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The CW has produced more than its fair share of DC superhero shows over the years, from The Flash and Supergirl to Legends of Tomorrow and Black Lightning. Some remain favorites in their own right, while others became memorable for just how wonderfully weird the shared universe eventually became. The CW’s superhero stint was packed with crossovers, alternate Earths, time travel, and even multiversal crises, the likes of which Marvel could only dream. It eventually got to a point where keeping track of all the interconnected storylines and varied characters felt like a part-time job.
None of it would have happened, however, without 2012’s Arrow. The series stars Stephen Amell as the billionaire playboy-turned-vigilante Oliver Queen, who returns home after spending five years stranded on a mysterious island. Created by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg, the series initially focused on the Green Arrow as the star of a grounded superhero crime drama. It was darker and more violent than the typical teen drama on The CW, with Oliver stalking criminals from rooftops, interrogating thugs, and occasionally taking matters further than you might expect from a network TV show. It also gave the character a compelling mythology built around Oliver’s mysterious years stranded at sea, slowly revealing the skills that transformed him into the Arrow.
The series works best when it fully embraces its identity as a superhero show, balancing comic-book spectacle with visceral grit. The fight choreography remains a benchmark for network television, particularly in the earlier seasons, where Oliver bounces seamlessly between archery, brutal hand-to-hand combat, knife work, and whatever improvised weapons happen to be within reach. There is an exhausting physicality to Amell’s performance that makes the action feel unusually convincing for a weekly series. The commitment to practical action is encapsulated in the famous season 5 hallway fight sequence, a jaw-dropping, single-take gauntlet where Oliver relentlessly dismantles a crew of armed thugs. It’s in these kinetic moments that the show transcends standard CW trappings, proving that a street-level vigilante with no powers can deliver genuinely cinematic thrills on a television schedule.
That same ambition extends to the show’s special effects and massive set pieces. Although the CGI doesn’t hold up next to modern blockbusters, Arrow regularly attempted large-scale stunts that could have been far more embarrassing on a television budget. What makes such action sequences special is how they’re often inextricably tied to the show’s emotional stakes and dual-narrative structure.
Perhaps no scene highlights this better than the epic season 2 finale showdown between Oliver and Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett). The masterful editing seamlessly weaves back and forth between their sword-swinging deathmatch in the island flashbacks and their present-day brawl through Starling City, anchoring the spectacular choreography in years of deeply personal betrayal. Whether he was clashing with formidable villains like Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) or relying on the tactical support of trusted allies like John Diggle (David Ramsey) the action in Arrow was the physical manifestation of Oliver’s arduous journey from a hardened survivor to a genuine hero.
Like any long-running network drama, Arrow was not without its missteps. The series occasionally struggled to sustain its narrative momentum while serving an increasingly bloated supporting cast, with seasons 3 and 4 marking a noticeable dip in quality. Storylines became bogged down by tedious flashbacks, tangled romantic melodrama, and jarring supernatural villains that strayed too far from the show’s gritty, street-level roots. These mid-series slumps exacerbated the persistent critique that Oliver was essentially just “Green Batman,” a comparison made undeniable when season 3 pitted him against iconic Gotham rogue Ra’s al Ghul.
If Oliver is the CW’s “Green Batman,” he’s also arguably its “Green Iron Man,” as well. Like Robert Downey Jr.’s MCU character, Amell’s Oliver Queen is a wealthy young man who builds a superhero identity, assembles a team, and ultimately becomes the foundation for an entire shared universe. Amell and Downey Jr. may have started with bows and armor, respectively, but both became the faces of sprawling superhero universes they could never have imagined.
Arrow eventually course-corrected and grew beyond its identity crisis to establish its own robust mythology. Such resilience, particularly for a CW show, is exactly what makes revisiting Arrow so rewarding today. You can view it as the foundational first chapter of a sprawling television empire, but you don’t need to care about the wider Arrowverse to appreciate its standalone appeal.
At its best, Arrow remains a ridiculously entertaining, relentlessly physical action series about a fractured man with a bow, desperately trying to save his city. It’s a solid primer for Oliver Queen’s inevitable debut in James Gunn’s DC universe, if we ever get one.
Arrow is available to stream for free on Pluto TV.
