Who are the Ninth Circle and what role have they played in the events of Arrow season 7? Many fans who are unfamiliar with the Green Arrow comics may be wondering who season 7's big bad villains truly are, as one of the series' smaller subplots has grown to dominate nearly every aspect of the central storyline. This, in turn, has signaled big things for the future of the Arrowverse.

This sudden shift in power became readily apparent after Arrow season 7, episode 15, "Training Day". It was here that Arrow season 6's chief villain, crime-boss Ricardo Diaz, was confirmed to have been killed by the new Green Arrow, Emiko Queen. This revelation came after it had been revealed that Emiko was in the employ of the mysterious financier known only as Dante, who had been backing Diaz's efforts to take over Star City for the past year. Dante had also been the target of an ARGUS investigation for several months but has enough power within the Pentagon and the Department of Defense to shoot down any efforts to bring him to justice through traditional channels.

Related: Theory: Arrow Season 7's Real Villains Are In The Present And Future

While the name of the Ninth Circle has yet to be spoken on Arrow, the influence of the sinister group (which is also led by a man named Dante) is apparent to fans of the comics that inspired Arrow season 7's story. In the end, the Ninth Circle may become Arrow season 7 and potentially Arrow season 8's big bad villains, as Stephen Amell's story as Oliver Queen starts to wind down. But just who are the Ninth Circle to begin with?

The Ninth Circle In The Comics

Green Arrow vs The Ninth Circle

Despite being only recently introduced into the Green Arrow comics in 2016, the Ninth Circle have quickly grown into an essential part of the series' mythology. Created by writer Benjamin Percy, with character designs by artists Otto Schmidt and Juan Ferreyra, the Ninth Circle were the primary villains of Percy's run on Green Arrow, which lasted for 38 issues. Produced as part of the DC Rebirth initiative, the long-running storyline was considered  a welcome return to form after years of uneven stories by most Green Arrow fans.

The Ninth Circle were a secret cabal of bankers and captains of industry, built around the belief that any act can be justified so long as it creates wealth and power for the elite. This included such social ills as selling illegal drugs and slavery. Led by a mystery man known only as Dante, the Ninth Circle further mocked the ideas of good and evil as absolutes, naming their organization after the worst part of Hell as depicted in the narrative poem The Divine Comedy and adopting costumes based on Satanic imagery for their meetings.

To that end, The Ninth Circle acts as a bank for terrorists and supervillains, offering them the same financial services as a traditional bank but for nontraditional reasons. Suppose you are a would-be despot who needs money to raise an army and buy weapons to force your will on an unstable region? Or perhaps you're a mad scientist working on a super-soldier serum who needs help building a secret lab without FDA regulations or laws against kidnapping test subjects? The Ninth Circle is there to lend a helping hand with your funding in exchange for a cut of the profits.

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The Ninth Circle proved to be the perfect foil for Green Arrow, presenting a conspiracy that Oliver Queen was all but helpless to fight against directly. The battle became doubly personal for Oliver after he learned that his ancestor, Robin Queen, was the Ninth Circle's first leader and that they intended to make his sister Emiko part of their organization. By manipulating politicians and law enforcement against him even as they took control of his company, the Ninth Circle helped to reestablish Green Arrow as a modern day Robin Hood, fighting for the rights of the common people against a corrupt authority.

The Ninth Circle In Arrow Season 7

Arrow Dante and Emiko Queen

ARGUS Director Lyla Michaels and her husband John Diggle spent most of Arrow season 7 tracking a mysterious group that seemed to be funding various terrorist organizations around the world. Their first lead regarding this group and the identity of their leader came in Arrow season 7, episode 5, "The Demon," where ARGUS uncovered an encrypted image of a painting by artist Jean-Léon Gérôme, Dante (He Hath Seen Hell), among the personal files of a black market arms dealer. This image was later discovered to be used as an e-signature/calling card by a figure who was acting as an agent for various mercenary groups and criminal enterprises around the world.

With their bosses at the Pentagon forbidding any direct investigation into the image, Diggle sought an indirect route after discovering that the recently incarcerated Ricardo Diaz had dealt with this "Dante" in the past. This led to Diggle reactivating Task Force X (aka the Suicide Squad) under a new name - the Ghost Initiative - and recruiting Diaz and several other incarcerated super-criminals to act as undercover agents in seeking out Dante. Unfortunately, it turned out that ARGUS Deputy Director Bell was part of Dante's organization and was able to tip off one of Dante's agents, a man named Virgil, about what Diggle was planning.

Related: Arrow Theory: [SPOILER] Isn't Really Dead

The end result of the investigation was that John Diggle was removed from his position at ARGUS, taking the blame for the failure of the mission so as to save his wife's job and allow her to continue their investigation in secret. Deputy Director Bell was killed by Dante in a bid to cover his tracks as he made his escape from the ambush ARGUS had set for him. Dante later revealed himself to Emiko Queen, who had apparently been in his employ at some point in the past (as revealed in Arrow season 7, episode 14), and instructed her to kill Ricardo Diaz once he was back in prison. All of this has established just how far Dante's influence reaches, though his prior relationship with Emiko Queen has yet to be explained.

Page 2 of 2: Arrow's Version Of The Ninth Circle & Their Arrowverse Future

Arrow Ninth Circle Dante and Oliver Queen

What Was Changed From The Comics For The Show?

While the name of the Ninth Circle has yet to be dropped on Arrow, their influence is plain to see. The base concept of a sinister financial group with enough power to control governments and corporations, as well as one led by a man named Dante, is too similar not to be a nod to the villainous organization from the Green Arrow comics. It's also worth noting that the Ninth Circle employed Emiko Queen's mother (the assassin Shado) in the comics and attempted to recruit Emiko to work for them as well. She would ultimately turn on the group, however, supporting her brother Oliver in his efforts to expose the Ninth Circle and their activities to the world.

There are two chief differences between the Ninth Circle in the comics and Dante's organization on Arrow. The first is that Dante's organization is not as flamboyant or overtly evil as the Ninth Circle. The Arrow version of Dante wears designer suits rather than ceremonial robes and his organization doesn't appear require its members to undergo ritual branding or burning to show their commitment to the Ninth Circle. The other major difference is that Arrow's version isn't obsessed with having a member of the Queen family on their board of directors. In the comics, there's a prophecy that the Ninth Circle couldn't prosper without a Queen at the center of the Circle. This was why they were obsessed with recruiting Emiko to join them after it became clear Oliver Queen would never be persuaded to join them.

The Ninth Circle In Arrowverse's Future

Arrow Star City 2038 Dinah Drake Roy Harper William Clayton Puzzle Cube Map of The Glades

The Ninth Circle's prophecy also plays into one theory regarding the alternate future of Star City 2038 and why Felicity Smoak felt the need to hide her pregnancy and the existence of her daughter from all but her closest friends. If Dante's organization has a similar prophecy in the Arrowverse, they would stop at nothing to acquire the last legitimate child of the Queen dynasty and might force the already paranoid Felicity into hiding. This would also explain why the Ninth Circle might ignore Thea Queen (who wasn't born of Robert Queen's lineage) and William Clayton, who was born out of wedlock.

Related: Arrow Theory: Felicity Hides Mia To Prevent Future Star City Plot

Ignoring that theory, there's still reason to believe that the Ninth Circle is involved in the future of Star City. The plot of Arrow's flash-forward storylines has seen the vigilantes of Star City working to stop a bombing plot that would destroy all of the slums of Star City while leaving the Glades - the ritzy gated community now sitting in the center of the city - completely untouched. We also know that Rene Ramirez, now mayor of the Glades, is aware of the bombing plot, but that his silence has been bought by a mysterious figure who's involved in financing Rene's bid for reelection.

Manipulating politicians is definitely a ploy utilized by Dante's organization in the modern day Arrowverse, but there's another connection here that further ties this future group to the Ninth Circle of the Green Arrow comics. One of the Ninth Circle's schemes involved a plot to destroy Green Arrow's hometown of Seattle with a series of controlled disasters, allowing the local industry and politicians to come in and create a new city built upon the ideals of laissez-faire capitalism, with no taxes, a weak local government, and no social services beyond what the businesses financed. It remains to be seen if this is the ultimate endgame of the bombers in the future of Arrow, but it does seem like a distinct possibility.

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