There are some major spoilers ahead for the latest episode of Arrow. If you haven’t seen the show and don’t want to know, stop reading now.
This past week on Arrow, Oliver Queen might have been outed as the Green Arrow. Not only does this mean big changes for the show, but it may mean the entryway for other famous superheroes from the DC world. What am I talking about exactly? Oliver Queen is being accused of being the Green Arrow. In the clip below, Oliver says that he is not the Green Arrow and suggests that someone might have doctored the photo. In fact, he even alludes to the possibility that it might be Bruce Wayne in the photo. But what does this mean exactly?
It’s been long suspected that Batman exists somewhere in the Arrowverse, but this is the first time that Bruce Wayne has actually been mentioned by name. It’s worth mentioning that we don’t know exactly where this could go. The possibilities are endless. To clarify – Bruce Wayne was mentioned by name. Batman wasn’t. So it’s possible that he’s not even Batman at all, or he’s somewhere along the lines of the Batman evolution. All we know is that Bruce Wayne and Gotham City both exist in this universe. And that’s kind of cool.
If Batman does exist, however, it’s also possible that all the villains exist as well. We have been introduced to some villains already, so what does it mean that we haven’t seen any other villains? Not necessarily much. They could be keeping a low profile. That being said, an attack by the Joker on Gotham would be headline news, so how is it that we haven’t seen this? Either this world’s Batman is really good at keeping bad guys in check, or they aren’t active yet. And is that even possible?
If Arrow ever gets a chance to bring Bruce Wayne to the show, it will be an easy sell. It’s possible that Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen would actually have been familiar with each other, if not friends. Both are from wealthy families, so they could have met as children or even as teenagers. From the way Oliver threw out Bruce’s name, it’s likely that they’re at least close in age. If not friends, perhaps acquaintances. It’s also interesting that he throws his name out so casually. Making it seem like he doesn’t know about Bruce Wayne’s alter ego.
Within the comic book universe, Green Arrow has been known for imitating Batman. So who came first – Green Arrow or Batman? If Batman, then that would undercut Green Arrow’s importance in this universe. But if Green Arrow, then why make fun of him? Shortly after the above clip was released, the official Twitter account for Fox’s Gotham weighed in and tweeted “Bruce Wayne was still in #Gotham last time we checked”. Is this a “shots fired” moment or just playful banter? But that might be the biggest obstacle between a crossover or even a team up. Fox has the TV rights to Batman, so a crossover might not be possible until Gotham has come to a conclusion. Arrow and Gotham take place in very different worlds and it’s not even clear if there’s continuity between the two.