Well into its fifth season, Arrow remains a strong series for both DC and CW for one reason - its characters. After losing his original team at the end of season 4, the Green Arrow needed to recruit a whole new set of vigilantes. With characters like Black Canary (gone, then back, then gone again, then back again), Wild Dog, Mister Terrific and Ragman now on his team, Oliver Queen is forced to face a new threat, Prometheus, and in turn, face the demons within himself as well. It's certainly been an interesting season thus far.
Producers have said this is the last season Arrow will use the flashback scenes in the way that viewers are accustomed to seeing. That statement seems to be holding true as the flashbacks are now mixing with events that have happened just before, or just after, Oliver (Stephen Amell) was rescued from the island. In episode 11, "Second Chances", Talia al Ghul (Lexa Doig) told Ollie he needed to control the monster inside him, becoming something else, giving him a hood to hide his rage behind - thus the Green Arrow was born.
The flashbacks continued, as Talia is training Ollie in Russia. His first mission: Kill low level Russian drug dealers. His second mission: Kill drug kingpin Hideo Yamane (King Lau) during an exchange with a Russian drug supplier. After that deed was done, the two vigilantes return to their hideout and hold a conversation about Ollie returning to Star City and exacting vengeance on those who have failed his city. While that conversation was enticing, it's what's sitting on the table between them that should have fans talking - is that Green Lantern's Power Battery?
The people behind Arrow and the other shows in the Arrowverse - The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow - have been teasing the possible addition of the Green Lantern for several years now. In early summer 2015, Marc Guggenheim suggested in an interview that the Green Lantern couldn't show up in Arrow because it would conflict with the planned Green Lantern Corps movie. However, three months later he teased audiences by posting an image of billboard for the fictitious location Coast City with the tagline: "In brightest day, in blackest night..."
The Green Lantern Easter Eggs continue to pop up within the Arrowverse with perhaps the biggest, in-your-face teaser of them all appearing on Arrow this week - the Green Lantern Power Battery. However, this is not the first time something related to the Emerald Knight has been teased in one of the Arrowverse shows. Ferris Air, the aviation company pilot Hal Jordan flew for, has been referenced five times on Arrow and four times on The Flash. Here are some other times something related to Green Lantern has been referenced in plain sight:
- Season 1 of Arrow - "Darkness on the Edge of Town": During a flashback, Ollie, Slade Wilson and Shado attempt to stop Edward from shooting a Ferris Air jetliner out of the sky.
- Season 1 of Arrow - "Sacrifice": During a continuing flashback scene, Oliver and company are still on the island attempting to prevent the destruction of the Ferris Air jetliner.
- Season 3 of Arrow - "Calm": While taking down some criminals at a boxing match, Ferris Air is seen on one the billboards as a sponsor of the sporting event.
- Season 4 of Arrow - "Green Arrow": As Oliver Queen and Amanda Waller are having a conversation at a bar in Coast City, a man in a flight jacket walks past the camera - the name tag reads "Jordan".
- The Flash - Ongoing: A not-so-subtle Easter Egg is hanging on the wall of the CCPD. In a mural featuring Greek gods - Hephaestus, Hermes, Hera, Zeus, Hades, Apollo, and Poseidon - each one represents a DC superhero. It's been confirmed that Hephaestus represents Green Lantern.
- Season 1 of The Flash - "Pilot": Barry Allen tests his newfound powers at the abandoned Ferris Air Testing Facility
- Season 1 of The Flash - "Who is Harrison Wells?": A billboard reading "Welcome to Coast City" is seen briefly. This is the first time viewers get a glimpse of Jordan's hometown. It has only been mentioned in previous episodes of Arrow and The Flash.
- Season 1 of The Flash - "Rogue Air": Barry Allen evens says that Ferris Air in Central City "closed down after one of their test pilots went missing" - a reference to Hal Jordan.
With alternate realities, multiple Earths, time travel, meta-humans, speed gods, gorilla worlds and now, (thanks to the Invasion crossover event) aliens, all well-established elements across each of the Arrowverse shows, introducing someone as powerful as Green Lantern, even as an occasional character, would no longer be a stretch of the imagination. Hal's backstory could easily spread out over the shows during the course of a week, quickly giving the fan favorite character roots.
Whether these Easter Eggs are cleverly-placed premonitions of "greener" things to come, or just sly references placed to drive fans crazy with (potentially unfulfilled) excitement, remains to be seen. Whatever the reason, hopefully these subtle and not-so-subtle Green Lantern references will continue to be hidden in plain sight - eventually leading to a full appearance of Hal Jordan himself. What other Green Lantern references have you noticed in the Arrowverse?