Power creep is the process by which, over time, the power level of a game or media continuously increases and eventually completely eclipses what was once considered strong. For example, if everyone can only run at normal speed, then a hero that can move at the speed of sound would be extremely powerful. However, if twenty more characters are introduced who can move at Mach 10, and the first hero starts running at the speed of light, then the old version of this hero is significantly underpowered in comparison. In superhero comics, the stakes can only go up, not fall, so they always have to chase greater heights, and, in turn, raise the power of their characters and villains.
Back in the Golden Age, Batman would trip over random stools and let normal gunmen get away. Nowadays, he can fall from the moon and find a way to walk it off, unharmed. However, as rampant as power creep is in DC, the inverse is also true. Sometimes, heroes or villains are too powerful for their stories, and they need to be nerfed to create any tension. Today, we’re going to take a look at seven DC characters who are blown out of the water by their past selves.
7) Superman
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While Superman is certainly stronger than he was in his debut, the modern Man of Steel can’t hold a candle to his Silver Age self. Superman can still do anything he sets his mind to, but back in the day, his powers were unimaginable. Some of his normal feats include: clapping at just the right frequency to teleport every human on Earth to a different dimension, destroying a solar system with a sneeze, and tugging a galaxy’s worth of planets on a chain to the other side of the universe. This version of Superman could face no true challenge at all, so he had to be nerfed. In fact, Superboy-Prime has the same power as this era of Superman and is one of the strongest beings in DC. Go figure.
6) Raven
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Magic has always been undefinably powerful, and when she was first introduced, Raven was the perfect example of that. Her power was so great that she could manipulate reality around her without even meaning to, and once wiped out an entire city with the wave of her hand in New Teen Titans (1984) #1, only to restore it just as easily in New Teen Titans #5. Raven was undoubtedly the strongest Titan around, but nowadays, she’s a shadow of her former self. Where once she was able to wipe away planets, now she’s regularly beaten out in magic and might by characters like Terra. Raven is still powerful, but now she has a ceiling instead of the open sky.
5) Orion
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When Orion was first introduced, he was the strongest of the New Gods, sans Highfather and Darkseid, and even then, he was on the fast track to surpassing them both. Darkseid was one of the strongest beings in the multiverse since day one. He was the wielder of the Astro Force, described as the Fury of the Source, which allowed him to throw planets out of orbit and overcome Darkseid’s Omega Sanction. Unfortunately, the Astro Force has not been seen or mentioned in over twenty years. Even though Orion is certainly still strong, he’s become a jobber who shows how strong others are without ever winning fights himself.
4) Green Lantern
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When the Green Lantern Corps was introduced in the Silver Age, the Green Lantern Power Rings could do practically anything. They let the wielder phase through objects, travel through time, speak telepathically with anyone across time and space, and so, so much more. Nowadays, the Power Rings are generally limited to creating constructs, but back in the day, they could quite literally bend the laws of reality to their user’s will. Heck, each ring contained an entire universe within it, and its baseline forcefield could protect its user from a nuclear bomb to the face without warning. Green Lanterns are certainly strong, but I can’t see them grabbing reality and twisting it in two anymore.
3) Captain Atom
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At his introduction in Charlton Comics, Captain Atom was instantly one of the strongest heroes of all time. Not only could he unleash explosions that could make even the largest nuclear warhead blush, but he had the power to rearrange things on the atomic level, effectively making him an alchemist. The current Captain Atom can still theoretically unleash this level of power, but three factors hold him back. One is his power instability, where he would explode without his containment suit. Two is his mental block, where he holds himself back. Three is his status as DC’s candidate for renaming the Worf Effect.
Captain Atom is, in theory, one of the strongest characters around, but he gets his butt handed to him in every appearance he has. His original character, without any of these limiters, is what inspired Doctor Manhattan, who still stands as one of the most powerful beings in all of DC. The present Captain Aton, however, can’t hold a candle to his own power at its peak. Captain Atom’s ceiling wasn’t lowered, but he has so many limiters that he never reaches anywhere near his maximum power.
2) Guardians of the Universe
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Much like their Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians were originally much, much stronger than they are today. Even today, the Guardians are amongst the strongest people in the universe. Everything a Green Lantern can do, they can do a hundred times better. However, they legitimately haven’t done anything of note in over a decade. The Guardians constantly lose fights or declare how they are unable to stop threats, instead putting all the pressure on their chosen protectors. The Guardians should be nigh-omnipotent, and Ganthet is a member of the Quintessence, DC’s cosmic council of immortals. Yet, despite all of this, the Guardians are incapable of doing anything for themselves. Their infinite power now comes with infinite chains, always holding them back from their potential.
1) Anti-Monitor
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When he first wiped out the multiverse, the Anti-Monitor was truly unstoppable. His strength was so absolute that he battled the Spectre, who was enhanced by the strongest magicians in the multiverse, including Doctor Fate and Mister Mxyzptlk, and won. While he is certainly not to be underestimated, today, the Anti-Monitor is nowhere near invincible. It takes the combined strength of the Justice League and countless heroes across numerous universes, but he can be defeated. The combined efforts of Superman and Ultraman have bloodied the Anti-Monitor, where once he wouldn’t have even noticed those hits. The Anti-Monitor is still a Crisis-level threat, but he’s not the strongest being in all of reality anymore.
What other DC characters do you think are much weaker than when they first appeared Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!