If you had gone back to the '90s (the days of shows like The Flash, Power Rangers, and Swamp Thing) and told someone that live-action superhero shows would someday be some of the highest-rated series on prime time, they would have laughed you out of the building.
Where the adventures of costumed vigilantes were once laughable fodder, nowadays people tune religiously every week. Marvel and DC both rule the airwaves, with shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and those taking place in the Arrowverse garnering huge followings. Meanwhile, Marvel is killing it with their critically-acclaimed more "mature" shows on Netflix.
They may be huge money-makers, but our favorite superhero shows are far from perfect. Comic book fans are notorious for their finicky nature and attention to detail; some even get bent out of shape over small things like continuity errors or costume changes. So imagine their frustration when the showrunners decide to completely remove an entire character from the TV show!
Whether it be behind-the-scenes drama, negative fan reaction, or purely not knowing where to go with them, multiple characters have just completely vanished without a trace from their respective stories.
Here are 17 Characters Who Completely Disappeared From Superhero Shows.
Hawkman and Hawkgirl (Legends of Tomorrow)
Fans were through the roof when the CW announced that it was bringing Hawkman and Hawkgirl, a pair of DC heroes that had been around since the '40s, to the Arrowverse. Though most fans know the duo as Thangarian aliens, Legends of Tomorrow decided to portray Hawkman and Hawkgirl with their original Golden Age origins - as a resurrected Egyptian prince and priestess.
This was done to better fit with the story Legends was telling about immortal villain Vandal Savage. In the CW show, the pair of Hawk-heroes join up with Rip Hunter's team to bring an end to their 4,000-year battle. With Savage dead, both of the characters literally fly off into the sunset to start their lives again. However, this was the last we've seen of the legendary heroes, who haven't appeared on any Arrowverse show since (save a very brief cameo in the Crisis of 2024).
Blizzard (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
It may have started out somewhat slow, but Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has become a massive hit for Marvel and ABC over the years. Following a rag-tag team from the government agency led by Phil Coulson, the show has recently been used to introduce some of the publisher's lesser-known characters to the MCU without wasting an entire movie on them.
Donald Gill, or "Blizzard," was one of Iron Man's villains in the comics.
In the show, Gill is one of S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy's brightest students who gets caught up in a freak lab accident involving a freezing device and gains the ability to manipulate the cold. In season two, Donnie returns as a brainwashed villain. He is defeated, and his body falls into the sea.
The show makes it a big point that Blizzard's body is never found yet, three seasons later, there has not been a sign nor sound of him.
Maxwell Lord (Supergirl)
Maxwell Lord is responsible for the reassembly of the Justice League in the aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and was behind the entirety of the Infinite Crisis arc. Lord started off as a shady businessman but quickly delved into the territory of evil supervillain (where he is still firmly planted today).
The first season of Supergirl seemed to set up Lord to be the "Lex Luthor" of the series.
He appeared in 14 different episodes of the series in various degrees of hostility. At some points he wanted Kara Zor-el dead, and at others he acted as an uneasy ally to the superhero. However, when the CW took over production of the show in season 2, they relocated filming to Canada.
Alongside the actors for several other minor characters, Peter Facinelli wanted to stay in LA. As a result, Lord hasn't appeared in the Arrowverse since.
Sin (Arrow)
When adapting a comic book into a show or movie, there often must be creative liberties taken. This can lead to characters becoming completely unrecognizable, something that can either work out for the better or completely alienate the fans. In the Arrowverse, Sin was somewhere in the middle.
In the comics, Sin is an orphan from Asia who is adopted by Black Canary. In Arrow the character is a street-smart American teen named Cindy whom Laura Lance (The Canary) takes under her wing to help fight crime. Sin was a recurring character during the Canary's first major story arc, but hasn't appeared since.
The actress playing the character left the show and, because Sin wasn't a major player, the showrunners have found it easier to just ignore her existence rather than recast with a new actress or write her out of the storyline.
Cat Grant (Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman)
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was one of the few pre-MCU and Arrowverse superhero shows to actually be successful. The series parted from the traditional formula of Kal-El's adventures to focus more on his alter ego Clark Kent, and the relationship he had with Lois Lane. Louis & Clark ran for four seasons and has gained a cult following in recent years.
Cat Grant, the gossip columnist who normally acted as the occasional third piece of Lois and Clark's love triangle, appeared in the first season of the show. She was often trying to seduce Clark Kent to the point where her obsession with him was comical!
In season two of the show, however, the showrunners wanted to make some major changes: Cat Grant's entire character was cut - along with the actor playing Jimmy Olsen and the entire writing crew.
Arsenal (Arrow)
Since the '40s Roy Harper has acted as "Speedy," the sidekick to Green Arrow, and was also a founding member of the Teen Titans. He has had to lay low after the infamous "Snowbirds Don't Fly" story in which he was caught shooting up by his mentor. He's still around today, but he's always remembered as the addict rather than the superhero.
In Arrow, Harper shows up as a teenager given superhuman endurance by the Mirakuru serum. After being cured, he takes up the name Arsenal and fights crime side by side with Oliver Queen.
Arsenal disappeared after pretending to be Green Arrow and faking his death in prison.
He moved out of Star City and has not been heard from since. However the actor has recently been posting pictures of himself with the rest of the Arrow cast...
Wildcat (Arrow)
Believe it or not, Wildcat is just as old as Wonder Woman and Batman! Ted Grant first appeared in Sensational Comics #1 (Wonder Woman's debut) in 1941. He later increased his stock by acting as a founding member of the Justice Society. Grant was a boxer who got involved with the criminal underworld. To make up for his sins, he donned a cat-like costume and started fighting crime.
In Arrow, Grant has a similar story: he was the owner of a Gym and was a vigilante by night. One day, his young partner killed a criminal in cold blood. Wildcat retired, but was lured back out into heroism by Laurel Lance (who he was training).
During the battle Grant was severely injured. Though we are later told that he is alive and well, the last shot fans have seen of the character showed him bleeding out all over the street! Grant has been AWOL since, and the actor is appearing in Jessica Jones season 2.
Silver St. Cloud (Gotham)
Gotham is a show that is very divisive. Some fans of the Dark Knight see it as a complete travesty, introducing most of Batman's famous villains before he even puts on the cape and completely changing the established lore. Others see it as a fun little "Elseworlds" version of their beloved characters. Either way, the show has been successful up to this point!
Silver St. Cloud was a minor character in the comics who plays a larger role in the show.
Gotham has her as a teenage girl who pretends to be in love with Bruce Wayne so that her parents (members of the Order of Saint Dumas) can kill him and take over his company. St. Cloud was last seen going out a window with her mother while donning a parachute in season 2, with no follow up regarding her fate.
Caitlin (Heroes)
Heroes is one of the greatest "What If?" shows of our generation. The first season featured some great characters and story lines. Season two was decent, but not as good. Then, the writer's strike of 2008 hit: season three was a complete disaster. The show tried to right the ship in both season four and with their 2016 reboot, but neither caught on.
Caitlin was a minor character, but definitely fits the bill! She and Peter (one of the main heroes) became a couple during season two, and they journeyed together into a dystopian future. Though Peter was able to make it back from this possible future, Caitlin was stranded in time.
The heroes were able to stop this future from happening, essentially erasing her from existence. She never even gets as much as a mention through the rest of the show!
Whitney Fordman (Smallville)
Oh, Smallville: the show that showed you could make a Superman show without Superman! Much like Gotham, the show is either beloved or despised depending on who you ask.
It followed Clark Kent through his teenage years, growing up in the small town of Smallville, Kansas. Along the way several of Kal-El's greatest enemies (including Zod and Braniac) showed up.
Whitney Fordman, portrayed by Eric Johnson, was the popular jock at Clark's high school.
Throughout season one, he was the romantic foil for Kent; he and Lana Lang were a couple, which led to much drama between the three characters.
At the start of season two, Eric Johnson had moved on to other projects, which led to the writers having Fordman join the Marines. Though he "returns" as an illusion by a villain in season two, the character is killed in the line of duty offscreen and never mentioned again.
Scorpina (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers has been going on for almost twenty-five years now, with no signs of stopping.
In the first season, we were introduced to Scorpina, one of Rita Repulsa's most feared generals.
She appeared in the Green with Evil story arc of season 1 and then had a few cameos in season 2. After that, Scorpina completely dropped off the map. She wasn't even present in the "series finale" like all the other major villains!
This was because Scorpina's role in Super Sentai (which Power Rangers recycles footage from) was much larger and more complicated. Rather than recreate the role with an American actress, Saban just used what footage they could and then never mentioned her again.
Joey Gutierrez (Agends of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Jose "Joey" Gutierrez was introduced in season three of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as one of the first victims of the Inhuman outbreak (an event in which Terrigen Mist caused many regular humans to gain powers). Though he had no clever nickname, the character was cursed with the ability to melt metal just by touching it. Gutierrez was a completely original character and was hyped up at the time of his appearance as the first openly gay character in the MCU.
Gutierrez looked to be a prominent character on the show, as he joined up with Daisy's Secret Warriors to help the team save the world. However, when certain members (including himself) were accused of being under the villain Hive's control, he was so upset that he swore off S.H.I.E.L.D. for good.
After a six-episode stint on the show and some massive hype, Gutierrez hasn't been acknowledged since.
Doctor Light (The Flash)
There are some people who believe that the CW's DC universe should be called "The Flashverse" instead of the Arrowverse. Since its early days of existence The Flash has been viewed as a higher-quality show than its green-suited counterpart. It was also the show to embrace the shared universe right off the bat, whereas Arrow mostly stuck to Green Arrow's characters for the first few seasons.
Dr. Light is the Earth-Two version of reporter Linda Park, who was exposed to a particle accelerator and gained the power to control light molecules. Unlike Earth One's Park, Dr. Light is a supervillain through and through!
She is defeated by the Flash after trying to kill Earth One's Linda and take over her life, but is able to turn herself invisible and escape the heroes. She has been totally AWOL since season two.
The Shredder (TMNT: The Next Mutation)
The less we have to talk about TMNT: The Next Mutation, the better. The show was created by Saban during the brief period of time in which it owned the franchise. Tthis led to a team-up with the Power Rangers and more goofy, kid-centered stories and action. The Next Mutation is infamous for adding a fifth Turtle and creating a brand new main villain in Dragon Lord.
Saban's insistence on making Dragon Lord the show's main villain meant that the Foot had to get shoved by the wayside. In the first few episodes of the series, Venus (the new Turtle) uses her telekinetic powers to give Oroku Saki amnesia, defeating the Shredder, and leading to the disbandment of the Foot Clan.
Though he was rumored to be back in the never-made season two, we got an entire TMNT series in which the Shredder was almost nonexistent!
Lucy Lane (Supergirl)
In the Superman comics, Kal-El and Lois Lane were obviously the power couple, but every now and again the writers would try to show some love to Jimmy Olsen. This normally came in the form of his on-again, off-again relationship with Lois' younger sister, Lucy. Lucy Lane eventually married Daily Planet reporter Ron Troupe. Later on, she would have a brief stint as Superwoman.
In the Supergirl TV show, the writers are always looking for ways to connect Kara Jor-El with her cousin without just stealing the same characters. To give the show a Lois Lane connection, they introduced Lucy in the inaugural season as part of the Martian Manhunter story line.
At the end of the season, Lucy was set to work alongside J'onn J'onzz in the Department of Extranormal Operations. However, with the show's move to the CW, Lucy Lane has not been seen in the Arrowverse since.
Deathlok (Agends of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Deathlok is one of Marvel's flagship antiheroes. Though he never gained the popularity of the Punisher or Blade, the character has been enough of a hit to have his own comic series on multiple occasions!
There have been three different Deathloks, but they all share the trait of once having been dead and then being resurrected by cybernetic technology.
In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Deathlok was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who underwent a shady experiment. When he blew the whistle on the project, those in charge had him cybernetically changed into the assassin we know from the comics. Agent Coulson and his team were able to bring him back to the side of good.
Deathlok was last seen when he decided to go off and do good in the world to make up for his past crimes.
For such a big character, it's shocking to see him completely vanish from a hit show.
Huntress (Arrow)
Who is the Huntress? Is she a Batman character? A Green Arrow character? Her own thing? Many people have taken up the mantle, the one of the most popular being the daughter of a former mob boss and the other being Bruce Wayne's daughter from an alternate dimension. Though she is a fairly popular character, it has always felt like DC didn't know how to properly utilize Huntress. This is abundantly clear in Arrow.
Helena Bertinelli made her debut in the second season of Arrow to much critical acclaim.
This version of the character was much more radical than her comic book counterpart; her main goal in life was to murder her mafia-involved father in cold blood. After several tussles and a brief fling with Oliver Queen, Huntress' father was killed and she was arrested. Like Deathlok, there has been zero mention of this important character since!
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Do you think any of these characters will return? Or have their shows completely forgotten about them? Let us know in the comments!