The superhero genre took over Hollywood as far as 2012, thanks to the wild success of films in this genre. For the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), in particular, The Dark Knight Rises marked Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy came to a close. When 2013’s Man of Steel starring Henry Cavill was first announced, fans were getting hyped for the next chapter of Warner Bros. and DCEU films.
Courtesy of HBO Go
What most DCEU fans didn’t know was that 2012 marked the decade-long run of the Arrowverse.
The blueprint for success
Courtesy of HBO Go
The first season of Arrow told a standalone story arc that revolved around Starling City, the fictional setting where the Arrowverse took place. Stephen Arnell played Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, the titular character of the show.
Similar to how Man of Steel’s success was the foundation of the DCEU, the success of Arrow’s first season was the foundation on which the DC television universe is grounded and from which the subsequent shows spin off from.
Courtesy of HBO Go
It was in Season 2 that Arrow established the beginning of the Arrowverse, with the guest appearance of Barry Allen (a.k.a. The Flash, played by Grant Gustin), all before The Flash got his own show in 2014. If this kind of introduction to a new superhero within the shared universe is kind of familiar, that’s because it’s similar to Wonder Woman’s introduction in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceprior to her own movie’s release in 2017.
The annual Arrowverse crossovers
Courtesy of HBO Go
If the DC Comics and the DCEU had its “Trinity” with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, the Arrowverse had its own with Green Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl—the three biggest shows that spearheaded Arrowverse’s success. While Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) wasn’t part of the same “Earth” as Green Arrow and The Flash, it didn’t stop the trio from appearing on each other’s shows from time to time in what became annual crossover events.
Courtesy of HBO Go
With Arrow and The Flash sharing the same television universe, it was inevitable that they would share the screen again–only this time, they’re showing up as superheroes. The first crossover episode between Arrow and The Flash was such a huge hit for both shows, that it became an annual tradition for all titles connected to the Arrowverse. From Supergirl to Batwoman, the crossovers showed the interconnectivity of these multiple titles–finally culminating in all of them eventually ending up in the same “Earth” after the final crossover event: Crisis on Infinite Earths. Crossovers from multiple titles is a rarity that not many intellectual properties pull off, and the Arrowverse was one of the first to do it consistently and successfully.
The end of an era
Courtesy of HBO Go
Despite diehard fans wanting more stories and crossovers from the Arrowverse, all good things must eventually come to an end. The Flash’s ninth season will also be its last–and its series finale will also act as the Arrowverse finale, as it is the last show still on air from the Arrowverse. There have been multiple shows that have done crossovers, and there will probably be more of those in the future–but Arrowverse undeniably created a blueprint from which future shared television universes will follow.
Stream titles from the Arrowverse on HBO Go with PLDT Home!
If you want to relive the epic storylines and amazing crossovers from the Arrowverse shows, you can stream all 10 seasons of Arrow, six seasons of The Flash, five seasons of Supergirl, and three seasons of Batwoman, all on HBO Go! That’s hundreds of hours worth of streaming, so make sure your streams are fiber-fast with the Philippines’ fastest Internet for five years in a row: PLDT Home.