10 Arrowverse Heroes That Are Completely Different From The Comics

From the humble beginnings of Arrow's very grounded first season in 2012, a wide-ranging, ever-growing shared universe of DC TV shows has sprung. With The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and of course, animated webseries Vixen, the so-called Arrowverse has been a gift come true for fans, as it's brought so many previously neglected heroes to the screen - as well as creating some of its own from scratch. But while Oliver Queen is still a billionaire archer, Barry Allen is still the fastest man alive and Kara Danvers remains Superman's cousin, many of their sidekicks, allies and associated team members have had their backstories, powers or even personalities altered in the transition from the page to the screen. Sometimes this is due to different versions of the character being blended together - such as The Flash's Wally West borrowing from both the Post-Crisis and New 52 incarnations. Other times it's due to behind-the-scenes changes - like Jefferson Jackson taking over as the other half of Firestorm after Robbie Amell (Ronnie Raymond) left for other projects. On some rare occasions, however, certain characters are incredibly different from their depiction in the comic books. A few to the extent that the only similarity is that they share a name.... 10) Rip Hunter Comic Books: Created in 1959, Rip Hunter is a time traveller whose preferred mode of transport is the Time Sphere, his own invention. He's been connected to various teams of superheroes over the years, including the Challengers of the Unknown, the Forgotten Heroes and most commonly the Time Masters. It was later revealed that he was the son of more famous time-travelling hero Booster Gold. TV Show: Legends of Tomorrow is drawn as much from Doctor Who as it is the wackier corners of DC Comics. As such, Rip (as played by Doctor Who alumn Arthur Darvill) is re-positioned as the show's version of the Doctor. The green and red superhero costume of the page is replaced with a David Tennant-like trenchcoat and the Time Masters are reimagined as an all-seeing council, much like Who's Time Lords. His revenge mission against ubervillain Vandal Savage is also original to the show, as is his time-travelling spaceship the Waverider (replacing the Time Sphere). Furthermore, all ties to Booster Gold are ignored, due to that character being off-limits to the TV division. 9) Speedy Comic Books: Created by Kevin Smith in 2001, Mia Dearden is a teenage runaway rescued from a child prostitution ring by the Green Arrow. She's then adopted by Oliver Queen as his ward and takes over the mantle of his sidekick Speedy from Roy Harper. Mia later finds out that she's HIV-positive, a result of her previous sexual abuse. TV Show: Thea Dearden Queen (see what they did there?) is re-tooled as Oliver's younger sister, one of many new additions to the Queen family introduced in Arrow. As played by Willa Holland, Thea is initially kept in the dark about his superhero alter ego. However, she eventually joins Team Arrow at the end of season 3 as Speedy, borrowed from her nickname for boyfriend Roy. It's also revealed that she's the daughter of Malcolm Merlyn, an original storyline for the show. Mia's HIV infection has also not been explored, though it's possible that a similar arc could be introduced in future seasons. 8) Jesse Quick Comic Books: Debuting in 1992, Jesse Chambers is the daughter of two Golden Age superheroes - the speedster Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle (whose powers are bestowed to her upon the ringing of Liberty Bell). Jesse inherits both of her parents' powers. Joining the Justice Society of America, she initially goes by the alter ego Jesse Quick, becoming a crime-fighting partner of Wally West, before taking up her mother's mantle. TV Show: Jesse Quick is another character who was given a completely different history on TV. Introduced in The Flash season 2, Jesse Chambers Wells (Violett Beane) is the daughter of Earth-2's Harrison Wells. After being hit by the particle accelerator, she becomes a Speedster in season 3, taking up the name Jesse Quick after her father's nickname for her. In addition to these differences, she's romantically linked with Wally, which could allude to their partnership in the comics. 7) Vibe Comic Books: Francisco Ramone (alternatively known as Paco Ramone) aka Vibe was introduced into the Justice League in 1984 as part of a new wave of heroes from different ethnic backgrounds. Though the idea to diversify the League was a good one, Vibe's backstory as a breakdancing street gang leader from Detroit was seen as cliched and stereotypical by fans. He initially had sonic abilities but, upon being re-introduced in 2013, was given the power to affect inter-dimensional breaches. TV Show: On The Flash, Carlos Valdes's Cisco Ramone has a completely different personality. Instead of a tough street kid, he's a geeky talented young engineer and ally to the Flash rather than a fully-fledged superhero. His powers are also presented in the reverse order of the comics, as Cisco senses "vibes" of the future and alternate worlds before he later develops gloves that emit sonic waves. He does possess the distinctive goggles of the comics counterpart, though. 6) Huntress Comic Books: The Helena Bertinelli incarnation of the Huntress was introduced in 1989. A vigilante operating in Gotham City, she's often opposed by Batman who finds her methods too severe and bloodthirsty. However, she grows into a more noble hero - as well as a longtime member of the Birds of Prey, Helena even briefly took up the mantle of Batgirl. In The New 52, it was revealed that Helena Bertinelli was an alias of Helena Wayne, Batman's daughter from Earth Two. TV Show: The Huntress was one of the many characters Arrow pinched from Batman mythology. As such, she's broadly speaking the same, only she shares a vigilante rivalry with Oliver Queen instead of Bruce Wayne. Her backstory - her mission to stop her father's criminal empire - is also drawn from certain comics. However, much of the complexity of the character is lost. Instead of a vigilante who grows into a hero, Arrow's Huntress is presented squarely as a villain. Her purple outfit is also swapped for a more toned-down leather catsuit. 5) Mon-El Comic Books: Originating in the pages of Superboy in 1961, Mon-El crash landed at the Kent's Smallville farm much like Clark. Suffering from temporary amnesia, Clark named him after the day he arrived (Monday, natch) and gave him his own surname because he thought he was a Kryptonian. In actual fact, Mon was Lar Gand, a Daxamite and member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Dressed in a suit of Superman's colours reversed, he was largely used as a stand-in for the Man of Steel. TV Show: Mon-El's personality and backstory has been massively re-engineered for his appearance on Supergirl season 2. This time, Mon-El is his actual name (despite him having no link with the House of El) and his home planet Daxam is the sister planet of Krypton. As played by Chris Wood, Mon-El is now also the last of his kind and a reluctant hero, a characteristic that helps differentiate him from the ever-heroic Big Blue Boy Scout. 4) Atom Comic Book: Ray Palmer (the second Atom) also arrived in 1961. A gifted physicist and professor, Palmer found a White Dwarf Star that fell to Earth and discovers that it allows him to shrink to a subatomic level. His best friend is fellow superhero Hawkman and he has a vendetta against Deathstroke, after the assassin killed his protege Ryan Choi. Both of these connections are referenced on TV - though Hawkman is his romantic rival rather than best bud. TV Show: One of the most prominent heroes in the Arrowverse, Brandon Routh's Ray Palmer takes a lot of liberties with the character on the page. The biggest one is that his Atom suit is not just a typical spandex outfit but an Iron Man-esque metal suit of armour. Despite his name, he also rarely employs his ability to shrink - instead his suit allows him to project energy beams and fly (again much like Iron Man). He's also a billionaire businessman rather than an academic scientist. The showrunners have admitted that these differences are due to the character originally being Blue Beetle AKA Ted Kord. When their permission to use Kord was revoked, they quickly substituted him for Atom. 3) Black Canary Comic Books: Dinah Lance nee Drake aka Black Canary is one of DC's first female superheroes, originally hailing from 1947. Initially depicted as a non-powered vigilante, later stories gave her the metahuman ability to emit sonic screams - known as her Canary Cry. Famous for her skimpy black outfit and fishnets, her most iconic relationship is with the Green Arrow, whom she eventually married. TV Show: There's been a lot of controversy and negative reaction from fans over Arrow's treatment of their version of the character, here named Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy). For one, she doesn't take up the identity of Black Canary for several seasons, with her sister Sara originating the mantle. Her Canary Cry is also reimagined as a device created by Cisco Ramone and her costume is drastically re-designed (and resembles that of the Huntress). Her long-standing romance with Oliver also does not come to pass, though the pair are initially engaged. Oh yeah, and she's currently dead. 2) Artemis Comic Books: Artemis Crock (also known as Tigress) was a villain and member of the Injustice Society in the comics. The most famous version of the character is the radically-different take in the Young Justice animated series. Instead of a supervillain, Artemis is here depicted as a teenage superhero. TV Show: Arrow continued the tradition of reinventing the character by creating a completely new version to play with, though one which shares elements of both previous iterations. This time, Artemis is really Evelyn Sharp - a 16 year-old vigilante (Madison McLaughlin) who previously impersonated Black Canary. As of season 5, she's a protege of Green Arrow. Episode six contained the shocking reveal that she was working with big bad Prometheus, which looks to be a clever reference to her standing as a villain in the comics. 1) Guardian Comic Books: Created in 1942 by Captain America creators Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, Jim Harper aka Guardian was another square-jawed American hero with a shield - though this one wore a blue and gold suit. His clone also once played major role, as the Head of Security at Project Cadmus (which could mean something for viewers of Supergirl). Jimmy Olsen, meanwhile, is Superman's goofy pal - famous for his red hair and freckled appearance. TV Show: Supergirl immediately caused waves when it cast the suave African American Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen, Kara's love interest in the first season and then the head of a multi-media corporation in season 2. Recently, James became a very different version of Guardian. The hero's usual colour scheme was swapped for a chrome electrically-charged get-up, though he still retained the shield. Interestingly, Jim Harper appeared in an episode of Supergirl's first season as an alien-hating colonel. It's fair to say, then, that Olsen, Harper's alter ego and Harper himself all went under the most significant changes of any Arrowverse hero in the transition to TV.