Production is just beginning on the seventh season of Arrow and that means we now know the title of the premiere. It’s “Inmate 4587,” as revealed in a post by incoming showrunner Beth Schwartz on Twitter, who shared the first page of the episode’s script with a Green Arrow POP Funko figure and bars laid over the image.
Of course, the title refers to Oliver Queen himself. The shock cliffhanger of the sixth season finale saw the former mayor of Star City publicly outed as the Emerald Archer once and for all, leading to his incarceration. Earlier this week, the synopsis for season 7 revealed that Queen will be detained at Slabside Maximum Security Prison, where he’ll have to face being locked up with villains he’s responsible for putting there.
As for the reason “4587” was chosen, Arrowverse fans who’ve been paying close attention over the years will know that this code’s appeared numerous times across the show, and occasionally on Legends of Tomorrow. In episode 4×06, for example, it’s the entry code for Kord Industries. If you’re wondering if it has a deeper meaning, you’d be right, as it’s actually a reference to 80’s crime drama Wiseguy, which EP Marc Guggenheim’s a big fan of.
@Iloveyoursoul I love the TV show, WISEGUY. 4587 was Vince Terranova's "ident code." Arrow & Legends both have lots of Wiseguy easter eggs.
— Marc Guggenheim (@mguggenheim) February 26, 2016
The aforementioned synopsis also teased that while Ollie’s locked up in jail, “a mysterious new enemy” will emerge from the shadows to “unravel his work as Green Arrow,” which means he’ll have to “redeem his name or risk losing everything.” There’s no word on who this season’s big bad will be, but star Stephen Amell has promised that the next run will introduce a whole bunch of new DC characters.
One of those we know is Batwoman, debuting in this year’s four-way crossover, while Blue Beetle is also said to be making an appearance, who fans have been waiting to see turn up on Arrow for years. Even if Oliver Queen’s stuck behind bars, then, it seems Star City won’t be short of superheroes to protect it.