Arrowverse

Arrowverse
Creator	Greg Berlanti Marc Guggenheim Andrew Kreisberg Geoff Johns Phil Klemmer
Original work	Arrow
Print publications
Comics	See below
Films and television
Television series	Arrow The Flash Legends of Tomorrow
Animated series	Vixen
Audio
Original music	Blake Neely
Miscellaneous
Web series	Blood Rush Chronicles of Cisco

The Arrowverse is a shared fictional universe that is centered on television series airing on The CW, developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, Phil Klemmer and Geoff Johns, based on characters appearing in publications by DC Comics. The shared universe, much like the DC Universe in comic books or the cinematic DC Extended Universe, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.

The first television series was Arrow, based on the character Green Arrow, which debuted in October 2012. The universe was expanded with the series The Flash in October 2014, which is based on Barry Allen / Flash. The universe expanded further in August 2015 with the animated series Vixen on The CW Seed, and again with the live-action team up series Legends of Tomorrow in January 2016. The franchise has also crossed over with DC Comics television shows which air on other networks; Arrow crossed over with the short-lived NBC series Constantine in its fourth season, while the Flash appeared on an episode of CBS's Supergirl in its first season.

Development

In January 2012, The CW ordered a pilot for Arrow, centered around the character Green Arrow and developed by Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim.^[1][2] Stephen Amell was cast in the titular role.^[3] When developing the series, Guggenheim expressed that the creative team wanted to "chart [their] own course, [their] own destiny", and avoid any direct connections to the series Smallville, which featured its own Green Arrow (Justin Hartley).^[4] In July 2013, it was announced that Berlanti, Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns would be creating a spin-off television series based on The Flash.^[5] The character, played by actor Grant Gustin, was set to appear in three episodes of Arrow's second season, with the third acting as a backdoor pilot for the new series,^[6] though a traditional pilot was eventually ordered instead.^[7]

In January 2015, the CW announced that an animated web-series featuring the DC heroine Vixen would be debuting on CW Seed in late 2015 and be set in the same universe as both Arrow and The Flash.^[8] Amell and Gustin reprise their respective roles in the series,^[9] and the character of Vixen was expected to make a live-action appearance on The Flash and/or Arrow as well.^[10] The next month, it was reported that another spin-off series, described as a superhero team-up show, was being discussed by The CW for a possible 2015-16 midseason release. Berlanti, Kreisberg, Guggenheim, and Sarah Schechter would executive produce the potential series, which would be headlined by several recurring characters from both Arrow and The Flash. That May, the CW officially confirmed DC's Legends of Tomorrow for a January 2016 premiere.^[11][12]

In August 2015, in a video about the production of the first season of Vixen, Guggenheim referred to the universe the series share as the "Arrowverse",^[13] which Kreisberg confirmed was the name the producers use for the shared universe.^[14] In October, additional Arrow showrunner Wendy Mericle revealed that the producers had begun having someone track all the characters and plots used by each series, in order to make sure everything lines up,^[15] though The Flash executive producer Aaron Helbing noted in April 2016 that "sometimes the schedules don’t line up exactly...and that stuff is out of our control", such as when the Flash is shown using his abilities on Arrow that month, while not having them the same week on The Flash.^[16]

Television series

Series	Season		Episodes	Originally aired		Showrunner(s)	Status
				First aired	Last aired
Arrow		1	23	October 10, 2012	May 15, 2013	Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim	Released
		2		October 9, 2013	May 14, 2014
		3		October 8, 2014	May 13, 2015	Marc Guggenheim
		4		October 7, 2015	May 25, 2016	Wendy Mericle and Marc Guggenheim	Airing
		5	TBD	TBA	TBA	TBA	In Development
The Flash		1	23	October 7, 2014	May 19, 2015	Andrew Kreisberg	Released
		2		October 6, 2015	May 24, 2016	Gabrielle Stanton, Aaron and Todd Helbing and Andrew Kreisberg	Airing
		3	TBD	TBA	TBA	TBA	In development
Vixen		1	6	August 25, 2015	September 29, 2015	Marc Guggenheim and Keto Shimizu	Released
		2	6[17]	TBA	TBA	TBA	In development
Legends of Tomorrow		1	16[18]	January 21, 2016	May 19, 2016	Phil Klemmer, Marc Guggenheim and Chris Fedak	Airing
		2	TBD	TBA	TBA	TBA	In development

Arrow (2012–)

The series follows Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), billionaire playboy of Starling City, who spends five years shipwrecked on a mysterious island. Upon his return to Starling City, he is reunited with his mother, Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson), his sister, Thea Queen (Willa Holland), and his friend, Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell). The first season focuses on Oliver rekindling his relationships and spending his nights hunting down and sometimes killing wealthy criminals as a hooded vigilante. He uncovers a conspiracy to destroy "The Glades", a poorer section of the city that has become overridden with crime. John Diggle (David Ramsey) and Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) assist Oliver in his crusade. Oliver also reconnects with ex-girlfriend, Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy), who is still angry over his role in her sister's presumed death. The first season also features flashbacks to Oliver's time on the island, and how it changed him; this continues in subsequent seasons.

In season two, Oliver has vowed to stop crime without killing criminals, and comes under attack from Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett), a man from Oliver's time on the island who resurfaces with a vendetta against him. Oliver must also contend with outside forces attempting to take over Queen Consolidated, guilt from decisions he made in the past, and secrets harbored by his family and friends. Oliver grows to accept aspiring vigilante Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) as his protégé, and begins to receive assistance from Laurel's father, Officer Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne). Oliver also gains another ally; a mysterious woman in black, who is eventually revealed to be Laurel's sister, Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), who had survived her ordeal at sea years prior.

In season three, Arrow has become a public hero in Starling City following Slade Wilson's defeat. Queen Consolidated is sold to wealthy businessman, scientist, and aspiring hero Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh). Oliver struggles to bring his family back together, an old enemy returns, and Oliver becomes embroiled into a conflict with Ra's al Ghul (Matthew Nable). After a rocky start, Laurel sets out to follow in Sara's footsteps as the Black Canary. John Diggle struggles with his new role as a family man, as Oliver no longer wants him in the field after the birth of John's daughter, while Felicity Smoak begins a new career as Vice President of Palmer Technologies (formerly Queen Consolidated).

In season four, Oliver takes on a refined persona as "Green Arrow". He and his allies fight against the terrorist organization H.I.V.E., headed by Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough), who plans to destroy Star City (formerly Starling City). John Diggle is concerned with finding H.I.V.E. and learning the reason for the murder of his brother, Andy. Thea joins the team under the alias "Speedy", but must learn to control herself while fighting, as she now has a blood-lust that may never be fully quenched as a side effect of the Lazarus Pit. Laurel struggles to bring Sara back after learning of Thea's resurrection from the Pit. Oliver decides to run for mayor. Despite having found happiness with Felicity (now CEO of Palmer Technologies) and planning to propose to her, Oliver discovers that he is the biological father to a boy he unknowingly conceived ten years previously with a former girlfriend, Samantha Clayton (Anna Hopkins), whose discovery threatens to destabilize his relationship with Felicity, his life as the Green Arrow, and his mayoral campaign.

The Flash (2014–)

After witnessing his mother's mysterious murder and his father's wrongful conviction for the crime, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) is taken in by Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) and his daughter, Iris (Candice Patton). Allen becomes a brilliant but socially awkward crime scene investigator for the Central City Police Department. His obsession with his tragic past causes him to become an outcast among his peers; he investigates cold cases, paranormal occurrences, and cutting-edge scientific advancements that may shed light on his mother's murder. No one believes his description of the crime—that a ball of lightning with the face of a man invaded their home that night—and Allen is fiercely driven to vindicate himself and to clear his father's name. Fourteen years after his mother's death, an advanced particle accelerator at S.T.A.R. Labs malfunctions during its public unveiling, bathing the city center with a previously unknown form of radiation and creating a severe thunderstorm. Allen is struck by lightning from the storm and doused with chemicals in his lab. Awakening after a nine-month coma, he discovers he has the ability to move at superhuman speeds. Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), the disgraced designer of the failed particle accelerator, describes Barry's special nature as "metahuman"; Allen soon discovers that he is not the only one who was changed by the radiation. Allen vows to use his gifts to protect Central City from the escalating violence of metahuman criminals. He is aided by a few close friends and associates who guard his secrets, including S.T.A.R. Labs team members Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker).

Six months after the events of the first season, after a singularity event, the Flash is recognized as Central City's hero. Jay Garrick (Teddy Sears), the Flash from Earth-Two, in a parallel universe, visits Barry and warns him another speedster named Zoom (voiced by Tony Todd) is trying to eliminate everyone connected to the Speed Force throughout the multiverse. Jay, and later Harrison Wells' Earth-Two counterpart, work to help Barry and his friends stop Zoom. Joe and Iris struggle with their shared painful past related to their family, especially after the arrival of Iris's brother Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale), whom her mother Francine West (Vanessa A. Williams) gave birth to shortly after abandoning her family.

Vixen (2015–)

After her parents were killed in Africa by local corruption, Mari McCabe (Megalyn Echikunwoke) inherits her family's Tantu Totem, gaining the powers of animals, using them to fight as Vixen to stop threats like those that claimed her family.^[19]

DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016–)

Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) travels back in time to the present day where he brings together a team of heroes and villains in an attempt to prevent Vandal Savage (Casper Crump) from destroying the world and time itself.^[20][21]

Web series

Blood Rush (2013)

On November 6, 2013, a six-episode series of shorts, titled Blood Rush, premiered alongside the broadcast of Arrow, as well as online. The series, which was presented by Bose, and features product placement for Bose products, was shot on location in Vancouver, similarly to the main show. The miniseries features Emily Bett Rickards, Colton Haynes and Paul Blackthorne reprising their roles of Felicity Smoak, Roy Harper and Quentin Lance, respectively.^[22]

Chronicles of Cisco (2016)

On April 19, 2016, a web series titled Chronicles of Cisco, premiered. The series, which was presented by AT&T, features Valdes reprise his role as Cisco Ramon.^[23]

Comic books

Title	Issue(s)	Publication date(s)		Writer(s)	Artist(s)
		First published	Last published
Arrow Volume 1	13	November 28, 2012	October 23, 2013	Andrew Kreisberg (#1-8) and Marc Guggenheim (#1-12, 0)	Sergio Sandoval (#1-3, 5-6, 8, 10); Jorge Jimenez (#1 - 3); Mike Grell (#1-4, 6, 9-10) Eric Nguyen (#4, 9); Julian Totino Tedesco (#4); Xermanico (#5-7, 10-11) Omar Francia (#5, 8, 11); Pol C Gas (#6; 8); Victor Drujiniu (#6-8, 12) Le Beau Underwood (#7, 9); Allan Jefferson(#7, 9-12); Juan Castro (#7-8, 12) Victor Drujiniu (#8; 12); Pol C Gas (#8); Omar Francia (#8; 11); Jonas Trindade (#11-12)
Arrow: Season 2.5	12	October 8, 2014	September 9, 2015	Marc Guggenheim (#1-12); Yuko Shimizu (#4); Keto Shimizu (#5)	Joe Bennett (#1-5; 7-12); Jack Jadson (#2); Craig Yeung (#3-5; 7-12); Szymon Kudranski (#4-7)
The Flash: Season Zero	12	October 1, 2014	September 2, 2015	Andrew Kreisberg (#1-10); Katherine Walczak (#4); Brooke Eikmeier (#4) Lauren Certo (#7-9); Kai Wu (#7-9); Phil Hester (#10); Ben Sokolowski (#11); Sterling Gates (#12)	Eric Gapstur and Phil Hester (#1-4; 6-11); Marcus To (#5; 10); Ibrahim Mustafa (#12)
Arrow: The Dark Archer[24]	12	January 13, 2016	TBA	John Barrowman; Carol Barrowman; Marc Guggenheim; Andrew Kreisberg	Daniel Sampere

Shared cast and characters

Key:	= Does not appear / is not yet confirmed to appear

Character	Actor	First appearance	Series				Ref(s)
			Arrow	The Flash	Vixen	DC's Legends of Tomorrow
Oliver Queen / Green Arrow	Stephen Amell	Arrow	Main	Recurring	Guest		[25][9][26]
Laurel Lance / Black Canary	Katie Cassidy		Main	Guest			[27][28]
John Diggle / Spartan	David Ramsey		Main	Guest			[29][30]
Thea Queen / Speedy	Willa Holland		Main	Guest			[31]
Quentin Lance	Paul Blackthorne		Main	Guest		Guest	[32][33]
Felicity Smoak / Overwatch	Emily Bett Rickards		Main[lower-alpha 1]	Recurring	Guest		[36][37][33]
Malcolm Merlyn / Ra's al Ghul	John Barrowman		Main[lower-alpha 1]	Guest			[31]
Lyla Michaels	Audrey Marie Anderson		Recurring	Guest			[38][39]
Floyd Lawton / Deadshot	Michael Rowe		Recurring	Guest			[40][41]
Samantha Clayton	Anna Hopkins		Recurring	Guest			[42]
Barry Allen / Flash	Grant Gustin		Recurring	Main	Guest		[6][9][43]
Nyssa al Ghul	Katrina Law		Recurring			Guest	[33]
Cisco Ramon / Vibe	Carlos Valdés		Guest	Main	Guest		[44][37]
Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost	Danielle Panabaker		Guest	Main			[44]
Ray Palmer / Atom	Brandon Routh		Recurring	Guest		Main	[45]
Sara Lance / White Canary	Caity Lotz		Recurring			Main	[46]
Damien Darhk	Neal McDonough		Recurring	Guest		Guest	[47]
Ra's al Ghul	Matthew Nable		Recurring			Guest	[48]
Linda Park	Olivia Cheng / Malese Jow		Guest	Recurring			[49][50][51]
William Tockman / Clock King	Robert Knepper		Guest				[52]
Royal Flush Gang	Various		Guest				[53]
Jake Simmons / Deathbolt	Doug Jones		Guest				[54]
Aldus Boardman	Peter Francis James		Guest			Guest	[55]
Leonard Snart / Captain Cold	Wentworth Miller	The Flash		Recurring		Main	[56][57]
Mick Rory / Heat Wave	Dominic Purcell			Recurring		Main	[58][57]
Martin Stein / Firestorm	Victor Garber			Recurring		Main	[59][57]
Brie Larvan / Bug-Eyed Bandit	Emily Kinney		Guest				[60]
Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl	Ciara Renée		Guest			Main	[61]
Lewis Snart	Michael Ironside / Jason Beaudoin			Guest		Guest	[62][63]
Jefferson "Jax" Jackson / Firestorm	Franz Drameh			Guest		Main	[64][65]
Carter Hall / Hawkman	Falk Hentschel		Guest			Main	[66][67]
Vandal Savage	Casper Crump		Guest			Recurring	[68][69]
Mari McCabe / Vixen	Megalyn Echikunwoke	Vixen	Guest		Main		[70][71]

1. Emily Bett Rickards and John Barrowman were promoted to series regulars on Arrow in season 2 and season 3, respectively, after portraying their characters in a recurring capacity for the previous seasons.^[34][35]

Crossovers

Official crossover episodes between Arrowverse series

TV season	Series				Ref(s)
	Arrow	The Flash	Vixen	DC's Legends of Tomorrow
2014–15 season	S03E08 – "The Brave and the Bold"	S01E08 – "Flash vs. Arrow"			[36]
2015–16 season	S04E08 – "Legends of Yesterday"	S02E08 – "Legends of Today"		[lower-alpha 1]	[73][72]

1. Though Legends of Tomorrow did not have a crossover episode with Arrow and The Flash at this time, the Arrow and The Flash crossover episodes did set up a number of characters who star and recur in that series.^[68][72]

Constantine

By May 2015, Amell had had discussions with DC Entertainment about portraying Queen on NBC's Constantine, starring Matt Ryan; saying, "The reason that I was going to guest star on Constantine...was [Constantine's] an expert when it comes to the Lazarus Pit, which is now something that is a part of and will continue to be a part of Arrow." Amell stated that, even though Constantine was not renewed for a second season, a crossover "was and is still on the table".^[74] Guggenheim revealed a desire to integrate John Constantine into the Arrowverse, saying, "A lot of the pieces are in place, except for that one final piece, which is what’s the fate of Constantine? That’s the tricky thing. But it comes up in the writers’ room constantly — we have a number of ideas, one idea that’s particularly exciting to me. We’re in a little bit of a wait-and-see mode".^[75] In July 2015, Mericle added on the subject, "It's something we've been talking to DC about and it's just a question of some political things, but also [Ryan]'s schedule."^[76]

In August 2015, it was confirmed that Ryan would appear in Arrow's fourth season episode "Haunted" for a "one-time-only-deal". Guggenheim said, "This is something the fans were clamoring for," praising DC for being so "magnanimous and generous in giving us this one-time dispensation." Due to Arrow and Constantine sharing the same studio, the producers of Arrow were able to use Ryan's original outfits: "The trench coat, the tie, the shirt...the whole wardrobe is being taken out for [sic] storage and shipped up to Vancouver [where Arrow shoots]." John Badham, a director on Constantine, directed the episode that Constantine appears in.^[77] Mericle confirmed that this version of Constantine would be the same character that had appeared in Constantine.^[78] On filming the episode, Guggenheim referred to it as "a Constantine/Arrow crossover" and felt that "we got the chance to extend Matt Ryan’s run as Constantine by at least one more hour of television. I think you’ll see he fits very neatly into our universe. It never feels forced".^[79]

Supergirl

In November 2014, Berlanti expressed interest in his CBS series Supergirl existing in the same universe as Arrow and The Flash,^[80] and in January 2015, The CW president Mark Pedowitz revealed that he was also open to a crossover between the series and networks. However, CBS president Nina Tassler stated that month that, "those two shows are on a different network. So I think we'll keep Supergirl to ourselves for awhile."^[81] In August 2015, Tassler revealed that while there were no plans at the time to do story crossovers, the three series would have crossover promotions.^[82] In January 2016, Tassler's successor Glenn Geller said "I have to be really careful what I say here" in regards to a potential Supergirl/Arrowverse crossover, so "Watch and wait and see what happens."^[83]

In February 2016, it was announced that Gustin would appear on the Supergirl episode "Worlds Finest", with Berlanti and Kreisberg, also Supergirl executive producers, thanking "the fans and journalists who have kept asking for this to happen. It is our pleasure and hope to create an episode worthy of everyone’s enthusiasm and support."^[84] The crossover required "a lot more logistical trickery" than the usual Arrowverse crossovers due to Gustin filming The Flash in Vancouver alongside Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, while Supergirl is produced in Los Angeles.^[85] The producers chose to use the Flash as the character to crossover, due to his ability to travel between various Earths, and because it was "a little more fun at first to bring the veteran from that show to the chemistry of a new show." Berlanti stated that "in a perfect world", the crossover would have featured both Gustin and Amell's Green Arrow, "but logistically that would have been a nightmare to try and do both shows. We had to facilitate one."^[86] Gustin was optimistic that the crossover in 2016 would allow another crossover the following year with the rest of the Arrowverse shows.^[87]

In "Worlds Finest", Supergirl is established as being in an alternate universe where the Flash helps Kara fight the Silver Banshee and Livewire in exchange for her help in returning home.^[88] The events of the episode intersect with the events of the eighteenth episode of The Flash season two, "Versus Zoom".^[89]

Marketing

In April 2015, to celebrate the season three finale of Arrow and season one finale of The Flash, The CW released a short promo titled "Superhero Fight Club".^[90] The short features characters from Arrow and The Flash battling each other in a hero vs. villain showdown. Characters include Arrow, Flash, Arsenal, Black Canary, Merlyn, Captain Cold, Heat Wave, Firestorm, Ra’s al Ghul, Reverse-Flash, and the A.T.O.M. in a cage match fight.^[91]

Reception

Ratings

Series	Season		Nielsen ratings		Critical response
			Rank	Average total viewers (in millions)	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
Arrow		1	119	3.68[92]	86%[93]	73 out of 100[94]
		2	128	3.28[95]	100%[96]	TBD
		3	135	3.52[97]	100%[98]	TBD
		4	TBD	TBD	100%[99]	TBD
The Flash		1	118	4.62[97]	97%[100]	73 out of 100[101]
		2	TBD	TBD	100%[102]	81 out of 100[103]
Legends of Tomorrow		1	TBD	TBD	59%[104]	59 out of 100[105]

Commentary

After the first Arrow/Flash crossover, Brian Lowry of Variety talked about the spin-off series and the crossover, applauding the producers for replicating the success of Arrow but with "a lighter tone" and "a hero with genuine super powers" in The Flash, and calling the crossover an appropriate moment for everyone concerned to take a short but well-deserved victory lap." Lowry also said that the crossover "does a nifty job of bringing the two series together, although probably not in a manner likely to boost the shared audience between them much more than already exists."^[106] Meredith Borders at Birth.Movies.Death. called the crossover episodes "fun" and said positively that "too much happened that was unrelated to one show or the other - and that's a good thing. While the crossover episodes were definitely open to new viewers of either The Flash or Arrow (or both, presumably), with each episode wrapped up tidily by the end of its hour, plenty of show-specific plot stuff was advanced without spelling it out for newbies. New viewers to either show could follow along and have a good time, but veteran viewers were rewarded with major storyline motion."^[107]

Following the release of the first trailer for Supergirl, Paul Tassi wrote for Forbes about why he felt that series should be kept separate from the Arrowverse: He called the moment in the Arrow third season finale where Barry Allen appears briefly, but abruptly leaves since "Arrow needs to let its own characters solve its problems", a "weird moment" that shows "the cracks [that] form when it’s just two shows that have to work together on the regular." Tassi then noted the further complications of adding Supergirl, saying, "The more shows you have, the more heroes you introduce, the harder it is to keep explaining away why they’re not constantly around to help each other. Supergirl already has that problem built-in with Superman, who it seems will not be a regular fixture on the show, and I’m sure there will be many excuses as to why he’s too busy to help Supergirl fight her latest battle. Add in Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow mythology, and it’s probably too much to juggle....I think Supergirl deserves to launch without Arrow and The Flash on its shoulders, and be allowed to find itself before being assimilated into an existing universe."^[108]

With the premiere of Legends of Tomorrow, ScreenRant's Alice Walker discussed how the series "has hurt Arrow and The Flash", noting that the latter required minimal setup when it was spun-off from the former and had an element of mystery surrounding its quality with "a “wait and see” attitude" from audiences, while Legends was instead met with much excitement long before its release leading to each piece of news concerning it being "publicized and met with fanfare – to the detriment of the other shows involved." Walker felt that audiences knowing which characters would appear in Legends, and how, took "the thrill out of the story" of the other series as such information spoiled some of their upcoming plot twists, including the resurrection of Sara Lance or the fact that Ray Palmer "could never really pose a threat to Oliver [Queen] and Felicity [Smoak]’s relationship, or run Palmer Technologies long term, since it was widely known that he would be a huge part of Legends." Additionally, the annual Arrow/The Flash crossover suffered from also trying to set up Legends, which was "too much to ask from the already crowded storylines and ended up feeling like an exercise in synchronicity, with producers planting more seeds than they could reap. The crossover event was no longer a fun way to contrast the two shows; it now had to serve the much larger purpose of setting up an entirely new world." Walker stated that the premiere of Legends "means that Arrow and The Flash can finally stop dedicating so much time and plot to laying the groundwork for the spin-off, and start focusing on the fundamentals of their own shows again."^[109]

Potential additions

At San Diego Comic-Con 2014, actor David Ramsey revealed that there had been talk of a spin-off that would focus on Arrow's version of the Suicide Squad.^[110] However, Arrow co-producer and comic book writer Keto Shimizu stated in January 2015 that with the Suicide Squad feature film in development, "it doesn't seem like it’s a possibility."^[111] In August 2015, Pedowitz stated, "There is no intention, at this point, to spin anything else off" to add to the universe,^[112] though after Vixen was renewed for a second season he said that, "Hopefully, that character could actually spin itself out, if not, maybe join as one of the Legends" in Legends of Tomorrow.^[113]

Multiverse

In October 2014, Johns explained that that DC's approach to their films and television series would be different to Marvel Studios' cinematic universe, stating that their film universe and TV universes would be kept separate within a multiverse to allow "everyone to make the best possible product, to tell the best story, to do the best world."^[114] The second season of The Flash began to explore this concept of the multiverse, by introducing Earth-2, which features doppelgängers of the inhabitants in the Arrowverse (or Earth-1).^[115] In the episode "Welcome to Earth-2", glimpses of the multiverse are seen, including an image of Supergirl star Melissa Benoist as Supergirl and an image of John Wesley Shipp as the Flash from the 1990 television series, implying that those two television series exist on alternate Earths to the Arrowverse.^[116][117]

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11. Dyce, Andrew (May 2, 2015). "‘The Flash/Arrow’ Spinoff Going Straight to Series; Premieres January 2016". screenrant.com. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
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