Team Membership Timelines (and general farewell to the Arrowverse)

Opening Remarks

So... it's been a pretty long time since I've been motivated to write anything about the Arrowverse. After all these years, I think my interest has finally waned for good. "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and the end of Arrow came at a good time, I guess, since they really felt like a natural getting-off point for my journey through the Arrowverse. I wonder if a lot of viewers had the same experience... it's enough to make me question the business sense of the way "Crisis" was handled. I'm sure they got a lot of viewers to tune in just for the spectacle of it, but I doubt that many of them were compelled to start watching any of the shows beyond that. I'd wager that "Crisis" lost the Arrowverse more viewers than it gained it in the end.

In fact, a lot of the Arrowverse's recent "business" decisions have left me scratching my head. While I can appreciate Katherine McNamara's potential as a leading woman, the whole concept behind Green Arrow and the Canaries made no sense from the start. Why create a new TV show whose only possible appeal would be to the rapidly declining Arrow viewer-base? There's no way any non-Arrow viewers would ever be interested in that show, because it's setting and concept were so strongly tied to Arrow. And even if the idea was to create "Arrow-lite" and basically find a way to continue Arrow without Stephen Amell, why choose Katie Cassidy and Juliana Harkavy as the carry-over inclusions? They were hardly the most beloved parts of Arrow in the first place... I don't know. It's just very bizarre. If I might be a backseat TV-producer for a moment, wouldn't making a Diggle Green Lantern show make way more sense?? That character has way more love from the existing Arrowverse fans (even ones who stopped watching 5+ years ago), plus the John Stewart character has tons of mainstream recognition that would bring in a new non-Arrow audience. Ugh, whatever.

Then there's Batwoman, which I really tried to like but had to stop watching about halfway through season 1. It was just so damn dark and depressing. And once it got to watching people cut each other's faces off, I had to ask myself why I was putting myself through this punishment. Then there was the whole hoopla of Ruby Rose's quitting, which I have to believe really hurt the perception of the show.  For me though, the bait-and-switch they pulled by teasing all the Batman rogues during "Elseworlds" just to not use any of them in Batwoman really felt like the biggest kick in the balls. Even just tonally, the presentation the Arkham Asylum stuff in "Elseworlds" really sold me on Batwoman more than anything else. I guess I was stupid to think that the show would have any resemblance to that. My preference toward cheerier entertainment was never going to be compatible with the creative direction of Batwoman.

As for Superman & Lois, I've decided to give it a pass. Kinda like Batwoman, the promos I've seen just seem so darn depressing. You'd especially expect anything about Superman to be uplifting and warm, but they seem to have taken the Snyder approach instead. A few years ago, I surely would have given the show a chance just the same, but at this point in my Arrowverse journey, it's quite frankly just not worth it anymore. All that being said, I'll surely make a point to watch the episode where Diggle shows up as Green Lantern (ditto for Batwoman, btw).

Of course, there's still The Flash, which I have finally, finally decided to give up on. I sorta quit once already after the trainwreck that was season 4, but the stuff I read about the start to season 5 managed to pull me back in. And overall, season 5 was truly better than the show had been in a while before that. Since then, the show's quality has remained what I would call "watchable" (meaning that it's not actually upsetting to watch it, just very meh). But without the synergy of caring about the Arrowverse overall, "watchable" is just not good enough for me any more. It's not worth the time.

That leaves Legends, which I probably will actually continue watching! Legends is still pretty fun and it has become so isolated from the other shows that it's really no problem at all to watch it in a vacuum. Still, though, I feel the show declining in quality every year, so we may be near a tipping point where I even give up on this old favorite.

Now that I think about it, there's probably another factor subconsciously influencing my attitude toward the Arrowverse: Disney+. Compared to the Marvel stuff that's going to be pumping out from Disney+, the Arrowverse shows compare really unfavorably. For almost 10 years now, they've had the market cornered on interconnected superhero universes for television, but now that Disney's caught up, they really can't compete with Marvel head-on like this. And frankly, the stream of Marvel and Star Wars shows that are scheduled for Disney+ are looking like pretty much enough TV for me these days.

So there it is. For all my Arrowverse love and passion (which I still do harbor, btw), I have to admit that I finally have outgrown these shows. But that's not even what I originally started this post to talk about! I found some old files on my computer relating to the Arrowverse and figured I might as well post them. So without further rambling...

The Timelines

A while back, I made some timelines of the membership histories of Team Arrow and the Legends. After a quick update to include the most recent year, I figured I may as well post them here.

I used Wikipedia's EasyTimeline renderer to make this happen. It's a pretty nifty little tool if you want to take a look.

 

It's pretty hard to objectively define what constitutes "joining" or "quitting" a team in many cases, so I just used my best judgment here. If you're wondering why I haven't done Team Flash, it's because that show plays it very nonchalant about who actually is or isn't on the team. Especially in recent reasons, there are like a dozen people who come and go from STAR Labs willy-nilly--who's to say which ones are actually members of Team Flash.

 

Closing Remarks

 

Well, I logged on just to post a couple images and ended up writing a diatribe on the state of the Arrowverse. I guess I'm glad I got all that down, though. Honestly, it's kinda tough for me to let go and admit that I'm just not enjoying the Arrowverse anymore. It helps a little to organize my feelings by putting it all into words.

Also, I totally may still have things to post here in the future. I'm still a huge sucker for the parts of the Arrowverse I have seen to date (especially Arrow), and I there may yet be tidbits of interesting info I come across. One day, if I'm really, really, really, really, really bored and have nothing at all better to do, I may even revisit my "atlas" project.

For now, though, I'm pretty happy and even a little proud of the stuff I have posted here. Obviously, no one but me has ever read it, but that's never bothered me. And it's not even so much about the content as the writing, weirdly enough. Maybe I'll have to find something else to write about. I enjoy it a lot.

I hope you enjoyed, too! (...whoever you are)
Phillip

Reconstructing the Bat-Lore of the Arrowverse

Opening Remarks

"I'm a historian. I specialize in deductive historical reconstruction. In laymen's terms, I'm a time detective."

Nate Heywood (L2x01: "Out of Time")

That's right. The time has come for me to put on my deductive historical reconstruction hat and turn my inquiring gaze to the mysteries of Gotham City. In other words, let's make some wildly improbable predictions about Batwoman!

Up until this year, Bat-references had been pretty few and far between in the Arrowverse--but that only ever made the ones that did sneak through all the more exciting! Of course, Year 7 has given us far more than all of that combined, but we're gonna have to look at every clue if we are to reconstruct the Bat-lore of the Arrowverse, Earth-1.

The most direct information came in "Elseworlds, Part 2," of course, wherein Kate Kane gave us a rundown of the current Bat-situation. Apparently, Batman (and Bruce Wayne) disappeared 3 years ago (so 2015-ish). Kate claims she still doesn't know why Bruce left, but that he didn't leave without a fight. Without Batman, Gotham City went to "five kinds of hell," and without Bruce, Wayne Enterprises' Board of Directors drove the company into bankruptcy.

But let's not forget about the trickle of Bat-Easter eggs of the last 7 years. Maybe--just maybe--we can put all the facts together and come to some fascinating conclusion. Eh, probably not, but let's give it a shot anyways.

Minor Clues

In "Elseworlds," Oliver implies that the Batman "legend" predates Oliver's return to Starling City in 2012 and emergence as the Hood.

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The Flash's very first episode debuted the most persistent Bat-reference of the last few years. It took the form of a minor headline on Eobard Thawne's future copy of the Central City Citizen. Of course, the infamous red-skies crisis and disappearance of the Flash were the foremost topics of Iris West-Allen's attention on February 24, 2042, but a merger between Wayne Tech and Queen Inc. was also deemed newsworthy.

(By the way, besides its Bat-significance, this Easter egg's reference to a "Queen Inc." is also noteworthy. That company name has never been used on Arrow, and Oliver's life is now at a point where founding a tech company would seem pretty unlikely. Perhaps Queen Inc. could eventually be explained away as some sort of holding company for Felicity's Smoak Technologies?)

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Wayne Tech is responsible for creating cutting-edge military technology, including the super-suit stolen by Chimera and the super-car stolen from A.R.G.U.S. by Silver Ghost. They should really keep a closer guard on this stuff.

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Kane refers to one of Bruce's old R&D guys who still works in the building. This is likely a reference to Lucius Fox--a character that I would not at all be surprised to see on Batwoman.

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The WiFi password at Wayne Tower is "Alfred." Of course, that doesn't really tell us much about Alfred's current situation. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that where Bruce Wayne goes, Alfred follows. When the time comes on Batwoman, they'll probably pop up together.

Batgirl / Oracle

During Arrow's earlier seasons, there was a compelling theory that Felicity Smoak would turn out to be a version of Oracle. It was nearly confirmed in 2014, when the title of episode 3x05 was announced as "Oracle." Eventually the title was changed to "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak." Is it possible that Greg Berlanti was already hopeful about eventually introducing the real Bat-family?

The Felicity-Oracle connection came up again when Felicity got paralyzed from the waist down in season 4. Honestly, this time I was sure that they would start calling her Oracle. But no--the exact opposite happened. They actually went out of their way to refute that theory by having Oliver consider "Oracle" as a codename for Felicity before declaring that it was "taken."

That's a tiny Easter egg, but also pretty direct confirmation that Barbara Gordon is out there somewhere in the Arrowverse. Perhaps "Oracle" is her moniker in hacker community, much as in the comics. Also, I don't believe at all that Barbara has to be in a wheelchair to be Oracle. She could quite possibly be Batgirl and Oracle at the same time (which I think would be awesome!).

Anyways, time to extrapolate these meaningless facts into a crazy long-shot prediction: Barbara Gordon will be a recurring character on Batwoman. They can establish that she was Batgirl back when Bruce was around, then after he left she shifted toward e-superheroism via her Oracle identity.

Nightwing

Where Barbara Gordon is, soulmate Dick Grayson can't be far behind. And there have actually been a couple noteworthy clues to Dick's existence over the years.

First of all, the city of Bludhaven has been mentioned in the Arrowverse since very early on (A1x02!). It's even appeared a few times (most substantially in A6x19 "The Dragon"). In the comics, Bludhaven is known primarily as the city where Dick sets up shop after retiring as Robin and becoming Nightwing. So does Nightwing exist in the Arrowverse?

Maybe! Our main clue is an obscure Arrowverse tie-in book published in 2016 called "Arrow -- Oliver Queen's Dossier." It contains information on Arrow baddies from seasons 1 through 3, including the quite minor Guillermo Barrera. In the comics, Barrera is a Nightwing villain called Brutale, and the author of the tie-in book chose to reference that relationship. Barrera's "file" in the book includes an A.R.G.U.S. memo noting his ties to Nightwing and The Hood. Of course, the canonicity of this source is extremely questionable, but hey--it's something!

If that source is to be accepted as canon, it would mean that Dick Grayson was already Nightwing as early as 2013 (Arrow season 1), when Oliver killed Barrera. That would suggest that the Arrowverse is already at a very advanced point in the Bat-chronology, which probably actually checks out, considering how many Bat-rogues were referenced in Arkham Asylum.

The other Nightwing reference came quite recently in A7x13, when Captain Singh and Dinah discussed the time that she stopped Blockbuster's Bludhaven-based gang from moving into Central City. In the comics, Blockbuster is pretty much Nightwing's arch-nemesis, or at least his most persistent foe. Dinah was undercover in Sean Sonus' gang from 2010 until the particle accelerator explosion in 2013, so the events mentioned must have taken place before 2010. Granted, Blockbuster's existence doesn't necessarily imply Nightwing's, but if it does, that would push back his timeline even further.

In any case, Dick Grayson would undoubtedly be another cool character to see eventually, though I don't foresee him having a permanent role on Batwoman like Barbara could. He has his own superhero life in Bludhaven which is probably more-or-less separate from the happenings with Bruce and Kate in Gotham City, so he would probably just be someone to pop up for visits once in a while.

Bat-Characters Who Have Already Appeared or Been Referenced

The Green Arrow doesn't really have the most prolific stable of supporting characters in the comics, so Arrow has gone to the well of Bat-characters more than a few times over the years. Until quite recently, that seemed like a pretty good idea. Now that we know Batman and friends also exist in the Arrowverse, though, we have to accept that certain villains (*cough*ra'salghul*cough*) have already been used up. It's not all bad news, though! Some Bat-folks who have already appeared in the Arrowverse may still be workable for Batwoman without breaking continuity. In fact, they may present an excellent opportunity for Batwoman to carry on the legacy of Arrow after its imminent end.

Here is every Bat-character I could think of who has already appeared or been referenced in the Arrowverse (in order of first appearance), along with my notes on their continuity positioning.

Lester Buchinsky / Electrocutioner
Referenced way back in Arrow's pilot as a name on Oliver's List. That simply implies that he was an associate/contact of Malcolm Merlyn's criminal cabal as of 2007. He is most definitely still available to appear on Batwoman. (It would be a repeat of Hannibal Bates' situation, which was not at all a continuity issue.)

Floyd Lawton / Deadshot
Deceased. Sadly, I don't see a way out. He's not coming back.

Helena Bertinelli / Huntress
Though she hasn't appeared since way back in A2x17, both A6x10 and A7x12 confirmed that Helena has since broken out of prison and is active again as a vigilante. So, continuity-wise, there's nothing that would preclude a Huntress appearance on Batwoman. After all these years of teasing and disappointment, though, only a real fool would let himself hope that there's actually a chance of that happening (...so I guess I am a real fool).

Garfield Lynns / Firefly
Deceased. But since Arrow did such a loose adaptation of the character, there would definitely be no problem using another version of Firefly (like Ted Carson or Bridgit Pike) on Batwoman. 

Anatoly Knyazev / KGBeast
Arrow's version of Anatoly is very different from the comics, so it's hard to imagine Anatoly fulfilling his usual Bat-role as the KGBeast in the Arrowverse. That's probably for the best, though--the comics' KGBeast is a rather dated character. And perhaps there will be an opportunity for mobster Anatoly to appear on Batwoman, anyways. I'll never complain about more Anatoly.

Cyrus Gold / Solomon Grundy
Arrow season 2's use of Cyrus Gold is a rather large deviation from the comics, but if the Batwoman writers ever find themselves in need of a giant zombie for Kate to tangle with, Gold's apparent demise in A2x09 did leave the door open for that possibility.

William Tockman / Clock King
Where we last left the Arrowverse's William Tockman he was on his way back to Iron Heights to live out the rest of his days as he slowly succumbs to MacGregor's Syndrome. Is it possible that he has miraculously survived for all these years? Could MacGregor's provide a connection to Nora Fries and thereby to Batwoman? Eh, probably not.

Harley Quinn
Single appearance in A2x16 (unnamed and in silhouette) as a member of Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad. Harley's existence that early pushes the Bat-lore timeline quite a ways back, and also indirectly implies the existence of the Joker in the Arrowverse. In A3x07, Diggle quips that Cupid is even nuttier than the last woman on the Suicide Squad, implying that, by that point, Harley is no longer on the Squad. What she's been up to since then is anyone's guess, but I'd say she's a plausible candidate for a Batwoman appearance.

Brother Eye
In the comics, Brother Eye has been a couple different things, and one of those is an A.I. created by Batman which turns evil. In the Arrowverse, Brother Eye is the name of the evil hacker organization led by Felicity's old boyfriend Cooper Seldon. Does that preclude the possibility of an evil Brother Eye A.I. in the Arrowverse's future? Eh... not necessarily, I guess.

Ra's al Ghul, Nyssa al Ghul, and Talia al Ghul
This is really the biggest element of the Bat-lore that's off the table for Batwoman. In the Arrowverse, not only is Ra's dead, but the League is disbanded. However, that certainly does not rule out Ra's' daughters from continuing to appear. In fact, out of all of Arrow's recurring characters, they both seem like pretty strong candidates for making the migration over to Batwoman. And Talia's dialogue in A7x05 even (sorta) implies that she has already had dealings with the Bat-family! 

Lyle Bolton / Lock-Up
This one only half-counts, because Bolton's only Arrowverse appearance was in the Arrow: Season 2.5 tie-in comics (which are semi-canonical, in my opinion). In those comics, he is depicted as a mercenary in the employ of the Church of Blood. It's pretty hard to reconcile that with his traditional characterization, but it really doesn't matter, because (a) Batwoman can ignore Arrow: Season 2.5 if necessary and (b) let's be real--Batwoman doesn't want to use Bolton anyways. But while we're on the subject: (c) Flashpoint! The ultimate continuity carte blanche!

Lonnie Machin / Anarky
Incarcerated. Also, Arrow's Lonnie Machin is a pretty far cry from his comics version who is associated with the Bat-family. That Anarky is more political scholar than raving lunatic. 

Onyx Adams
Incarcerated. In the comics, Onyx is a former member of the League of Assassins who reforms and becomes a Bat-ally. On Arrow, she was a CIA operator-turned-criminal who crossed paths with Green Arrow John Diggle. Fun fact: her name also appeared on the Shadow Record in L1x09, which suggests that her Arrowverse version is also a former assassin. The continuity gets messy when you consider that the Record lists her League start-date as 1743, though. In any case, it's not too important--this is a really minor character.

Bruce Wayne / Red Death
This was a pretty surprising name-drop in F5x12! Was it just a fun Easter egg, or is it an early seed for some kind of Dark Nights: Metal event that's being planned way in advance? Maybe even the next crossover after Crisis on Infinite Earths! What if Bruce Wayne has been missing for the last 3 years because he was abducted by Barbatos and is being tortured in the Dark Multiverse?!? That's a lot of crazy ifs... but, hey--maybe!

Arkham Inmates

"Elseworlds, Part 2" gave us a truckload of Bat-Easter eggs as our heroes walked the halls of Arkham Asylum. None of them tell us much, except that most Bat-rogues already exist as supervillains in the Arrowverse. Honestly, it's a huge relief that we won't have to suffer through all their origin stories (Batwoman is shaping up to be the anti-Gotham in that respect).

Some of the namedrops come from cell nameplates, indicating that the characters are current Arkham inmates. Others come from the evidence room, merely implying that the characters were at one time held at the Asylum. Here's the rundown:

• O. Cobblepot - Oswald Cobblepot aka the Penguin (cell nameplate)
• P. Isely - Pamela Isely aka Poison Ivy (cell nameplate)
• B. Karlo - Basil Karlo aka Clayface (cell nameplate)
• E. Nigma - Edward Nigma aka the Riddler (cell nameplate)
• S. Kyle - Selina Kyle aka Catwoman (evidence room)
• J. Crane - Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow (evidence room) -- His fear toxin made a feature appearance!
• Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze (evidence room)
• Nora Fries - Victor's wife -- Quite possibly escaped during the Elseworld ruckus.
• Bane -- Not mentioned by name, but his mask appears in the evidence room.
• Hugo Strange -- Not mentioned by name, but his signature glasses appear in the evidence room.
• Captain Boomerang??? -- Not mentioned by name, but there are conspicuous boomerangs in the evidence room. That doesn't make much sense for the Arrowverse's Captain Boomerang (deceased)... nor the comics' one actually, so this is pretty weird.

One character in particular is conspicuously absent: the Joker. As I mentioned above, Harley Quinn's cameo in Arrow season 2 would seem to imply the Joker's existence, but it remains to be seen whether that character is on the table for Batwoman.

Closing Remarks

There you have it: the complete picture of the Arrowverse's Bat-lore pre-Batwoman. Of course, I'm fully expecting more Bat-references as Batwoman gets closer. I'll try to update this file with whatever I catch.

So what are your crazy Batwoman theories? I think the big mystery at this point is the disappearance of Bruce Wayne. Personally, I've got some pretty wild ideas involving everything from Hush to Leviathan to Barbatos. Maybe I'll write them up at some point.

And another question: will all these Bat-rogues referenced in "Elseworlds" actually be appearing on Batwoman? That seems like way too much to hope for, right? But who knows! Maybe, with Gotham ending, Warner Bros is okay with Berlanti taking over those characters for a while. We'll have to cross our fingers and wait to see.

Hope you enjoyed!
Phillip

"Star City 2046" and the Arrow Flash-Forwards

Opening Remarks

I think the Arrow season 7 premiere blew a lot of our minds with the big flash-forward reveal. Sure, nothing particularly interesting has happened in that storyline since then, but it's still a compelling idea, at least. Hopefully, the second half of this season will see things finally heat up for William, et al.

At the risk of getting my hopes up, I am kinda excited by the recent leak that Connor Hawke is finally gonna be making his reappearance. It's crazy to think that he was only ever in one single episode of Legends of Tomorrow, almost 3 years ago now. That one episode seems to have really stuck in the fandom's collective memory.

And why shouldn't it have? "Star City 2046" had some really cool ideas: John Diggle, Jr. as Connor Hawke, Palmer Tech renamed Smoak Technologies, a dystopian Star City ruled by Slade's son Grant Wilson, and a one-armed Oliver Queen ala The Dark Knight Returns. At the time, that all seemed like a far-fetched "what if?" scenario, but since then, "Star City 2046"s harbingers have gradually come true: Flashpoint transformed baby Sara Diggle into John, Jr., Felicity has founded Helix Dynamics, and we learned about Slade's second son Grant.

So just how connected are the futures of the Arrow flash-forwards and "Star City 2046"? There certainly seems to be a strong resemblance. On the other hand, we can say for sure that the particular timeline of "Star City 2046" has already been erased: old Oliver tells Sara that, in his history, she and Ray never return from their mission against Vandal Savage, so clearly things can't be exactly the same.

And is it worth wondering which timeline the flash-forwards take place in? What about the looming Crisis on Infinite Earths? Surely that will be changing the future. I think (for now) it's a pretty safe assumption that--whatever happens to get us there--the flash-forward timeline is the "real" timeline. The "right" timeline. The one that we should care about. It would be pretty bizarre for them to show us this story for a year only to erase it from existence next year.

Before we get into it, one more thing: dates! Obviously, "Star City 2046" takes place in the year 2046, but what about the flash-forwards? There haven't been any real clues on the show, but Beth Schwartz says it's approximately 20 years in the future. So for the rest of this article I'll say 2038, but I really mean 2038-ish. Which puts the flash-forwards about 8 years anterior to "Star City 2046."

The Mystery So Far...

For the sake of reference, I'm gonna take a minute here just to recap what has actually happened in the flash-forward storyline so far. Mostly, it's all been like some kind of mad scavenger hunt:

• An electronic device in the hozen Felicity gave William started beeping and displaying coordinates.
• William followed the coordinates to Lian Yu and found Roy Harper.
• Roy followed the coordinates more precisely to what he called a "fifth grave" on the island.
• The grave contained a crate with Oliver's bow in it.
• The bow contained a slip of paper with the Mark of Four, which compelled Roy to return to Star City.
• Once in Star City, the hozen's coordinates changed to the Smoak Technologies building.
• In the building, William found a hidden Rubik's cube.
• The cube contained a map of Star City with secret routes into the Glades marked. Also marked was the location of Felicity's hideout.
• In the hideout, William found plans to blow up Star City along with the name of a contact: "Blackstar."
• Blackstar told William that Felicity bought bomb component from her.

And that's it! Very little has actually happened. The bottom-line is that Felicity for some reason wanted William to find Roy and then find the bomb plans. Nothing else is concrete. And the writers managed to stretch that out over 5 episodes.

A General Timeline of Events

How did things get so bad in Star City? Our two glimpses of the future offer different explanations, but they may just be alternate perspectives on very similar events. Let's examine.

In the flash-forwards and according to Dinah, "Star City fell when the Glades rose. They built a wall. They closed their borders... The SCPD is basically hired guns. They protect the Glades from what's outside their wall." That jives with a piece of graffiti seen at A7x04 6:12, which says "THE GLADES FORGOT US!"

"Star City 2046" presents a different history. According to Connor Hawke, Star City's troubles are the result of an "Uprising" by an army led by Grant Wilson. Those events took place 15 years before 2046 (so 2031-ish, 7-ish years before the flash-forwards); Grant is apparently still ruling Star City in 2046.

It seems entirely possible to me that these two versions of events are actually reconcilable. We don't know when the Glades wall was built, but maybe it was in response to Grant's invasion. Alternatively, maybe Grant is in cahoots with the Glades leaders, and he controls the outside for them. Either way, there is some evidence that Grant will be relevant to the flash-forwards: at A7x04 6:12, right above the "GLADES FORGOT US" graffiti is a Deathstroke mask with a red X through it. The same people who hate the Glades hate Deathstroke. Seems important.

Another note: in "Star City 2046," the heroes move freely throughout Star City, including to the Arrowcave beneath Sebastian Blood's old campaign headquarters. I'm pretty sure that building is in the Glades, so that may be an indication that the Glades wall has fallen by 2046 (which may very well be part of the planned plot for the flash-forwards).

The Fates of Team Arrow

This time, let's start with "Star City 2046":

• Oliver tried to raise an army to fight Grant Wilson, but everybody just wanted to evacuate, according to Connor Hawke. At some point, Wilson outed Ollie as the Green Arrow, which led to an attack on the Bunker. At some point after that, Oliver accepted defeat and went into exile.
• According to Connor, his father John Diggle is dead. Connor blames himself.
• Laurel, Quentin, and Felicity are "gone," according to Oliver. When pressed by Sara, he refuses to disambiguate his choice of word. However, a moment later he says that "Felicity left after everything had happened."

All of these statements should be viewed with skepticism. Connor would have been just a teenager at the time of the Uprising, and he might have had a warped view of events. Also, it's easy to imagine Oliver lying to Sara to avoid having to talk about hard truths.

Now, the flash-forwards:

• Nothing concrete about Oliver yet, but he may have had some kind of falling out with Dinah. She asks Roy if William is trustworthy, to which he answers, "He's Oliver's son." Dinah's response is: "That is exactly what worries me." Also, Oliver's identity has already been outed in 2018 in the current timeline.
• No mention of Diggle at all yet, but that will surely change once the gang runs into Connor.
• Laurel and Quentin are already dead in the present-day story, so that has come true, at least.
• Apparently, Felicity cut ties with Dinah at some point and started operating as "the Calculator." According to Dinah, she was murdered a couple weeks before the events of the flash-forwards.
• Roy Harper has chosen to live in self-imposed exile.
• Zoe Ramirez says that her father Rene wouldn't be caught dead in Star City. Apparently, he lives in the Glades and commands some amount of power there.
• According to Blackstar, "the story goes" that it's Dinah's fault that the city has gone to hell.

All of these clues tease some kind of massive schism among Team Arrow. Still, though, nothing really contradicts the "Star City 2046" timeline. Some people (probably led by Oliver) tried and failed to fight Grant Wilson's uprising. Some people (probably led by Rene) chose to live in the Glades and abandon the rest of the city. Where Dinah stands is less clear, but it seems like she has some ugly skeletons in her closet.

Other Tidbits

There really seems to be some kind of Birds of Prey theme going on in the flash-forwards. Obviously, Dinah is the (a?) Black Canary and her protege Zoe seems to be following in that legacy as well. The pin Dinah gave her is the Birds of Prey logo from the comics. Dinah refers to a "Canary Network," which is probably the same thing as the "vigilante resistance" mentioned by Zoe. Also, one last thing about that graffiti at A7x04 6:12. Besides the anti-Glades and anti-Deathstroke graffiti, there is a small symbol of a black bird. A canary, perhaps? Probably.

And here's an insane and crazy thing I just thought of: where did the name "Connor Hawke" come from? "Connor" is a pretty normal name, so that's okay, but "Hawke"? Maybe John, Jr. chose it because a hawk is a bird... of prey. Gasp!

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In "Star City 2046," Sara finds Oliver's Oneida Kestrel bow (which he used in seasons 2-5) in Felicity's warehouse. She returns it to him, and he ends up giving it to Connor Hawke.

In the flash-forwards, William and Roy find Oliver's bow on Lian Yu--but it's the new bow he started using in season 6. So that checks out... I guess. This is so ridiculously trivial, I know.

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In "Star City 2046," Oliver tells Sara the security passcode to Felicity's warehouse: 4587. That number was a reference to the main character's ID number on the TV show Wiseguy.

Of course, we now know another meaning for the number 4587--Oliver's prisoner number in the Slab. So now this creates a cool little continuity: Felicity chose her security code from Ollie's old prisoner number!

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I want to mention L3x03 "Zari" real quick. That episode takes place in Seattle, 2042, and depicts the city placed under martial law by ARGUS. The date of 2042 places it right smack between the Arrow flash-forwards and the events of "Star City 2046." I really don't think it's relevant, though. Just figured it ought to be mentioned.

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This isn't really relevant, but the coordinates on the hozen which lead to Smoak Technologies actually point to central Washington state (which makes me happy).

Predictions

Enough facts--time for theories!

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First and foremost, I don't believe for a second that Felicity is a supervillain in the future. She's not plotting to blow up the city. It's all a big red herring. The whole reason Felicity lured William and Roy to Star City is so they could stop that plot. She probably faked her own death, too. Furthermore, Blackstar is totally also a good guy and has a closer relationship to Felicity then she wanted to let on.

Dinah's shadier that she seems. I'm not saying she's evil, but she's probably more complicit in events than she wants to admit. I don't think William and Roy will want to be associating with her anymore by the time this season's over. (Alternatively, Dinah will die, but one way or another she won't be in the flash-forwards next year.)

Prediction: Connor Hawke and Zoe Ramirez are hooking up. The future needs a romance!

Here's a longshot: we'll be meeting a future version of Sin. That's right, Sin. After all, she was pretty much the face of the Glades for the show throughout seasons 2 and 3. Also, she's on theme with all the Birds of Prey stuff. Maybe she's co-leader of the Glades city-state with Rene.

Next season, there will be a new "Team Arrow" consisting of Connor Hawke as Green Arrow, William Clayton as tech-guy, and Roy Harper as sage mentor (and maybe also Zoe Ramirez as Black Canary). If the team's not called Team Arrow, it may be called the Birds of Prey (which would be awesome).

Update on 1/21/2019:

I just had another crazy longshot idea. And I'm really putting all my eggs in this Birds of Prey basket, but here goes: is it possible that Barbara Gordon shows up?! We know from A4x11 that "Oracle" exists (Felicity mentions that the codename Oracle is taken). Felicity taking the name Calculator in the flash-forwards also brings up the Oracle/Calculator rivalry from the comics. Perhaps Oracle could be referenced as an unseen character with ties to Blackstar and/or the Canary Network and/or Felicity.

Underlying this prediction is another prediction that Barbara will be a recurring character on Batwoman. In that case, the Arrow flash-forwards could serve as a cool place to seed that character without having to cast an actress for the time being. Batgirl/Oracle is an awesome fan-favorite character and I would love to see her on Batwoman!

The season will end with the cliffhanger of finally seeing Future Oliver. (Will he be missing an arm?)

Closing Remarks

There you have it! That's the most complete picture of the flash-forward situation that I know how to make. There are probably some little things that I've missed, so let me know in the comments.

I always like making predictions, because then it's fun to come back later and see how I did. In this case, my predictions are rather ambitious, so I'm not really expecting many of them to be right.

And let me say once more, that while I like the concept of the flash-forwards, the execution has been quite lacking so far. But hey--Deathstroke and Connor Hawke could be exactly the kick in the pants the story needs to take off.

Hope you enjoyed!
Phillip

Notes on the Geography of the Arrowverse, Vol. 1

Opening Remarks

A little while ago I made a project out of documenting everything there is to know about the geography of the Arrowverse. Every map, GPS coordinate, or address that flashed on the screen must be recorded. Every offhand remark and newspaper article of relevance must be transcribed. These facts are all compiled into a very long spreadsheet, which also tracks each entry's credibility, both in- and out-of-universe. Suffices to say, this is a very big project.

I was making pretty good progress for a while, and the first couple of seasons of Arrow flew by pretty fast. Year 3 gets harder, though. Arrow season 3 is quite a bit less fun to watch than season 2, and I have to split my attention with The Flash and Constantine. It's near-ish the end of that year where I've stalled. I'll pick it up again eventually I'm sure, but for the time being I might as well share the more interesting findings I've made so far.

Without further ado, here are some very obscure observations about the geography of the Arrowverse. (I've saved the best for last, by the way.)

Star City

Let's start with an obvious question: where in the world is dear old Star City? Let's start broad and narrow it down.

• It's fairly self-evident that Star City is somewhere on the West Coast of America (boat trip to China, sun setting over ocean, etc.).
• A plane ticket at A1x20 19:46 indicates a commercial flight from Starling City to Shanghai as taking ~12 hours. This is consistent with flights out of the Northwest U.S. Any flight east or south of Seattle takes longer.
• A newspaper article at A2x18 2:22 discusses Iron Heights Prison in the context of "prison overpopulation in the Northwest." (The article also mentions Bludhaven and Keystone as the sites of nearby prisons. Bludhaven makes sense; Keystone does not.)
• At A2x10 15:17, Maya Resik's medical bill puts Starling City in a state with postal code NE. In real life, there is no state with postal code NE.
• An SCPD letterhead at A1x15 16:07 explicitly places Starling in Washington state (postal code WA).

• It snows very rarely in Star City. The only instance I've recorded so far is A1x09 41:36 where it snows around Christmas-time. This is consistent with the climate of the Seattle area, where it is likely to snow lightly for just a few days every year.
• A screen at a Starling train station at A2x21 37:44 lists Seattle and Spokane as the departure points of trains arriving in Starling.

That all paints a pretty clear picture: Star City is somewhere on the Pacific coast of Washington state.

I have come across two maps, so far, that specifically mark the location of Star City in the world. The first, at 3x02 26:08, places Starling City in pretty much exactly the same location as real-life Seattle. The other, at 3x09 11:35, puts Starling somewhere in Iowa. Yeah... way off. That map is dubious anyways, though, since it marks real-life cities like San Francisco, Vancouver, New York, Washington D.C., and Nairobi hundreds of miles away from their true locations.

Central City

And Central City, then? Where could that be?

• A CCPD letterhead at F1x09 15:14 places Central City in Washington State (postal code WA). The letterhead is clearly reused from the SCPD one shown above, with only very minor modification. This seems clearly wrong. Someone screwed up (in a very minor way that no one but me has probably ever noticed or cared about).
• A Central City Circuit Court search warrant at F1x09 20:18 places Central City in Missouri (postal code MO). This makes way more sense.
• At 1x12 32:59, a convict tips off Barry about a robbery: "It's a TDK and money transfer truck coming in from the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis." This places Central City in the St. Louis zone of the Eighth Federal Reserve District, which encompasses the eastern half of Missouri and the southern half of Illinois.

• At 1x04 17:42, a museum guide says, "It wasn't until 1852, when the Transcontinental Railroad laid their tracks through this thriving cattle town...." In reality, the Transcontinental Railroad didn't begin construction until 1863, and its terminus was Omaha, Nebraska (so it didn't go through Missouri). However, the railroad network that connects to Omaha was indeed built in Missouri in the 1850s, so this all kinda checks out.

Voila! There's 3 independent pieces of evidence corroborating that Central City is in eastern Missouri. We also know that there's a big river running through Central City (it shows up on all the maps and in establishing shots of the city). Perhaps it's the Mississippi? Could be. Or one of its tributaries.

Star City--Central City

So far so good. But do these locations for Star City and Central City reconcile with each other?

• A train station sign at A2x22 7:55 indicates that a non-stop train ride from Starling to Central City takes 2 hours and 10 minutes.
• At F1x01 31:24, Oliver says to Barry, "Something tells me you didn't just run 600 miles to say hi to a friend."

In reality, the distance from Seattle, Washington to St. Louis, Missouri is over 2000 miles. The fastest trains in the world don't average higher than 150 mph (and there are certainly no high-speed trains crossing the U.S.). So... these don't really check out.

I'm sure I will find a lot more pieces of evidence in this category over the rest of the seasons. For example, Barry's running Oliver and Diggle to intercept Cayden James in "The Devil's Greatest Trick" implies that he is able to run from Central City to Star City very fast... like in a matter of minutes.

Blue Valley

Blue Valley finally got mentioned overtly in Flash season 4 (as a place where Wally spent some time and apparently fought Starro!). The city was referenced way before that, though in Arrow season 2.

At A2x05 3:20, if you crank the volume way up, you can just barely make out the basketball commentator on Oliver's TV: "Blue Valley is really having problems containing the Rockets." The Rockets are, of course, Starling City's basketball team.

Markovia

Markovia first gets name-dropped in A1x03. As Oliver reads Deadshot's INTERPOL file, he tells us in voice-over: "He's killed all over the world. Chicago, Markovia, Corto Maltese." As he says this right around 7:14, he pulls up a map on his computer screen--part of Deadshot's file, no doubt. The map has a couple dozen markers distributed around the globe, presumably marking the locations of Deadshot's known activity. Indeed, there is a mark at Chicago. There are 2 marks in South America, but, unfortunately, neither one looks like it would be the island of Corto Maltese. There are 3 marks in Europe that could be Markovia.

It's worth noting that this map graphic was frequently reused on the Arrowcave computers over the next couple years. However, never again do we see someone actually open the map. My interpretation is that Team Arrow just kept Deadshot's file open in the background a lot... for some reason. (The truth is, this graphic was never meant to be associated with Deadshot specifically. It is just a generic map to fill the screen.)

So we need a little more information before we can choose between the 3 European marks on Deadshot's activity map. That info comes in A2x16 when the Suicide Squad visits Markovia. Throughout the episode (at 14:33, for example), the German language is used on Markovian signs. Now that we know Markovia is a German-speaking country, we can narrow its probable location to the part of Europe where German is spoken. So, I grabbed the map below from Wikipedia.

Now, combining this with our previous knowledge, it is clear that Markovia must be the third European mark from the left on INTERPOL's map. That would put the country right around the vertex of Austria, Slovenia, and Italy. Eureka!

One more tidbit about Markovia: at A2x16 17:26, we get a very fleeting glimpse of a Markovian license plate. For one, the plate reveals that Markovia is a member of the EU, and that its United Nations-assigned international license plate country code is "M" (in real life, "M" is for Malta). There's also a tiny rendering of a Markovian flag on the plate! As far as I know, that flag is never visible anywhere else. The flag's colors (green and yellow) are clearly inspired by Geo-Force's classic costume from the comics. Obscure trivia!

Smallville?!? (on Earth-1)

This one's really very fun. I don't know of anyone else on the Internet who has spotted this, either. At A2x21 37:44, Thea is trying to get out of Starling City by train (Deathstroke's Siege rather ruins her day). For just a handful of frames, you can make out a few words on a screen listing arriving trains. Up above, I pointed out that Seattle and Spokane are listed. Central City is also listed. But there is one more, very mysterious city name. Take a look:

If you squint you eyes just right, I'm 80% sure it says "Smallville." Yup, Smallville. Weird, right? Smallville's supposed to be in Kansas, not Washington state. And there's no way that a train running from Kansas to Washington would be labeled by the name of a tiny little town like Smallville. So just a nonsense Easter egg, I guess. And to this day, Smallville has never again been referenced on Earth-1 (as far as I know). So this is the one and only indication of Smallville's existence on Earth-1. Cool!

Closing Remarks

Anyways, I have no idea if anyone cares about all this. I for one, though, find these geographical Easter eggs quite fun. In theory, the long-term goal of my project is to reconcile all the contradictory facts I collect and synthesize the data into some maps and stuff. That's really far away, though. It may never happen. For now, it's just little stuff like I've listed above that makes the project fun.

So what do you think? What are your favorite little-known Easter eggs in the Arrowverse? Let me know in the comments.

Hope you enjoyed!
Phillip

Legends of Tomorrow's 1-Frame Easter Eggs

Update on 6/14/2019:
Just finished combing through and documenting season 4. Unfortunately, the trickle of fun Easter eggs seems to be mostly depleted at this point. There was one very cool secret in 4x03, though: Tritonis!

Update on 8/12/2020:
Now season 5 is complete as well. No new Easter eggs this time around. I guess they have run out of comics locations.

Opening Remarks

So I have no idea if this is common knowledge or not, but there are a bunch of Easter eggs in pretty much every episode of Legends of Tomorrow. You know the text graphic they use in the bottom-left of the screen to establish a location and year? I'm talking about the blue text that flickers for a few frames then settles on the correct information. Well, it seems obvious in hindsight, but I never wondered until recently just what was hidden in those intervening frames, imperceptible to the naked eye.

Turns out, in that time, a few (normally 8) wrong locations and years are flashed on the screen for a single frame each. Most of those locations are real-life cities (like San Diego), some are fictional locations from the Arrowverse (like Central City), but a few are fictional locations that are not otherwise known to exist in the Arrowverse at all. Aha! Easter eggs!

At this point I set myself upon the (somewhat laborious) task of documenting all of these titles. I catalogued every location and year flashed on the screen, along with its timestamp. If you care, you can view the spreadsheet here. (I did my best, but it's highly likely that I missed a couple.) Yellow rows indicate fictional locations already known to exist on Earth-1 of the Arrowverse. Orange rows indicate fictional locations not otherwise known to exist on Earth-1.

Canonicity

This was all pretty exciting to me, since it seems to be a huge new source of geographical data about the Arrowverse (which is a particular interest obsession of mine). But is it really justified to treat these titles as canon? What can we actually conclude from them? Unfortunately, the short answer is: probably not much.

At the very least, it would be nice to be able to conclude that the listed locations do definitely exist on Earth-1. The simplest way to do so would be to connect the titles with some in-universe authority. For example, it is tempting to treat them as a representation of the Waverider's navigational system. However, the titles are often used totally independently of the Waverider, for example to establish the location of some opening scene. The only rational conclusion is that the titles don't represent anything particular in the world of the show; they exist only in our world and for our benefit.

Still though, titles existing out-of-universe should carry some canonical authority. Obviously, the final, "correct" time and location are to be taken as canon--even more canon than in-universe information, in fact, since the title is provided by a presumably omniscient and reliable narrator. That information is encoded by our knowledge of the language of TV: when a date and location are shown in the bottom of our screen for a few seconds, the implicit narrator is telling us "this takes place here." But what does it mean when a title is flashed for only one frame? Is the implicit narrator telling us: "this place exists somewhere in this fictional world"? Well, maybe. It's entirely ambiguous.

By the way, it's worth asking just who is responsible for these captions in the first place. Unlike the final, correct location, these Easter eggs are certainly not established by the scripts. It's possible that the pool of locations to flicker through comes from the writers' room, but it's equally possible that whoever's making the effect is just deciding on their own. Thus, even if we deem the captions to be an indication that the locations do exist, that information would deserve a lesser canonical authority than any information deriving from the scripts.

I know I'm writing way too much here, but there is just one more thing before we get to the good stuff: to what extent ought we to associate the locations with the dates that accompany them? Specifically, I was curious if the titles can be interpreted as an indication that the specified city exists in the specified time. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that the titles clearly make an effort to use more "ancient" cities when going back far in time. For example, names like Rome, Timbuktu, and Maya City flicker by as the dates rewind from the present day to the origin story of Vandal Savage in Ancient Egypt, 1700 B.C.

Unfortunately, I don't think we can even make that conclusion. Wikipedia tells me that Timbuktu was first settled in the 5th century B.C., but its caption shows 1120 B.C. Opal City (which is in the U.S.), is shown with a date of 233 (A.D.). These counterexamples (there are more) demonstrate that we cannot place any real meaning on the juxtaposition of a particular place and time. It's a shame, too, because Nanda Parbat is given a year of 601 in episode L3x01, which predates the supposed founding of the League in 1103, as attested by Nyssa al Ghul in A6x16.

Fictional Locations Already Known to Exist

Phew, sorry about that! Have you stuck with me? You probably skipped most of that last section, right? I don't blame you. But don't worry: this is where it gets (slightly more) interesting!

Let's start with the easy stuff. Here's a list of fictional locations used in the titles that are already known to exist on Earth-1. In other words, these captions are unsurprising and don't give us any new information about the Arrowverse.

• Star City
• Central City
• Hub City (NOTE: This title was first used in L1x01, 2 weeks before Hub City was first mentioned in A4x12.)
• Coast City
• Opal City
• Midway City
• St. Roch
• Bludhaven
• Markovia
• Keystone City
• Nanda Parbat
• Ivy Town
• Gotham City (NOTE: This title was first used in L1x04, 21 months before Gotham City was first mentioned in A6x02).
• Harmony Falls
• Kasnia Conglomerate
• Salvation
• Koshmar
• Calvin City
• JSA Headquarters
• Liberty, Colorado
• Camelot
• Zambesi
• Themyscria
• Upswipz HQ
• Time Bureau
• Camp Ogawa, Maine
• Iron Heights Penitentary
• Central City High

Fictional Locations NOT Otherwise Known to Exist

Okay, so that wasn't super exciting, right? This one's a little better. These locations warrant a little explanation, so I've attached a couple sentences to each one.

River City
The home of the bizarre and little-known superhero "Odd Man" in DC comics. A really very obscure location in comics lore. First appearance in 1978. 

Starfish Island
The island Oliver Queen is stranded on in the comics, though it is only called by that name in one story in 1959. In 2007, Green Arrow: Year One positioned it as one of the Fiji Islands. The island is shaped like a star, hence its name. So is this a separate island from Lian Yu in the Arrowverse?

Dakota City
The setting of comics created by Milestone Media and published by DC Comics. Since 2008, the Milestone world has been integrated into the mainstream DC multiverse. Static is probably the best-known Milestone character. Dakota City is in the American Midwest. 

Happy Harbor
The town where the Justice League established their underground "Secret Sanctuary." First appearing in the League's first appearance in 1960, the Secret Sanctuary was the League's first headquarters, before moving to the Watchtower satellite many years later. Happy Harbor is in Rhode Island.

National City
The city was originally created for the Supergirl TV show as Kara's home city (on Earth-38, of course). It has never been mentioned to exist on Earth-1 of the Arrowverse. Unsurprisingly, National City has been integrated into the comics starting in 2016.

Civic City
A location used in some Golden Age DC comics. The city was home to one of the JSA's headquarters, among other things. First appeared in 1941. 

Steel City
The city was created for the Teen Titans TV show in 2005 as an industrial East Coast city. Steel City never made it into the mainstream DC comics.

Gateway City
A DC comics city of moderate importance, located in California. First appearing in 1966, Gateway City is perhaps best known as the home of Wonder Woman for a few years in the 90s. The city is clearly modeled on San Francisco, right down to the bridge. (San Francisco definitely does exist on Earth-1, by the way.) 

Metropolis
The home of Superman since 1939, of course! Metropolis exists on Earth-38, but it has never been mentioned on Earth-1, much like National City.

Arkham City
This is a pretty weird one. Not even a real city, Arkham City is a giant prison that served as the setting for 2011's Batman: Arkham City video game (which is totally awesome, by the way). Arkham City has never been referenced outside of those Arkham games' continuity (except for this reference, maybe!).

Emerald City
Another weird one! In the DC comics, it's a magical city on the Moon created by Green Lantern Alan Scott's Starheart (first appearance 2010). Of course, this could also be a reference to The Wizard of Oz. Either way, pretty damn weird. 

Paradise Island
Ooh, this is a fun one! Paradise Island was the name DC used for Wonder Woman's home starting from her debut in 1941. The name "Themyscira" has become preferred since it was first used in 1987, but the two are often used interchangeably. Perhaps the same is true in the Arrowverse, and "Paradise Island" is just another name for Themyscira. Notably, this title was first used in L1x12, 18 months before Themyscira actually appeared in L3x06. Its only other use was L3x03. 

Coral City
The setting of the short-lived DC comics series The Movement, which ran in 2013 and 2014. Supposedly exists in mainstream DC continuity, but has never been referenced outside of The Movement. 

Edge City
A city that only ever appeared in 3 episodes of Smallville, starting in 2003. It never made it to the mainstream DC continuity. On the show, it's located near Smallville and Metropolis in Kansas.

Fabletown
A locale from the DC-published Fables line, which is not set in the mainstream DC multiverse. First appearing in 2002, Fabletown is meant to be a neighborhood in Manhattan where fairy tale characters live. Yes, really. And they published this comic for like 10 years. Go figure. 

New Carthage
First appearing in 1969, New Carthage is a college town in the state of New York where Dick Grayson attends Hudson University. As you might guess, it's meant to be situated on the Hudson River. However, Hudson U. is located in Central City in the Arrowverse; it's where Professor Stein's F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. project took place.

Fawcett City
A city created in 1985 to serve as the home for characters DC acquired from the defunct Fawcett Comics. So, for example, Captain Marvel lives here. Fawcett City is located somewhere in the American Midwest. 

Capitol City
A city appearing in the Golden Age as the home of Green Lantern Alan Scott. The character was quickly shifted to Gotham City, and Capitol City has not been used much in the comics since. It's located (you guessed it!) somewhere in the American Midwest. Yup, I guess everybody really loved the Midwest back in the 40s, huh? And, yes, it's definitely Capitol, not Capital. Don't ask me why.

Tritonis
One of the two major cities of Atlantis, which plays a big role in Aquaman lore. Unlike the capital city of Poseidonis, which is inhabited by human-looking Atlanteans, Tritonis is the home of freaky fish-monster people and mermaids. In other words, Tritonis is awesome!

Closing Remarks

Wow. This was all really asinine, huh? What was the point again? I don't remember. I'm having flashbacks to that piece on the continuity of The Flash '90.

Anyways, one cool thing did come out of all that scanning through Legends episodes: I found this fun little Easter egg!

Notice the cup? That's right: "GCJITTERS." Now where could that be.... Ooh! I know! Gotham City! I guess the Darkhs' little undisclosed-location hideout in L3x13 was in Gotham all along. So that's vaguely cool. It'd be a lot cooler if Gotham's existence on Earth-1 wasn't confirmed months earlier in A6x02. I'm not the first to find this Easter egg, either, but you know, whatever.

Hope you enjoyed!
Phillip

The Continuity Curiosities of Freedom Fighters: The Ray

Opening Remarks

So, how about that Freedom Fighters: The Ray, huh? As far as animated superhero shows go (if you can even call six 5-minute episodes a show), it's pretty mediocre. Not really good. Vixen was probably better (though never particularly great, either). Did you know that season 2 was released last month? I had no idea until just this morning. So I watched it... and discovered that it is unsurprisingly quite a headache for a discerning Arrowverse continuity-monger such as myself.

I titled this article "Continuity Curiosities" rather than "Continuity Flaws" because many (but not all) of the points of interest can be massaged without any truly irreconcilable continuity errors. Still though, it is plainly clear that the show's writers did a very sloppy job. By the way, I'm not exactly sure who the show's writers even are. As bizarre as it sounds, there are no writers listed in the show's credits. So I have no idea what to make of that. It's like a real-life continuity error.

Anyways, here are most interesting continuity points I found in Freedom Fighters: The Ray (FF:TR), along with my attempts to make sense of them.

Thousands of Earths

This one actually comes from season 1, but it's important enough that I should mention it here. Red Tornado tells Ray (of Earth-1) that there are thousands of Earths in the multiverse (as opposed to just 53 as claimed by Harry Wells). This doesn't seem to be a mere conjecture or assumption. Red Tornado mentions that he is equipped with a sensor that allows him to detect which universe he is in. He refers to Earth-1 and Earth-X by those names.

All of this demonstrates that he has almost certainly traveled through the multiverse before. Furthermore, he has apparently come into contact with people who use our familiar Earth-naming convention. In case it's not obvious, Harry explicitly says in "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2" that Earth-X is named as such because it is such a horrific place. Whereas the other Earth numbers are based on objective scientific observations (each Earth's vibrational frequency difference from Earth-1, the base Earth) and could in theory be arrived at by independent parties, there is no way that Red Tornado would know to call his home "Earth-X" unless he learned that name from someone else--the same person or people from whom Harry learned that name.

This is all my long-winded way of saying that maybe Red Tornado had some interaction with the Council of Wells. But the more important point is that Red Tornado has a lot of credibility when he says that there are thousands of Earths. Perhaps this could become significant at some point in the future of the Arrowverse?

Update on 6/8/2019:

Confirmed! Elseworlds verified conclusively that Harry and Kara were wrong and there are many more than 53 Earths in the multiverse (though maybe not for long...). I've gotta doubt that this was an intentional decision by the FF:TR writers, though. I'm quite confident they just wrote that "thousands" line without any thought.

Conflicting costumes

Within literally seconds of season 2, we are confronted with our first continuity error. Costumes. The Flash wears his red-emblem Flash season 1 outfit. Green Arrow wears his sleeveless Arrow season 4 outfit. And Mr. Terrific wears his post-A5x14 red and white outfit.

Not only are these 3 costumes never in use at the same point in continuity, no 2 of them even are. So basically, there is no way at all to reconcile this. We just have to accept that the animators made a mistake (or three). This is frustrating because I'd like to be able to use the outfits to place the timing of FF:TR.

So just how well can we place the timing? Well, we know that it has to be after Curtis first meets Cisco and Barry in "Invasion!" It is perhaps telling that we don't see the Vibe suit and Cisco does not accompany the other heroes in response to Mari's distress call. These facts may suggest that the events of FF:TR take place before Cisco completes his suit and takes a more active crime-fighting role as Vibe in episode F3x11. All-in-all, I am inclined to place the events of FF:TR circa December 2016 or January 2017.

The Ray meets the Green Arrow and the Flash

The other immediate continuity error. FF:TR season 2 depicts the Green Arrow, the Flash, Cisco Ramon, and Curtis Holt meeting the Ray in both his civilian and secret identities. However, "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 3" makes it crystal clear that Oliver and Barry have no idea who Ray is. Even weirder, Ray doesn't recognize the Green Arrow and the Flash when he sees them in costume. You'd think that almost every random American on Earth-1 would be familiar with the Green Arrow and the Flash, right?

So this is another one with no real resolution. I think it's simplest to treat this as a minor retcon of "Crisis on Earth-X." I imagine everything in that episode would have unfolded in almost exactly the same way, regardless of whether Oliver and Barry had previously met Ray.

There's a giant robot in Detroit!

So this one's not actually a continuity error--it's just weird! The heroes battle a 100-foot tall robot rampaging through Detroit! They call it a military prototype, but still, that's totally out-of-place in the Arrowverse, right? Is this just me?

Curtis can fly!

Yeah, so... in the aforementioned giant robot fight, Mr. Terrific demonstrates the ability to fly. He's not standing on his T-Spheres like he does in the comics; he's just floating in mid-air with no visible means of propulsion. So that's totally weird.

I think common-sense dictates that Mr. Terrific definitely does not have the ability to fly in the canon. At least not yet. Maybe one day we'll get a little T-Sphere hovering on Arrow. Regardless, I'm calling this another animator screw-up.

Ray knows Supergirl

This one's interesting. When Ray is attacked by Overgirl at his home, he immediately identifies her as an evil version of Supergirl. Which is quite strange because residents of Earth-1 don't know Supergirl, do they? Remember, the events of "Invasion!" were kept secret from the public.

This is almost certainly just an oversight by the writers. However, we can perhaps interpret it as an implication that Kara has had other adventures on Earth-1 (probably with Barry), which were public in nature. On the other hand, as late as "Invasion!" none of the heroes recognized Supergirl. So if there was a public adventure it would have to be post-Invasion but pre-FF:TR, which is a pretty small window (~2 months) according to my reckoning above. As far as I can recall, there's no dialogue which specifically precludes this possibility (in "Duet," for example), but it is a bit of a leap nonetheless.

Update on 6/8/2019:

Well, if it was ambiguous before, the Legends of Tomorrow season 4 finale "Hey World!" confirmed that Supergirl has achieved significant celebrity on Earth-1. Of course, this is now after she has appeared semi-publicly during "Crisis on Earth-X" and "Elseworlds," so this FF:TR tidbit is still somewhat relevant. I guess I'm still inclined to infer that Kara had some undocumented and unmentioned adventure on Earth-1 in the months following "Invasion!"

Cisco knows about Earth-X

In FF:TR season 2, Ray enlists Cisco's help to breach him over to Earth-X. Doing so involves telling Cisco that there is an Earth ruled by Nazis.

This certainly seemed like a continuity error, seeing as how Cisco never mentioned knowing about Earth-X during "Crisis on Earth-X." However, upon double-checking I realized that Cisco actually doesn't appear at all in "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2," the episode where the heroes learn about Earth-X (he's supposedly unconscious the whole time). He wakes up in the Pipeline with Harry, Caitlin, Heat Wave, and Team Arrow at the start of the next episode. Presumably, at that point Harry and Caitlin would have told Cisco about the events he missed, but that all happens off-screen. We don't see those characters again until the Legends break them out in "Part 4," at which point everyone is on the same page about the Nazi threat.

This is all to say that there's actually no reason to assume that Cisco didn't know about Earth-X before "Crisis on Earth-X." So this isn't a continuity error, just another curiosity.

In case you were wondering (who am I kidding? you weren't), Ray never (on-screen) tells Cisco the name "Earth-X." They simply refer to it as "Nazi Earth." That is to say, Harry probably didn't learn about Earth-X via Cisco via Ray via Red Tornado (which would wreck my reasoning up in "Thousands of Earths"). Harry almost certainly learned about it some other way. Then again, it's possible that Ray told Cisco the name "Earth-X" off-screen, though it would be weird that they would both continue calling it "Nazi Earth" after that point.

Dark Arrow vs. Black Arrow

So here's a minor yet interesting point of continuity. In promotional material for "Crisis on Earth-X," Nazi Oliver was dubbed "Dark Arrow." However, that name was not actually used on-screen during the crossover. It wasn't until Leo Snart used it in "Fury Rogue" that it became canon. On the other hand, FF:TR has its own name for Nazi Oliver: "Black Arrow." The name is used repeatedly both in the dialogue and in the acting credits.

Anyways, it's not at all inconceivable that Oliver's New Reichsman persona could be known by both nicknames. Just another curiosity (and indication that the writers were living in their own world while writing FF:TR).

A Fuhrer, a Chancellor, and a domino mask

This is probably the curious-est curiosity on the list. Throughout FF:TR, the characters never acknowledge the existence of Fuhrer Oliver Queen, even though they are actually fighting against him (in his Black Arrow persona). Obviously, it should have been a super-big deal to have a chance at capturing the Fuhrer of the Reich himself! There is an explanation, though--in FF:TR, Nazi Oliver wears a domino mask.

The full-face masks Nazi Oliver and Overgirl wear in "Crisis on Earth-X" could maybe be considered a form of armor, as opposed to identity concealment. Indeed, the Nazis voluntarily reveal their faces to the heroes in "Part 2." In contrast, a domino mask truly has no function except for identity concealment. Therefore, during FF:TR, the fact that Oliver Queen is also Reichsman Black Arrow is a secret. However, by the time of "Crisis on Earth-X," his identity is no longer a secret. Besides revealing it to the heroes, Oliver freely bears his face in front of dozens of Nazi underlings during the crossover.

After watching FF:TR season 2, it's pretty clear how Oliver's identity was compromised--the Freedom Fighters capture him (and Blitzkrieg aka Nazi Barry). But still, no one acknowledges the significance of his identity. The season ends with a Resistance soldier handing Phantom Lady an interrogation report from the captured Reichsmen, still without mentioning that HOLY SHIT WE CAPTURED THE FUHRER!!! Even weirder, the Phantom Lady says that the report gives them the location of the "Chancellor," whom Black Condor calls the "leader of the Reich." So what the hell's that about? I thought Fuhrer Oliver Queen was the leader of the Reich.

Anyways, it's possible that all this will be resolved in season 3 (if there is a season 3). I guess the implication is that Nazi Oliver has not yet ascended to the role of Fuhrer. Perhaps the Freedom Fighters will successfully assassinate this "Chancellor," leaving Oliver as next in line to take over. Still though, he would have to be a super high-ranking Nazi to be in that position, so you'd think the Freedom Fighters would still be a little more excited about capturing and unmasking him. Ugh, whatever.

The fate of Earth-X Vibe

Another interesting point to consider is what means of inter-dimensional travel are available to the characters. Let's break it down: Earth-X Vibe uses his powers to send Earth-X Ray to Earth-1 (with Red Tornado's cortex). Then, the Reichsmen capture Vibe and force him to send Overgirl to Earth-1 in pursuit of the cortex. Presumably, Vibe was also forced to bring her back to Earth-X. Then, Ray of Earth-1 enlists Vibe of Earth-1 to send him to Earth-X. At this point, Vibe of Earth-X escapes from the Nazis and rejoins the Freedom Fighters, giving them the exclusive power of mulitversal travel.

However, by the time of "Crisis on Earth-X," it seems clear that neither the Resistance nor the Reich have the power to travel between worlds. The crossover opens with the Resistance building a giant breach machine so they can travel to Earth-1. Then, the Reich storms the facility and commandeers the gateway. They also need it to travel to Earth-1. Once Nazi Oliver and Overgirl are on the other side, Resistance General Winn Schott wants to blow the gateway up, since--after all--it is the only way he knows that the Nazi leaders could ever get back to Earth-X.

So what can we extrapolate from all this? It seems pretty clear: Earth-X Vibe has to die before "Crisis on Earth-X." Somehow, this leaves the Resistance with the idea to travel to Earth-1 (likely based on what Ray tells them about his homeworld), so they pursue a technological means of doing so.

Ray told Ray?

This one's hardly significant, but it serves to demonstrate that the writers can't even be bothered to keep continuity within FF:TR. At the end of season 2, our Ray tells the Freedom Fighters, "Your Ray told me to destroy the cortex so the Reichsmen wouldn't get it."

Not true. Fake news. In fact, Earth-X Ray didn't so much as speak a single word to Earth-1 Ray before succumbing to his injuries. It was a hologram of the Red Tornado that told Ray to destroy the cortex. Like I said, not a really important continuity error, but just a kinda pathetic one.

Closing Remarks

So there you go. Like I said, quite the continuity headache, isn't it? I'm not really too surprised that the folks at the Arrowverse wiki haven't even made an effort to document FF:TR season 2, yet.

There are probably a few more little details that I've missed. Perhaps more continuity errors. Perhaps some flaws in my reasoning here. It's hard (impossible?) to recall every offhand remark the characters have made, but in many of these cases a single line of throwaway dialogue could be awfully important. So if you know of anything I've missed, let me know.

And also let me know your general opinions about Freedom Fighters: The Ray. I'll admit that it's a cool way to showcase a lot of fun characters from the Arrowverse, but beyond that the writing is pretty blah. A lot of that comes down to the time constraint, though. How much can you really do in 30 minutes?

Hope you enjoyed!
Phillip

More Villains Oliver Could Encounter in Slabside Federal Penitentiary

Opening Remarks

Woo! The first season 7 footage debuted at Comic-Con a couple weeks ago, and it was sick! The trailer focused heavily on Oliver's prison life, which is looking to be about as awful as you'd expect. The Slab is positively teeming with criminals out for revenge against the Green Arrow.

Three returning characters in particular were shown in the trailer, but that doesn't necessarily mean there won't be more. Then again, even though Stephen Amell claims Oliver's prison stint will last longer than the fans are expecting, I'm not really expecting more than just the three returning villains. If Oliver is truly in prison for 4+ episodes, there's gonna need to be more variety in the episodes than just Oliver dodging shivs from old foes.

Anyways, here are my thoughts on the possibilities for Oliver's fellow inmates.

Confirmed

Ben Turner / Bronze Tiger

Yes! This was totally the best reveal in the SDCC trailer. After an almost five year absence, the Bronze Tiger returns to Arrow! Ben Turner was unceremoniously killed off-screen in a tie-in comic, and bringing him back now is a retcon I can definitely get behind. Or is it a retcon, technically speaking? Flashpoint, anyone? Yeah, let's go with that.

Anyways, Bronze Tiger definitely seemed redeemable in his season 2 appearances. He displayed a sort of thieves' honor and worked well on the Suicide Squad, even saving Lyla's life! I wouldn't necessarily expect him to hold a grudge against Oliver--in fact, he seemed to almost respect the Arrow in their two past encounters. Perhaps he could be an unexpected ally for Oliver in the Slab?

Turner's presence also raises some interesting questions about A.R.G.U.S. and the Suicide Squad. After recruiting Turner out of Iron Heights, why would A.R.G.U.S. send him back to prison? And why Slabside--a federal prison--instead of back to Iron Heights? Perhaps he double-crossed A.R.G.U.S. and committed some crime(s) that justified his re-imprisonment? Or perhaps A.R.G.U.S. double-crossed him, sending him to the Slab because he knew too much / found out something he wasn't supposed to? In any case, I would expect some kind of story in connection with Turner and the Squad, especially since David Ramsey says that A.R.G.U.S. is going to be a major player in season 7. Also because I'm predicting that Oliver could make a stop in Task Force X on his path to freedom.

Update on 9/28/18:

Hang on, hang on! I just remembered something else that could very possibly be relevant. In the comics, Bronze Tiger begins as a friend/colleague of Richard Dragon, before branching off into Suicide Squad and League of Assassins storylines. Is it possible that Arrow's Ben Turner has some connection to Ricardo Diaz? We don't know much about either man's past, so it's entirely possible that they have some history (like training in martial arts together). I'm not sure how that would play into the story exactly, but, you know.... Theories!

Danny Brickwell / Brick

Brick was the single first character that came to mind as a potential Slab inmate after watching the season 6 finale. Vinnie Jones was born to play ruthless criminals, and prison is all too natural an environment for him and his character. His appearance in season 4 as a H.I.V.E. underling was amusing, but Brick shouldn't be anyone's henchman, not even Damien Darkh's.

In season 7, I expect a return to form for Brick as the most powerful crime boss of Slabside Penitentiary. As an aside, he was previously incarcerated in Iron Heights, which I have been assuming is a state, not federal, prison. I guess he's been convicted of some federal crime since then? Yeah, I guess helping someone steal nuclear launch codes will do that.

Derek Sampson

Another excellent choice. Sampson was a cool villain in season 5, and Cody Rhodes (Runnels?) has the right screen-presence for some prison action. And action is precisely what I expect. Not much storyline, or dialogue, or personality. Just brutal, action-packed prison fights that will surely make creative use of Sampson's Stardust-fueled superpowers.

Like the previous entries on this list, Sampson is known to have served time in Iron Heights Prison. Of course, that was before he conspired with Prometheus to release a tuberculosis bioweapon in Star City. I guess that's probably some kind of federal crime. Also, he may have been sent to the Slab due to his superpowers. Could we see other metas, etc. in prison with Oliver, I wonder? Does the Slab have a meta wing ala Iron Heights?

Prospective

In order of first appearance.

Anatoly Knyazev

Seems likely that Anatoly will be sent with Oliver to the Slab after turning himself in to the FBI. After some uncharacteristically evil behavior in the first half of the last season, Anatoly got the beginnings of a redemptive arc as he reconnected with the honor that originally governed his criminality. Hopefully a continuation of that story is in order for season 7. Anatoly is one of my favorite characters, and he deserves a better arc that season 6 gave him.

Werner Zytle / Vertigo

Veritgo would be a very fun character to see behind bars for several reasons, not least of which is actor Peter Stomare's history on Prison Break. I'd love to see Zytle go toe to toe with Oliver, Brick, et al. as they live out their prison sentences.

Though Zytle hasn't been seen since season 3, he was mentioned in the flashback scenes of season 5's "Underneath." That episode established that Zytle escaped from prison in the time between seasons 4 and 5, but was recaptured (aboard a yacht!) by the Green Arrow. Maybe he was sent to the Slab following that? I hope so.

Lonnie Machin / Anarky

I'm not gonna claim Anarky was a great villain, but--as I posited in my ranked list of Arrow villains--Anarky was, in my opinion, a victim of season 4's lameness, not one of its causes. A guest appearance in the Slab could, in a small way, make good on some of the character's untapped potential. Furthermore, if Arrow's prison time is gonna serve as a retrospective of Arrow villains, then I'd like to see season 4 get some representation. The season wasn't good, but denying its existence is cheap and pointless.

Alex Faust

Weird character, right? He had this totally bizarre personality, he shot a freakin' missile at Star City, then he turned out to be a nothing character. He fizzled out. I think he had something to do with a tie-in novel set between seasons 5 and 6, so that may be why he came off so strange to the TV-only audience (which has gotta be, you know, like 99.9% of the audience).

In case you can't tell, out of all the characters on this list, this is the one possibility I'm least excited by. Still, I like the idea of a villain retrospective, so I figure I oughta come up with one season 6 baddie for good measure. Of course, season 1 also isn't represented, but that's because the Dodger was the best candidate I could muster. That ain't gonna fly.

Closing Remarks

So there you have it. A short but fun little post examining some wild predictions for Oliver's prison life. Chances are, we won't be seeing any of my prospective characters (except Anatoly, who I do expect), but it is still fun to imagine the possibilities. It's a little surprising that after all these years there are so few villains who would really fit the bill (alive, male, incarcerated, federal-crimes).

So who have I forgotten? Any other characters you want to see in the Slab? And how will Ollie be getting out? I'm sticking to my presidential pardon theory (maybe with a small dose of Suicide Squad).

And in other news--what the hell is Roy going to be doing this year? Colton Haynes and Stephen Amell were saying in their SDCC interviews that Roy has some totally bat-shit crazy storyline that no one could possibly predict... so I have no idea what to expect there. Which is a good thing!

Anyways, hope you enjoyed.
Phillip