Arrow is an American superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, a costumed crime-fighter created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, and is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with other Arrowverse television series. The series premiered in the United States on The CW on October 10, 2012, with international broadcasting taking place in late 2012 and primarily filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Arrow follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), who claimed to have spent five years shipwrecked on Lian Yu, a mysterious island in the North China Sea, before returning home to Starling City (later renamed "Star City") to fight crime and corruption as a secret vigilante whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrow.
Throughout the series, Oliver is joined by others in his quest, among them former soldier John Diggle (David Ramsey), I.T. expert and skilled hacker Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), former assassin Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), aspiring vigilante Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), Oliver's sister Thea (Willa Holland), and attorney-turned-vigilante Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy). The group also receives support from Laurel and Sara's father Officer Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne). During the first five seasons of the show, characters from Oliver's past appear in a separate story arc based on Oliver's flashbacks, which highlight parallels from Oliver's history that shape events in the main story. Starting with season seven, a series of flash-forwards focus on Oliver's children William and Mia, exploring how present events would affect their future and Green Arrow's legacy. In season eight, Oliver's future has collided with his present as William and Mia, along with Connor Hawke, have time traveled to 2019, leading Team Arrow to learn about Star City's dystopian future.
The following is a list of main characters who have appeared in the television series; for a list of supporting characters see List of supporting Arrow characters. Many of the characters appearing in the series are based on DC Comics characters.
Overview Legend = Main cast (credited) = Recurring cast (4+) = Guest cast (1-3) Character Portrayed by First appearance Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Oliver Queen / The Hood / Arrow / Green Arrow / Spectre Stephen Amell "Pilot" colspan="8" Laurel Lance / Black Canary (Earth-1) Katie Cassidy "Pilot" colspan="4" colspan="4" Laurel Lance / Black Siren / Black Canary (Earth-2) "What We Leave Behind" colspan="4" colspan="3" Tommy Merlyn Colin Donnell "Pilot" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="3" John Diggle / Spartan / Green Arrow David Ramsey "Pilot" colspan="8" Thea Queen / Speedy Willa Holland "Pilot" colspan="6" colspan="2" Moira Queen Susanna Thompson "Pilot" colspan="2" colspan="2" Quentin Lance Paul Blackthorne "Pilot" colspan="6" colspan="2" Felicity Smoak / Overwatch Emily Bett Rickards "Lone Gunmen" colspan="6" Roy Harper / Arsenal Colton Haynes "Dodger" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" Slade Wilson / Deathstroke Manu Bennett "Betrayal" colspan="2" Malcolm Merlyn / Dark Archer John Barrowman "An Innocent Man" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="3" Curtis Holt / Mister Terrific Echo Kellum "The Candidate" colspan="3" colspan="3" colespan="1" Adrian Chase / Prometheus / Simon Morrison Josh Segarra "A Matter of Trust" colspan="4" Rene Ramirez / Wild Dog Rick Gonzalez "Legacy" colspan="4" colspan="3" Dinah Drake / Black Canary / Tina Boland Juliana Harkavy "Who Are You?" colspan="4" colspan="3" Ricardo Diaz / Dragon Kirk Acevedo "Promises Kept" colspan="5" Emiko Queen / Green Arrow Sea Shimooka "Unmasked" colspan="6" Mia Smoak-Queen / Blackstar / Green Arrow Katherine McNamara "Unmasked" colspan="6" William Clayton Jack Moore "Legends of Yesterday" colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="2" Ben Lewis "Inmate 4587" colspan="6" Connor Hawke Joseph David-Jones "Emerald Archer" colspan="6" Mar Novu / The Monitor LaMonica Garrett "Elseworlds, Part 2" colspan="6"
Main characters Oliver Queen / Green Arrow
Oliver Jonas Queen (portrayed by Stephen Amell; seasons 1–8) is the main protagonist in the series. He is a billionaire playboy who returns to his home of Starling City after being apparently stranded on a desert island for five years and presumed dead. On his return, he embarks on a secret double life as a masked vigilante known as 'The Hood' and the Green Arrow. He also appears in Arrowverse spin-off shows The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl, as well as animated web series Vixen. He also plays a central role in the annual Arrowverse crossover events.
In The Flash season two episode "Welcome to Earth-2", it is revealed that his Earth-2 doppelganger died on the Queen's Gambit.
The character is based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow.
Laurel Lance / Black Canary (Earth-1)
Dinah Laurel Lance (portrayed by Katie Cassidy; main: seasons 1–4; guest: seasons 5–8) is an assistant district attorney and Oliver Queen's ex-girlfriend. She later becomes a vigilante known as Black Canary. The character also appears in Arrowverse spin-off shows The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow as well as animated web-series Vixen.
The character is based on the DC Comics character Black Canary.
Tommy Merlyn
Thomas "Tommy" Merlyn (portrayed by Colin Donnell; main: season 1; guest: seasons 2–3 & 6–8) is Oliver Queen's best friend and Malcolm Merlyn's son, as well as revealed to be Thea Queen's half-brother. Tommy is an original character for the show, not based on anyone in the comics. He was adapted for comics in 2012.
Other versions Donnell also portrays two other versions respectively from Earth-X and Earth-2. The Earth-X doppelgänger appears in the crossover Crisis on Earth-X as the serial killer Prometheus. However, Tommy dies from a suicide pill after taunting Oliver. The Earth-2 doppelgänger appears in the final season's premiere as the vigilante Dark Archer. When Oliver is sent by the Monitor to Earth-2, Oliver is conflicted with the Dark Archer whose plan is to use Dwarf Star particles to level the Glades in his own Undertaking, although Tommy is stopped by Oliver's convincing.
John Diggle / Spartan
John Thomas Diggle (portrayed by David Ramsey; seasons 1–8) is a decorated former United States Army Special Forces soldier, honorably discharged with the rank of master sergeant, an ordained minister, and Oliver's best friend and partner. The character, again portrayed by Ramsey, also appears in Arrowverse spin-off shows The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl, playing a significant role in Arrowverse crossover events. John is also the stepson of General Roy Stewart.
While John Diggle was originally a character created for the show, his popularity led to a character of the same name modeled after Ramsey's appearance to be created for the Green Arrow comics in The New 52. While elements from the Arrow TV series were removed after issue 40, John appeared again following the relaunching of the series as part of DC Rebirth.
Thea Queen / Speedy
Thea Dearden Queen (portrayed by Willa Holland; main: seasons 1–6; guest: seasons 7–8) is the daughter of Moira Queen and Malcolm Merlyn, though both Malcolm and Thea were unaware of their relation to each other until season two, and the younger half-sister to Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn. She goes on to become a vigilante known as Speedy.
Her brother's nickname for her and later hero persona ("Speedy"), her middle name of Dearden and the alias "Mia" she used during her time at Corto Maltese, are Easter egg connections to Mia Dearden, one of Green Arrow's sidekicks in the comics.
The Earth-2 Thea Queen overdosed on Vertigo, causing Tommy to become Dark Archer and plan revenge on the Glades by destroying it.
Moira Queen
Moira Dearden Queen (portrayed by Susanna Thompson; main: seasons 1–2; uncredited voice cameo: season 3; guest: seasons 5 & 8) is the mother of Oliver and Thea, the former acting CEO of Queen Consolidated, mayoral candidate and wife of Robert Queen and later Walter Steele. She also had a brief affair with Malcolm Merlyn after his wife's death, which resulted in Thea's birth. Moira is revealed to be part of Merlyn's Undertaking and is imprisoned until bail. She is later killed by Oliver's nemesis Slade Wilson after pitting Oliver in choosing whether Thea or Moira dies. Following the Crisis event, the formation of Earth-Prime brings back Moira who attends Oliver's funeral after the latter's death during Crisis and becomes the guardian of Oliver's son, William.
Other versions Thompson also portrays the Earth-2 doppelgänger of Moira, who is married to the Earth-2 version of Malcolm Merlyn. She is erased from existence after a wave of the anti-matter destroys Earth-2.
Thompson also voices Wellenreiters A.I. system in the crossover Crisis on Earth-X. She is Gideon's Earth-X equivalent aboard a timeship owned by Dark Arrow and was designed by Eobard Thawne.
Quentin Lance
Quentin Larry Lance (portrayed by Paul Blackthorne; main: seasons 1–6; guest: seasons 7–8) is a mayor, former police detective, captain, and deputy mayor, the father of Laurel Lance and Sara Lance, and former husband of Dinah Lance. Quentin has a grudge against the Queen family, blaming Oliver for Sara's apparent death. However, Quentin reconciles with Oliver after knowing Sara is alive and a vigilante, eventually joining Oliver's crusade. Quentin dies in the sixth season after being attacked by Ricardo Diaz. After the Crisis, the timeline is altered and Quentin survives.
Other versions Blackthorne also portrays the Earth-X doppelgänger of the character during the Crisis on Earth-X crossover in which he is Sturmbannführer of the Nazi's paramilitary rank. On this Earth, Quentin had killed Sara after learning she was bisexual. He is also the father of the Earth-X version of Laurel, known as Siren-X.
An Earth-2 version of the character is mentioned several times by Black Siren, although this version is said to be deceased.
Quentin Lance is based on the DC Comics character Larry Lance.
Felicity Smoak / Overwatch
Felicity Megan Smoak (portrayed by Emily Bett Rickards; main: seasons 2–7; recurring: season 1; guest: season 8) is an I.T. expert, partner and later wife of Oliver Queen. Felicity is a MIT graduate with a master's degree in cyber security and computer sciences. The character originally appeared as a one-episode guest star in season one, later becoming recurring and was promoted to series regular from season two onwards. The character, also portrayed by Rickards, appears in Arrowverse spin-off shows The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl, as well as animated web-series Vixen. She plays a significant role in the annual Arrowverse crossover events.
In a flash forward to 2040, Felicity is rescued from Galaxy One by her children and joins their resistance movement against the company that hijacked her Archer security program. After Galaxy One is defeated, Felicity leaves Star City in her children's hands and leaves with the Monitor to a place from which there is no return. The final episode "Fadeout" revealed that this location is the afterlife as she reunites with Oliver Queen.
An alternate version of Felicity, again portrayed by Rickards, from Earth-X appears in the "Crisis on Earth-X" crossover event, where she is shown to be interned in a concentration camp.
The character is based on the DC Comics character Felicity Smoak, who in the comics is Ronnie Raymond's stepmother and the head of a software company. A version of Felicity based on Rickards' portrayal was introduced in the DC Comics universe in Green Arrow (vol. 5) #35.
Roy Harper / Arsenal
Roy William Harper Jr. (portrayed by Colton Haynes; main: seasons 2–3 & 7; recurring: seasons 1 & 8; guest: seasons 4 & 6) is a former street criminal, Thea Queen's boyfriend and a supporter of the Arrow.