This year, every show in the Arrowverse has undergone major changes. Arrow had Oliver out himself as the Green Arrow and go to prison. Then the series revealed a bleak future for Star City where original Team Arrow is nowhere to be found. On The Flash, Barry and Iris met their daughter from the future, but of course, there’s more to the story than she’s telling. Supergirl is fighting a rising tide of anti-alien violence, and is no longer working with the powers that be to protect the world. She’s also on her own now, as Lois and Clark have returned to Argo City to have their baby. Legends of Tomorrow has introduced magical creatures into the timeline, somehow making things even crazier, but more dangerous. Everything we know about the universe has been turned on its head, which is want you want when you get several seasons into a series.
The recently aired annual crossover “Elseworlds” featured the introduction of Kate Kane/Batwoman and Gotham City into the franchise. The CW is currently developing a solo series for the character, which seems will be greenlit. With the ability to truly include the Bat mythos into the fold, the universe has discovered a new sandbox to play in and is taking full advantage. “Elseworlds” also confirmed "Crisis on Infinite Earths" as a reality, so it will be interesting to see how each series sets up its involvement in next year’s crossover. Now that we’ve reached the winter break of the four series, we’re taking a look at Arrowverse fan theories so good, we hope they come true.
20 GOTHAM IS A SUPERGIRL PREQUEL
Look, we know that there’s no way a FOX series and a CW show can be connected, but if you take the competing networks out of the equation, it could be possible. Gotham is a prequel that follows a young Bruce Wayne, beginning just after he’s lost his parents. We know that there’s a Batman on Earth-38, as Kara has mentioned her cousin working with him.
What if Gotham is happening on Earth-38 the same time a pre-teen Kara is discovering her powers and figuring out where she belongs? It’s true that Gotham is a wild west city, where criminals have free reign, while National City and Metropolis seem more normal, but the same can be said of Star City and Central City.
19 TITANS JOINS THE ARROWVERSE
From the moment its first trailer dropped with the now infamous ‘Batman” line, DC Universe’s Titans established itself as a more grown-up comic book show. It wanted to be more like the Netflix Marvel series than the Arrowverse. Though, with its world of metahumans and supernatural threats, it fits right in with stories we’ve seen on The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.
With the Arrowverse now heading into Gotham City, it could easily have Dick Grayson be the connective tissue between the two worlds. Growing up in a wealthy world, he and Oliver can even have history. Though this is a real possibility, DC seems content with a separate shared universe for its streaming service shows.
18 BLACK LIGHTNING TAKES PLACE ON EARTH-38
Black Lightning executive producer Salim Akil has always held firm on the show not being a part of the Arrowverse. Of course, everyone said that about Supergirl when it premiered on CBS. It’s true that Black Lightning has a different tone and subject matter than the other series, but having a small connection to the other shows could help with its world building.
The series has already dropped a few hints with mentions of Supergirl and Vixen, leading fans to wonder if the show actually takes place on Kara’s Earth. If not Earth-38, then one of the other 51 (excluding Earth-X), is certainly a viable option. It might help the Pierce family to discover they’re not so different or alone.
17 SUPERNATURAL CROSSES OVER WITH THE ARROWVERSE
This theory grew out of the friendship between Stephen Amell and Supernatural stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. The CW superhero shows all shoot on the same Vancouver lot that is the long time home of Supernatural. This leads to a lot of hilarious photos posted on social media, which in turn fan the crossover flames.
In its 14 seasons, Supernatural has done pretty much everything, including a crossover with Scooby Doo. Sam and Dean were sucked into a TV where they had to hunt a ghost with the gang. Why not have the brothers get transported to a world full of superheroes and poke a little fun at all the networks’ shows in that classic Supernatural way?
16 OLIVER ASKED EMIKO TO BECOME NEW GREEN ARROW
During the first part of season seven, fans had a lot of guesses about who the new Green Arrow was. Turns out it’s Oliver’s half sister Emiko. In the comics she’s the product of an affair Robert had with Shado, but clearly that won’t be the plan here. Right now everyone is assuming that Oliver doesn’t know about her.
Oliver had a lot of time to dig into his father’s secrets during those five years and his infidelity wasn’t exactly a secret, so maybe he already knows about his sister. It’s possible he enlisted her to come protect his city while he was in prison. We’d like to skip the tense family reunion this one time.
15 NORA ISN’T REALLY BARRY AND IRIS’ DAUGHTER
The minute Nora showed up at Barry and Iris’ wedding as a waitress, viewers were guessing she was their daughter from the future. Since she introduced herself, everyone has been waiting for the other shoe to drop. That came in the fall finale, when she went to the future and met with Eobard Thawne.
This information has led many to wonder if she is even the pair’s actual daughter. We know she had a DNA test, but come on, Thawne spent years with the world thinking he was Harrison Wells. A blood test is nothing to him. At this moment, we can’t trust anything Nora says, including her claims about her family.
14 CICADA IS NOT THE REAL BIG BAD
In the lead up to season five, we were told that The Flash’s major villain would be Cicada. Over the first part of the season, we’ve learned that he’s Orlin Dwyer, a normal guy pushed over the edge by an attack on his niece, which has left her in a coma. However, his origin episode revealed he’s not that smart or evil, so perhaps he’s not the real big bad.
Some fans are theorizing that his friend Dr. Ambres is the actual brains of the operation. She has a serious hatred for metahumans, and could just be using Orlin as the face and eventual patsy in her revenge scheme. This would certainly liven up what has been a dull storyline so far.
13 LENA FINALLY BECOMES A VILLAIN
Since her debut, Lena Luthor hasn’t been given much to do, which is a shame, because Katie McGrath is so fun to watch. Her main role has been to be Kara’s friend and every once in awhile wonder if she can be different from her family.
She’s not a fan of Supergirl, so when she finally discovers that Kara (and everyone she knows) has been keeping this major secret from her, she could snap. We know she’s brilliant and ruthless, plus she knows all Kara’s weaknesses, which would make her a powerful enemy. It would be great to watch the two characters, and the actresses who play them, go toe to toe.
12 THE LEGION OF SUPERHEROES MEETS THE LEGENDS
The Legion of Superheroes’ time on Supergirl was underwhelming. It mostly revolved around the love triangle between Kara, Mon-El and Imra. The one positive is that we got to meet Brainiac 5. The last time we saw the team, Winn had joined them in heading back to the future. Though, it seems like time travelling from that far into the future and making such big changes would have alerted the Legends.
Right now, the Legends don’t know there’s another time travelling superhero team out there, so it seems like a ready made crossover. Winn’s excitement at being on board the Waverider would be hilarious. We’d jump at any chance to see Jeremy Jordan again.
11 TIME BUREAU IS DESTROYED
This season of Legends of Tomorrow has seen us spend more time with the Time Bureau and it’s not necessarily a good choice. Nate has basically left the Legends to work a desk job, so he can build a relationship with his father, who is clearly up to something suspicious that will have dire consequences.
The more time we spend there, the more we understand why Rip wanted to be in the field so much. It’s just not interesting. We can’t say we’d mind if Ava, Nate and Gary escaped the repercussions of Hank’s Heywood’s deal with the devil and stayed on the Waverider.
10 TALIA AL GHUL IS KATE’S ALFRED
Despite Lexa Doig’s excellent performance, Talia al Ghul hasn’t been portrayed as the best character. She and Oliver started as mentor and student, unfortunately she turned on him and sided with Prometheus and Diaz. However, it seems like they have reconciled when he helps her escape Slabside.
We would love to see Talia seek redemption by training and working for Kate Kane in Gotham. Perhaps she even has secret information about Bruce’s whereabouts. If the show wants to truly separate Batwoman from some of Batman’s more well-known characteristics, not having Alfred would certainly help. Kate will need an Alfred type to help her and this would be a great link to the Batman mythology without directly copying it.
9 FELICITY IS A VILLAIN IN THE FUTURE
Arrow’s flash forwards have depicted a dark future for Star City. It’s basically destroyed and split in two, with a wall around The Glades. Dinah broke the news to William that Felicity was deceased, and that her name wasn’t mentioned unless you wanted trouble. In the present day, we saw how far Felicity was willing to go to protect her family from Diaz.
With Oliver seemingly making a deal with The Monitor, it’s possible that these events are enough to send an obsessed Felicity over the edge and lead her to make some dark choices. It’s not that we want her to be a bad guy, but we’d love to see Emily Bett Rickards take the character some place completely unexpected.
8 GREEN LANTERN DIGGLE
It’s been a long held fan theory that John was just the Arrowverse version of John Stewart and he would become the Green Lantern at some point. This was finally confirmed when Earth-90 Barry Allen showed up in “Elseworlds” and asked John where his ring was. Now we know that at least one of John’s doppelgangers is a Green Lantern.
Lantern Rings are held by the most honorable warriors on their planets. That obviously describes Diggle. Though producers are saying we shouldn’t hold our breath for the Green Lantern to appear, we still have hope. They said the same thing about Superman and Gotham City. The battle for the multiverse cannot be fought without a Green Lantern.
7 THE SECRET SIX WILL COME TO ARROW
Back in season three, the Suicide Squad was introduced on Arrow, but they were all eliminated in favor of the movie. When Oliver landed in Slabside he met up with Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger. They got off to a rocky start, but eventually Oliver convinced him to help stop a prison riot, so he could get a deal with A.R.G.U.S.
Upon his release, Oliver began working with the police to capture bad guys. However, we’re wondering if his team up with Turner was foreshadowing a new team for him to lead. All these events could add up to Arrow bringing on the Secret Six as its new secret team of former criminals.
6 PAST HEROES AND VILLAINS RETURN FOR CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS
Since Arrow premiered and launched the universe, we’ve met dozens of heroes and villains. Some are recurring and pop in on the action from time to time, while others have left for other adventures. Well it’s all hands on deck now, because the multiverse is in danger.
In the comics, heroes and villains are forced to team up against bigger threats all the time, so perhaps Crisis on Infinite Earths will be the spark that forces the return of fan favorites like Malcolm Merlyn, Damien Darhk, The Ray and even Deathstroke. This is a chance to see characters we haven’t seen in awhile and team ups we thought were impossible.
5 KARA AND KATE BECOME BEST FRIENDS
One of the best parts of “Elseworlds” was the immediate bond between Kara and Kate. They both understood what it’s like to live in the shadow of a famous cousin. It was a nice moment as they realized all they had in common.
As The CW establishes Batwoman’s solo series, we hope that her friendship with Kara becomes an integral part of her growth as a hero. In Kara’s case, she needs a friend who she can really be herself with. Someone who will understand her burdens and sympathize. Alex is a great sister, but sometimes you need an objective friend to talk to. They could be a fun pair.
4 LEX LUTHOR HAS ACTUALLY BEEN THE BIG BAD SINCE SEASON ONE
When it was announced that Jon Cryer would be playing Lex Luthor on Supergirl, fans immediately wondered what his role in the plot was. The appearance of Mercy Graves and the revelation that she turned on Lex, led some viewers to theorize that the genius actually manipulated everything so he would get arrested and wouldn’t be seen as a threat.
This is totally something Lex would do and we could see him tricking some metahumans and criminals into doing his bidding. He would also use unexpected events like alien invasions and worldkillers to his advantage. We wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one really pulling Agent Liberty’s strings.
3 THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OFFICIALLY FORMS
Since the “Invasion” crossover we’ve gotten hints here and there that a Justice League could be coming. With the movie in the works, DC would never allow TV to call it that, even if that’s what it is. However, with Superman finally fighting alongside the others and Batwoman bringing Gotham into the mix, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before this becomes a real thing.
A quick attendance check tells us we have Superman, Supergirl, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, The Flash, Batwoman, White Canary, Constantine and a cast of thousands. That seems like more than enough heroes to start a Justice League with. Plus, if ever there was a time to band together, it’s now.
2 CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS WILL INVOLVE PAST DCTV SHOWS
With a threat like Crisis on Infinite Earths looming, seems like it’s time for everyone to call in a few favors and bring back some familiar faces. This is an opportunity to see old favorites suit up again. Fans have long thought Smallville exists in the Arrowverse and takes place on another Earth. Instead of one Superman, why not have a few team up?
It would also be a nice moment for these past shows and actors to be acknowledged for how influential they were. Crisis on Infinite Earths is going to require The CW to go big and we think they should do that by not just bringing back Arrowverse favorites, but by including all of the DCTV greatest hits.
1 ELSEWORLDS CONNECTS ARROWVERSE TO DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy has influenced all aspects of comic book entertainment, including the Arrowverse. In the crossover “Elseworlds” we find out Batman and Bruce Wayne have both been missing from Gotham for three years. Kara is the only one who makes the obvious connection.
At the end of The Dark Knight Rises, Batman seemingly sacrifices himself to save the city, leaving his loved ones heartbroken. Arrow shot the Gotham scenes in Chicago, using the same backgrounds as Nolan, so it’s not a stretch to think that these two stories are connected and take place in the same universe. That would mean Christian Bale is the Arrowverse Batman, and we can expect to see him appear after his next Oscar nominated performance.