9 Reasons Why Arrow Is Really Just A Batman Show

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.