While the Arrowverse's production values have never quite been up there with what we're used to seeing in theaters, it would be wrong to diminish the success that shared world found on television.
Despite often being held back by Warner Bros.' big screen whims (hence why the likes of Batman and Wonder Woman have never paid a visit to Central City), The CW still delivered a lot of great storylines and crossovers. Heck, they even managed to beat the DCEU and The Flash to Crisis on Infinite Earths, an event which generated hugely positive reviews.
During a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly to discuss the Arrowverse's conclusion when The Flash wraps up on Wednesday, Stephen Amell made a point of highlighting the franchise's achievements.
"This was right after the first season [of Arrow]," the actor recalls. "Greg Berlanti called me into his office and said, 'Hey, we're going to be introducing Barry Allen. He's the Flash. We want to spend the next bit of time building the Justice League on TV.' And that's precisely what they did."
"I mean, I think DC gets a lot of sh*t for not building this interconnected [film] universe, but I just think people need to look at what they did on TV," Amell continues. "Crossovers had been done before, they'll be done again, but the scale to which we did it was unprecedented."
He's not wrong, and while Warner Bros. was struggling to get the DCEU off the ground with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, The CW was bringing together characters like Green Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl.
Now, a reboot beckons from DC Studios, with the hope being that the DCU can find the same level of success as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The series finale of The Flash airs this Wednesday on The CW.