5. The Flash
He may seem like an unlikely contender for this list, but hear us out. Though Ezra Miller’s Flash offers most (or all) of the comic relief in the character’s first few appearances in the DCU, The Flash offers and interesting insight into the hero. While Barry Allen might be hyperactive and quick-witted, he’s also a pretty tragic figure.
As a boy, Barry’s mother was murdered, and his father has spent most Barry’s life in prison despite his innocence. Not only does Barry balance his superhero responsibilities with a high-pressure job in forensics, but he also works on the side to help his father’s legal appeals. He’s a young man with practically nothing to his name, and he works tirelessly to help others. Standard hero stuff, maybe, but it’s still tragic.
What makes Flash’s story all the more painful, though, is that he has the tools to fix it. Using the Speed Force, Barry can travel through time to save his mother, but it always causes other problems. Despite a solution being dangled in front of him, he can’t use it, and continues to serve as one of the universe’s greatest heroes nonetheless. Tragic, but inspiring.