huge part of pop culture, followed by Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman(1975). A hundred episodes of Superboy aired in the late 80s and then in the early 90s came Swamp Thing with 3 seasons. Throughout the 90s and then the 2000s, there was a handful of successful and some less than successful shows before the Arrowverse began and shaped DC television history.
Along the way, countless heroes and villains saw themselves being adapted for the small screen. While some of these adaptations were downright degrading to the characters they were supposedly for, some of them were actually great. We did some research and came up with a list of 5 of the worst looking and 4 of the best DC characters on the small screen.
1)Spartan(Arrow): Bad
John Diggle was a cool character in Arrow. The key term here is “was.” For three seasons, he fought crime alongside the Arrow, never requiring a suit for doing that.
Then, with the introduction of conventionally super-powered characters being added to the show, the producers decided that he needed a suit. So, they stuck him with a stupid suit and helmet(that looks suspiciously a lot like Magneto’s).
2)John Constantine(Arrow/Constantine): Good
Occult detective John Constantine got a movie with Keanu Reeve as Constantine in 2005. It didn’t do very well. Fans hated that the movie did not stay true to the canon.
With Matt Ryan as Constantine of the 2014 show of the same name, fans rejoiced. Matt Ryan looks almost exactly like the Constantine from the comics, with his blonde hair and his Welsh descent.
3)Beast Boy(Titans): Bad
The new Titans show has not even released yet and is already facing a lot of heat from fans. The tone of the show is much darker than expected and some of the character designs are off by a mile, especially Beast Boy. Actor Ryan Potter, in the trailer, looks like he has been covered with the same type of body paint used by Lou Ferrigno in The Incredible Hulk of the 1970s.
4)Robin(Titans): Good
Not all is bad with Titans, though. The design for Robin looks great. Brenton Thwaites will play Dick Grayson/Robin. Whatever happens to the show, at least Robin looks cool.
5)Justice League of America(TV Show): Bad
Last year’s Justice League was not the first Justice League to disappoint fans and DC alike. In 1997, a live-action Justice League movie was made, a failed TV pilot. The JLA look like Friends in stupid costumes and poorly shot superpowers. The team was made up of Green Lantern, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, The Atom, Fire and Ice in costumes that looked like they were getting ready for Halloween on an extremely tight budget.
6)Scarecrow(Gotham): Good
The Scarecrow for the show Gotham was realised extremely well on screen. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow played by Charlie Tahan looks like an excellent blend of Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow(with the realistic sack-on-the-head look) from Nolan’s Batman and the Arkham Asylum video game version.
7)Solomon Grundy(Gotham): Bad
As is our tradition, we just praised Gotham, so now we show you its less-than-praiseworthy side. The Solomon Grundy on the show is our problem. Played by Drew Powell, he looks fairly ridiculous. We do not mind the liberties taken with his backstory, what’s silly is the powdered pale skin and bleached white hair. Also, while Powell is definitely not a short guy, he just isn’t physically imposing enough to carry off the character who is supposed to be a massive, hulking beast.
