Not everyone is cut out for the role of superhero, especially in the DC Universe which is filled with characters like Superman and Wonder Woman who make some of the less powerful or not as popular heroes somewhat redundant or unnecessary.
While that alone isn’t enough reason to discourage some of the less successful heroes from following in the footsteps of legends, some of these DC heroes have shown time and time again that they might not be cut out for the world of superheroics, and should probably find a new job before they accidentally destroy the world while trying to save it.
10 G’nort Is A Green Lantern Without A Sector To Protect And Serve
There are thousands of characters in the Green Lantern Corps that were chosen by their rings to protect and serve a specific space sector of DC’s universe, though G’nort is unique in his placement as a Green Lantern. He originally received his ring from a fake group of Guardians of the Universe who purposefully chose characters that would be failures for their own amusement.
G’nort never received an official sector to protect, though he became a fan of Justice League International and hoped to join with them. He got his wish when he was placed on the z-team known as Justice League Antarctica. G’nort should probably hang up his ring or he’ll find himself reunited with Ch’p.
9 Peacemaker Is Ironically Bad At Making And/Or Keeping The Peace
Christopher Smith experienced a traumatic childhood accident that led to a mental instability that was further worsened during his time in the Vietnam War, where he experienced visions from his deceased war criminal father. Mistaken orders led to his own war crime and incarceration, though he was only further dedicated to his extreme form of pacifism and became Peacemaker.
This warped sense of ideals led him to achieve numerous charitable efforts in his rich civilian identity, though as the costumed Peacemaker, he is not usually known for fulfilling his namesake and should probably stick to Christopher Smith’s charity work.
8 Sixpack Is The Delusional Leader Of The Largely Deceased Section Eight
Gotham City may be well-known as the home of Batman and his family of heroes, but it’s also home to another costumed team of heroes that was known as Section Eight, who were first put together by the alcoholic superhero Sixpack. Sixpack spends most of his nights in a bar in Gotham’s Irish district known as The Cauldron where he tells stories/hallucinations of his adventures.
Section Eight included other heroes like the Defenestrator, Friendly Fire, and Dogwelder, though they were almost all killed by demons during one of their only missions. Sixpack somehow displayed reality-altering powers that kept him alive and he possibly created a dream world that he now resides in, which hopefully means he’s retired from superheroics.
7 Roy Harper/Arsenal Has Suffered And Lost More Than Most DC Heroes
While he’s currently known as Arsenal, Roy Harper began his superhero career as Green Arrow’s sidekick Speedy, who worked alongside the Teen Titans for years. Harper infamously dealt with a heroic addiction during his years as Speedy, though he cleaned up and returned to action as Arsenal. And that wasn’t the only suffering Roy dealt with over his tragic career as a hero.
Roy’s daughter was kidnapped by child slavers before she was later killed during the destruction of Star City, which Harper failed to prevent in a mission that cost him his arm. The New 52 version abandoned his usually heroic past and became one of Red Hood‘s Outlaws before he was later killed during Heroes in Crisis, and while he’s since returned it might be time to hang it up.
6 Hawk & Dove Are Either Dying Or Nearly Ending All Of Existence
There have been a few different versions of the superhero duo known as Hawk & Dove, though each has represented the Lords of Chaos and Order that gave them their transformative abilities. The first Hawk and Dove were brothers Hank and Don Hall, though Don was killed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Dawn Granger became the new Dove, though Hank later snapped and killed his new partner, turning into the evil Monarch before he became the timeline-ending Extant in Zero Hour. Dawn Granger would return alongside her sister Holly as the new Hawk and Dove, though Holly was killed during Blackest Night. Hank and Dawn are still active but should retire for their own safety.
5 Wally West Should Retire As The Flash And Live A Happy Life With His Family
Wally West has walked a very troubled path the last few years as the DC Universe went through a few cosmic reboots that traumatically erased him and his family from the comics, after over a decade as DC’s primary speedster. Wally’s evolution from Kid Flash to Flash was a blueprint for other legacy heroes, though after the Flashpoint event he was forgotten until his Rebirth return.
He still struggled with his return as his family was still lost, and a surge in his powers coupled with a mental break resulted in the deaths of a number of heroes during Heroes in Crisis. With his family and heroic place in the DC universe restored in Infinite Frontier, Wally should rethink his many deaths and tragedies as the Flash and take the time with his family instead.
4 Billy Batson Could Threaten His Childhood If He Continues As Shazam
There are a few youthful superheroes in the DC universe that have raised some ethical concerns about their place on superpowered battlefields given the inherent danger. That danger is reduced for young Billy Batson, who is able to transform into a magically powered adult body as Shazam.
However, there have been a few tales that have explored the unique connection between Billy and Shazam and the consequences that can result if the balance between those two lives isn’t met. Stories like Marvelman/Miracleman saw a similar character disastrously abandon his childhood to live in his magical form, which highlights Billy’s need to enjoy his youth.
3 The Hosts Of Doctor Fate Sometimes Suffer More Than Their Enemies
It’s sometimes surprising that the heroes of the DC universe ally themselves alongside the mystical hero known as Doctor Fate, given the macabre form of possession used by the ancient being known as Nabu to empower his hosts. While good people are usually the ones who are chosen or accept the mystical role of Doctor Fate, Nabu has proven time and again he isn’t as good.
The hosts of Nabu are frequently corrupted, drive insane, killed, or outright taken over by the vengeful Nabu. While Doctor Fate’s power can be a crucial asset to the heroes of the DC universe, Nabu’s treatment of his hosts should make the helmet of Fate off-limits.
2 Booster Gold Spends A Lot Of Time Fixing His Own Time Travel Mistakes
Michael Jon Carter was a disgraced football star-turned-security guard from the future who still items from a museum that would help him become a superhero named Booster Gold in the past in order to make money, so he never quite started out on the right path in the first place.
While Booster Gold‘s time with the Justice League and his hilarious friendship with Blue Beetle led to some actual heroic acts, the character has spiraled in recent years and caused as many threats to the timeline as he’s corrected. He definitely serves an essential role in the preservation of DC’s timeline, but Booster Gold’s inconsistency as a hero with that kind of power is troubling.
1 Jon Kent/Superman Has The Potential to Be A World-Ending Threat
When Jonathan Samuel Kent first appeared in the DC Rebirth era, he was beginning his path to becoming Superboy alongside friends like Damian Wayne/Robin, who helped save Jon’s life when his powers began to flare uncontrollably and brought the attention of a future Tim Drake known as Savior. This was only the first indication from the future that Jon could become a threat.
A different version of Jon from the future wiped out the metahumans of his time in the New 52 era, and the current Jon was taken and raised by his unstable grandfather Jor-El for years. This has led characters like the Spectre to worry about his possible future as a tyrant. Future State further detailed this possibility with Jon’s Brainiac-like plans to protect Metropolis.
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