This article contains spoilers from the final season of Arrow.
Arrow took its final bow in January, culminating its eight-season run with a series finale that honored Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen and the Green Arrow’s legacy as Star City’s hero. While Oliver died saving the multiverse and fighting the Anti-Monitor in the Arrow-verse crossover, “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” the other characters were left behind to pick up the pieces and move on following the series finale.
Arrow’s series finale saw the return of several familiar faces, some of whom had previously been dead. With the multiverse rebooted and all of Arrow-verse’s superheroes calling Earth Prime home, Arrow resurrected everyone from Moira Queen to Tommy Merlyn. Felicity Smoak, who was absent from Season 8 after Emily Bett Rickards’ departure in Season 7, returned to Star City and came face-to-face with her adult daughter Mia. Meanwhile, Thea Queen and Roy Harper got engaged and Dinah Drake quit being captain of the police department.
However, now that all the superheroes exist on one earth and Star City is seemingly crime-free, Arrow's characters might find themselves called upon to help out elsewhere. There is even still a chance Laurel, Mia, and Dinah get to kick some ass in the future in the Green Arrow and the Canaries spinoff, though the show has not yet been picked up by The CW. With certain character’s futures up in the air, here are six Arrow characters who can still appear in the Arrow-verse after the series finale.
John Diggle
David Ramsey’s John Diggle is an obvious choice for a multitude of reasons. First introduced in Arrow’s pilot episode, Diggle was initially hired to be Oliver’s bodyguard following an attempt on his life and subsequent kidnapping. Oliver tries to evade Diggle, but the man is ex-military and manages to keep up with the Green Arrow. It isn’t long before the two become friends and working partners.
Following Oliver’s funeral, Diggle packs up his family and decides to move to Metropolis for a new start. On the way, a mysterious crash leads him to open a glowing green box, teasing that he might become the Green Lantern. Now, Diggle could very well continue on to Metropolis and appear in episodes of Superman & Lois, the Arrow-verse’s latest spinoff ordered to series by The CW.
While he’s primarily appeared in episodes of The Flash, potentially becoming Green Lantern means that he could visit all of the Arrow-verse shows to help out as a superpowered being. I could specifically see him showing up on Supergirl, especially since J’onn J'onzz, Kara Danvers, and Brainy could help him grow accustomed to the Lantern’s alien ring.
Quentin Lance
Portrayed with vibrant conviction by Paul Blackthorne, Quentin Lance was introduced as a detective with the then-Starling City police department in Season 1. The father of Laurel and Sara Lance, Quentin was quite angry with Oliver for a long time, blaming him for the death of Sara (though she was later revealed to be alive). After a while, Quentin and Oliver came to respect each other, but he died after taking a bullet to save Earth-2’s Laurel Lance.
Arrow’s series finale revealed that Quentin Lance was alive and well in the newly minted Earth Prime. While the character has only ever crossed over to The Flash before, Quentin could find himself back at Central City’s police department, working alongside Captain Joe West. Now that crime in Star City is practically nonexistent, the former detective could assist in bringing down the crime rate for Batwoman’s Gotham City, since it’s clear the Crows aren’t doing that great a job. Naturally, the best option would be for him to show up on Legends of Tomorrow to pay Sara a visit and maybe even get in on the time travel shenanigans.
Malcolm Merlyn
John Barrowman’s Malcolm Merlyn was equal parts snark and villainy. Arrow’s Season 1 proved him a conniving antagonist who sought the destruction of the Glades. As the Dark Archer, he served as a scenery-chewing villain who went head-to-head with Oliver Queen. Seasons after revealing that he, not Robert Queen, was Thea’s biological father, Malcolm presumably died on the island of Lian Yu after stepping on a landmine in the Season 5 finale.
While Arrow’s series finale brought most everyone back from the dead, Merlyn was not confirmed to be among them. What’s more, no one actually saw him die onscreen, so the villain could return to wreak more havoc in the Arrow-verse. (No body, no death, that’s the fiction rule.) Merlyn was one of four villains, known collectively as the Legion of Doom, in Season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow. There’s a chance he could return to the time-traveling show with a nefarious plan or even show up on Batwoman. I think he’d fit right in with the corrupt in Gotham City and he always did know where to find those Lazarus Pits.
Nyssa Al Ghul
Nyssa Al Ghul was first introduced way back in Season 2 of Arrow. As a member of the League of Assassins and Ra’s Al Ghul daughter, Nyssa is an exceptional fighter, and a reluctant ally of Green Arrow. Nyssa is the ex-lover of Sara, but after seemingly dying for a second time, she mentored and trained Laurel before she eventually became Black Canary. The last we saw of Nyssa, she was joining Thea and Roy Harper on their mission to destroy the Lazarus Pits.
Not much seems to have changed with Nyssa in Earth Prime. However, considering that she and her sister, Talia, are Ra’s Al Ghul’s daughters, they would be right at home in Gotham City. Nyssa probably won’t show up as a villain on Batwoman, but she’s actively and successfully trained several Arrow characters, so she might be able to teach Kate Kane a thing or two. Now that Hawaii Five-0 has officially been cancelled, Katrina Law’s schedule might free her up to reprise her role.
Curtis Holt/Mr. Terrific
Curtis Holt first joined Team Arrow in Season 4 after discovering the Green Arrow’s bunker. As a former employee of Palmer Technologies, Curtis was already familiar with Felicity and the two became friends, later coming up with an idea to start their own company. While he ultimately became Mr. Terrific in Season 6, Curtis (Echo Kellum) left Team Arrow for a new job in Washington, D.C., occasionally returning to Star City to help his former teammates when necessary.
Curtis is the most logical choice to appear throughout all of the Arrow-verse shows. From Supergirl to The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow to Batwoman, Curtis’ tech and coding expertise makes him an additional asset to any of the superheroes and their respective teams. While he’s currently retired from being a superhero, I could see Curtis spicing up the Batcave with Luke, hanging out with Cisco over on The Flash and even figuring out a way to get digital information in and out of Black Lightning’s occupied city of Freeland.
Lyla Michaels
Audrey Marie Anderson’s Lyla Michaels was a staple of Arrow since Season 1, appearing in a handful of episodes every season. Her work with A.R.G.U.S. has often put her at odds with husband Diggle, but it was in Season 8, when Lyla became Harbinger and began working with The Monitor, that her storyline really flourished. At the tail end of Arrow's series finale, Lyla and her family were moving to Metropolis.
However, a recent episode of The Flash confirmed that Lyla was still working with A.R.G.U.S., making her the next best candidate to venture to the other shows in the Arrow-verse. Like Diggle, Lyla has primarily crossed over to The Flash. However, given her secret government agency status and the rebooted universe, Lyla could logically offer assistance to the DEO on Supergirl and even appear to help take down the ASA on Black Lightning next season. The most obvious appearance, however, might be on Superman & Lois, where she could team-up with Lois Lane should the intrepid reporter need information only Lyla has.
The possibilities are endless and the list of Arrow characters who could appear throughout the Arrow-verse are not limited to those mentioned here. While Arrow is officially over, there are still plenty of superhero shows to watch on The CW. The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow air Tuesday nights, with Supergirl and Batwoman teaming up on Sunday nights, and Black Lightning going it alone on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. For more, be sure to check out our midseason schedule.
