2018 has been quite a year for the Arrowverse. In The Flash, Barry Allen beat the Thinker and met Nora West-Allen, his daughter from the future. Over on the Arrow side of things, the Emerald Archer revealed his hidden identity and went to prison, with Oliver Queen also engaging in a bitter rivalry with Ricardo Diaz. Supergirl featured the triumph of its titular character over Reign and the promotion of Alex Danvers to the director of the D.E.O. Legends of Tomorrow became more bizarre than ever when the team members merged to form Cuddle Me Beebo in order to take down Mallus, a monstrous time demon. All the heroes worked together in “Crisis on Earth-X” in order to defeat sinister versions of themselves and Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak got married (at the ceremony for Barry and Iris’ wedding). Fans are still buzzing about “Elseworlds,” arguably the Arrowverse’s best crossover yet.
As a result, 2019 is shaping up to be the Arrowverse’s strongest year to date. Fans are already counting the days until the next crossover: “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” After an intriguing stinger before “Elseworlds,” Flash fans can’t wait to see how the rest of season five plays out and Arrow aficionados want to see what life holds for Oliver now that he’s out of prison. Finally, Supergirl supporters are eager to see how the saga of the Children of Liberty will come to a head. All in all, the stage is set for a captivating year of television from the Arrowverse. Here’s a list of 20 Bold Fan Predictions For The Arrowverse in 2019.
20 ARROW: SEASON SEVEN WON'T BE LAST
Before the latest season of Arrow began, some fans wondered if it might be the last. This show launched the Arrowverse and it has remained popular since its debut in 2012. But, still, all good things must come to an end. Nothing lasts forever, right?
However, Arrow airs on the CW, a network that has kept Supernatural alive for 14 seasons (the show will reach its 300th episode soon). As long as there’s some fan interest, the adventures of Oliver Queen will likely continue, even if the quality of the show declines. Thankfully, DC still has countless stories and characters it can use to keep Arrow interesting.
19 SUPERGIRL: MORE LEGION OF SUPERHEROES
The Arrowverse has already introduced fans to the Legion of Superheroes. The team has appeared in a few episodes of Supergirl and one of its members, Brainiac 5, is now one of the show’s main characters. This version of the group was founded by Mon-El, Kara’s former love interest, and he has been joined by Saturn Girl, Chameleon, and eventually, Winn Schott. The Legion has a few members that fans haven’t met yet, so it’s likely Supergirl will eventually include their Arrowverse debuts.
Some fans believe these members will be Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy, who are two of the group’s most notable heroes. It might only be a matter of time before Mon-El returns with reinforcements.
18 FLASH: BABY ON THE WAY
Viewers knew Nora West-Allen’s arrival signaled even more tomfoolery with time travel on its way. Indeed, Nora has presented her parents, Barry Allen and Iris West, with a plethora of challenging situations as a result of the family’s differing time periods. For most shows, there’d be no need to add even more shenanigans related to the timestream.
But, after all, this is The Flash, where, in previous years, Barry constantly messed with time travel. So, the writers will probably return to the show’s old ways. The time seems right for Barry and Iris to start a family (in the traditional sense), and the baby will probably turn out to be Nora, so there’d be two of them at the same time. Let the confusion commence!
17 ARROW: NO POWER RING FOR DIGGLE
If you’re one of the several fans who thinks John Diggle has a grand destiny in the Arrowverse, the ‘90s Flash’s recent reference to John’s ring, or lack thereof, was an exciting moment. In “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” many viewers are hoping to see the official confirmation of the theory that John will become a Green Lantern.
Sorry, folks; it’s probably not happening. Stranger things have occurred, but with DC’s plans for another movie about Green Lantern, the company will likely keep power rings out of the Arrowverse. John will have to find another way to continue his evolution as a character.
16 SUPERGIRL: NO SUPERMAN UNTIL NEXT CRISIS
Superman, you are the father! Near the end of “Elseworlds,” the viewer learned that Clark Kent and Lois Lane are starting a family. After spending some time on Argo, Lois and Clark returned in time to help their allies defeat John Deegan, and to a lesser extent, the Monitor. But, the Man Of Steel and his fiancé are heading right back to the last remnants of Krypton.
As a result, Superman will likely return to his status as an off-screen character. He’ll show up again in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” but otherwise, it’ll be a while before the Big Blue Boy Scout saves the day.
15 FLASH: NORA'S NOT SO INNOCENT
Before “Elseworlds,” The Flash left fans with a doozy of a stinger. In it, Nora-West Allen travels to the future (2049, the year she’s originally from) to visit Eobard Thawne, who’s imprisoned in Iron Heights. Many fans were surprised to see a connection between the two characters; Thawne is Barry Allen’s nemesis, the Reverse-Flash.
Subsequently, we’re calling baloney on Nora’s stated reason for traveling to Barry’s time (2018). Nora has often seemed pretty innocent, but any association with someone like Thawne is worrisome. She definitely knows more about the timestream than she’s let on, and while Nora’s probably not a villain, she’s clearly up to something.
14 ARROW: OLICITY BREAKUP
The relationship between Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak, also known as Olicity, has been pretty divisive among Arrowverse fans (they rudely commandeered the wedding between Barry Allen and Iris West at the end of “Crisis on Earth-X”). The couple has taken a long, winding, and at times, annoying, path to reach its current state. Now, Oliver’s decision to sacrifice himself by going to prison has seemingly torpedoed Olicity.
Felicity has repeatedly said she’s a different person now and the couple appears to be on the outs, or at least, very thin ice. Knowing Oliver’s penchant for questionable decisions and the guarantee that Felicity will overreact to them, the couple looks like it will fall apart next year.
13 SUPERGIRL: MAGICAL VILLAIN
Magic is one of the most fascinating aspects of the DC Universe. Countless characters like Zatanna, Shazam, and Doctor Fate have established an impressive portion of the DCU powered by magic. But, aside from Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and of course, John Constantine, the Arrowverse hasn’t genuinely tackled the presence of magic on a larger scale.
Supergirl seems like the perfect place to change that. As Kryptonians, Superman and Supergirl don’t have many weaknesses, but magic is one of them. Having Kara Danvers face off with a villainous sorceress would be a change of pace from the villains we’re used to seeing. Maybe season five will expose Kara to one of her few vulnerabilities
12 FLASH: NO MORE WELLS
Since the start of the show, Tom Cavanagh’s versatility has allowed some version of Harrison Wells to remain part of The Flash. Fans have seen the original Dr. Wells, Earth-2’s Harry Wells, Earth-19’s H.R. Wells, and most recently, Sherloque Wells, among other iterations. It’s practically a tradition for each season of the show to introduce a new Wells. But, that tradition could end in 2019.
Cavanagh has portrayed each character brilliantly, however, through no fault of the actor, Sherloque has been the worst of the bunch. The Flash should quit while it’s (somewhat) ahead and end its pattern of bringing in new versions of Wells. Otherwise, they’ll just get worse from here.
11 ARROW: NO TEAM ARROW REUNION
Team Arrow, in some way, shape, or form, has been one of the few constants in Arrow. The members may change, but Star City has been protected by Oliver Queen and his friends for several seasons now. The fan-favorite version of the team (Olicity plus Diggle) added, at different points, Speedy, Arsenal, and Black Canary. Eventually, more new members (Wild Dog, Mr. Terrific, and a new Black Canary) joined the group. The team broke apart in season six, but slowly, its members have started working together again.
Although it’d be easy to actively reunite the team, the writers should avoid simply repeating old stories. Instead, the members of Team Arrow should remain at arm’s length.
10 SUPERGIRL: RED SON ADAPTATION
Season three of Supergirl ended with a cliffhanger showing a Girl Of Steel being discovered by some foreign soldiers. Fans immediately theorized that, in season four, the show would adapt Superman: Red Son, one of the most popular Elseworlds stories in DC’s history.
This season, Supergirl has slowly revealed the presence of Red Daughter, who is seemingly an alternate version of Kara Danvers. It’s been confirmed that the show will indeed adapt Red Son in some capacity, and given that the season has already gone nine episodes without actively showing this story, it’s safe to say that fans can expect to see more of Red Daughter next year.
9 FLASH: KILLER FROST TURNS WICKED (AGAIN)
In The Flash, Caitlin Snow has been everything from a brilliant scientist to a dangerous villain. At times, Caitlin’s super-powered other half, Killer Frost, has helped the heroes. Then again, she also helped Savitar. The character has toed the line between heroism and villainy, and in recent months, Killer Frost had been largely absent from the show.
Now, she’s back. While she’s fighting alongside the heroes now, it’s a matter of when, not if, Killer Frost shows her true colors. She has the power to be a Big Bad in her own right and 2019 could be a perfect time to give Frost that opportunity.
8 ARROW: HEEL TURN FOR FELICITY
Throughout season seven, Arrow has used a series of flash-forwards to explore a somewhat dystopian future. The snippets show Oliver Queen’s son, William, and Roy Harper, the hero formerly known as Arsenal, making their return to Star City. There, they find that things have drastically changed for the worse. The future version of Dinah Drake reveals Felicity is gone, but she had refused to help the good guys. Dinah also states that Felicity began going by her father’s villainous moniker, the Calculator.
William, Roy, and Dinah theorize that she may have strayed from her path, but returned to her virtuous self. Regardless, it seems that Felicity, at one point, becomes a villain. Hopefully, we’ll see this turn on-screen.
7 SUPERGIRL: VILLANOUS LENA
Lena Luthor and Caitlin Snow have a lot in common. Both characters are some of the best scientists in the Arrowverse. Lena, like Caitlin, has both helped the heroes and fought against them. Recently, in Supergirl, Lena has made her disdain for the Girl Of Steel increasingly clear. With Lena’s attempts to cure cancer devolving into mad science, it seems like she’s on a collision course with Supergirl; Kara Danvers probably wouldn’t approve of Lena’s (unsuccessful) experimentation on human subjects.
Season five could be an excellent time to bring this rivalry to the forefront more than ever before, and with the news that Lex Luthor will be joining the fray, the possibilities are endless.
6 FLASH: MORE ELONGATED MAN
Since his debut in 1960, the Elongated Man has been one of the most recognizable members of the Scarlet Speedster’s supporting cast. So, when Ralph Dibny debuted on The Flash, many fans were excited to see what the character could bring to the table. At first, the show’s take on Dibny was a hard pill to swallow; he was a little too annoying and off-putting, but eventually, Ralph got his chance to shine and he became a likable character.
Beyond his relationship with Sherloque Wells, the Elongated Man hasn’t gotten as many chances in the spotlight in season five. Look for Dibny to become an important figure again in 2019.
5 SUPERGIRL: LEX LUTHOR WILL BE THE BIG BAD
Jon Cryer has been cast as Lex Luthor, the most iconic Superman villain of all time. Let’s face it: there’s no way DC would bring in this legendary antagonist and have him take the backseat. Maybe, Supergirl will gradually build Lex up as the master manipulator he is, but once he’s arrived, the Girl Of Steel will certainly have her hands full.
We’ve mentioned Lex’s sister, Lena, and predicted that she will live up to the connotations of her last name. Perhaps Lex and Lena will engage in a sibling rivalry and Lena will return to her heroic side by taking her brother down. Regardless, Lex is poised to be an important player next year.
4 LEGENDS: PARTICIPATION IN CRISIS
The absence of Legends of Tomorrow from this year’s crossover, “Elseworlds,” disappointed many fans. The team had participated in the previous events (“Invasion!”and “Crisis on Earth-X”), but Mick Rory and his teammates were nowhere to be found while the Monitor and John Deegan wreaked havoc on reality. It’d be a mistake to similarly hold the Legends out of “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”
“Crisis,” at least in the comics, was an event that threatened the entire multiverse due to the Anti-Monitor’s nefarious plan. The Arrowverse’s heroes will likely need all hands on deck to prevail and the Legends certainly deserve the chance to help.
3 LEGENDS: EXPLORATION OF MULTIVERSE
Speaking of the multiverse, 2019 would be a great time for the Arrowverse to extensively explore it in the lead-up to next year’s crossover. These shows have acknowledged the presence of multiple Earths; beyond Supergirl, who resides on Earth-38, Barry Allen has met multiple versions of Harrison Wells (who come from different Earths), and “Elseworlds” just confirmed the presence of Earth-90, the home of the ‘90s Flash. Still, the Arrowverse has barely scraped the surface of multiversal exploration.
The Legends of Tomorrow seem like prime candidates to lead this investigation, and because the team is tasked with protecting the timeline, criminals on other Earths could certainly fall under their jurisdiction.
2 CRISIS: SOME HEROES WON'T SURVIVE
In “Elseworlds,” fans came this close to seeing Barry Allen perish before their very eyes. As Barry and Kara Danvers raced around the planet, the energy seemingly ate away at the Scarlet Speedster. Evidently, Oliver Queen struck a deal with the Monitor to save his friends.
When the saga continues next year, it’s pretty likely that, somehow, the “balance” the Monitor referred to will come into play. In other words, some of the heroes won’t make it out of the next crisis, but given he’s the star of The Flash, Barry will probably survive (in the comics, the Scarlet Speedster famously sacrificed himself in Crisis on Infinite Earths).
1 CRISIS: FORMATION OF PRIME EARTH
The Arrowverse heroes have come together at various points and annual crossovers usually bring the stars of every show to the same stage. However, Supergirl and Black Lightning don’t take place on the primary Earth, the home of Barry Allen and Oliver Queen. As a result, the opportunities to have these characters interact with each other are fairly limited.
In theory, next year’s crossover, “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” seems poised to change that aforementioned isolation. In the original version of the event, DC’s multiverse was replaced with a single Earth. Look for the CW to take a similar approach in order to bring these shows closer together.