Great TV can be surprisingly fragile. These otherwise amazing superhero shows were undermined by a single scene.

Superhero stories have been dominating the media landscape for most of the 2000s, and this is also true in TV and streaming services. Superhero shows have become ratings juggernauts and pop culture phenomena, but this doesn’t mean they’re above criticism. Some shows actually fell from grace after only one scene ruined everything.

These otherwise amazing superhero series were their own undoing. All it took for them to tarnish their glowing reputations was one key scene. At best, the show in question pushed the envelope too far and accidentally alienated some viewers. At worst, a contentious plot development irreparably derailed the story and character development.

Given the genre’s continued success and cultural impact, it’s unlikely that superhero shows will leave TV and streaming any time soon. Because of their sheer number, promising superhero shows railroaded or downright ruined by one particular moment are becoming more common.

15. Diamondback’s Brawl Felt Out Of Place
Luke Cage — “You Know My Steez” (Season 1, Episode 13)

Despite Luke Cage’s super strength and nigh-invulnerability, his namesake Netflix show, Luke Cage, was a grounded crime drama in Harlem’s streets. This fairly realistic setting made Luke’s final fight with Diamondback all the more jarring, especially since it was a superhero brawl. To top it all off, Diamondback came dressed in a tacky costume.

The fight wasn’t bad, but it was too simple a conclusion to Luke’s war against a criminal underworld comprised of otherwise ordinary people. What’s more, the brutish Diamondback was a less compelling villain than the cunning Cottonmouth. Luke simply punching the gangs into submission was a lackluster way to end his strong debut season.

14. Doom Patrol Go! Tested Fans’ Patience
Young Justice — “Nightmare Monkeys” (Season 3, Episode 12)

Young Justice’s third season was more divisive than previous ones, and fans unanimously agreed that the Teen Titans Go! homage was the bottom of the barrel. When Garfield got lost in a virtual reality game, he found himself in a faithful recreation of the Teen Titans’ most hated and polarizing adaptation.

The Doom Patrol Go! segment was inoffensive and morbidly funny, but most Young Justice fans found it misplaced and self-congratulatory on the part of DC Comics’ animated division. The skit also felt like an insult to injury to Teen Titans fans who still feel bitter about Teen Titans Go! effectively replacing their favorite cartoon.

13. Herogasm Was Too Over The Top
The Boys — “Herogasm” (Season 3, Episode 6)

The Boys presented a dark and twisted take on the superhero genre. Here, superheroes (or “supes”) were reimagined into hedonistic celebrities who indulged in all kinds of vices with impunity. The supes’ depravity was morbidly fun to watch, but Season 3’s superhero orgy was too extreme for even the show’s biggest fans.

The sixth episode’s orgy made for some truly uncomfortable viewing. The titular Herogasm was made worse by the inclusion of The Deep sleeping with an octopus, resulting in one of superhero TV’s most vulgar scenes yet. It’s worth noting that Amazon’s blockbuster show The Boys toned down the comics’ more explicit version of the same event.

12. The Clandestine Abruptly Died
Ms. Marvel — “Time and Again” (Season 1, Episode 5)

Ms. Marvel was praised for bringing Kamala Khan into the MCU and for giving actor Iman Vellani her breakout role, but anything to do with The Clandestine didn’t enjoy the same reception. The Clandestine was an unnecessary addition to Ms. Marvel’s slice-of-life adventures, and its unceremonious demise cemented this criticism.

After spending the whole season threatening to kill Kamala, The Clandestine’s leader, Najma, suddenly became good. At the last second, she sacrificed herself to close the Veil of Noor. The finale then forgot about The Clandestine to focus on Kamal’s personal life. Worst of all, the subpar CGI further exposed Marvel’s mistreatment of visual effects artists.

11. Jerome Fell To His Death & Killed The Joker’s Potential
Gotham — “That’s Entertainment” (Season 4, Episode 18)

Gotham featured some of the best interpretations of the Dark Knight’s rogue’s gallery. One of the show’s most popular villains was Jerome, who was teased to be an up-and-coming Joker. However, Gotham controversially killed the young Clown Prince of Crime just a few episodes before the series reached its finale.

Jerome willingly falling to his death was anticlimactic. His potential as the personification of Gotham’s evil was destroyed. Jerome’s death left viewers with an underwhelming replacement, specifically his twin brother, Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a poor substitute, since he had none of the depth and darkness necessary to become a Joker.

10. Professor Martin Stein Drugged & Abducted Jefferson Jackson
Legends of Tomorrow — “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)

Legends of Tomorrow gave fans some of the Arrowverse’s most entertaining adventures, with many considering it better than the original. However, the Waverider crew’s escapades got off to a rocky start, especially since the usually wise Professor Martin Stein got his friend Jefferson Jackson (aka Firestorm) to join in by drugging him.

Specifically, Prof. Stein kidnapped Jefferson after he refused to join the Waverider crew. The other characters and the show itself treated this like a silly misunderstanding. This ill-conceived introduction gave Prof. Stein terrible first impressions. Worse, he later arrogantly refused to listen to his friend’s perfectly justified concerns.

9. Future Chase Stein Undid Gertrude Yorkes’ Ultimate Sacrifice
Runaways — “Cheat the Gallows” (Season 3, Episode 10)

Runaways featured a highly engaging coming-of-age storyline, with its troubled teens attempting to navigate the dangerous world of vigilantism. Unfortunately, the show ended on a very disappointing note. To wit, Future Chase Stein came in three years after Gert died to undo her untimely but well-executed death from the previous episode.

This baffling narrative choice undermined Gert’s sacrifice and her tragic death in the present timeline’s Chase’s arms. Gert’s death understandably left the heroes and viewers devastated, but this was necessary for Runaways’ stakes and pathos. Undoing her sacrifice cheapened the impact of an otherwise deeply emotional moment.

8. Nora West-Allen Was Erased From All Realities & Timelines
The Flash — “Legacy” (Season 5, Episode 22)

The Flash has a bad reputation of gradually getting worse despite its strong start, but many former fans considered Season 5 to be the breaking point. This was because the season introduced Nora West-Allen, Barry and Iris’ daughter from a potential future. As polarizing as Nora was to fans, her surprisingly cruel fate was universally hated.

By destroying Cicada’s dagger and running to 2049, Team Flash accidentally erased Nora’s reality and, therefore, her existence. Besides feeling distraught over Nora’s death, even her fans felt that her arc was ultimately pointless. The Flash had more divisive moments later, but Nora’s existentially terrifying fate was the beginning of the end.

7. Wilson Fisk Showed Up At The Last Minute
Hawkeye — “So This is Christmas?” (Season 1, Episode 6)

One of Hawkeye’s biggest problems was that it was too eager to plant Easter Eggs and connections to the MCU instead of being its own stand-alone story. This issue was best represented by Daredevil’s Wilson Fisk (aka The Kingpin) making his MCU debut. Besides barely having any screen time, Fisk was lazily teased in previous episodes.

Fisk being the main villain wasn’t a bad idea, but Hawkeye kept playing coy with him despite it being obvious. The payoff for these glaringly obvious clues was Fisk being shoehorned into the finale, where he was easily defeated. Given Fisk’s popularity from his Netflix era and his importance in the MCU’s future, he deserved a better entrance.

6. Peter Maximoff Was Really Ralph Bohner
WandaVision — “The Series Finale” (Season 1, Episode 9)

Besides its intriguing mystery and hilarious sitcom homages, one of WandaVision’s biggest draws was its supposed purpose of bridging the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and previous Marvel properties. One of these was the teased induction of Peter Maximoff (Evan Peters) from Fox’s X-Men movies into the MCU, only for him to be a joke.

In WandaVision’s finale, “Quicksilver” was revealed to be the bumbling actor Ralph Bohner. He was mind-controlled by Agatha Harkness into acting like Pietro Maximoff’s multiversal variant. WandaVision’s finale, where Wanda was easily forgiven, was arguably worse, but Quicksilver’s bait-and-switch is the show’s most easily remembered folly.

5. Mary Hamilton Pleaded For Alice Hamilton’s Cure
Batwoman — “We Having Fun Yet?” (Season 3, Episode 13)

Batwoman was a largely enjoyable affair, but its finale bizarrely featured Mary Hamilton deciding that her murderous adoptive sister, Alice, deserved to be “cured” with makeshift electroshock therapy. Here, Mary pleaded with Ryan Wilder’s Bat Team to let her use The Joker’s joy buzzer on Alice to restore her sanity.

Even momentarily ignoring how the buzzer simplified electroshock therapy’s effects and use, it gave Batwoman an artificial dilemma. Mary’s request made little sense, especially since Alice was a serial killer who needed more than a quick remedy. In contrast, Ryan’s brother, Marquis, had yet to cross the line and arguably deserved the buzzer more.

4. The Lazarus Pit’s Introduction Cheapened Death
Arrow — “The Offer” (Season 3, Episode 16)

Despite Arrow being adored by critics and audiences, the episode “The Offer” included a serious blunder. Here, Ra’s Al Ghul revealed his secret of immortality to Oliver Queen: The Lazarus Pit. The Lazarus Pit was a mystical pool that could revive the dead. In effect, it took death off the table for the Arrowverse’s heroes and villains.

While the Lazarus Pit was comics-accurate and integral to Ra’s Al Ghul, it ruined the concept of stakes in the Arrowverse. Death is also one of the highest stakes any story could ask for. Nullifying it with a plot device whose only purpose for existing was to undo death undermined the Arrowverse in more ways than one.

3. Frank Castle Avenged His Family In A Quick Prologue
The Punisher — “3AM” (Season 1, Episode 1)

In the comics, Frank Castle became The Punisher after his family died in warring gangs’ crossfire. He did this not to avenge his loved ones, but to fight the very ideas of crime and evil. Frank knew that avenging them was pointless. However, Netflix’s The Punisher misunderstood this and had Frank kill those responsible in a hurried montage.

Besides contradicting the inherently tragic futility of The Punisher’s existence, the scene set his Netflix show’s circular storytelling. After avenging his family, Frank momentarily retired before coming back because he found more people connected to their deaths. He would do this countless times across The Punisher’s two repetitive seasons.

2. Sharon Carter Was Revealed To Be The Power Broker
The Falcon And The Winter Soldier — “One World, One People” (Season 1, Episode 6)

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier is a grounded and gritty glimpse into Sam Wilson’s journey to becoming Captain America. The series’ final twist left a lot to be desired, however, as the finale revealed that the disillusioned S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter was really the mysterious underworld boss known as “The Power Broker.”

Sharon’s villainous turn was out of character. For most of her MCU tenure, Carter was a loyal ally to The Avengers. Provided with sufficient characterization and motives, this could have worked. But in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s case, Carter seemed like she was just trying to make ends meet. Her fall to villainy was also too rushed to be compelling.

1. Skaar Randomly Showed Up At The Family Picnic
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law — “Whose Show is This?” (Season 1, Episode 9)

While Jennifer Walters’ super-powered legal career was fun, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’s final scene was laughable for all the wrong reasons. In the sitcom’s literal last minutes, Bruce Banner introduced his son, Skaar, at the family picnic. Skaar’s entrance was so random and his CGI model was so questionable that it was difficult to take seriously.

More importantly, The Hulk’s son should have been positioned as a major player the moment Phase 4 began. In the comics, Skaar was a powerful and brutal warrior who had both heroic and villainous potential. Having someone as complex and popular as he show up with little to no fanfare felt more like a poorly-realized joke than anything else.