The massive scope of the Arrowverse reached its zenith with the universe-hopping crossover “Crisis On Infinite Earths,” where heroes from multiple worlds united against the threat of total annihilation by the Anti-Monitor. It seems strange to think it when looking back in the wake of such an achievement, but when Arrow first debuted, it was intended as a standalone series with no connection to a wider multiverse.
Although the Green Arrow comics obviously take place in a world of superheroics where characters from various titles regularly interact with each other, that wasn’t what Arrow’s producers originally had in mind. Speaking last week at DC FanDome, series co-creator Greg Berlanti had this to say of the retrospective perspective:
“When we started out just with Arrow, eight, nine years ago now, it wasn’t our intention to replicate what everyone had done so brilliantly in comics. And it wasn’t until The Flash came along and we tried in the pilot of The Flash to put the two of them [Stephen Amell and Grant Gustin] on screen together, that I remember watching that first scene of the two of them together and thinking like, ‘Oh wow, this makes me feel like the DC books made me feel.’ Like one plus one equals three.”
Barry Allen’s introduction wasn’t a commitment to altering the original format, but merely testing the waters. However, as Berlanti stated, such was the chemistry displayed between Amell and Gustin that it made sense to regularly put them together. Then, when Supergirl migrated from CBS to The CW, the potential to include Kara was realized, and they had her living on a different Earth to explain why nobody in Arrow or The Flash mentioned the Kryptonian cousins previously. Meanwhile, with the cast of Legends of Tomorrow being made up of Arrowverse misfits, this made them perfect to join in on the crossover fun, widening the scope again.
Although Arrow is now concluded, the universe, or rather multiverse, it spawned has long grown beyond the point that it can survive absent its originating show, and beyond restrictive complications placed on future media production for the safety of all involved, there’s no reason to think it can’t continue to do so. And frankly, we can’t wait to see what comes next.