Arrow debuted back in 2012 as a dark and gritty series about a handsome but broody billionaire who returned to his corrupt city to fight crime as a vigilante. The first season was basically Batman Begins drawn out into 23 parts, and the show has continued to borrow elements from the Dark Knight's lore. Now, star Stephen Amell has come up with an idea for a throwback Batman reference on Arrow that could be pretty epic. Take a look:
Arrow is nowhere near as dark and serious in Season 5 as it was back in Season 1, so it certainly could get silly with a shout-out to the campy 1966 Batman series. Who knows? Maybe a floating symbol on an older model TV could be the Arrow equivalent of the Bat Signal for an episode or two. Oliver's current lady love is a slightly shady TV reporter, and the Star City Police Department is a mess of corruption and incompetence. A floating arrow signal calling on the Green Arrow to save the day wouldn't be the wildest thing to happen in Season 5. As long as Oliver never says, "Quick, Diggle! To the Arrow-mobile!" in the Arrow Bunker, I think we should be fine.
In all seriousness, Arrow really could get away with a floating arrow symbol as an Easter egg. All the other shows in The CW's DC universe have snuck Batman references into their stories. Supergirl has been hinting at a Batman existing on Earth-38, Legends of Tomorrow's Rip Hunter referred to a "dark knight" back in Season 1, and Barry's future newspaper on The Flash hints at a Wayne Tech that will someday merge with a Queen Inc. Why not let Arrow sneak in a nod to Batman '66?
One fan went the extra mile on the idea of combining elements of Arrow with Batman '66. Graphic artist David Jones tweeted the image of a floating green arrow in response to Stephen Amell's post on Twitter. He shortly thereafter posted a full set of animated credits for an Arrow set on Earth-66, and it involves all of Oliver's super pals from the other shows in The CW's DC universe. Check it out!
Holy awesome credits, Batman! If the folks behind the scenes at The CW ever run out of ideas for their annual DC crossover, I think they should outsource to David Jones and let him animate an extravaganza set on Earth-66. I would watch four episodes of that. Besides, characters in the Arrow-verse can already be pretty cartoonish when the plot calls for it.
We're probably never going to get a Batman in the Arrow-verse, for better or worse. We might get a Bruce Wayne, and he could actually fit in pretty well without the cape and the cowl, but Batman might just be too big a character for The CW to incorporate in any of its shows. (Shots fired, Superman.) A floating arrow symbol on Arrow could be a fun and reasonably subtle reference to one of the most popular superheroes of all time.
Arrow is currently on its winter hiatus. It will return to The CW on Wednesday, February 1 at 8 p.m. ET. Check out our midseason TV premiere schedule to see when your other favorite shows hit the airwaves in 2017.
