Match The Character To The Arrowverse Show They Started On
- by Christian Bone
- – on
- in Movies and TV
From its humble beginnings with the grounded Arrow, which first aired back in 2012, The CW's DC superhero TV universe has grown more and more each year and now encompasses four live-action series - alongside Arrow, there's The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow. Together, the shows have produced a staggering 17 seasons of television so far.
Over that time, the Arrowverse - as its fans call it - has given us the fullest adaptation of the DC comics universe we've had on screen to date. A multitude of superheroes have featured in the four series - from famous icons to underappreciated names. The same is true of supervillains and allies, too. And let's not forget those characters specially created for the small screen.
With the Arrowverse series so interlinked, and their habit of having big crossover events several times a year, the shows often swap characters. For one, it's not uncommon for characters to debut in a guest spot on one show before moving to another. Some regular characters have even been transplanted over to a different show full-time to spruce things up.
But do you know the complicated family tree of the Arrowverse as well as your own? Prove it by matching the following 40 characters to the show they started out on.
Oliver Queen
As played by Stephen Amell, Oliver Queen is a former billionaire playboy who was changed by his time marooned on a desert island. When he returned to his home town of Star City, Queen became an archer-themed vigilante, dedicated to saving his city from its own corruption. As the Arrowverse has expanded, he has sort of become the daddy of the DC TV world. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show he originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Barry Allen
When Barry Allen was hit by a blast of dark matter from a particle accelerator explosion, he developed super-speed and became Central City's very own Scarlet Speedster. Grant Gustin's hero fights evil metahumans from his base at STAR Labs, with a bunch of his super-powered friends and scientific geniuses. If Oliver Queen is the leader of the Arrowverse, then Barry is it's heart. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show he originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Kara Zor-El
Kara Zor-El is one of the last survivors of the planet Krypton, sent to Earth to protect her cousin Kal. Though she hid her enormous powers for a while, Kara eventually became the heroine Supergirl, protecting National City from alien threats. Kara is actually from another Earth - Earth-38, to be precise but has travelled to Earth-1 when she is needed. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Martin Stein/Firestorm
One of the greatest minds in the Arrowverse is Professor Martin Stein, a nuclear physicist who created the Firestorm Matrix. When he was hit by the particle accelerator explosion, he became one with the matrix and could merge with another individual to become a nuclear-based superhero. He and his partner later became a member of the Legends and went travelling through time. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Ray Palmer/The Atom
Charming billionaire scientist Ray Palmer designed a mechanized suit that could, amongst other cool things, shrink to the size of an atom - hence his superhero name. You probably most know him as a member of the Legends. He's played by Brandon Routh, who has history with the DC universe as he previously played the lead in 2006's Superman Returns. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter
The so-called last son of Mars, J'onn J'onzz possesses a range of abilities including shapeshifiting and psychic powers. He came to Earth and took over the DEO in the guise of the human Hank Henshaw. In this capacity, he became a close ally of Supergirl. Martian Manhunter is a founding member of the Justice League in the classic DC comics. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Leonard Snart/Captain Cold
Leonard Snart, as played by Wentworth Miller, has one of the most interesting and complex character arcs of everyone in the Arrowverse. Armed with his cold gun, he began as a crook but eventually redeemed himself enough to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Since his death, various other versions of Snart - either from his past or from alternate worlds - have appeared. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Sara Lance/White Canary
Sara Lance is currently the leader of the Legends, but she has had a colourful history in the Arrowverse so far. She once trained with the League of Assassins and was the original (Black) Canary. Plus, she was actually dead for a time. When she tried to put her dark past behind her she rebranded herself as White Canary instead. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Amaya Jiwe/Vixen
Amaya Jiwe is a heroine who was operational during World War 2. She was part of the Justice Society of America before she went time travelling. In possession of the Anansi totem, which is passed down from mother to daughter, she can channel the spirit of any member of the animal kingdom, giving her access to a range of powers. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Rip Hunter
Rip Hunter has been a member of the Time Agency, the Time Bureau and the Legends of Tomorrow - to put it simply, he is an expert time traveller. His goal is to protect history and to prevent potentially catastrophic alterations to the timeline. In an in-joke for sci-fi fans to appreciate, he is played by Doctor Who star Arthur Darvill, See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Cisco Ramone/Vibe
Cisco Ramone used to be STAR Labs' resident tech expert, but he later developed super-powers of his own. He can create breaches in reality as well as sense, or "vibe", events from the past or the future. As you can imagine, his amazing skillset has proved very useful. Thanks to his sense of humour, Cisco is one of the most popular Arrowverse characters. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show he originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost
Like Cisco, Caitlin is another member of Team Flash who works at STAR Labs. For the first couple of years, she was the group's resident medical expert but she eventually developed metahuman powers of her own - specifically, ice powers. Unfortunately, these came with an evil alternate personality that she struggles to keep in check who goes by the name Killer Frost. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Wally West/Kid Flash
Wally West is the brother Barry's girlfriend Iris never knew existed. He was an engineering student with a passion for fast cars. When he is hit by the second particle accelerator wave, he develops super-speed and adopts the identity of Kid Flash to become Barry's sidekick - though he'd probably prefer partner. He is currently serving as one of the Legends. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Laurel Lance/Black Canary
It took a long while for District Attorney Laurel Lance to become the iconic DC heroine Black Canary, but she got there eventually. Unfortunately, she was on active crime-fighting duty for only a year or so before she was murdered by a supervillain. In recent years, her mantle has been taken up by another character with the ability to produce sonic screams. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Jefferson "Jax" Jackson/Firestorm
Jax was an aspiring football star before he was injured in the particle accelerator explosion. He found a new purpose, though, when it turned out he was compatible with Martin Stein and together they became the superhero Firestorm. They left 21st century Earth and become founding members of the Legends, though Jax ultimately left the team after Stein's tragic death. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Mick Rory/Heatwave
With his partner in crime Leonard Snart, Mick Rory was one of the most notorious crooks in his home city. However, the pair's lives were turned around when they were chosen to become Legends by Rip Hunter. Though Snart died, Rory stayed with the team and can now be firmly called a hero, though he has never lost his cranky attitude. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Alex Danvers
Kara isn't the only superhero in the Danvers family. She might not have Kryptonian superpowers, but her adoptive sister Alex is awesome in her own right as she is a kickass agent of the DEO and protects her home of National City from aliens for a living. If anything, she looks after her sister more than the other way around. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Harrison Wells
Harrison Wells has had a complex journey over the Arrowverse so far. To be specific, the many Harrison Wellses have. The STAR Labs gang have encountered Wellses from Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-19 and others. Some are evil, some are good, some are geniuses, some aren't. All, though, are memorably well-played by actor Tom Cavanagh who has appeared in all seasons of his primary show so far. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl
Chay-Ara was once an ancient Egyptian High Priestess who, along with her lover Prince Khufu, was given the gift of incarnation when she came into contact with an alien meteorite. In the modern day, she was known as Kendra Saunders and became the superhero Hawkgirl, fighting Vandal Savage alongside the Legends. The character hasn't been seen since Legends Of Tomorrow season 1. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Carter Hall/Hawkman
As we said, both Chay-Ara and her lover Khufu were granted immortality. Over the centuries, the pair would always find each other in every lifetime. In the 21st, Khufu was reborn as Carter Hall, who was briefly the hero Hawkman before he was murdered by Vandal Savage. He reincarnated into Scythian Torvill, though, and Kendra and he retired from superheroing together. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man
Here's a much more recent addition to the Arrowverse who has only arrived on the scene in the last season. Ralph Dibny was a jerk of a private investigator until he was infected with dark matter and was transformed into a metahuman - specifically, one with elasticated skin. Barry Allen this trained him to use this power to help others and become a hero. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Malcolm Merlyn/Dark Archer
The very first big bad from the Arrowverse is this guy. He was a big-shot CEO in his home city, though he was really the leader of The Undertaking, a group of rich fatkats who had a plan to wipe out the poor population of their town. He turned out to be a major thorn in the titular superhero's side. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Damien Darhk
Another of the most powerful villains in the Arrowverse is Damien Darhk. An immortal sorcerer who trained with the League of Assassins and runs his own evil organisation called HIVE, Darhk can kill you by both mystical means and in combat. He's such a massive threat that he has served as the big bad of two seasons across two different shows. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash
When Barry Allen was a boy, his mother was killed and his father was charged with her murder. But Barry knew that it was really in the Man in the Yellow Suit - a man he would later find out was his nemesis Reverse-Flash, who had travelled from the future to his enemy's childhood in order to get his revenge on him. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Mon-El
Mon-El is a super-powered alien from the same system as Krypton. On his world, he was a spoiled prince who loved living the high life. After his planet, Daxam, was destroyed, Mon ended up on Earth and gradually learned to become a hero. Due to some complicated circumstances involving time travel, Mon later became a member of the Legion of Superheroes. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Nate Heywood/Citizen Steel
Nate Heywood is a historian who had always struggled to live up to his idol, his grandfather who had been a superhero during World War Two. Eventually, his own powers activated, however, and he gained the ability to transform his skin into metal. With this newfound skill, he became a hero himself, joining the Legends as their resident history expert. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Vandal Savage
Like Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Vandal Savage was originally from ancient Egypt and was gifted with immortality thanks to an alien comet. His lifeforce is directly related to the Hawks so he has been killing them throughout history in order to prolong his own existence. He was destined to take over the Earth in the future so Rip Hunter formed the Legends to defeat him. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Thea Queen/Speedy
Thea is Oliver Queen's half-sister, who has had almost as crazy as time as he has since he returned to Star City and became the Green Arrow. After discovering she was the daughter of Malcolm Merlyn, Thea trained as a vigilante archer and joined Team Arrow as Speedy. She served as part of the group for a while before retiring back to civilian life. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
John Diggle/Spartan
Oliver Queen's right-hand man from right at the beginning of his time as Star City's resident archer-themed vigilante is John Diggle. The army man started out as his bodyguard but quickly became his confidant in crime-fighting. Eventually, Dig got himself an armoured helmet and landed himself his own vigilante codename: Spartan. Lately, things have been strained between the dynamic duo but we hope they can patch things up. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Felicity Smoak
Oliver is the leader, Diggle provides the muscle, but the brains of Team Arrow is Felicity Smoak. Operating from back in the Arrowcave, Felicity doesn't have the field experience of her friends but they couldn't function without her incredible mind and expert hacking skills. Over time, she and Oliver have had a complicated relationship, but this season they finally tied the knot. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
John Constantine
John Constantine is a special case. Matt Ryan's occult detective first starred in his own NBC solo series which was unfortunately cancelled after 13 episodes. However, the character had such a cult fanbase that he was folded into the Arrowverse back in 2014 in a guest spot on one of the four shows. Since then, he has moved over to another series on a recurring role. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Gideon
Gideon is the artificial intelligence on board the time-travelling spaceship, the Waverider. It is said that she was created by Barry Allen in the future. In her initial appearances, Gideon was voiced by Deadpool's Morena Baccarin, though Amy Pemberton later took on the role full time. She has even appeared in the flesh on a few occasions when Gideon has turned up in human form. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Zari Tomaz
Zari Tomaz hails from a dystopian, anti-Muslim version of the future. As well as a talented hacker, Zari possesses an amulet - the Air Totem - which allows her to manipulate the atmosphere. In the comics, the character is known as Isis, the wife of Black Adam, though this name isn't used in the Arrowverse due to it having unsavory connotations nowadays. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Winn Schott
Winn Schott is one of Kara Danvers' best friends. A total tech whizz, Winn used to work as the simple IT guy at CatCo Media before joining the DEO and helping save National City. He used to have a crush on Kara but, when he realised she did not feel the same way he was able to move on. His father was the supervillain Toyman. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Mari McCabe/Vixen
We've already looked at Amaya Jiwe's Vixen but this is her granddaughter - weirdly, it's actually the one we met first. Mari McCabe first appeared in her own animated webseries before making the leap to live-action. The plan was for her to join Legends of Tomorrow but the actress, Megalyn Echikunwoke, proved unavailable. She has continued to play the role in cartoon form, though. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
James Olsen/Guardian
The Arrowverse version of Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen is hugely different from the traditional depiction. James isn't a teenage Caucasian geek by a dashing African-American guy in his 30s. Occasionally, he's also a vigilante himself, as he has a high-tech suit of armour that allows him to go crime-fighting as Guardian. For the last few seasons, he has been in charge of CatCo Worldwide Media. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm
Jefferson Jackson wasn't the first partner Martin Stein had to form Firestorm. Initially, he bonded with Ronnie Raymond, a former employee at STAR Labs and fiancee of Caitlin Snow who had been affected by the particle accelerator explosion. Tragically, Ronnie sacrificed himself to save Central City several seasons ago. Fun fact: he's played by Robbie Amell, the cousin of Green Arrow himself Stephen Amell. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Legion of Superheroes
These group of superheroes come from the 31st century, though they travelled back to the 21st in order to help save Earth from the threat of the Worldkillers from Krypton. Among their roster is Saturn Girl and Brainiac-5, the heroic descendant of Superman's enemy. As we have pointed out, Mon-El also joined the number once he ended up in the future. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Justice Society Of America
From one superhero group from the future, we turn to one from the past. The Justice Society were operational in World War 2, including many heroes such as Commander Steel, Doctor Midnite, Hour-Man, Stargirl and several more. In the comics, the JSA is a precursor to the Justice League, though we are yet to see the Justice League form in the Arrowverse. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.
Clark Kent/Superman
Despite being a major player on the movie screen, the Arrowverse was able to get the rights to the one and only Superman, who has made a handful of appearances in the TV DC universe to date. He is played by Teen Wolf star Tyler Hoechin. From what we have seen of him, he is a pretty faithful version of the Man of Steel. See if you can remember which Arrowverse TV show this character originally started on by picking the right answer below.