SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the next episode of Arrow.
Yesterday, word got out that this week’s episode, “Tribute,” of Arrow would include the name drop of a major DC Comics character. Today, The CW released a clip from Thursday’s episode that includes precisely that name drop, and as advertised, it’s a doozy — Bruce Wayne exists in the Arrowverse.
Mayor by day. Hero by night. Stream the #Arrow premiere before tomorrow’s new episode on The CW: https://t.co/zCi32rKGdv pic.twitter.com/2cEQUQbTFk
— Arrow (@CW_Arrow) October 18, 2017
In an effort to discredit a photo that reveals himself to be Green Arrow, Mayor Oliver Queen addresses the press and uses the billionaire of Gotham City to illustrate how insane a theory it is that he could ever be a masked vigilante. “Photos can be doctored. They could have put Bruce Wayne’s head on that body,” Oliver tells the media. “Has Bruce Wayne left Gotham to hang out in Star City recently? No.”
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“I come in and talk with the reporters, and one of the things that I’m enjoying doing as mayor this year, and Oliver as a character to a certain extent, is I’ve tried to up the charm factor a little bit,” Arrow star Stephen Amell told EW of the scene. “He should be a little more comfortable in his shoes as a public figure. He steps in and deals with the press in a very, very relaxed way. Quentin says to him, ‘You seem pretty good with this,’ and Oliver’s like, ‘I’ve been here before.’ In that scene, we get to do the coolest name drop that we’ve ever done on the show, which I was really fired up about.”
The next question will likely be, does this mean Batman does, or will eventually, exist in the Arrowverse. The answer is likely, “No,” though it’s tough to write off completely. While there has been some friction between the DCTV and DCEU universes, with some theories involving the idea that Warner Bros.’ film department has forced characters to be killed off in the Arrowverse to free them up for the big screen.
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However, we exist in an era when there’s a very successful live-action Flash television show airing at the same time as the incoming Justice League film is set to debut another version of the very same character… who will then go on to star in his on solo film. Thus, while it’s pretty unlikely that we’ll ever see the Dark Knight visit The CW’s Star City, it’s not necessarily something to rule out completely.
Airing Thursday nights at 8 p.m. on The CW, Arrow is a production of Bonanza Productions starring Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, Colin Donnell, David Ramsey, Willa Holland, Susanna Thompson, Paul Blackthorne, Emily Bett Rickards, Colton Haynes, Manu Bennett, John Barrowman, Echo Kellum and Josh Segarra.