9 Reasons Why Arrow Is Really Just A Batman Show

It might not be the perfect show, but season 5 of Arrow has largely benefited from the glorious canning of Olicity, which singlehandedly destroyed the past two seasons with its Gossip Girl-inspired soppy love story. The noticeable improvement in the storyline aside though, it's hard to ignore the constant criticism that this series pinches more than a few ideas from Gotham City. Sure, there's no Batmobile or Robin here (thank the powers that be for that), but there's certainly enough Batfluence to go around. From the villains to the grim tone, there's a hint of Bruce Wayne in everything that Oliver Queen does and encounters in Star City. Whether you think this is a good thing or a lame pastiche is really up to you. Just don't deny that the spectre of the Dark Knight looms over this show season after season. As Arrow reaches the end of its fifth year now, we take a look back at the blatant Caped Crusader influences that have made their way into the series so far. As always, we welcome your thoughts and opinions on the topic, so please sound off in the comments section down below once you've finished reading. Mr. Grumpy Pants In all fairness, this down-in-the-dumps personality trait has been toned down over the years. But do you remember the first couple of seasons where you could play a game of spot Oliver smile? He was persistently grumpy, looking like someone had replaced his Blu-ray collection with box sets of 2 Broke Girls. Frankly, we'd probably be miserable, too, if anyone did something so downright nasty to us. You know who else likes to sulk and respond with one-word grunts and mumbles? You guessed it: Batsy! It's like Oliver and Bruce are brothers from different Marthas, carrying the same My Chemical Romance lyrics in their hearts and embracing the cold blackness of their souls. If you closed your eyes and listened to them speak, they even sounded the same. Unfortunately, Felicity Smoak came along and changed Oliver for the worse, showing him how to smile, laugh, love and have fun. It's been disgusting to see him become a shadow of his former grumpy self though. How dare he have any happiness in his life when there are so many criminals to pummel in Star City?! The Huntress Affair As long as we can remember, Helena Bertinelli is a resident of Gotham City. She's another one of the city's masked vigilante who's crossed paths with Batman several times because of her questionable methods of justice. But, on a more personal level, we've also seen her have an on-and-off relationship with Dick Grayson as one of his many love interests. While her appearance on Arrow did keep a lot of aspects of her origin intact, she soon got caught in the crosshairs of Oliver's love gun instead of his bow's. Surprisingly, the arc was actually rather good before it degenerated into a tribute of My Super Ex-Girlfriend as Helena reacted in anger to Ollie's interest in Laurel. Worst of all, we never got to see the character become the heroine she is. Perhaps this storyline pinched more from the pages of Nightwing than a Batman book, but since Dick was the Bat for some time, we'll chalk this one up as another incident of imitation. By the way, has anyone asked Dick how he felt about the Olilena? Poor guy must not be impressed with Ollie. The Slade Wilson War When you think of Deathstroke, you immediately associate him with the Teen Titans and Batman - not the Green Arrow. However, in the Arrowverse, Slade's the guy who provided Ollie with the greatest fight of his life and kicked his ass several times. This is all good and dandy, but there's a bigger problem here: Slade taught the Emerald Archer how to fight on the island. Think about this for a second: if the world's greatest assassin - someone who's beaten Batman in hand-to-hand combat - teaches you the art of fighting, how the hell do you lose in battle to the likes of Malcolm Merlyn and Damien Darhk? Ollie must be the guy who copies everyone else's homework, because he's obviously a pretty crappy student. That anomaly aside, Slade's been the best part of the show - even if he technically shouldn't be in it. He might be known as a Batman villain, but he's still the one who took Oliver to the brink. It's a pity that he never offed more of the series' annoying characters. The Oracle Wannabe When Felicity Smoak first appeared on Arrow, she was actually quite adorable and provided some much needed lightheartedness to the show. Over time, however, her character grew more involved with Oliver and she took center stage as the brains of Team Arrow. Everywhere you looked, she'd be in everyone's ear dishing out instructions and hacking systems like a pro. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? To make matters even worse (and in some weird sick tribute), the writers went and crippled her just like Barbara Gordon was (fortunately, it wasn't permanent). Why that was necessary we'll never know, but the show does defy logic at the best of times. Still, why would they do that? It's as if they were adamant that she must be Babs in every possible way. Bottom line: Felicity isn't Oracle, and she never will be. She's an annoying gnat that needs to be removed from the series. Will it ever happen? Unlikely. Knowing the producers, they'll probably have her eventually take the Red Arrow role or something stupid like that. The Demon's Head Despite his issues with the World's Greatest Detective, Ra's al Ghul sees the Bat as a worthy (and only) heir to his throne. Others have tried, but no one can quite match the "love" that Ra's has for the Caped Crusader as the ideal son-in-law. Yet, in Arrow, it was Oliver who was identified as the natural successor and took over the mantle. But here's the clincher: he actually went and killed poor Ra's in front of his League. Yeah, you read that right. He killed Ra's - the guy who can't be killed. It's absurd to even write it down because it's ludicrous. In decades of battle, Batman has bested Ra's on more than one occasion, yet the slippery snake always sneaks away before he can pay for his crimes. In The CW world, Oliver dispatches of the Demon's Head; thereby, in some twisted way, implying he's more powerful than the Dark Knight. Sure. Stop smoking that good stuff, guys. The Treatment Of His Team If you've ever read a Batman story, you'll be familiar with the concept that Bruce makes the rules and ensures everyone knows he's the boss of everything. Furthermore, he drills his team incredibly hard but never quite trusts them with all the intel they actually require. Whoa! Déjà vu here. Oliver does the exact same thing on this show. He's lost members of his team because of his desire to keep secrets and he refuses to let go of control as well. Lest we forget, he remains a bossy prick on every mission, too, rubbing people up the wrong way. You cannot ignore the fact it's like a cut-paste formula with the team dynamics, and don't be surprised if the writers actually pick up copies of Detective Comics for further copying inspiration. Let's call it now and say it's only a matter of time before Team Arrow changes its name to the Arrow Family. The Suicide Squad Let's get one thing straight: Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad aren't exclusive to Batman. They're a bunch of bad guys (and girls) from across the DC universe and could serve as antagonists for any Justice Leaguer or Titan. That said, spotting the likes of Deadshot and the briefest of Harley Quinn cameos in a Green Arrow show seems a bit off. They're considered rather important to the Batverse and it's fair to say they were largely wasted in their appearances here. Ignoring the horrible costumes or confusing castings, these characters were real bottom-of-the-barrel villains, serving no other purpose than being a "cool" reference point for the series. What's even worse is how most of the Squad got killed off in lame fashion, so there could be no confusion with the film's version of the characters. Yet, there are two live-action Flashes and Supermen right now, and everyone seems to be cool with that… Sometimes, you have to wonder if the TV and film people even speak to each other at all. The Illegitimate Son Someone should really have a word with superheroes about safe sex, because it seems like they all have a secret child or two hiding in their past. Batman got the shock of his life when Talia popped up out of the blue and said, "Surprise! This is your son. His name is Damian and he's a little douche!" And we all know how that turned out for Bruce. On Arrow, Oliver didn't wrap his tool, either, and ended up with a little critter named William. He's the product of a tryst with Samantha Clayton during his party days, and pretty much the reason Felicity and Ollie broke off their engagement. That's a good enough reason to love William! However, unlike Damian Wayne, William can't defend himself and only gets himself kidnapped or taken hostage by Oliver's enemies. To be completely honest, he's a bit of a useless character and we only remember he's alive when he's the little dude in distress. Wait… Maybe the plan is for him to become Arrow's Robin in the future? We certainly hope not. Quentin Lance A detective who originally dislikes a masked vigilante but ends up becoming an invaluable ally in his never-ending crusade for justice? Hmm, where have we heard this trope before? Face it, folks: Quentin Lance is the poor man's Jim Gordon. He might not have the moustache or glasses of the GCPD's most loyal servant, but he's got every other trait down to the tee. Throw in his ability to bend the rules when necessary and we have the quintessential comic book cop here. Lance does beat Jim in one department, though: he's had two crime-fighting daughters instead of one. That said, he's been put through the emotional wars in the past few seasons, with the loss of both his daughters, his firing from the police department, the end of his relationship with Donna, and his struggles with alcoholism. Man, Arrow can be unforgiving to its main characters at times.