Warning: Spoilers for The Flash season 8, episode 12
The Flash season 8’s Deathstorm story makes The CW’s failure to turn John Diggle (David Ramsey) even worse for the Arrowverse. In the Arrow series finale, the show paid off all the John Stewart theories by setting up Diggle to finally become the Arrowverse’s Green Lantern. Though the name has never been spoken in any of the Arrowverse shows, it’s been obvious since Arrow’s ending that Diggle has the Green Lantern ring.
Through special guest appearances in other shows such as The Flash, Superman & Lois, Batwoman, and more, the Arrowverse continued to build on its Green Lantern setup. Occasional moments with Diggle and other Arrowverse characters have touched on the ring and his hesitation about embracing its alien powers and legacy. But for all the teases it dropped, they haven’t actually led to anything meaningful. Arrow ended in January 2020, yet Diggle still isn’t any closer to suiting up as the Green Lantern. Many believe that the issue standing in the way of Diggle taking on the role relates to DC’s presumed unwillingness to let The CW use the John Stewart iteration of the character.
What The Flash is currently doing in season 8 draws greater attention to the Arrowverse’s inability to deliver on its Green Lantern teases. With Deathstorm, the series has brought to life a powerful opponent of the Green Lantern Corps from DC Comics and an antagonist truly worthy of an Arrowverse version of John Stewart. In fact, Chester’s comments in the ending of The Flash season 8, episode 12, titled “Death Rises”, acknowledged the team’s need for a “cosmic” ally in the fight against Deathstorm. He’s not wrong – Deathstorm is a Justice League-level villain and the sort of adversary one would expect a hero like Green Lantern to fight in one of his outer space adventures.
Team Flash’s solution to the Deathstorm dilemma is to power up Killer Frost, even though Deathstorm’s power level and cosmic origins make him the perfect fit for a Flash-Green Lantern crossover story. If Diggle had become Green Lantern at this point, it makes sense that Barry would be calling on him for help instead. After all, a cosmic powerhouse like Green Lantern would make more sense as an opponent for Deathstorm than Frost. A super-powered entity with his level of power would easily land on Diggle’s radar.
It's disappointing that Team Flash has to face a Green Lantern villain without the hero himself. For the time being, it’s unclear if future cosmic storylines in the Arrowverse will offer a different situation. But with The CW making a pilot for Justice U (a show that would put Diggle in the lead role), there’s at least a chance the Arrowverse will eventually have time to complete Diggle’s Green Lantern transformation. If and when that happens, Diggle can finally fight alongside his longtime Arrowverse allies.
The Flash releases new episodes on Wednesdays on The CW.