Over the course of multiple seasons across multiple action-packed dramas, the Arrow-verse has presented us with a wide range of characters that have captured our hearts and made us lifelong fans of their stories. This list is not for those characters. Instead, we compiled a list of the most annoying characters the series has brought us over the years, laying out exactly why we have beef with them. Without further ado, here are five Arrow-verse characters who drive us up the wall with how annoying they can be.
Ray Palmer
Ray Palmer is a doctor, a knight of the Queen, a successful businessman and the creator of a suit which allows him to defy the science of all things known to man. So... why, then, is he such a doofus idiot? When a hero is introduced as being such a complete intellectual, it's usually rather difficult to justify them making mistakes and being outsmarted, but Ray's problem is he's reckless far more often than not, which usually leads to one stupid mistake or another that a fellow heroic intellectual like Batman wouldn't be guilty of making. Ray is more than capable of addressing his other flaws, so why is it he always seems to overlook this one?
Why Ray Annoys Us The Most
On paper, Ray Palmer should be a character strong enough to get his own stand-alone series. He's smart, has a bad ass suit that doesn't get used enough, and a ton of powers to help him accomplish his goals. Yet, he's a second or third banana on a team of misfits hurtling through time on ridiculous missions. Ray is a nice enough guy, but we're alway going to be reminded of his wasted heroic potential, and that's a pisser.
Laurel Lance
While Laurel Lance did get some due respect from most sides of the Arrow fanbase leading up to her death, we can't help but constantly remember the awful person she was in the early seasons of the show. Not that the whole love triangle with Tommy and Oliver was completely her fault, but she certainly didn't help things by constantly ping-ponging between the two and creating a huge rift in their friendship. It also rubbed many the wrong way that she became the Black Canary through the work of just a few boxing classes, and that not even death kept her off the show. Actress Katie Cassidy is currently killing it as the villainous Black Siren, thankfully, so it seems like the mess that was Laurel Lance was mostly to be due to the writing and plotting.
Why Laurel Annoys Us Most
In Season 2, Laurel Lance is obsessed with the fact that "The Hood" is responsible for Tommy Merlyn's death. It then takes several episodes for Laurel to realize that it was actually her fault Tommy is dead, which remains the biggest "No Frickin' Duh" moment Arrow has presented to date. Furthermore, the reason Tommy died was because he was going after Laurel who was trapped inside a burning building trying to rescue...the files of clients. Because that's exactly what a normal person is concerned with during a huge and incomparable disaster. Why didn't she store stuff in the cloud or on flash drives like other people do?
Barry Allen
Barry Allen is likely one of the most beloved heroes in the Arrow-verse, but that doesn't mean he can't be endlessly annoying. Barry is the world's fastest man, and while he's incredibly fast on his feet, his thinking is a completely different story. (Which makes The Thinker such an exciting foe.) Since the beginning of The Flash, Barry has made a variety of piss-poor decisions, which doesn't make a lot of sense, considering he's widely regarded amongst his peers to be an intelligent person. Maybe Barry suffers from the same thing as Ray Palmer, and there's just a strong correlation between becoming a superhero and losing some smarts along the way, especially where time travel is concerned.
Why Barry Annoys Us Most
The most annoying thing about Barry, though, is that he never seems to learn from those mistakes he's always making, which often tends to compound problems for Team Flash and others. Sure, he sort of learns from the big life-altering gaffes like Flashpoint, but Barry is frequently that guy who thinks he knows better than the team when he's out on the field and in his suit. Iris called the speedster out on that recently, and while we'd like to believe Barry might change his ways by only making good decisions in the future, we're not getting our hopes up.
Felicity Smoak
Quite a few Arrow fans know all too well what it's like to be irked by the always opinionated Felicity Smoak. There are several reasons fans find her character annoying, but for us, it has to be how she's always just so magically perfect. No matter the crisis, situation, or scenario she's put in, Felicity Smoak will succeed. For those that are shaking their head argumentatively, consider: Felicity successfully ran a major corporation with no background experience, she knocked out Black Siren with one punch, and she literally regained the ability to walk just a few episodes after losing the use of her legs. Are we certain Oliver Queen is the real "hero" of this show?
Why Felicity Annoys Us Most
What makes the character of Felicity Smoak the most annoying, though, is that the writers have dedicated so much story time over the years to her, with so little time going to other characters. If Arrow could finally find a way to tone down the reminders of just how awesome Felicity is, to develop more of the other characters, it would likely change a lot of put-off fans' feelings regarding the character. Of course, there's still the Olicity business...
Mon-El
The Prince of Daxam has only been around for Season 3 of Supergirl in spirit, and we're kinda hoping it stays that way. Kara needs some time apart to work out her true feelings for Mon-El because their relationship took off from 0 to 100 real quick. Of course, this is a television series, so it's not like things can necessarily progress at a snail's pace, but when the whole show starts to revolve around the fresh romance, it can be a real trigger to fans with Olicity-induced PTSD. Luckily, he's in a wormhole somewhere, so Arrow-verse fans can stop breathing into paper bags to regain inner peace.
Why Mon-El Annoys Us Most
Perhaps that relationship angle could've been forgiven if Mon-El was really a stand-up guy, but he isn't. He's more than a bit obnoxious, occasionally overstepping in spite of Kara's wishes, and he's a liar. 99.9% of the time, when someone lies to a significant other about important elements of their life, it's going to be an ongoing issue. Mon-El's lie about who he was turned out to be way more than just a small issue, and it straight-up jeopardized the fate of humanity. To her credit, Kara ended it when she found out, but unfortunately, she almost immediately took him back, thus making the situation annoying all over again. There's so many fish in the sea Kara, so why him?
Are there any Arrow-verse characters that deserve more ugh-filled reactions than these five? Make sure to let us know in the comments as we prepare to see a bulk of the casts from these shows get together for that big mega-crossover coming this year. For more on that, check out the DC hero that will be making their live-action debut in that crossover special as well as who our heroes will be up against. For more on great shows premiering this fall season and where to find them, visit our fall premiere guide.
