Arrow Ending After Season 8. What Does This Mean?

Stephen Amell surprised the Arrow fanbase when he tweeted out that his run as Oliver Queen will come to an end come Fall this year.

Amell confirming suspicion that the Arrowverse may change forever

But how will this affect the other shows in the fan-dubbed “Flarrowverse”? If the next crossover is any indication, they will be affected quite heavily.

Ardent DC fans noticed this headline in the series premiere of The Flash. It was the first clue that hinted of a major story arc in the future.

The first hint at Crisis On Infinite Earths

Ever since then, fans wondered if such an epic event would ever see the the light of day in live action. After all, the original Crisis reshaped the entire DC comic line. An event not seen again until recent years in DC. Marvel is another story, but that’s for another time…

For those who may not be familiar with the event, Crisis On Infinite Earths was a massive storyline that involved practically the entire DC Comics line. Much like the current CW shows, DC had a multiverse which had the same or similar characters in different universes. Eventually, DC decided to reboot their entire universe and start with a clean slate. To do this, they started a massive story arc that would streamline all these different realities into one.

And that, in a nutshell, was Crisis On Infinite Earths. Now, onto the SPOILERS for a 35 year old comic story.

The most widely known fact about Crisis, is the event resulted in the deaths of some pretty major names. Namely Supergirl and The Flash.

One of the most iconic images in comics history

The original Supergirl, Kara Zor-El, died approximately halfway through the series. The image of Superman openly weeping while holding her body is considered one of the most iconic images in DC’s history.

Barry Allen literally running himself to death during Crisis On Infinite Earths

The Barry Allen Flash sacrificed himself to save the universe. Shortly thereafter, DC promoted Kid Flash (Wally West) to take his uncle’s place.

Now just because a live action adaption shares the name doesn’t necessarily mean that all details have to be followed. But those two moments are vividly remembered to this day. It’s a pretty safe bet that at least one of them will happen.

OK, but what about Ollie?

Green Arrow did appear in Crisis, but it was the Earth 2 (Golden Age) version that kicks the bucket. Arrowverse fans may recall that Ollie is already dead in the televised version of Earth 2. It’s what spurned the Earth 2 Laurel into becoming Black Siren instead of Black Canary.

One of the major plot points in Season 7 is an adult William in the future trying to find out what happened to his father. It’s pretty well established that Ollie has not been heard from for some time. But if Ollie died during a massive battle, it probably would be something of legend. So what the heck happened?

Well, we know the Earth 2 Ollie is dead. And we know the Earth 2 Ollie also died in the comics. But the main Ollie also bit the big one in the comics, when he sacrificed himself to prevent a bomb from destroying Metropolis.

Oliver Queen’s death in Green Arrow (vol. 2) #101

Could this be what happens to our beloved Stephen Amell onscreen version of Ollie? It’s way too early to speculate fully, as Season 7 hasn’t even finished yet. There is still a long way to go before December 2019. And even if Ollie does bite the big one, it’s not like death has stopped characters before.

What do you think? Should Ollie die in the series finale?