Why Arrow Used So Many Batman Villains

Forum 3 years ago

Why Arrow Used So Many Batman Villains

Batman’s rogues’ gallery received a great deal of representation on Arrow, despite the fact that it was a show about Oliver Queen. During the show’s eight-season run, Stephen Amell’s Emerald Archer crossed paths with a number of DC Comics villains primarily associated with the Caped Crusader.

Of course, Oliver naturally spent a lot of time fighting villains from Green Arrow comics, such as the Dark Archer, China White, and two versions of Count Vertigo. But, some of the greatest enemies of the Arrowverse’s Oliver Queen don’t actually have a strong connection to him in the comics. Examples of this include Prometheus, Deathstroke, and of course, season 3’s Ra’s al Ghul. In the comic books, Ra’s al Ghul is known as the highly skilled, immortal warrior who trained Bruce Wayne. The student and the master became enemies when Ra’s al Ghul targeted Gotham City. A version of this story was given to Oliver in season 3 when he was picked to be the villain’s successor.

Ra’s al Ghul was just one of several Batman villains to fight Oliver Queen. Huntress, a vigilante whose methods often put her at odds with Batman in the comic books, was moved to Starling City in Arrow season 1 where she was used as a villain whose hatred for her father caused her to go too far. Over the years, Oliver and Team Arrow also battled other threats from Batman comics like Firefly, Talia al Ghul, Anarky, Deadshot. As for why this was the case, there’s plenty of justification for Arrow’s decision to use Batman villains. First of all, while most of these characters are indeed tied to Batman, it’s important to note that some do share prior history with the Emerald Archer. The League of Assassins, for instance, have battled Green Arrow and the Black Canary in the past.

There’s also the sheer size and depth of Batman’s rogues’ gallery. Oliver certainly has no shortage of villains in DC Comics, but his list of villains can’t compare to the Dark Knight’s. Batman has crossed paths with a high number of obscure characters that Arrowverse viewers wouldn’t have knowledge of, making it easy for Arrow to create live-action versions of these lesser-known characters. Using Batman villains also offers viewers who are more familiar with the Caped Crusader's comic history the opportunity to recognize references, such as Arrow's season 2 Harley Quinn tease.

Furthermore, while Arrow did make good use of Oliver Queen's enemies, the writers and producers’ freedom to pull from outside his corner of the DC Universe allowed for more opportunities in terms of storytelling. There was no reason why the show had to be restricted to Green Arrow villains, especially since the comics never limit themselves either. It made sense for the show to pick villains who fit into their world, regardless of who they fight in the source material. That’s why some of the best options for Arrow villains happened to come from Batman’s comics. The dark and gritty world of Gotham City that Batman lives in isn’t all that different from the tone and setting of Arrow, which initially was restricted to street-level vigilantism. Batman’s villain history was ripe with opportunities for Arrow, and it seemed only logical for the series to explore that potential.