The Legacy of Arrow and the Arrrowverse

[Jim Kelly]

Seeing the panels for ARROW, SUPERGIRL and FLASH on youtube, the ARROW panel was the most emotional. It was so overwhelming to see the love for Stephen Amell and his big heart.

Having Jon Cryer host the SUPERGIRL panel was quite a kick. For someone who only was in two episodes, he demonstrated an amazing amount of knowledge about all the episodes and the performances. He didn't just phone it in--he really cared about the show.

It seems like both SUPERGIRL and FLASH will be split into two completely different plotlines before the Crisis and after.

[C_Miller]

That might be so, but the Berlanti TV shows produced in Vancouver are providing jobs for thousands of people, putting a lot of money into this economy and making it possible for even more film and television production in this location (where I happen to live). Those people are getting a wealth of experience that will allow them to go on to do more work. BUFFY and ANGEL combined didn't provide as many man-hours of work for their crews as what the Berlanti shows collectively have done. For instance, I once met one of the computer effects people (a friend of my nephew), who worked on ARROW, doing a lot of the graphics for the island scenes in the flashbacks. There's a whole team of them doing that work and they will get to do even greater things in the future.

I mean, that's great, but doesn't really speak to what I was talking about at all. I was talking about what the shows did for the people watching them, not working on them.

[LifeIsILL]

Well season 8 of Arrow will have to be great for there to be any lasting legacy. The show had too many crappy seasons

[Jackalope89]

Well season 8 of Arrow will have to be great for there to be any lasting legacy. The show had too many crappy seasons

Well, Flash and LOT were spun directly from it, and Supergirl is all but part of it. Now with Batwoman coming in, Arrow has had quite the impact and legacy for television.

[Jim Kelly]

ARROW losing the Borg Queen at the end of season 2 was a hard hit for me--she was my favourite character. And I admit that seasons 3 and 4 damaged my respect for the show. But that's probably because when it started it far exceeded my expectations. I hadn't planned to watch ARROW beyond the pilot, yet I kept coming back each week. I was surprised that they were able to do so much on a CW show with such a low budget. And then for the series to spin off so many other shows--that's much bigger than I ever expected.

[Jokerz79]

I do think Smallville deserves a nod since it was the direct prototype on WB/CW for the Arrowverse having introduced not just Clark but also: Supergirl, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Impulse, Cyborg, Dr. Fate, Hawkman, Stargirl, Trask Force-X, Amanda Waller, Star-Spangled Kid, JSA (In Flashbacks), Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Zatanna, Wonder Twins, Mera, Deathstroke, Superboy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Watchtower (Their Oracle and Felicity Prototype down to marrying Oliver), & Speedy. It really was amazing how many DC characters they ended up introducing in the show.

[AnakinFlair]

I do think Smallville deserves a nod since it was the direct prototype on WB/CW for the Arrowverse having introduced not just Clark but also: Supergirl, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Impulse, Cyborg, Dr. Fate, Hawkman, Stargirl, Trask Force-X, Amanda Waller, Star-Spangled Kid, JSA (In Flashbacks), Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Zatanna, Wonder Twins, Mera, Deathstroke, Superboy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Watchtower (Their Oracle and Felicity Prototype down to marrying Oliver), & Speedy. It really was amazing how many DC characters they ended up introducing in the show.

When was Deathstroke on Smallville? I don't remember that at all. Then again, I didn't really watch the last 2-3 seasons.

[Jokerz79]

When was Deathstroke on Smallville? I don't remember that at all. Then again, I didn't really watch the last 2-3 seasons.

They never went full costume Deathstroke but the actor who played Tigh on BSG played Slade Wilson and lost his eye and ran the anti vigilante organization and killed Hawkman.

[Anarchist]

Smallville Slade was more like Wade Eiling, honestly.

[Jim Kelly]

Mark Pedowitz indicated that the CW plans to launch another CW series in 2020, sayiing, "We believe these franchises, this universe will continue for many years, so it’s important to ensure that you have characters that will keep the fans coming back. How that universe plays out, time will tell.” (See DEADLINE: The CW Plots Another ‘Arrow’ Spinoff As It Moves Into Next Phase Of DC Comics World – TCA)

I wonder what DC series is next? Superman Family, Elongated Man, Challengers of the Unknown?

[Midvillian1322]

Smallville Slade was more like Wade Eiling, honestly.

Yea I love smallville it holds a special place in my heart but that was not Slade Wilson. They treated him worse then Darkseid. As someone who loves Deathstroke it bugged me. That's said smallville treated alot of the Villians badly kinda just used the name and did theyrr own thing for budgetary reasons. It was the Clark's story that I loved so much about that show. Welling was a great Clark Kent and Ma and Pa Kent were pitch perfect for me. All the other criticisms on the show I get

[Agent Z]

I see a lot of comparisons to the DCU and the Netflix Marvel shows used to put down the Arrowverse - but what a lot of people doing such criticism seem to choose to willingly ignore, is that the Arrowverse is for a younger and more general audience than those shows. The target market isn't the same, so they can't do the same things without swapping for an older audience.

It's like Doctor Who and Torchwood - the older audience can enjoy both, but I doubt you'd see many people complaining that Doctor Who doesn't have steamy sex scenes and gore in it like season 1 of Torchwood. Why? Because Doctor Who is for a younger audience. Now admittedly, the Arrowverse doesn't go as young as Doctor Who, but it is still more restricted than the DCU.

Also, the DCU and Netflix are more designed for binge-watching, whilst the Arrowverse is designed for commercial breaks and weekly episodes. The comparisons don't entirely hold if thought about in-depth.

It goes both ways. People who like the CW verse also use it to put down the DCU and the Marvel Netflix. Titans in particular gets a lot of crap from Arrowverse fans. In fact, you're more likely to see CW fans dumping on DCU and Marvel Netflix than the reverse. DCU and Marvel Netflix fans would rather just enjoy the shows they like in peace for the most part without having to put up with the usual "why is this so dark and edgy" takes.

[VolcanikTiger86]

Truthfully Arrow did a lot for me, it got me hardcore into the GA comics, both pre and post flashpoint, it helped give me ideas for stories however that being said some of the creative decisions even in the last number of episodes of Season 2 and moving forward was just imo really bad. I think after season 2 the supporting characters really stopped supporting the main character and basically overshadow him and that to me isnt fair. Do i think it will live long term with a shinning legacy not sure part of me wants to say yes so that we might get something down the line with a new cast, another part of me wants to say no because i really didnt like a lot of the decisions, maybe people should ask me again in 10 years if i'm still around.

[Gray Lensman]

They never went full costume Deathstroke but the actor who played Tigh on BSG played Slade Wilson and lost his eye and ran the anti vigilante organization and killed Hawkman.

He also claimed at one point that he was beyond death's stroke. Smallville did so many winks at the audience I'm surprised Tom Welling didn't lose an eye.

[Sutekh]

Thanks to the Arrowverse, I've gotten to see Vixen on-screen, and for that, I'll forgive just about anything.

They've had some great versions of established characters like Cisco Ramone and Ralph Dibney, *and* some super-cool original characters like Sara Lance and Alex Danvers.