Even in the realm of movies and tv shows, there's meant to be a bit of realism within the fantastical stories. Without the tiniest bit of reality leading the charge, there's always the chance of the show or film devolving into an unrealistic mess. Even superhero media, like the show Arrow, a far more superior version to Smallville's Green Arrow, need a hint of realism every now and then.
Now, the idea of a billionaire running around and fighting crime with a bow and arrow may sound... silly. Yet, this gritty take on the emerald archer, who's become one of the best arrowverse heroes with no special powers, has plenty of realistic bits to it alongside some unrealistic ones as well.
Realistic: The List
Probably one of the more realistic things about Arrow was Oliver's initial motivation for becoming the Hood. After his father dies in a boating "accident", Oliver discovers his father had a journal, full of names.
Each name connects belongs to someone in Starling City who's worked to drive the city into the ground. Armed with the now-infamous list, Oliver sets off on a journey of revenge and redemption to take down those who've "failed this city."(A quote that has led to some pretty hilarious memes over the years) Despite feeling a little Batman-y, the storyline hit in all the right, grounded spots.
Unrealistic: The Undertaking
Now, alongside the list, the first season of Arrow faced another plot point: the undertaking. The undertaking, headed by Malcolm Merilyn (the Dark Archer), was intended to be a massive earthquake machine that would level the Glades and eradicate crime.
As far as evil villain plots with a hint of sympathy for the villain go, it wasn't half bad. As far as trying to be a villain plot that tied into the gritty nature of Arrow, it felt too grandiose when compared to the rest of the season.
Realistic: Vertigo
What's interesting about the Green Arrow is his lack of villains. That's not to say Oliver doesn't have a rogues gallery but truthfully it's pretty small. So doing Count Vertigo, one of his slightly more silly villains with the power to induce literal Vertigo, appeared, fans were skeptical.
Yet, the show managed to make it somewhat realistic, making Vertigo a high designer drug that popped up throughout the series and giving the title of Vertigo to more than just one person, spicing things up for the series.
Unrealistic: Mirakuru
There's no doubt that the CW's version of Deathstroke was one of the series best moves, paving the way for him to be one of the show's best villains. Yet the drug used to give him his strength was kind of unimpressive.
Yes, in the comics, Slade is given a drug that grants him his powers, but having it be some superweapon developed during WWII was a little out there. Not to mention creating an entire Mirakuru army did put Slade's villainous nature a little too over-the-top.
Realistic: Prometheus
As it was mentioned previously, Deathstroke is one of Arrow and the subsequent Arrowverse's best villains. However, there is another who could be considered the best alongside one of the show's best seasons, season five big bad, Prometheus.
Hell-bent on dismantling Oliver's legacy and tearing apart everything the Green Arrow stands for, Prometheus is probably one of the series more realistic villains. He doesn't have some over-the-top plot or grandiose designs (besides blowing up Lian Yu). All the villain wants is to break Oliver and it is done brilliantly and filled with multiple callbacks to previous seasons.
Unrealistic: Damien Darhk
While Prometheus was perfect for season five (alongside some of the show's best fight scenes), the previous season, season four's villain, was not. Granted, the main problem with the fourth season was that the series took a step into the realm of magic.
Even though it did give audiences John Constatine, who was far better than the Constatine film, it also provided some of the more unrealistic bits, including the season's big bad, Damien Darhk. Darhk's overall motivations and goals didn't really gell or work as well as some of the smaller level ideas the show was doing.
Realistic: Stranded On Lian Yu
Since Arrow began, one of the best storylines has been the five-year journey, detailing the events that unfolded throughout Oliver's travel home after being missing. Alongside that, there's nothing better than the first of those years, when Oliver was stranded on Lian Yu, which translates to Purgatory.
Watching a former billionaire struggle to survive, learn new skills, adapt and overcome challenges cemented the series' grounded nature early on in the series. Not to mention that it introduced audiences to Slade, Shado, and other characters that would resonate and affect audiences.
Unrealistic: Return To Lian Yu
Almost ironically, Lian Yu also held one of the less realistic ideas. Once again, this hinged on the usage of magic in the series, one that Lian Yu embodied a little too much. Sent back to the island by Amanda Waller, Oliver encountered some spooky things that didn't really add to the series.
If anything, the return to the island complicated things. The mystical element and the unnecessary love interest took away from the otherwise realistic setting of Lian Yu and confused things rather than making things clear.
Realistic: Inmate Arrow
It's funny how some projects are shelved and put away, only to be taken out again at some point down the road. Years ago, there was an idea for a movie called Green Arrow: Escape From Supermax that would see Oliver in jail.
While the film never came to pass, the epic idea was reworked into season seven where, after revealing his identity, Oliver ends up in prison. It's an incredibly brutal and grounded storyline that looks at the inevitable aftermath of what follows the reveal of a vigilante's identity.
Unrealistic: Traversing The Multiverse
Look, a superhero show is going to superhero. What that means is even if a show tries to keep itself grounded, realistic, and gritty, there's going to be some suspension of disbelief. However, on top of supersoldiers, metahumans, and vigilantes, multiverse travel took it too far for Arrow.
While it provided some cool alternate worlds, Oliver traversing the multiverse with the monitor in the final season of the show (that would end with Oliver's death being one of the Arrowverse's best) didn't feel as fleshed out or grounded as the others. And this is a show that made death a common occurrence.