The Arrowverse has been the most exciting aspect of the CW’s lineup for years now. Arrow, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash are all successful shows for the network.

The webseries Vixen, Freedom Fighters: The Ray, and Constantine: City Of Demons also part of the Arrowverse.

While Arrow was the original superhero show in the universe, fans have fallen in love with all of the DC comic shows. With the recent announcement that Batwoman will be joining the established characters, fans are excited to see what the future will bring.

With so many shows going on at once, there are a lot of storylines to keep track of. Sometimes the shows even overlap in crossovers, making things all the more complicated.

There has been time-travel, villains turned heroes, heroes turned villains, crazy hookups, and more. The CW has always loved its dramatic twists, and its superhero shows are no exception.

Twists have a habit of being controversial among fans, however, sparking debates all over the internet. Nobody can turn down a great plot twist, but, unfortunately, not all of the biggest ones have been well-received.

Some are so bad they even harm viewership, whereas the good ones can save a television show that has been struggling.

While there is never a full consensus one way or another,  it’s usually clear that most fans either love or hate certain plot points.

Which Arrowverse plot twists made which category in this list? Check out the 12 Biggest Plot Point That Hurt The Arrowverse (And 8 That Saved It) to find out.

 Hurt: Arrow - Sara’s Passing

Oliver and Sara guard the city in Arrow

Sara Lance has found a perfect home on DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow, but before that, she was a major part of Arrow.

She and Oliver always had an interesting relationship and she served as a sort of mirror for the vigilante, but she also proved to be a strong female protagonist in a genre that needs more.

After she was originally written off the show, viewers were so upset that the writers decided to bring her back, but she was resurrected on Arrow just to lose her life again.

Although it prompted the spin-off Legends of Tomorrow, fans were angry to see her go as the Canary.

Having her come back only to pass away was an insult to a lot of fans who were exicted to see her return to Arrow.

  Saved: Supergirl - Hank Henshaw is Martian Manhunter

Arrowverse Hank Henshaw Martian Manhunter

Supergirl has been twisting up people’s expectations since it first premiered in 2015. It’s worked to break stereotypes, and the moment they revealed Hank Henshaw’s true identity was no different.

The show had originally set up the character as being a bad guy. Anytime an audience sees someone with red eyes, they assume it isn’t a sign of an upstanding character.

However, viewers were pleasantly surprised to find out that he was actually the popular comic book character, J’onn J'onzz, also known as Martian Manhunter.

Since then, he has become a critical character on the show as well as a fan-favorite.

He helped the show grow, and the dynamic wouldn’t be the same without him.

 Hurt: Legends of Tomorrow - Getting Rid of Firestorm

Injustice 2 - Firestorm

Legends of Tomorrow surprisingly became the best show in the Arrowverse throughout their time-traveling adventures. It started as a strange spinoff, but it has quickly become an important part of the DCTV universe.

The character Firestorm was an important aspect of that success.

Martin Stein and Jax Jefferson had a heartwarming, complicated dynamic from the moment they merged as the hero. Fans were really invested in their relationship and were heartbroken when they learned that Stein had perished.

Not only that, but Jax decided to leave the Legends because losing Stein was too painful, and is thus no longer a part of the show.

Losing Firestorm has upset a lot of viewers who were big fans of the unlikely pair.

While the hole they left has been replaced with other heroes, it just isn’t the same.

 Hurt: Arrow - Oliver and Felicity's Breakup

Oliver and Felicity Arrow

Fans have been quite attached to the pairing of Oliver and Felicity since the first season of the show.

“Olicity,” as they call the couple, has been a big driving force behind the plot of the show. The will-they-won’t-they dynamic has kept a lot of viewers on their toes.

When the couple finally got together, Olicity shippers were overjoyed and took to Twitter to celebrate.

However, the complicated dynamic that has continued between the two even as a couple has become quite frustrating. Their breakup proved to be a mess and was ultimately unimportant considering that they ended up getting back together.

A lot of fans have been very vocal about these frustrations, even calling it downright “stupid.”

Their breakup wasn’t exactly a well-received plot twist.

 Saved: Arrow - Dinah Drake as Black Canary

Arrow Dinah Drake Black Canary Using Canary Cry Juliana Harkavy

Black Canary is a beloved character in the comics, but her introduction in the Arrow universe hasn’t exactly been smooth.

While the character is typically Dinah Laurel Lance in the comics, in the show, Dinah and Laurel are two different people and have both been Black Canary. Laurel’s sister, Sara, has also taken up the mantle.

Fans were a little surprised when Laurel lost her life, as they wondered what would happen to the Canary mantel.

The addition of Dinah was a bit rushed, but fans have grown to accept her as an addition on the show.

Three separate Black Canary’s has certainly been a confusing, long road, but Arrow seems to have made a solid choice by making Dinah Drake the popular hero.

She is also the closest to the Canary in the comics that fans are used to in the comics, proving that the third time is the charm.

 Hurt: Arrow - Oliver Is Bloodthirsty

Oliver Queen prepares to shoot the Kryptonite Arrow

While it’s never been a secret that Oliver has a darkness in him, the show took things a bit too far for a lot of fans by making him seem downright bloodthirsty in season five.

While he has claimed a lot of lives, making him out as a violent psychopath wasn’t exactly what fans wanted.

In the past, especially flashbacks, it has been shown that Oliver has had issues with taking lives.

While there is an anger in him that comes out, he still has a moral compass. However, the show chose to ignore this.

Knowing that Oliver only took the lives of the guilty or claimed lives out of necessity is what a lot of fans liked about his character.

To take that away, or even cause doubts, didn’t sit right with viewers and therefore  harmed the show.

 Hurt: Arrow - Team Arrow Breaking Up

Arrow Team Arrow going into Season 7

In the early days of Arrow, the team was small and simple. It’s grown and changed quite a bit since then, and fans are always skeptical of new members.

So when fans finally accepted new members like Curtis, Rene, and Dinah only for them to leave Team Arrow, viewers were annoyed.

A major twist in season six of Arrow is the breakup of the team. Tensions are high between all of the characters and they all eventually end up leaving Oliver alone.

The writers attempted to have viewers sympathize with the new members who leave first, but fans weren’t having it.

Diggle, Felicity, and Oliver have always been the heart of the show, so it’s hard for viewers to care about the entire sidestory of Curtis, Rene, and Dinah throughout the season.

Also, Felicity and Diggle leaving Oliver just felt forced.

 Hurt: The Flash - Alternate Barry is Savitar

Season three of The Flash was focused on the team’s ultimate enemy, Savitar, who would take down Iris no matter how many ways Barry tried to stop him.

Fans debated who Savitar would be revealed to be, and were ultimately disappointed to find out he was just an alternate version of Barry.

This alternate version was Barry from the future, and fans didn’t like the idea of the Barry they’ve come to know and love turning into this villainous, twisted person.

It also seems like Barry is always going up against alternate versions of the Flash, so it’s an overdone plot point.

He has faced both Zoom and Reverse Flash, and now himself. His ultimate enemy shouldn’t always be an evil Flash.

Fans are getting a little bored, as they hope that the show will have some more original villains from now on.

 Saved: The Flash - Earth 2 and Earth 19 Wells

H.R. Wells The Flash

While there are some talented actors in the Arrowverse, Tom Cavanagh is one of the most impressive. He has played multiple character on the Flash and each one truly feels like a different person.

One of the best choices was bringing the actor back as two different characters after his original one, Eobard Thawne, passed away.

Cavanagh came back as Wells from Earth Two, and despite the team not trusting him at first due to their past with Thawne, he became an important member of Team Flash.

Later on, the show brought in yet another Wells from Earth Nineteen.

Both characters were great additions to the show and are loved by fans.

Although the Earth Ninteteen Wells perished, it’s clear that Cavanagh will always have a welcome place on the show.

 Hurt: Arrow - Oliver Queen's son

Oliver plays with his son William on Arrow

Since it was revealed that Oliver had a son on Arrow, fans have been unsure how they feel about the new dynamic.

While some think it adds depth to Oliver’s character, others see it as an annoying plot device to bring Oliver and Felicity back together.

William is the reason why Oliver took off the mask and tried to stop being the Green Arrow, which isn’t exactly what fans want to see when they tune in to their favorite superhero show each week.

Fans have called William underdeveloped, annoying, and pointless because he isn’t a fully thought out concept. Instead, he seems more like a prop than a character.

He doesn’t have any goals and isn’t a part of a major plot - he’s just there to be Oliver’s kid.

 Saved: Legends of Tomorrow - Rip is in the 1960s

Legends Of Tomorrow has had quite a few plot twists that have been done right. However, a lot of them have been quirky and ridiculous, and this one is no exception.

Rip Hunter has been missing, and the show reveals that the character is now a film director in Los Angeles in the 1960s.

Fans had been waiting a while to see where Rip had been, and to end the midseason finale this way was a solid choice. While viewers were excited to see the character back, they were intrigued to find out why he was directing a movie in 1967.

It is revealed revealed that his memory has been erased, and the team has to figure out how to get the old Rip Hunter back.

Overall, it caught fan’s interest and helped propel the show forward.

 Hurt: Supergirl - Jimmy is Guardian

Jimmy Olsen as Guardian in Supergirl

The characterization of Jimmy Olson is one of the biggest complaints made by Supergirl fans.

He is an iconic superhero sidekick in the comics, but is ultimately reduced to a love interest in the show’s first season.

To remedy this, the writers tried to change Jimmy and make him a superhero, but fans couldn't get into it.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Jimmy decided to become Guardian and fight crime. Most of Supergirl’s enemies overwhelm even her, so a reporter-turned-vigilante doesn’t stand a very good chance against these same villains.

While it makes sense that James would want to make a difference, there are more reasonable ways that he can do this that wouldn’t seem so out of character or downright ridiculous.

James as Guardian just doesn’t make sense in the context of the show.

 Saved: The Flash - Caitlin is Killer Frost

Killer Frost has been around in the comics since the 1970s. The original character went by the name of Crystal Frost, but since 2011, she’s been known as Caitlin Snow.

The Flash introduced the character Caitlin Snow in the first season, but she didn’t become Killer Frost until a few seasons in, and it was one of the best decisions that the writers could have made.

Fans of the comics had been waiting for confirmation, and those who weren’t aware Caitlin would become Killer Frost loved the twist as well as the new character.

Fans had fallen in love with Caitlin by that point and were afraid to see their favorite character potentially turn evil, so they were constantly on their toes as she fought with her powers.  

Her struggle with her abilities in season three was interesting, unique, and much-needed.

 Hurt: Arrow - Diggle's Fight With Oliver

Diggle and Oliver have always had one of the solid, most loyal relationships on Arrow. They’ve stood by each other’s sides through everything that the team has gone through, from losing people they love to struggling morality.

This is why when the writers had Diggle fight Oliver and leave him, fans were outraged.

Many viewers complained that Diggle’s characterization was completely off and that the writers were ruining him.

A lot of the speech that he gave to Oliver was hypocritical and illogical, as this Reddit user breaks down.

Diggle places all of the blame for his and Oliver’s actions solely on Oliver, when he has been by his side the entire time.

It’s like the writers were trying to force a huge conflict where there wasn’t one, and fans saw right through it and openly hated the twist.

 Saved: Supergirl - Miss Martian is a White Martian

Supergirl TV Miss Martian Reveal

Fans of superhero shows are always excited when they see a plot twist that comes straight from the comic books, as it proves that the writers know what they are doing.

This is why when it was revealed M’gann was actually a White Martian, not a Green Martian, viewers were excited.

At the end of the episode, she explains that she is a White Martian and that this is why she wouldn’t mind meld with J’onn.

The timing of this twist was perfect, considering that the writers couldn’t hold off too long, as they knew that some comic fans were already expecting it.

While some saw it coming, it didn’t make the twist any less effective or exciting.

It makes her relationship with J’onn more complicated and addresses both prejudice and racism, which Supergirl has always faced head on.

 Hurt: Legends of Tomorrow - Hawkman Leaving

Hawkman Hawkgirl Legends of Tomorrow

Fans of Legends of Tomorrow have always had an issue with how Hawkman and Hawkgirl were written and quickly discarded.

While Hawkman is a major character in the comics, he was treated as a mediocre plot device in the show.

He never reached his full potential in the show because he perished before he was even given the chance.

He was there to help further a love triangle and wasn’t treated as the hero he truly is. When he left the show, fans were really upset and wished that he would return, claiming that Hawkman deserved better.

His story has always been about rebirth, and fans would love to see him come back and finally be the character they known he can be.

 Saved: The Flash - Revealing Jay Garrick

Jay Garrick looking serious in The Flash

Jay Garrick is the original Flash, and his creation dates all the way back to 1940.

The CW show The Flash has always focused on a different version of the character, Barry Allen, which is why it was such a surprise to see Jay Garrick make an appearance on the show.

When Zoom’s silent prisoner was finally revealed to be Jay Garrick, everyone was shocked.

Not only was he another Flash, but he was also related to and looked just like Barry’s father, Henry.

The actor who played Jay, John Wesley Shipp, also played The Flash in the '90s series, adding another layer of shock for fans.

The doppëlganger moment of Jay looking just like Henry wasn’t one that most fans expected. It gave the entire arc a conclusion that was both satisfying and unpredictable.

 Hurt: Supergirl - Mon-El Coming Back

Supergirl In Search of Lost Time Kara Mon-El

Fans have never been too excited about the addition of Mon-El on Supergirl.

While Chris Wood is quite a charming and charismatic actor, his character isn’t one that anyone asked for.

When Mon-El left the show, fans were excited to see how it would affect the hero and refocus the show.

When it was revealed that he would be coming back, fans were vocal about how unhappy that made them.

Supergirl had to sacrifice a lot of her characterization just so Mon-El could become a main focus of the story, and viewers didn’t want thatto happen again.

The addition of Mon-El to the show just takes away from the heart of Supergirl just for the sake of a romantic subplot.

 Saved: Arrow - Thea is Malcolm's daughter

Malcolm Merlyn and Thea Queen train together in Arrow

The beginning seasons of Arrow are typically regarded to as its best seasons. There were so many twists and turns that it was hard for viewers to keep up.

One of the bigger twists happened in season two when it was revealed that Thea is Malcolm’s daughter - talk about complicated father/daughter relationships.

Fans had always thought that Thea was the daughter of Robert Queen, so finding out that she was related to one of the biggest villains on the show was certainly shocking.

The revelation has led to many interesting and complicated scenes between Thea and Malcolm, and has changed certain aspects of their characters.

Their relationship may be incredibly dysfunctional, but Malcolm was finally shown to truly care for something other than himself and his goals, adding a depth to his character that fans didn’t realize was there.

 Hurt: Arrow - Laurel's Demise

Laurel Lance in her Black Canary costume.

While Laurel has always caused tension among Arrow fans, most people weren’t prepared for her to lose her life. It seems like the majority fans agreed that taking Laurel out of the equation was a bad move for the show.

Her character had a tendency to be all over the place, but her struggles with addiction and her relationship with her father were compelling aspects of the show.

She was a major part of Arrow from the beginning, and the dynamic between the other characters shifted in her absence.

Laurel possessed so much potential. Her character's life was taken just as she was getting to an interesting place.

Her demise was merely a step to further Oliver’s guilt and anguish and push his story forward, and fans haven’t been happy with her loss.

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Can you think of any other big plot twists that hurt or saved the Arrowverse? Let us know in the comments!