When the CW debuted Arrow in 2012, not that many people gave it a shot. The trailers made it seem a total knock-off of Batman and it looked too dark for fans to get into. The producers themselves admit the first few episodes were pretty rough. But the show soon began to win fans over and it became a major hit. Not only is it now in its seventh season but it’s even launched its own “Arrowverse.” Thanks to it, fans can enjoy The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Black Lightning and various animated shows that bring the DC heroes to life. Arrow itself is the centerpiece, as it does a good job at mixing up the DC mythos with a very engaging cast to entertain.

However, comic book purists will definitely point out how the show took a lot of liberties. Frankly, the comic book Oliver Queen bears little resemblance to the TV version aside from using a bow and arrow. The show has made slews of changes from the characters to plotlines and integrating parts of the DC Universe that Green Arrow has had no relationship with. Sometimes, they work out while other times they end up hurting the show. However, they all showcase some major shifts from the comics that would take fans of the book by surprise. While fans still enjoy the show, maybe there would have been a bigger fanbase if it stuck to the comics. Here are 20 things the CW did for Arrow that were far different from the comics.

20 NOT POLITICAL ENOUGH

Oliver Queen Running As The Mayor

This may seem weird given that Oliver has become mayor of Star City on the show. However, his politics are a lot different than in the comics. It’s well known that Oliver is a proud “bleeding heart” liberal who constantly goes on political rants to people. He claims he knows how evil rich people are as he used to be one himself. He was basically a social justice warrior before that term became well-known.

He and Hawkman famously feuded in the Justice League over their differing political views and even Superman could get a bit tired of how Ollie made everything about politics. The show has toned that down a lot. However, it can get preachy at times (an anti-gun episode for example) which might be a good thing. While the TV Ollie can be an advocate for causes, it’s nowhere near the loudmouth of the comics.

19 WORKING IN MAGIC

constantine-arrow

Green Arrow and Batman don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. But one thing they share is a dislike of magic. Oliver is a down-to-earth guy who prefers simple adventures. He’s not the type to go on wild magical adventures. Which is why it was a bit jarring when the show integrated magic majorly into season four. Flashbacks showed Oliver had run into sardonic mage John Constantine who showed him magic was real.

That led to a conflict with Damien Darhk who used it himself. Having Green Arrow mixing with magic was a huge contrast to the comics as Oliver doesn’t even like getting involved in anything that has to do with magic. Many fans weren’t happy with this turn either as magic has a place in the DCU but not in the world of Arrow.

18 THE ISLAND TIME

Arrow Flashback

It was Jack Kirby who came up with the origin of Green Arrow and that origin has been used ever since. A spoiled playboy, Oliver Queen was shipwrecked on an island and forced to learn archery to survive. It was a great story and the show smartly used it to explain Oliver being away for five years.

However, as the series went on, they made twists to this period that were harder to take. Rather than just being on the island for five years, Oliver turned out to have been working for Amanda Waller in Hong Kong, was sent back to the island, got a ride off to join the Russian mob and then back to the island in time to be rescued. That was a ridiculous amount of traveling and while it explains some of Ollie’s skills, it takes away from the simpler origin of the comics. The flashbacks to that time have finally ended but they were a huge distraction for fans.

17 WASTING THE HUNTRESS

Arrow The Huntress

Originally, the Huntress was the daughter of Batman and Catwoman from a different Earth. The character was later changed to Helena Bertinelli, and Arrow introduced her in the first season as Oliver trains Helena and they develop a relationship.

However, Oliver realizes Helena is getting too brutal in fights and they split up. She returns a couple of times, still hunting her father and even clashes with Black Canary. But the character hasn’t been seen since season 2, and the explanation as to why is that she is in jail. That’s a shame given her great potential as a character, in which she is trying to fight to redeem herself. Plus, fans loved her brutal edge. The character is quite popular thanks to her work with the Birds of Prey but the Arrowverse just didn’t do right by her.

16 HIS SON

William Oliver's Son on Arrow

A major turn to the Green Arrow mythos was Oliver discovering he had a teenage son named Connor. Connor took after his father in many ways; he cared deeply for others and was even a skilled archer. On the TV show, it was stated that Oliver had fathered a child in college but his mother kept him from finding out. Oliver eventually found his son, William, a young boy unaware of who his father was. When his mother was taken out in an attack, Oliver took William in and has been trying to handle life as a dad.

So far, there’s no hints that William is going to be a hero at all. In fact, the only “Connor Hawke” we’ve seen was Diggle’s son using the name in a dark future the Legends visited. Having Ollie as a dad is okay but it’s a lot different than the comics.

15 MR. TERRIFIC

The original Mr. Terrific was a Golden Age hero famous for wearing the logo “Fair Play” on his costume. A new version emerged in the 1990s, and he was a genius tech whiz with a cool look who had “T-Spheres” to aid him in fighting crime. He was a great character who even led the JSA. Arrow introduces Curtis Holt as a pure geek who’s more likely to faint in the face of danger than fight. He’s still a tech genius but it takes a while for him to get into fighting shape and he makes a lot of mistakes.

His personal life is also far different and he takes a back seat to others rather than be a leader. The character may have the same look on screen but that’s pretty much all he has in common with the Terrific of the comics.

14 THE PROBLEM WITH DEATHSTROKE

The deadly mercenary has clashed with Green Arrow a lot in the comics so adding him to the show made sense. But the background and actions are totally unlike the comic book version. For starters, he’s Australian while Slade Wilson was in the U.S. military. In season 2, Slade is a madman obsessed with destroying Oliver and his city.

He does return later, trying to seek amends and aids Oliver. The comic book version is a pure mercenary, always in it for the money and not the guy who’d waste time burning a city to the ground. While he is a compelling figure, Arrow gets so much wrong about Deathstroke.

13 BUMPING OFF KATE SPENCER

Manhunter kate spencer

While not a huge star, Kate Spencer did click with fans thanks to a 2000s series. A district attorney who got tired of super-crooks getting away with crimes, Kate cobbled a costume together to become the Manhunter. The series was fun as it mixed super-hero action and legal knowledge and how both were able to mix into the DC Universe.

Spencer appeared in the show in the first two seasons as the District Attorney who clashes a bit with Laurel. The idea of having her become Manhunter could have been interesting, as she would have to balance being a DA with a vigilante. Instead, she was unceremoniously bumped off in the season 2 finale and forgotten about. That’s a shame given her potential, which the show could have used.

12 ROY HARPER

Once a clean-cut sidekick named Speedy, Roy Harper has changed a lot over the years. After battling addiction, he took up the new code-name of Arsenal and became a father. He even joined the Justice League as Red Arrow before personal tragedies ruined him. The series takes several liberties with the comic book history.

A small-time thief, Roy gets infected with a deadly designer substance that leads him to be trained by Oliver. He aids for a time as Arsenal and romances Thea. To protect Oliver, Roy claims to be the Arrow and fakes his passing. He recently returned after a long absence and is back in the thick of things. But the show just hasn’t done as much to show the character as his own man like the comics have.

11 EDDIE FYERS

In the mid-1990s, DC made a bold move by having Oliver Queen seemingly sacrifice his life to save millions. His son, Connor Hawke, took over as Green Arrow. Aiding him was Eddie Fyers, a CIA operative who’d been a friend of Oliver’s. With his sardonic humor and good skills, Fyers aided Connor well and became a father figure to him.

On the show, Fyers shows up in the first season as the leader of a pack of mercenaries Oliver encounters when stranded on the island. He’s a ruthless man willing to threaten innocents to get his own way, a far cry from the noble figure of the comics. While not a huge character, Fyers was still a heroic one the show turned into a pure villain.

10 ATOM AS IRON MAN

Ray Palmer as The Atom in "Arrow"

A long-time DC hero, Ray Palmer was a scientist who found a way to shrink himself down in size. He took up the persona of the Atom, becoming a top hero and member of the Justice League. Arrow, however, took a very different approach. Introduced as a tech whiz, Ray (Brandon Routh) was out to try and help Star city any way he could.

He thus created the ATOM suit (Advanced Technology Operating Mechanism) to fight crime. In other words, the character was turned into a TV Iron Man. While he wasn’t bad in the part, Routh suffered by how the character basically became a goofier Tony Stark. The show did eventually allow him to gain his shrinking powers, but he still looks more like a knock off Marvel character rather than a full fledged DC character.

9 TEAM ARROW

Arrow -- "So It Begins" -- Image AR506b_0067b.jpg -- Pictured (L-R): Rick Gonzalez as Rene Ramirez/Wild Dog, Echo Kellum as Curtis Holt/Mr.Terrific, Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/The Green Arrow, David Ramsey as John Diggle/Spartan, Madison McLaughlin as Evelyn Sharp/Artemis, and Joe Dinicol as Rory Regan/Ragman -- Photo: Katie Yu/The CW -- © 2016 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

In the comics, Oliver is usually a lone wolf. He did have Speedy with him for a bit and has worked with the Justice League. However, he tends to stick to being a solo act. Which is why it was odd that in season 5, he gets an entire team with him. The decision to train a quartet of would-be crimefighters in Mr. Terrific, Wild Dog, Ragman and Artemis was meant to beef up the show. However, Oliver isn’t exactly a guy who trusts folks easily which made his leadership questionable.

It wasn’t helped by how Artemis was working for the evil Prometheus and helped him fight the team. It got worse in season six when the team felt Oliver didn’t trust them and split off on their own. It just shows how Green Arrow really works better on his own as a team just marred the entire show and character.

8 LAUREL LANCE

5 Arrow Laurel Lance

When Katie Cassidy was cast as Laurel Lance, fans thought they knew where it was going. It seemed obvious Laurel would eventually train herself to become the Black Canary. However, the show made some character shifts that fans did not approve of. Laurel was shown to be ultra-judgmental, blaming Oliver for her sister’s passing and ended up hating the Green Arrow. It got worse in season 2 when Laurel took up some bad habits and pushed away anyone who tried to help her.

Even when she became the Canary herself, Laurel would still retain this persona of complaining and whining over her sorry life. Fans of the comic book Canary hated how her TV version just whined way too much to be a good heroine.

7 MALCOLM MERLYN

In the comics, Merlyn is basically Oliver’s dark mirror. A champion archer, Merlyn was angered at how Green Arrow was better than him with a bow. He thus turned to crime and fought Oliver several times. Having him be the enemy on the TV show was a good idea but they went too far in changing his story. Malcolm Merlyn is a powerful businessman who lost it when his wife was taken from him in a random mugging.

He thus creates a plot to ravage the Glades area of Starling City in a twisted plan to “save” the city. He’s still a top fighter who battles Oliver and seems to perish in their fight. Malcolm returns with further twists: he is Thea’s real father, and he is also pretty evil. He actually gets a heroic sacrifice but he remains the show’s top villain. While that can match the comics a bit, the ultra-complex backstory was a bit much for long-time fans of the character.

6 ADDING IN RA'S AL GHUL

Matt Nable as Ra's al Ghul in Arrow

The Demon’s Head does make a great TV villain. Centuries old, Ra’s leads a secret society of assassins and plots to “purify” the Earth, not caring how many people he destroys on the way. He’s a terrific foe and would make an epic enemy…for a Batman show. In the comics, Ra’s and Oliver have barely met and there is no real history between them.

The show pushed Ra’s as the main foe in season 3, an obvious transplant of a Batman foe for the series. The plotline wasn’t well-received by fans as it had bad turns and Ra’s was not the powerful figure he should have been. Gotham actually made the character work better, which makes complete sense. He is much more suited to deal with the Dark Knight.

5 THE BLACK CANARY MESS

Arrow Black Canary Laurel

Fans of the Black Canary have enjoyed seeing the character brought to life on screen. But they also have to admit the path to the Canary has been way too complex. First, rather than the obvious idea of Laurel taking the role, it was revealed that her sister Sara had become the Canary. She was good in the part only to be shockingly written off. Laurel thus took on the mantle herself to honor her sister. Sara was brought back to life but let Laurel keep the outfit while she became the White Canary.

Then Laurel was written off in a move that angered fans. That brought in cop Dinah Drake who took on the Canary mantle. Just to make things more complex, we have Black Sire, the Laurel from Earth-2, who’s a criminal with a sonic scream. It’s a shame a great character is marred with such a convoluted history on TV.

4 THEA

Oliver is an only child in the comics. He’s even admitted it contributed to his rich playboy life as he never had any siblings to share time with. The show decided to change that and thus created the character of Thea. A spoiled brat at first, Willa Holland's character allowed her to bring in viewers.

She evolved nicely as the show went on, learning fighting skills and taking on a costume of her own. She was a good support for Oliver while she also had a storyline in facing her own inner darkness. While fans of the show are willing to overlook the change because of how great the character was, it still was a change to add a sister to the Queen family.

3 OLIVER'S PARENT ISSUES

In the comics, we rarely hear about Oliver’s parents at all. He’s hinted he and his dad clashed a lot and his mom passed when he was a kid. They really don’t enter the stories as Oliver’s parent issues don’t come up a lot. The show, however, pushes them majorly. Oliver’s dad sacrificed himself so his son would live after the boat sinking.

He also left behind the “list” of names that Oliver used in his crusade. His mother turned out to be part of the “Undertaking” as she was a very sneaky and duplicitous woman. She even kept Oliver from knowing he had a son. While she did own up to her mistakes and had a good send-off, it doesn’t make up for how much Moira messed up her son’s life. It’s probably no wonder that Oliver turned into a mess given how the show turned his parents into twisted figures.

2 ELEVATING FELICITY

Felicity Smoak was a very minor character in the old Firestorm comics who bears almost no resemblance to the TV show. She was meant to be nothing but a one-scene character Oliver goes to for tech help. But Emily Bett Rickards was so engaging that fans enjoyed her and wanted more. Before long, Felicity joined the team and became a major member of the show. At first, fans loved her great humor and quirky manner that brought some light-hearted antics to things.

However, there has been a backlash to how Felicity has been pushed majorly over other characters. She’s married to Oliver and her behavior can come off controlling. The New 52 tried to work her in but she just didn’t click on the comics page the way she did on the show. TV fans may be quite surprised to see how Felicity was almost an original character rather than a comic based one.

1 NO BEARD

This may be a minor thing but it still bugs fans. For a long time, Green Arrow was clean-shaven in the comics. When he got his makeover in the 1960s, that was changed to a blonde Van Dyke beard. Ever since, it’s been part of the character. Sure, the New 52 got rid of it for a while but they had to bring it back as it’s just a great flourish for the character.

It’s a reminder of his Robin Hood inspiration and it also makes for a funny long-standing joke. The fact that no one knew Oliver was the Green Arrow despite his beard was just too funny. Maybe it would look a bit silly on Amell but so many fans feel it’s not Oliver Queen without that fun goatee.