ARROW's Original Finale Would Have Seen Green Arrow's Death Inspire Bruce Wayne To Become Batman

ARROW's Original Finale Would Have Seen Green Arrow's Death Inspire Bruce Wayne To Become Batman

Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim has revealed what he originally had planned for the show's series finale, and in a perfect world, it would have culminated with an appearance from Batman...

By JoshWilding - Mar 26, 2020 03:03 PM EST
Filed Under: Arrow
Source: Fake Nerd Podcast

While Stephen Amell's Oliver Queen did factor into the Arrow series finale, his story really ended in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover. There, he died both as himself and The Spectre, saving his fellow heroes the first time and the entire Multiverse during the second when he created "Earth-Prime."

It was quite the farewell for the Emerald Archer, but Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim has now revealed both his "fantasy" and "original conception" for the show's final episode. 

As hard as it may be to believe, the original plan was for the Green Arrow's demise to inspire Batman!

"I kind of had a little bit of a fantasy that Oliver would die, and you'd end with some sort of news broadcast talking about his legacy and that would sort of become voice over, and then you would go to this rooftop in a whole other city and on the cuts a thug or some bad guy would come crashing through the frame, having been punched off screen. And this pair of black boots would come down right in front of him, and there'd be a flutter of a scalloped cape, and the voice over would say something along the lines of "Oliver Queen inspired a whole new generation of vigilantes." The implication of course being that he inspired Batman."

Had Arrow been a finite show without all those crossovers, this sort of ending would have worked really well (similar to what we saw in Gotham, for example). However, with the Caped Crusader off limits to The CW and Batwoman establishing that Batman has been M.I.A. for several years now, there's no way things could play out in this way. 

An ending like this had the potential to be something really special, though, and knowing that Oliver Queen's time as Green Arrow had brought a vigilante like Batman to Gotham City was a nice touch. Unfortunately, it's also easy to imagine a lot of backlash to this decision as that's not exactly how the Dark Knight's origin goes in the comics books!

What do you guys think about this alternate ending for Arrow?

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HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 3/26/2020, 2:33 PM
This ending would have been cool ... if Batwoman (the show) had not already been introduced, and with it a Batman already established.

I wonder if this alternate death was really, really early on in the brainstorming stage for Crisis, back when Elseworlds was being planned/released. Otherwise this just doesn't make sense.

One of my nit picks for Crisis was how they handled Oliver's death(s). After being set up for an entire year that he was going to pay the ultimate sacrifice, them surprising fans by killing him off early on undercut his role and the impact of his death. That should have been saved for the second episode, and Oliver sacrificing himself as Spectre should have been at the beginning of the 5th episode. And his second sacrifice wasn't quite as impactful as the first, imo.
Himura
Himura - 3/26/2020, 3:06 PM
I can totally see why people would hate the decision to do this.

If they went in this direction it would be better if GA didnt directly inspire him to be Batman but more like coming out of the shadows / hiding, instead of being this "myth" that lurks in Gotham that no one's actually seen or truly believes.
Origame
Origame - 3/26/2020, 3:08 PM
@Himura - i like it just because batwoman cant work in that continuity.
tmp3
tmp3 - 3/26/2020, 3:06 PM
A Batman wannabe inspiring Batman? This ain't it, chief.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 3/26/2020, 3:37 PM
@tmp3 - sounds like the worst elseworlds concept
Elbarto63
Elbarto63 - 3/26/2020, 5:11 PM
@tmp3 - True dat. Honestly, Im all for elseworlds where we see new origins or concepts...but this one? Hard pass. Get off your high horse Guggenheim.
tmp3
tmp3 - 3/27/2020, 1:04 AM
@Elbarto63 - Guggenheim is a bad writer, no surprises there
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 3/26/2020, 3:07 PM
That statement reminds me to some of the early ideas Zack Snyder had for the DCEU 6 years and a half ago after Man of Steel came out: that after Superman revealed himself to the world that it would inspire the other heroes make themselves public. That was later scrapped though.

For arguments sake it's always possible there is another Earth out there where that fantasy idea does happen though. That is the point of the multiverse, especially now that they created a brand new one.

Hopefully the Batwoman S1 finale, wherever it airs, sheds some teasers of Batman's whereabouts.
SensitivityII
SensitivityII - 3/26/2020, 3:15 PM
@NinnesMBC - That kinda... kinda happened, between Suicide Squad and Shazam!
Himura
Himura - 3/26/2020, 3:17 PM
@NinnesMBC - Isnt that what they basically did with Justice League after he died in BvS?
HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 3/26/2020, 3:17 PM
newhire13
newhire13 - 3/26/2020, 3:24 PM
Naw, chill.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 3/26/2020, 3:31 PM
Fugazi Batman inspiring REAL BATMAN.

How could you even consider doing this with a straight face?
dracula
dracula - 3/26/2020, 3:38 PM
@BlackBeltJones - Plus if his parents death and a bat flying through the window didn't inspire him, there would just be a lot of things that would make no sense, like where did he get his skills, why did he choose a bat
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 3/26/2020, 3:32 PM
Nah that's kinda stupid. Batman was inspired by his parents death. It's not like he wouldn't have become Batman if Oliver wasn't Green Arrow. He trained his whole life to be Batman. Not something he just decided to do one day.
dracula
dracula - 3/26/2020, 3:35 PM
@Nightwing1015 - Yeah he is inspired by his parents death and a bat flying through his window. If Thomas and Martha were still alive then there would be no reason for him to train, do he wouldn't have the skills anyway and cant really be inspired to dress like a bat from a guy dressed like robin hood
GhostDog
GhostDog - 3/26/2020, 3:38 PM
Thomas and Martha hearing about this
itzayaboy
itzayaboy - 3/26/2020, 3:41 PM
This would have been better than the entire premise of Batwoman.


That is not saying much.
THEDARKKNIGHT1939
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 3/26/2020, 3:56 PM
[frick] no.
knighted
knighted - 3/26/2020, 4:25 PM
Glad that didnt happen.
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