Every Arrowverse Crossover Villain, Ranked

The Arrowverse crossovers were highly anticipated events that introduced some of DC’s biggest and most obscure villains. Every year, The CW always upped the stakes of each crossover by bringing in bigger threats that would be harder for the heroes to defeat. Starting out with popular but weaker villains like Captain Boomerang and ending with a cosmic threat like the Anti-Monitor, there is no comparison in terms of power levels.

Crisis on Infinite Earths marked the downfall of the Arrowverse’s crossovers, as it became nearly impossible for shows to crossover due to filming restrictions in 2020. The Flash was the only leading Arrowverse show that made sure to honor past crossovers and continue the tradition, despite being on a smaller scale with Armageddon.

13 Captain Boomerang Is an Iconic Villain That Was Forgettable

Digger Harkness, aka Captain Boomerang, is one of the most well-known Flash rogues, as well as being a member of the Suicide Squad. He is an Australian mercenary who wields an advanced boomerang as his weapon of choice. In Flash vs. Arrow, Captain Boomerang targets Lyla Michaels as he seeks revenge for her trying to kill him during a failed mission with Task Force X in the past.

Captain Boomerang proved to be a somewhat formidable threat during the crossover, but with the help of Flash’s speedster powers, his boomerangs had little effect in the end. As the original Arrowverse crossover villain, Captain Boomerang is very forgettable as his plans were rather basic, with him trying to kill Lyla and blow up Starling City. Most Arrowverse fans probably have faint memories of the crossover villain.

12 Rainbow Raider Was More of a Villain of the Week

Ray Bivolo became Rainbow Raider after the particle accelerator explosion gave him the power to control people’s emotions. He uses his abilities for personal gain, including controlling the workers and bystanders in a Central City bank that he tries to rob.

Rainbow Raider looked and was treated like more of a joke character in the comics.

Rainbow Raider was one of the two main villains of the Arrowverse’s first major crossover, along with Captain Boomerang. He is able to control Flash’s emotions and make him attack Arrow during the crossover, which is where the crossover’s title comes from. Rainbow Raider returned to The Flash and remained nothing more than a villain of the week.

11 Silver Banshee Was a Surprise Villain in Supergirl

Siobhan Smythe worked as a personal assistant for Cat Grant, alongside Kara Danvers, for a while before making the move to villainy. She was briefly together was Winn Schott, but after being fired by Cat and finding out about her family curse that gives her powers, everything went out the window.

Silver Banshee was the joint main villain in
World’s Finest
crossover.

Dressing up as Silver Banshee with her white-haired wig and scary-looking makeup, Siobhan teamed up with Supergirl villain Livewire, who shares a strong hatred of Cat Grant. Silver Banshee’s sonic scream was powerful enough to halt Flash and Supergirl in the crossover, but once they figured out how to prevent her scream from affecting them, Silver Banshee became pretty useless. She was nowhere near Supergirl‘s strongest villain in the show.

10 Vandal Savage’s Crossover Appearance Made Way for Legends of Tomorrow

Vandal Savage is an immortal villain from DC Comics who is the future’s greatest threat. He was an Ancient Egyptian priest who formed a vendetta against Hawkman and Hawkgirl after discovering they were lovers. He made it his lifelong mission to kill every reincarnated version of the couple throughout time.

Vandal Savage was a major antagonist in the
Young Justice
animated series.

Vandal Savage was introduced in Heroes Join Forces as set up for him being the big bad in Legends of Tomorrow Season 1. The crossover did a good job of teasing Vandal Savage’s power and his link to Hawkgirl, who would play a big role in the new team-up show. Even though Savage was vaporized into ashes by Flash and Green Arrow, Malcolm Meryln collected his remains, stating that Savage would owe him one. This was an intriguing cliffhanger that had fans excited about his return in Legends of Tomorrow.

9 Livewire Returned to Get Revenge on Cat Grant and Supergirl

Leslie Willis, aka Livewire, was a former employee of CatCo with a close relationship with Cat Grant. However, everything changed for Leslie after Cat canceled her radio show and put her on the traffic reporter beat, which ended up with her in a helicopter crash.

Livewire is best known for her role in
Superman: The Animated Series
, where she was voiced by Lori Petty.

The crash gave her metahuman abilities to control electricity that she used to try and get revenge on Cat Grant for ruining her life. In World’s Finest, Livewire teams up with newcomer villain Silver Banshee to take on Flash and Supergirl. Livewire’s powers proved a great threat as she took out Flash and was the stronger villain of the two during the crossover.

8 Despero Was the Final Crossover Villain in the Arrowverse

Despero is a villain from the planet Kalanor who came to Earth after he was banished from his world by a group of Kalanorian rebels. Despero instantly forms an attachment to his new home but soon witnesses Armageddon caused by the Flash in the future. He travels back in time to stop Flash, as he wishes to save the Earth’s future in the final Arrowverse crossover.

Despero was not the most effective villain, as he failed to kill Flash multiple times during the Armageddon crossover. However, Despero was willing to use his powers, like telepathy, fire vision and superhuman strength, to kill his enemies, despite seeing himself as Earth’s savior. He was ultimately wrong about Flash triggering Armageddon, as it was revealed that Reverse Flash was the cause and was prepared to destroy Central City to stop him.

7 Doctor Destiny Was Massively Aided By the Monitor

Dr. John Deegan became Doctor Destiny when he was given the Book of Destiny by The Monitor, allowing him to rewrite reality in his own vision. Before Elseworlds, Deegan was a psychiatrist who worked at Arkham Asylum. Deegan’s questionable methods led to him being fired and stripped of his psychiatry license.

Setting up
Crisis on Infinite Earths
through Doctor Destiny was something no other TV show had attempted at the time.

The Monitor used Deegan as a test for the Arrowverse’s leading heroes, as he knew that he would utilize the all-powerful book. Deegan tried to turn himself into Flash but accidentally switched Flash and Green Arrow’s lives instead. He would eventually turn himself into Superman before being defeated by the Arrowverse heroes. Doctor Destiny was simply a pawn in The Monitor’s game to see which heroes were right to stand against the Anti-Monitor when the impending crisis arrived.

6 The Dominators Had History Before They Showed Up in Invasion!

The Dominators came to Earth a long time before the Invasion! crossover to scout the planet. They are an alien race from the planet Swan Moon with the goal of waging war on Earth. The sudden birth of metahumans after the particle accelerator explosion piqued their interest, sparking their return to Earth, where they faced off against the Arrowverse’s greatest heroes.

The Dominators were yet another little-known species from DC’s huge encyclopedia of characters.

The Dominator’s invasion was swift and effective, as they kidnapped and killed the President to draw in Earth’s heroes and abduct them to their ships. They had been building a weapon to kill every metahuman on Earth to restore the status quo of the universe. The Dominators are remembered fondly for being the main villains in the Arrowverse’s newly expanded crossover, with the inclusion of Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow being in the mix.

5 Anti-Monitor Was the Toughest Test for the Arrowverse’s Heroes

The Anti-Monitor is DC’s most powerful villain, who was first introduced in the graphic novel Crisis on Infinite Earths (by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez). The cosmic villain, like in the comics, was on a mission to destroy the Multiverse using an anti-matter wave of energy that could engulf entire worlds. With most of the multiverse destroyed, the Arrowverse’s Paragons took one last stand in the final episode of the major crossover.

The Anti-Monitor is, without a doubt, the Arrowverse’s strongest threat, but he isn’t the best crossover villain. His story mimicked the comics, but the Anti-Monitor’s time in the Arrowverse came to a lackluster end with him being shrunk by Supergirl, who threw a bomb made by The Atom. Although the multiverse was fundamentally changed by his actions, the Anti-Monitor never lived up to fans’ great expectations of the iconic villain.

4 Music Meister Is One of the Arrowverse’s Most Powerful Threats

Music Meister is an all-powerful extra-dimensional being who debuted in The Flash‘s Duet crossover with Supergirl. His origins are unknown, as he shows up out of nowhere on Earth-38 on a mission to help Barry Allen and Kara Danvers rekindle their relationships. Music Meister is more of an anti-hero who pretends to be a villain, but really, he wants to use his power for good.

Music Meister only appeared in the Arrowverse for the crossover.

Music Meister’s abilities are unmatched, as he easily takes out Supergirl and Flash without touching them. He has similar powers to Mr. Mxyzptlk as they both are extra-dimensional beings, who use their abilities in non-villainous ways. However, if Music Meister ever felt like going fully bad, he could be one of the most powerful villains due to his almost infinite range of powers.

3 Dark Arrow Is the Reverse Green Arrow

Crisis on Earth-X was the perfect opportunity for the Arrowverse to get creative, and Dark Arrow is a great example of them having fun. Dark Arrow is the evil ruler of Earth-X who commands an army of mindless soldiers willing to do anything for his cause. Dark Arrow is an archer who is equally as skilled as Green Arrow, as seen in the crossover.

The Dark Archer was the only other character in Green Arrow’s lore that served as an antithesis to the hero.

Dark Arrow wears a black and red suit that is the reverse of Green Arrow’s costume. Stephen Amell was great to watch as he played into the villainous nature of the character. Dark Arrow was a merciless villain, who killed many people during the crossover’s early episodes before being eventually defeated by Green Arrow. Oliver Queen’s Earth-X doppelgänger was not the only threat that made Crisis on Earth-X an engrossing crossover event.

2 Reverse Flash Teamed Up With Earth-X’s Deadliest Villains

Reverse Flash has been a constant presence throughout The Flash. Returning in almost every season and appearing in various forms, sometimes played by Tom Cavanagh or Matt Letscher, Flash is always prepared to take on Eobard Thawne. However, Reverse Flash helping out Dark Arrow and Overgirl on Earth-X was a huge surprise. It came out of nowhere, as fans naturally assumed that there would be an evil Flash played by Grant Gustin due to Melissa Benoist and Stephen Amell playing villains in the crossover.

Seeing Reverse Flash team up with other villains is uncommon, as he is one of Flash’s strongest villains who normally works alone. But in Legends of Tomorrow, he played a part in the Legion of Doom, teaming up with Malcolm Merlyn and Damien Darkh. In Crisis on Earth-X, Reverse Flash was just as powerful as normal and wore the same suit but with the addition of an Earth-X-style lightning bolt crest. It was confirmed in the crossover that he was Earth-1’s Reverse Flash, but it wasn’t established where in the timeline this Thawne was from. His role in the crossover is memorable for tormenting Flash and being a formidable threat that aids Earth-X’s villains for his own undisclosed reasons.

1 Overgirl Proved How Deadly Supergirl Could Be

Teaming up alongside Dark Arrow and Reverse Flash, Overgirl invades Earth-1 with a huge group of soldiers. They famously interrupted Barry Allen and Iris West’s wedding ceremony where most of the Arrowverse’s heroes were present. Overgirl made an instant impression as she loomed over the church balcony, idling with criminal intent.

Ultraman served as Clark Kent’s evil antithesis similar to Overgirl.

Overgirl is a ruthless villain who shows how powerful Supergirl can be without restraints. On Earth-X, Overgirl is feared by everyone for being a tyrannical ruler alongside Dark Arrow. In some ways, Overgirl is similar to Injustice Superman or the Crime Syndicate’s Superwoman. Melissa Benoist did a great job playing the Earth-X villain, who is the complete opposite of Supergirl.