A lot of the buzz out of The CW's DC universe over the past few months has been all about the epic crossover between all four shows. The event will bring Kara Danvers out of her world on Supergirl and into the Earth of Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow. Kara and The Flash's Barry Allen were excited to meet each other when he accidentally jumped worlds last spring, but Arrow's Oliver Queen won't exactly be thrilled to meet Kara. Supergirl executive producer Andrew Kreisberg had this to say about Oliver in the big crossover:
Part of Oliver's journey in those [crossover] episodes is he's kind of hit his breaking point [in terms of] things he's willing to accept. He's had Mirakuru soldiers and the Lazarus Pit and magic and Damien Darhk. Flying aliens who can incinerate you with their eyes, it's one beyond the pale for him. He's keeping his distance, which is a very Oliver thing to do. Kara sort of comments, 'Does he not like me?' and Barry's like, 'No, that's kind of how he treats everybody.'
Only a couple episodes of Arrow Season 5 have aired so far, but one of the biggest elements of consistency has been Oliver's reluctance to adapt to his new circumstances. It evidently took five months of nudging from Felicity to convince Oliver to even consider expanding Team Arrow after the departures after Diggle and Thea and the death of Laurel. It should make sense in terms of his character so far in Season 5 that he's not jumping up and down with glee at the prospect of meeting a flying alien who zips through the air to battle other aliens. That's a very big change for him.
Considering the fact the villains of the crossover extravaganza are going to be a race of aggressive aliens known as the Dominators, Oliver may need to get over his reluctance quickly. He probably doesn't have an anti-evil alien arrow in his quiver, and a friendly alien who zips through the air will probably be pretty helpful. Luckily for Kara, Andrew Kreisberg went on in his chat with TVLine to reveal that Sara Lance and John Diggle will warm up to Kara early on. Perhaps his two pals will be able to help Oliver accept Kara as Supergirl.
It should be interesting to see how the individual episodes of the crossover handle Oliver's unwillingness to suspend his disbelief. His issues sound serious, but The Flash often plays Oliver's grouchiness for humor by contrasting him with the peppier Barry. I know I still laugh every time I rewatch the Flash scene of Oliver shooting an unsuspecting Barry in the back with arrows to teach him a lesson.
I wouldn't be shocked if the Flash leg of the crossover uses some of Oliver's distance as a source of comedy or as a foil to the sunny Kara and Barry during what could be a grim event. We probably won't get to hear him finish a furious rant with "--and you're stealing my thunder on my milestone 100th adventure!" as a nod to the fact that the timing of the crossover means that Oliver will have to share the spotlight on his 100th episode, but his grumpiness could be worth some laughs before it gets to be a real issue.
Tune in to The CW on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET to see what's next for Oliver on Arrow, and check out our fall TV schedule to see when the other shows in the network's DC universe air during the week.
