Arrow Vs The Flash: Which TV Show Is Better?

7. Villains-Of-The-Week (And Mini-Arc Foes)

Both shows, to varying degrees, follow the monster-of-the-week template for a number of their episodes. For Arrow, this generally means someone working for the big bad or pushing drugs (or other trouble) around Star City, but otherwise a human threat, whereas Flash deals more with metahumans.

Given the sheer amount of episodes both series have got through thus far, there have been some real duds, but also a number of memorable bad guys as well. Arrow's first season was mostly just a bunch of corporate execs, before getting into a slightly wider variety of criminals, whereas Flash had a deeper pool to pull from in metahumans. That was to its benefit, as it allowed for a wider range of characters, but the metahuman-of-the-week trope was tiresome at times.

Both shows have found greater success in foes who recur for mini-arcs, whether over consecutive episodes or an appearance or two each season. The likes of Vertigo and Tobias Church have covered the drugs angle on Arrow to good effect, Floyd Lawton an excellent anti-hero, while someone like Cyrus Gold posed a more direct physical threat to Oliver.

On the Flash it's been even better though: Captain Cold and Heat Wave were charismatic villains, who become even more charismatic (and well-developed) anti-heroes (and eventually Legends), Gorilla Grodd and King Shark are both remarkable achievements for a show of this size, and Mark Hamill's Trickster a gloriously manic delight. It's another very close call, but outside of Big Bads, the Flash is able to mix things up more, and has the more memorable foes.

Winner: The Flash