Vigilante (concept)

For other uses of "Vigilante", see Vigilante (disambiguation).

Vigilante
Information
Function	To stop crime, even if it means breaking the law to do so

"Well, I'm—I'm conflicted about this. I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm a police officer, duly sworn. I don't condone vigilantes or vigilantism. Once people start taking the law into their own hands, you're on the road to anarchy. But there's worse things out there than anarchy, and sometimes, as much as I hate to admit it... the police aren't enough to deal with it all."

—Quentin Lance^[src]

A vigilante is an individual who takes the law into their own hands, believing that the police and the court system are unable to or unreliable at bringing criminals to justice. However, not all vigilantes are fighting for justice, some do it out of personal revenge or antagonistic reasoning. It is also common for vigilantes to take on a moniker to be known by, some by personal choice and others by having been named by the public.

Some vigilantes eventually gain a level of popularity and admiration from the general public that they begin to be seen as a "superhero". Despite the name suggesting this term is reserved for individuals with superhuman powers, it may also be used to define individuals without any but instead rely on combat skills, intellect or gadgetry.

While most vigilantes typically exist outside of the government, some have been given amnesty due to the positive effects that came from their actions. Some have gone so far as to be fully pardoned and even deputized as superheroes officially working more closely with law enforcement.

History

Star City

Oliver Queen's crusade

After the Queen's Gambit sank in North China sea, Oliver Queen was stranded on Lian Yu and learnt archery from Yao Fei Gulong. When he returned home, he started to become a vigilante under the names on The List his father gave him. He later got assistance from John Diggle and Felicity Smoak to act as a vigilante team. He is known as the Hood in 2012, the Arrow in 2013 and Green Arrow in 2015.

Central City

S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator explosion

In 2013, the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator exploded due to malfunction. The explosion created people with powers and are named as Meta-humans. The explosion also caused Barry Allen to receive super speed and became a vigilante to stop rogue meta-humans. He later got assistance from Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow to act as a beacon of hope for Central City. He is also known as The Streak in his early vigilante career and gained the name The Flash as well as the stylized name Scarlet Speedster.

National City; Earth-38

Sabotage of Flight 237

In 2015, the Flight 237 was about to crash and destroy the city. Kara Danvers, a Kryptonian refugee stepped up and saved the aircraft. With the help from Winn Schott, she got a suit similar to Superman and became the hero Supergirl.

Timeline

Uprise of Vandal Savage

In 2166, an immortal emperor known as Vandal Savage ruled the world and killed Rip Hunter's family. He later went back in time to 2016 and recruited 8 vigilantes and criminals who are insignificant to the timeline. They later time-traveled across time to hunt down Vandal Savage and his allies. Rip Hunter named his team as Legends as they will be significant to the timeline if they succeeded in the mission. After defeating Vandal Savage and destroyed the Time Masters, they started to protect the timeline from Time pirates and aberrations.

Gotham City

Disappearance of the Dark Knight

Three years after Bruce Wayne left Gotham City, Kate Kane returned home and accidentally discovered the secret identity of Bruce Wayne. When her ex-girlfriend was kidnapped by the Wonderland gang, she asked Luke Fox to alter the Batsuit to fit her and became Batwoman.

After Kate mysteriously disappeared, following the explosion of her private jet, she is presumed dead and a woman named Ryan Wilder discovered the Batsuit among the wreckage and briefly assumed the mantle of Batwoman, but she gave the suit back to Luke Fox and Mary Hamilton after concluding that she is not worthy to use it. But after saving Gotham's citizens, Ryan received Luke and Mary’s blessing to operate as Batwoman in Kate’s place, at least until Kate returns, becoming the second Batwoman and part of the Bat Team in the process.

Freeland; Earth-TUD5

Reappearance of Black Lightning

Nine years after retiring to put himself in less danger, Jefferson Pierce finds that his daughters Jennifer and Anissa Pierce have been kidnapped. Giving him a wake up call to return to action as Black Lightning in order to fight for Freeland once more. Once again being helped by Peter Gambi who made him a new suit for his return.

Earth-Prime

Anti-Monitor Crisis

During the Crisis, the Paragons and Oliver Queen went back in time to the Dawn of Time and formed Earth-Prime. After defeating the Anti-Monitor, Barry Allen formed a group of the greatest of heroes.

Known vigilantes

Heroes

Image	Name	Alter ego	Universe	Status	Affiliation	Notes
	Barry Allen	The Flash	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Team Flash Paragons New multiverse Team Flash Paragons Crisis team
	Helena Bertinelli	Huntress	Earth-1	Inactive	Team Arrow (formerly)	Turned rogue; incarcerated
	Adrian Chase	The Hood	Earth-2	Inactive	Laurel Lance	Presumed deceased
	John Constantine		Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Legends (reluctantly) New multiverse Legends
	Alex Danvers	Sentinel	Earth-38 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Superfriends New multiverse Superfriends
	Kara Danvers	Supergirl	Earth-38 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Superfriends Paragons New multiverse Superfriends Paragons Crisis team	Secretly an agent of the D.E.O.
	Ralph Dibny	Elongated Man	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Team Flash New multiverse Team Flash
	John Diggle	Spartan Green Arrow (briefly)	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Original multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) New multiverse Team Arrow (formerly)	Retired
	Querl Dox	Brainiac 5	Earth-38 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse The Legion (formerly) Superfriends New multiverse The Legion (formerly) Superfriends
	Dinah Drake	Black Canary	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active (as of 2040)	Original multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) New Team Arrow (formerly) Canaries (formerly; erased timeline) New multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) Mia Queen's team	Sent to 2040 with her former history erased
	Jay Garrick	The Flash	Earth-3	Inactive	Team Flash (occasionally; formerly)	Retired to train a new Flash
	Ted Grant	Wildcat	Earth-1	Inactive	Team Arrow (occasionally; formerly)	Retired
	Scythian Torvil	Hawkman	Earth-1	Inactive	Legends	Retired
	Roy Harper	Arsenal	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Original multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) Canaries (formerly; erased timeline) New multiverse Team Arrow (formerly)	Retired
	John Diggle, Jr.	Connor Hawke/Green Arrow	Earth-16	Active	Team Arrow
	Nate Heywood	Steel	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Legends Team Flash (formerly) New multiverse Legends
	Curtis Holt	Mr. Terrific	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Original multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) New Team Arrow (formerly) New multiverse Team Arow (formerly)	Retired
	Michael	Rip Hunter	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Original multiverse Legends (formerly) New multiverse Legends (formerly)	Deceased
	Mon-El		Earth-38 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Superfriends The Legion New multiverse Superfriends (formerly) The Legion
	Jefferson Jackson	Firestorm (formerly)	Earth-1	Inactive	Legends (formerly)	Retired; now focused on his family
	J'onn J'onzz	Martian Manhunter	Earth-38 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Superfriends Paragons New multiverse Superfriends Crisis team
	Clark Kent	Superman	Earth-38 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Superfriends (occasionally) New multiverse Superfriends (occasionally) Crisis team
	Clark Kent	Superman	Earth-96 (original multiverse) Earth-96 (new multiverse)	Active	Original multiverse Paragons (formerly)
	Clark Kent	Superman	Earth-167	Inactive		Retired; gave up his powers to start a family
	Kate Kane	Batwoman	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Luke Fox Paragons New multiverse Luke Fox Paragons Crisis team
	Kuasa	Vixen	Earth-1	Active	Legends (occasionally)	Shares the mantle with Mari
	Laurel Lance	Black Canary	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Team Arrow	Deceased
	Laurel Lance	Black Canary	Earth-2	Active	Original multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) New multiverse Team Arrow (formerly)	Reformed criminal turned vigilante
	Quentin Lance	Detective (formerly)	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Original multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) New multiverse Team Arrow (formerly)
	Sara Lance	The Canary (formerly) White Canary	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) Legends New multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) Legends Paragons Crisis team
	Mari	Vixen	Earth-1	Active	Team Arrow (occasionally)	Shares the mantle with Kuasa
	Malcolm Merlyn	Dark Archer	Earth-1	Inactive	Team Arrow (formerly)	Anti-hero; deceased
	Nia Nal	Dreamer	Earth-38 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Superfriends New multiverse Superfriends
	James Olsen	Guardian	Earth-38 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Guardian's team (formerly) Superfriends (formerly) New multiverse Superfriends (formerly)	Deputized
	Ray Palmer	The Atom	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) Legends New multiverse Legends
	Anissa Pierce	Thunder	Earth-TUD5 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Black Lightning's team New multiverse Black Lightning's team
	Jefferson Pierce	Black Lightning	Earth-TUD5 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Black Lightning's team New multiverse Black Lightning's team Crisis team
	Jennifer Pierce	Lightning	Earth-TUD5 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Black Lightning's team New multiverse Black Lightning's team
	Mia Queen	Green Arrow (2040)	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Canaries (erased future) Team Arrow New multiverse Mia Queen's team (possible future) Team Arrow (briefly)
	Oliver Queen	Green Arrow	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Original multiverse Team Arrow New multiverse Team Arrow Crisis team (honorary member)	Deputized; deceased
	Oliver Queen	Green Arrow	Earth-16	Active	Team Arrow
	Robert Queen	The Arrow	Earth-2	Inactive		Presumed deceased
	Thea Queen	Speedy	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Original multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) New multiverse Team Arrow (formerly)	Left to destroy three Lazarus Pits with Nyssa and Roy
	Rene Ramirez	Wild Dog	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) New Team Arrow (formerly) New multiverse Team Arrow (formerly)	Retired; left to run for mayor
	Cisco Ramon	Vibe (formerly) Mecha-Vibe	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Team Flash (formerly) New multiverse Team Flash	Took meta-human cure; no longer a field agent; later briefly regained powers via Mar Novu
	Ronnie Raymond	Firestorm	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Original multiverse Team Flash (formerly) New multiverse Team Flash (formerly)	Presumed deceased
	Rory Regan	Ragman	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Original multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) New multiverse Team Arrow (formerly)	Leave of absence
	Mick Rory	Heat Wave	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Legends (formerly) New multiverse Legends	Anti-hero
	Kendra Saunders	Hawkgirl	Earth-1	Inactive	Legends (formerly)	Retired
	Winn Schott	Man in the Van Computer Lad Toyman	Earth-38 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Superfriends (formerly) Guardian's team (formerly) The Legion New multiverse Superfriends (formerly) The Legion
	Evelyn Sharp	Artemis	Earth-1	Inactive	Team Arrow (formerly)	Turned rogue; presumed deceased
	Vincent Sobel	Vigilante	Earth-1	Inactive	Team Arrow (occasionally)	Anti-hero; deceased
	Felicity Smoak	Overwatch	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Original multiverse Team Arrow (formerly) New multiverse Team Arrow (formerly)	Deputized; retired to raise her daughter, Mia Queen
	Leonard Snart	Captain Cold	Earth-1	Inactive	Team Flash (occasionally) Legends	Deceased
	Caitlin Snow	Frost	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Team Flash New multiverse Team Flash
	Martin Stein	Firestorm	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Team Flash (formerly) Legends	Deceased
	Lyra Strayd		Earth-38	Inactive	Guardian's team (formerly)
	Behrad Tarazi		Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Legends New multiverse Legends
	Zari Tomaz (original timeline)		Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive (original timeline)	Legends (original timeline)	History of her being a vigilante erased from existence
	Eddie Thawne		Earth-1	Inactive	Team Flash (formerly)	Deceased
	Eobard Thawne	Harrison Wells	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Original multiverse Team Flash (formerly) New multiverse Team Flash	Revealed to be a villain in disguise
	Bruce Wayne	Batman	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Lucius Fox (formerly) Luke Fox (formerly)	Left Gotham City
	Harry Wells		Earth-2	Inactive	Team Flash (formerly) Jesse Wells' team (formerly)
	Harrison Wells	H. R. Randolf	Earth-19	Inactive	Team Flash	Deceased
	Harrison Nash Wells	Pariah (formerly)	Earth-TUD12	Inactive	Team Flash	Merged into the Artificial Speed Force
	Jesse Wells	Jesse Quick	Earth-2	Inactive	Team Flash (formerly) Jesse Wells' team	Presumed deceased
	Iris West-Allen	Eye in the Sky (briefly) The Flash (briefly)	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Team Flash New multiverse Team Flash
	Joe West		Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Team Flash New multiverse Team Flash
	Nora West-Allen	XS	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Team Flash New multiverse Team Flash
	Bart Allen	Impulse	Earth-Prime	Active	'New multiverse Team Flash
	Wally West	Kid Flash (current timeline) The Flash (Flashpoint timeline)	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Team Flash (formerly) Legends (formerly) New multiverse Team Flash (formerly) Legends (formerly)	Left Team Flash and later joined the Legends for a brief time
	Ryan Wilder	Batwoman	Earth-Prime	Active	Bat Team
	Tatsu Yamashiro		Earth-1	Inactive	Team Arrow (formerly; occasionally)	Retired
	Hunter Zolomon	Jay Garrick/The Flash	Earth-2	Inactive	Team Flash (formerly)	Revealed to be a villain in disguise; deceased

Villainous vigilantes

Image	Name	Alter ego	Universe	Status	Works with	Notes
	Helena Bertinelli	Huntress	Earth-1	Inactive		Incarcerated
	Manchester Black		Earth-38	Inactive	The Elite	Deceased
	Colton		Earth-1	Inactive	The Hoods	Incarcerated
	Carrie Cutter	Cupid	Earth-1	Inactive	Suicide Squad	Incarcerated
	Jeff Deveau		Earth-1	Inactive	The Hoods	Incarcerated
	Bertrand Eldon	Executioner	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Inactive		Deceased
	Joseph Falk	The Savior	Earth-1	Inactive		Deceased
	Pamela Ferrer	Menagerie	Earth-38	Inactive	The Elite	Incarcerated
	Phillip Karnowsky		Earth-38	Inactive		Incarcerated
	Lonnie Machin	Anarky	Earth-1	Inactive		Incarcerated
	Malcolm Merlyn	Dark Archer	Earth-1	Inactive		Reformed; deceased
	Tommy Merlyn	Dark Archer	Earth-2	Inactive		Reformed; deceased
	Hartley Rathaway	Pied Piper	Earth-1 Earth-Prime	Active	Original multiverse Team Flash (occasionally)	Reformed in Pre-Crisis timeline
	Isaac Stanzler		Earth-1	Inactive		Deceased
	Unnamed	Mo	Earth-38	Inactive	The Elite	Incarcerated
	Unnamed	Hat	Earth-38 Earth-Prime	Inactive	Original multiverse The Elite	Original multiverse Incarcerated

Known vigilante teams

Some vigilantes/superheroes would operate in teams, with their different skills used to support each other.

Heroes

• Legends
  • Sara Lance/White Canary (leader)
  • John Constantine
  • Nate Heywood/Steel
  • Mick Rory/Heat Wave
  • Zari Tarazi
  • Behrad Tarazi
  • Ava Sharpe
  • Esperanza "Spooner" Cruz
• Superfriends
  • Kara Zor-El/Kara Danvers/Supergirl (leader)
  • Alex Danvers
  • J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter
  • Querl Dox/Brainiac 5
  • James Olsen/Guardian
  • Nia Nal/Dreamer
• The Legion
  • Mon-El
  • Imra Ardeen
  • Winn Schott
• Guardian's team
  • James Olsen/Guardian (leader)
  • Win Schott/Man in the Van
  • Lyra Strayd
• Team Arrow
  • Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
  • John Diggle/Spartan
  • Felicity Smoak/Overwatch
  • Dinah Drake/Black Canary
  • Rene Ramirez/Wild Dog
• Canaries (in a possible future)
  • William Clayton
  • Dinah Drake/Black Canary
  • Roy Harper/Arsenal
  • Connor Hawke
  • Zoe Ramirez
  • Felicity Smoak/Overwatch
• Team Flash
  • Barry Allen/The Flash (co-leader)
  • Cisco Ramon/Vibe
  • Iris West-Allen (co-leader)
  • Joe West
  • Caitlin Snow/Frost
  • Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man
  • Nora West-Allen/XS
• Freedom Fighters
  • Winn Schott (leader)
  • Ray Terrill/The Ray
  • Jenny Knight/Phantom Lady
  • John Trujillo/Black Condor
  • Leo Snart
  • Cisco Ramon/Vibe

Former vigilantes

Heroes

• Helena Bertinelli/Huntress (turned rogue; incarcerated)
• Ted Grant/Wildcat (retired)
• Carter Hall/Hawkman (deceased)
• Roy Harper/Arsenal (retired; resumed vigilantism in a potential future)
• Curtis Holt/Mr. Terrific (retired; left for a job in Washington D.C.)
• Thea Queen/Speedy (retired)
• Harrison "H.R." Wells (deceased)
• Laurel Lance/Black Canary (deceased)
• Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm (deceased)
• Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl (retired)
• Evelyn Sharp/Artemis (secretly a villain; status unknown)
• Leonard Snart/Captain Cold (deceased)
• Ray Palmer/The Atom (retired)
• Nora Darhk (retired)
• Eddie Thawne (deceased)
• Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash (former leader of Team Flash; secretly a villain)
• Scythian Torvil/Hawkman (retired)
• "Jay Garrick"/The Flash (secretly a villain; deceased)
• Rory Regan/Ragman (leave of absence; status unknown)
• Isaac Stanzler (deceased)
• Martin Stein/Firestorm (deceased)
• Jefferson "Jax" Jackson (leave of absence)
• Harry Wells (retired; returned to Earth-2)
• Emiko Adachi/Green Arrow (secretly a villain)
• Birds of Prey (inactive)
  • Barbara Gordon/Batgirl/Oracle (deceased)
  • Dinah Redmond (deceased)
  • Helena Kyle/Huntress (deceased)

Criminals

• The Hoods (inactive)
  • Aglin (incarcerated)
  • Baker (incarcerated)
  • Colton (incarcerated)
  • Jeff Deveau (incarcerated)
• The Elite (inactive)
  • Manchester Black (leader; deceased)
  • Pamela Ferrer/Menagerie (incarcerated)
  • Hat (incarcerated)
  • Mo (incarcerated)