48 Fun Facts About Arrow TV Series

On which network did Arrow premiere on October 10, 2012?

Arrow premiered on The CW on October 10, 2012, and ran eight seasons to January 2020, becoming the founding show of the network's Arrowverse.

How many years does Oliver Queen claim to have spent shipwrecked on Lian Yu?

Five years is Oliver's public story, but the flashbacks reveal he left the island more than once in that time before fishermen found him in 2012.

What was Oliver's hometown called during Arrow's first three seasons?

Starling City was the show's name for Oliver's home through season three; the season-four premiere renamed it Star City as Oliver took the name Green Arrow.

By what name is Oliver's vigilante known in season one?

In season one the police and press call the vigilante The Hood as he hunts names from his father's notebook; he only becomes The Arrow in season two.

What is the name of the season-one conspiracy led by Malcolm Merlyn?

The Undertaking was Malcolm Merlyn's plan to level the Glades with an earthquake machine, avenging his wife's murder in that district years earlier.

Whose death at the end of season one leads Oliver to vow never to kill again?

Tommy Merlyn dies in the season-one finale saving Laurel during the Glades earthquake, and Oliver swears off killing in his best friend's memory.

Which former Lian Yu mentor returns as the main villain of season two?

Slade Wilson, played by Manu Bennett, was Oliver's ally on the island until the Mirakuru serum and Shado's death turned him into the vengeful Deathstroke.

Which government agency and its leader are introduced in season two?

Waller later forces Oliver to work for her in Hong Kong in the season-three flashbacks and sends him back to Lian Yu in season four's.

To whom does Oliver lose control of his family's company at the start of season three?

Ray Palmer, played by Brandon Routh, outbids Oliver for Queen Consolidated in the season-three premiere and renames it Palmer Technologies before leaving for Legends of Tomorrow as the Atom.

Whom does Oliver duel on a mountaintop in season three's midseason finale?

Ra's al Ghul, played by Matt Nable, runs Oliver through with a sword in 'The Climb' after Oliver takes the blame for Sara Lance's death to shield Thea.

In which city do the season-three flashbacks place Oliver, working for Waller to stop a lethal pathogen?

Hong Kong is where Waller's agents take Oliver after Lian Yu; there he hunts China White and the Alpha-Omega bioweapon alongside Maseo and Tatsu Yamashiro.

Which terrorist group, led by Damien Darhk, is the main threat of season four?

H.I.V.E. under Damien Darhk pursues Genesis, a plan to launch the world's nuclear missiles and rebuild from an underground ark, killing Laurel Lance along the way.

What discovery leads to Oliver and Felicity's break-up in season four?

He has a son, William, and hid it from Felicity at Samantha Clayton's insistence; when she learned the secret in season four she ended their engagement.

Which serial killer, revealed to be district attorney Adrian Chase, is season five's villain?

Prometheus, a throwing-star killer played by Josh Segarra, stalks Oliver to avenge his father, Justin Claybourne, one of the names Oliver crossed off in season one.

Which former Central City detective takes up the Black Canary mantle in season five?

Dinah Drake, played by Juliana Harkavy, is a former Central City police detective with a metahuman sonic scream whom Oliver recruits after Laurel Lance's death.

In the season-five flashbacks, which Russian crime syndicate does Oliver join?

The Bratva initiates Oliver in the season-five flashbacks, where Anatoly Knyazev sponsors him and Talia al Ghul trains him before he returns to Lian Yu to be 'rescued'.

Which terrorist hacker leads the criminal cabal in season six before being killed by Ricardo Diaz?

Cayden James, played by Michael Emerson, assembles a cabal of Star City criminals to avenge his son's death, then is stabbed by Ricardo Diaz once Diaz takes over.

What is Oliver's inmate number when he is sent to federal prison at the end of season six?

Inmate 4587 is Oliver's number at Slabside prison, and the season-seven premiere takes it as its title after he confessed to being Green Arrow in the FBI deal.

Who is revealed as leader of the Ninth Circle in season seven?

Emiko Queen, Oliver's half-sister, played by Sea Shimooka, posed as the new Green Arrow while Oliver was in prison before her Ninth Circle leadership came out.

How far into the future are the flash-forwards introduced in season seven set?

Twenty years ahead, in a 2040 Star City, the flash-forwards follow adult William and Mia; the final season then brings them back to the present.

Which actress plays Mia, Oliver and Felicity's daughter, in the flash-forwards?

Katherine McNamara plays Mia, introduced in the 2040 flash-forwards under the alias Blackstar before she takes up her father's Green Arrow mantle.

What does Oliver become after sacrificing himself during Crisis on Infinite Earths?

The Spectre is what Jim Corrigan makes Oliver after his death; with that power he defeats the Anti-Monitor and rebirths the multiverse, restoring Moira and Quentin Lance to life.

What codename does John Diggle adopt on Team Arrow?

Spartan is the codename John Diggle takes in season four, when he starts wearing a helmet after three seasons fighting unmasked as Oliver's partner.

How was Emily Bett Rickards' Felicity Smoak originally cast?

As a one-off guest star in the third episode, 'Lone Gunmen', Rickards' Felicity was so well received that she recurred through season one and became a regular in season two.

What codename does Felicity eventually adopt on Team Arrow?

Overwatch is the codename Oliver gives Felicity in season four, quipping that 'Oracle' was already taken, a nod to Barbara Gordon's DC alias.

Which Team Arrow member is a technological savant and Olympic decathlon medallist?

Curtis Holt, played by Echo Kellum, is a Palmer Technologies inventor and former Olympic decathlete who becomes Mr. Terrific, the T-sphere-wielding member of the team.

Which vigilante codename does Rene Ramirez use?

Wild Dog is the hockey-masked street vigilante Rene Ramirez, played by Rick Gonzalez, a discharged Marine whom Oliver recruits in season five.

Which Smallville actor's Green Arrow did the producers deliberately NOT continue when creating Arrow?

Justin Hartley played Oliver Queen on Smallville from 2006, and a spin-off was floated, but Arrow's producers chose a clean reboot and cast Stephen Amell instead.

Who directed the Arrow pilot, having also directed the pilot of Smallville?

David Nutter, who had directed the Smallville pilot in 2001, signed on to direct Arrow's pilot in January 2012, a week after the network ordered it.

In which city was Arrow primarily filmed?

Vancouver, British Columbia, stood in for Star City throughout the run, with the Lian Yu flashbacks shot around Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver.

Which Oscar-winning costume designer created Oliver's original vigilante suit?

Colleen Atwood, a multiple Oscar winner for films such as Chicago, designed Oliver's first hooded suit; Amell asked that he be able to put it on alone.

Which character gives Oliver his domino mask in the episode 'Three Ghosts'?

Barry Allen, played by Grant Gustin ahead of The Flash, leaves Oliver the domino mask as a parting gift in 'Three Ghosts', replacing the grease paint he had worn.

Which composer, who first worked with Greg Berlanti on Everwood, scored Arrow?

Blake Neely, Berlanti's composer since Everwood in 2002, scored Arrow and went on to write the themes for The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow.

How many US viewers watched Arrow's premiere, The CW's biggest telecast in three years?

4.14 million US viewers watched the October 2012 premiere, the most-watched telecast on the network since The Vampire Diaries debuted in 2009.

How many episodes made up Arrow's abbreviated final season?

Ten episodes made up season eight, announced in March 2019 as the final run after Amell asked to move on; the last of them aired in January 2020.

Which fast-food chain from the Superman comics appears in Arrow from its third episode onward?

Big Belly Burger, the chain where Diggle's sister-in-law Carly works, debuted in the third episode, 'Lone Gunmen', and Guggenheim cited it as a deliberate wider-DC touch.

Which pair of DC creators are credited with creating Green Arrow, the character Arrow is based on?

Mort Weisinger and George Papp introduced Green Arrow in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941, the same issue that debuted Aquaman.

Which Batman film series did the creative team cite as inspiration for Arrow's tone?

Christopher Nolan's Batman films, with their grounded, largely powerless hero, were the model Berlanti, Guggenheim and Kreisberg cited for Arrow's realistic tone.

Which Arrow character did Joseph David-Jones play, having earlier played him on Legends of Tomorrow?

Connor Hawke, played by Joseph David-Jones, is Bronze Tiger's biological son adopted by the Diggles, working for Knightwatch in the 2040 flash-forwards.

Which actor plays both the Monitor and his opposite, the Anti-Monitor?

LaMonica Garrett plays both Mar Novu, the Monitor who recruits Oliver in the final season, and Mobius, the Anti-Monitor bent on unmaking the multiverse.

What vigilante codename does Roy Harper, Thea's boyfriend, take on in Arrow?

Colton Haynes was promoted to series regular for season two after recurring in season one.

In which body of water does the show place Lian Yu, the island where Oliver was shipwrecked?

The North China Sea is where the show places Lian Yu, whose name is Mandarin for 'purgatory'; the island flashbacks ran through season five.

Which actor's performance as Damien Darhk was singled out for praise in the otherwise mixed fourth season?

Neal McDonough's gleefully theatrical Damien Darhk was the consensus bright spot of season four, whose Lian Yu flashbacks and magic-heavy plot reviewers found weaker.

Which alien race abducts Oliver, Thea, Diggle, Sara and Ray in 'Invasion!', Arrow's 100th episode?

The Dominators, the four-show crossover's alien invaders, trap the abducted heroes in a shared dream of an Oliver who never boarded the Queen's Gambit in the 100th episode.

Which actor reprised his NBC role as John Constantine in the season-four episode 'Haunted'?

Matt Ryan reprised Constantine in 'Haunted' to restore Sara Lance's soul after her Lazarus Pit resurrection, his first appearance after NBC cancelled his series.

Which cast member co-wrote the digital comic Arrow: The Dark Archer with his sister?

John Barrowman wrote Arrow: The Dark Archer with his sister Carole, a 2016 digital-first comic exploring his own character Malcolm Merlyn's past.

Felicity Smoak is loosely based on a character from which DC comic series?

Firestorm's comic supporting cast included a Felicity Smoak, a computer-company manager introduced in The Fury of Firestorm in 1984, whom the show reinvented as an IT expert.

Which audio company sponsored Blood Rush, the six-part series of shorts released alongside season two?

Bose sponsored Blood Rush, a 2013 set of six web shorts starring Colton Haynes and Emily Bett Rickards that aired during Arrow's season-two commercial breaks.