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'Arrow' Season 8 Episode 1 'Starling City' promo features Batman's iconic cowl, hinting Dark Knight's Arrowverse debut

It looks like this season is going to be an extremely interesting watch with plenty of references to the wider world of the Arrowverse, building up to 'Crisis on Infinite Earths'. This time around, the stakes are higher than ever, especially since Oliver is fated to die during the coming 'Crisis'

When 'Arrow' Season 8 airs its first episode on The CW, it will mark the beginning of the end for one of the greatest superhero shows of our time, the one that has been so influential, it spawned a whole multiverse of spin-offs. Ahead of the premiere, the network released a short preview clip from the episode on October 15 and it teases the arrival of none other than Batman himself.

The clip is almost exactly the same as the opening sequence of the 'Arrow' pilot episode, showing Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) signaling a fishing boat to rescue him from the prison island Lian Yu. In a voiceover, the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) narrates: "Among the many misconceptions humanity holds dear, is the fallacy that all beings are created equal. In truth, there are those who are greater. They are called heroes. But even among heroes, there are different echelons. The highest belongs to those known as the Paragons. And they are the only hope for all creation."

Paragon is a name that has been used by a certain supervillain in the world of DC Comics, a metahuman with power to replicate the skills and abilities of his enemies. While it's an interesting reference, the biggest twist in the clip is when we see the unmistakable cowl of the Caped Crusader.

In case you don't remember the pilot that well (and who could blame you? After all, it has been nearly a decade since the episode aired) the opening sequence this clip mirrors featured a shot of Deathstroke's mask mounted on a tree stump with an arrow going through it.

In this preview, we see the mask replaced with Batman's iconic headgear, signifying that this might be either an alternate reality or something completely new altogether. It looks like this season is going to be an extremely interesting watch with plenty of references to the wider world of the Arrowverse, building up to the upcoming crossover 'Crisis on Infinite Earths'.

This time around, the stakes are higher than ever, especially since the Monitor has already predicted Oliver will die in the coming 'Crisis'. Here's the full synopsis for season 8's first episode: "While trying to decipher The Monitor’s (guest star LaMonica Garrett) mission, Oliver (Stephen Amell) returns to Starling City where he encounters familiar faces. Meanwhile, Mia (Katherine McNamara) and William’s (Ben Lewis) team clash with a new foe. "

‘Arrow’ Season 8 Episode 1 'Starling City' will air on The CW October 15.