10 Reasons Why Batman Is The Most Overrated Character Of All Time
6. He's Altering Other Heroes In Pop-Culture
The CW
I don't think I've ever encountered a series quite as banal or unedifying as I have with The CW's take on Green Arrow, but the blame for its negative qualities (at least the non-soap opera ones) can rest squarely at the foot of Batman's success. The Oliver Queen of 'Arrow' is not the same left-wing, wise-cracking crusader of social justice that the Queen of the comics is, but a whinier version of Bruce Wayne who seems to confuse scowling relentlessly with emotive range.
Yes, Green Arrow did start out as a Batman rip-off of sorts, but years of creative talent and narrative flare ceased those comparisons right in their tracks as the character's story matured, though that memo has somehow eluded the CW. If you don't believe me, the show's third season quite literally rehashed the relationship between Bruce and R'as Al Ghul, yet substituted Bruce for Ollie. It doesn't even help that the programme's supporting cast all bare an incredible resemblance to the early stages of the Bat-family.
What the show has done is take a beloved comic character who is able to stand on his own two feet and made him the empty vessel to all the traits most identifiable with Batman. If that isn't a testament to the character's overrated nature, I don't know what is.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
