'Crisis on Infinite Earths': Who is the Green Arrow of Earth-16, and what is his importance to the Crisis?
Spoiler alert for ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ Part 1
When baby Jonathan Kent’s ship veered off course, a stroke of either terrible or fantastic luck sends him careening into not just into the alternate world of Earth-16, but into its future in 2046. Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) and Sarah Lance (Caity Lotz) track him down, where they find that world’s version of Green Arrow - but in a crossover already crammed with heroes, why are we introducing another version of the crossover’s lead?
The Star City of 2046 timeline was introduced way back in the first season of ‘Legends of Tomorrow’, as the Legends find themselves in a future where they never defeat Vandal Savage. For a while, it was a prevailing fan theory that the ‘Arrow’ TV series was teasing the world of 2046 coming to pass. Minor things, like the events of ‘Flashpoint’ changing Diggle’s (David Ramsey) daughter to a son, which lines up with the Connor Hawke of the future being John Diggle Jr., have hinted at this future. However, the 2040 flash-forwards that have happened on ‘Arrow’ reveal that the future of Earth-1 is very different than the one visited by the Legends, and on Part 1 of ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ we find that the future the Legends visited was actually on another Earth entirely.
The Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) of this world is in a much worse place. He has not only lost hope, but also his arm. This older version is based largely on the version of Green Arrow found in Frank Miller’s ‘Dark Knight Returns’ comic. In this episode, Sarah Lance is able to instill Oliver with a sense of hope again, helping him absolve himself of the guilt he felt for the death of his Earth’s Sarah.
The last moments we see of this Oliver are just after Sarah tells him that he’s a good man, on every Earth (apparently forgetting completely about the Nazi Arrow of Earth-X). Considering all the other big name characters who appear and will be appearing this crossover, it’s a little confusing as to why the show felt the need to feature a different Oliver Queen entirely.
However, the episode’s final moments see the death of Earth-1’s Oliver Queen. It’s a moment that shocks everyone, even the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett), who foresaw a different death for Oliver. With multiple Earths needed to come together to save the Multiverse, however, it might not be possible for the team to stop the Anti-Monitor without the help of the Arrow.
It seems possible that Part 1 of the Crisis set up the Oliver Queen of Earth-16 joining the fight. This both raises and lowers the stakes - we know which actors are returning, once the Crisis is over, but that the show is bringing in alternate takes on the characters means that no one is safe. There are backups for every hero on the series, putting the characters we know and love on a meta level of danger that is much, much more worrying than a mere wave of all-consuming Anti-Matter.
The death of Oliver Queen was quite a blow, but if he’s replaced by another, it’s the death of hope that any of the characters we’ve come to know will leave the Crisis alive.
The next episode of ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ happens on ‘Batwoman,’ airing December 9 on the CW.