List of ''Arrow'' characters

Oliver Queen / Green Arrow

Stephen Amell

Oliver Jonas "Ollie" Queen (portrayed by Stephen Amell; Seasons 1-present) is the main protagonist of the series. He is based on the DC Comics character of the same name.

In season one, Oliver returns to Starling City after being presumed dead for five years, shipwrecked on the remote island of Lian Yu following the loss of his family yacht. He lives a dual life—rich playboy by day and vigilante by night, targeting individuals whose names appear in a notebook given to him by his now-deceased father, Robert Queen. He struggles to find a balance between his quest and reconnecting with his family (his sister Thea Queen and mother Moira Queen) and friends (best friend Tommy Merlyn and ex-girlfriend Laurel Lance).

In flashbacks set five years earlier, Oliver, Robert, and Sara Lance are aboard the Queen's Gambit when bad weather causes it to sink. During the shipwreck, Sara is sucked out to sea. Oliver and his father escape on a life raft but Robert shoots himself to increase Oliver's chances of survival, asking Oliver to "right his wrongs". Oliver eventually lands the raft on an island called Lian Yu. He soon discovers that he is not alone on the island as he is hunted by a mercenary group. With the help of allies, Slade Wilson, Yao Fei, and Shado, he begins to learn the skills needed to survive.

During season one, John Diggle and Felicity Smoak both become involved in his crusade. The vigilante team ultimately realizes the list of names is connected to a larger conspiracy called "The Undertaking", a scheme orchestrated by Malcolm Merlyn to destroy the poor and crime-ridden neighborhood of the Glades. Oliver fights and supposedly kills Malcolm but The Undertaking succeeds, leaving the Glades largely destroyed and 503 dead including Tommy Merlyn.

In season two, Oliver returns to Starling City after spending time at Lian Yu to work through his grief. He now goes by the alias "Arrow" and, in honor of Tommy, vows never to kill again. He fights criminals who take advantage of the Glades after its destruction, while trying to redeem himself as a hero, but is challenged when those closest to him are endangered. He co-administers Queen Consolidated with Isabel Rochev and becomes friends with Alderman Sebastian Blood. Oliver finds himself investigating a larger plot orchestrated by Slade Wilson, involving "Mirakuru", a strength-enhancing drug. It is Slade's intention to destroy everything and everyone Oliver cares for. Sebastian and Isabel are also working for Slade and help bankrupt Oliver, causing him to lose his home and business. Oliver gets help from Sara Lance, now the vigilante "Canary", and takes Thea's boyfriend, Roy Harper, as a protégé. After Felicity injects Slade with the Mirakuru cure, Oliver defeats Slade and locks him in an underground prison on Lian Yu. In flashbacks, Oliver is hunted by Dr. Ivo's armed crew who seek the Mirakuru and he accidentally causes the death of Shado, his lover on the island. Slade also loved Shado, which explains his vendetta against Oliver. A flashback before the shipwreck reveals that Oliver impregnated a college classmate named Samantha Clayton, and Moira paid Samantha to tell Oliver the child died and to move to Central City, leaving him unaware of his impending fatherhood.

In season three, Oliver has become a public hero to the citizens of Starling City and has taken Roy on as a full sidekick. He lives in his foundry safe-house, having lost his mansion. Oliver is faced with the moral question of whether he can be Oliver Queen and live his life while the city needs the Arrow. This is further challenged when he realizes he is in love with Felicity. She has caught the attention of Ray Palmer, the new head of Queen Consolidated. After Thea returns to Starling City, they decide to reopen their nightclub together. Oliver is also inadvertently embroiled in a conflict with Raʾs al Ghul due to Malcolm's manipulations. During a fight with Raʾs, he suffers a mortal wound and nearly dies, but is saved by Maseo and Tatsu Yamashiro. Raʾs demands that Oliver become his heir because he is the only man to survive a death match against him, fulfilling a prophecy of the League of Assassins. When Oliver rejects the offer, Raʾs tries to force him by killing people while posing as the Arrow. When Raʾs nearly kills Thea, Oliver chooses to join the League, abandoning his former identity to become Al Sah-him (Arabic: سهم‎; "Arrow"); he pretends to be a darker and crueler version of himself in order to get closer to Raʾs and destroy the League from within. Raʾs has Oliver marry his daughter, Nyssa al Ghul, to keep his bloodline in charge of the League. Oliver later kills Raʾs and inherits the mantle but immediately passes it to Malcolm. He decides to retire from being the Arrow and live with Felicity, knowing that Laurel, Diggle, Ray, and Thea will protect the city in his absence. The season flashbacks explore Oliver's time in Hong Kong where, after witnessing his combat capabilities on the island, Amanda Waller forces him to become an A.R.G.U.S. agent using the Yamashiros as his handlers. It is revealed that Oliver returned to Starling City while on a mission where he discovered Thea's drug problems, witnessed the start of the relationship between Laurel and Tommy, and seeing John Diggle and Felicity Smoak for the first time.

In season four, Oliver is called from retirement to help Laurel and Thea stop a group known as "The Ghosts" led by Damien Darhk, leader of H.I.V.E. Oliver now goes by the name "Green Arrow", ostensibly a new vigilante following in the footsteps of the Arrow, who Star City (formerly Starling City) believes to have died. He plans to propose to Felicity and run for mayor. While on a mission with Barry Allen in Central City, Oliver meets Samantha Clayton's son, William, and ultimately learns that he is William's father. Samantha refuses to grant Oliver full access because of his playboy past and her ill feelings toward his mother. The revelations of his fatherhood complicates Oliver's relationship with Felicity and his duty as Green Arrow, and threatens to jeopardize his mayoral campaign. When a H.I.V.E. attack leaves Felicity permanently paraplegic, Oliver's fight with Darhk becomes a vendetta. Oliver also discovers that Thea is dying because the Pit's restorative effect on her is waning; Nyssa offers a cure in exchange for killing Malcolm. In a fight, Oliver cuts off Malcolm's left hand and gives the Demon's Head ring to Nyssa in exchange for the cure. Nyssa disbands the League of Assassins, causing Malcolm to seek vengeance against Oliver. As a result, Darhk kidnaps William, Oliver's relationship with Felicity becomes estranged, and Oliver is forced to resign from his mayoral campaign. After Darhk is successfully prosecuted, Malcolm, with help from Andy Diggle, aids Darhk's escape by restoring his magic, and fatally stabs Laurel with Oliver's arrow. Laurel dies of her injuries moments after admitting that she still loves Oliver, who is devastated. During his quest to stop Darhk, Oliver learns that the pure forces of light can counter Darhk's powers and that H.I.V.E. plans to rule a post-apocalyptic world. At the end of the season Oliver stops Darhk's plan to destroy the world and kills him. With the death of the previous mayor, Ruve Adams, Oliver becomes acting mayor of Star City. The season's flashbacks explore Oliver's training with A.R.G.U.S. and his infiltration of the Shadowspire organization on Lian Yu.

In season five, Oliver initially returns to killing because he blames himself for Laurel's death. He later recruits a team of vigilantes to help balance his double life as Green Arrow and Star City's mayor. In the process, he meets metahuman vigilante Dinah Drake, and sees her as a candidate to succeed Laurel as Black Canary, inspired to continue Laurel's legacy after encountering her evil Earth-2 counterpart. Oliver is stalked by a mysterious archer, Prometheus, who seeks vengeance for the death of his father by "The Hood". The season's flashbacks examine Oliver's time in Russia, where he joins the Bratva (Russian mafia) as part of an assassination plot against Konstantin Kovar and explores the criminal fraternity in the process. One of Raʾs al Ghul's children, Talia al Ghul, trains Oliver and gives him green garb based on the League of Assassin's uniforms. In the present, Talia seeks vengeance against Oliver for killing her father and allies with Prometheus, who was another of her students. After a series of battles with Prometheus, leading to the abductions of Oliver's family and friends, including Samantha and William, Oliver defeats his enemy at Lian Yu, though Prometheus kills himself afterward. William also learns of his relation to Oliver and discovers his father's secrets.

In season six, despite Oliver's victory, the final battle with Prometheus killed William's mother and left Thea in a coma. Oliver now struggles to raise William himself, who initially blames Oliver for his mother's death and tries to keep his distance from, but in time slowly begins to bond with. Oliver slowly tries to rekindle his romance with Felicity, and hopes that William will accept her. Oliver's secrets are also at risk when a photo of him unmasked is leaked by an unknown party (later revealed to be Ricardo Diaz) and is broadcast throughout the media, leading to him being investigated by the FBI and subsequently facing enough criminal charges to land him behind bars, which leads him to step down as the Green Arrow and pass the title to Diggle. Afterwards, Thea recovers from her coma, and following the conflict with Earth-X, Oliver and Felicity are married, after which Felicity accepts the role of stepmother to William. In addition, former HELIX leader Cayden James holds the Green Arrow responsible for his son's death despite Oliver's denial of any involvement, leading them to become enemies, and Oliver later discovers that Diaz is manipulating them all. Eventually, Oliver is made aware of the injury Diggle suffered during his time standing in for him, after which he resumes his duties as the Green Arrow, which with Felicity's help, William gradually becomes more accepting of. Because of Diaz's machinations, evidences begin to appear proving that both the Arrow and the Green Arrow are the same person and jeopardizing Oliver; Christopher Chance disguised himself as Tommy Merlyn and tells Star City that he is the Green Arrow, saving Oliver from imprisonment. Oliver later came clean to FBI agent Samandra Watson about him being Green Arrow and agrees to turn himself in to her in exchange that the FBI helps Team Arrow apprehend Ricardo Diaz's politician and police allies. The resulting fight with Ricardo Diaz ended with Ricardo getting away after wounding Quentin Lance and getting knocked off the building by Black Siren. Afterwards, Oliver confesses his identity to the FBI while mentioning having dealt a crippling blow to Ricardo's empire and asks that his friends and allies continue to save Star City in his absence. Oliver is then seen being incarcerated in Slabside Maximum Security Prison.

A villainous parallel universe doppelgänger, Dark Arrow from Earth-X, is introduced in season six, during the crossover event "Crisis on Earth-X". He is the Führer of the Nazi-ruled Earth and married to Overgirl, Supergirl's doppelgänger. He is enemies with General Winn Schott (Winn Schott's doppelgänger), the resistance movement leader of the Freedom Fighters and heroes include Earth-X's Guardian / James Olsen (James Olsen's doppelgänger), Citizen Cold / Leonard Snart (Leonard Snart's Earth-X's doppelgänger), and The Ray / Ray Terrill (Earth-1's displaced superhero). This Oliver is also the leader of Earth-X's supervillain team New Reichsmen which Overgirl, Prometheus (Tommy Merlyn's doppelgänger) and a time remnant version of Eobard Thawne are also members. During the final battle with the Green Arrow's allies, though both archers are equally matched in skills, the Dark Arrow was later killed by Green Arrow after being distracted from his wife's explosive death, giving Oliver the chance to fire an arrow into his doppelgänger's chest.

Laurel Lance / Black Canary / Black Siren

Katie Cassidy

Dinah Laurel Lance (portrayed by Katie Cassidy; main Seasons 1–4; 6–present, recurring season 5) is an assistant district attorney and Oliver Queen's ex-girlfriend. She is based on the DC Comics character of the same name.

In season one, she is a lawyer for legal aid firm CNRI and Tommy Merlyn's girlfriend. When Oliver returns, she blames him for the death of her sister, Sara. She gradually comes to accept him upon learning of his suffering on Lian Yu, and remembering her sister's rebellious faults. This puts Laurel at odds with her father, Quentin. She occasionally works with the Hood/Arrow—unaware that he is Oliver—with cases the courts are unwilling to move on. Oliver and Laurel eventually rekindle their relationship after Tommy breaks up with her. Tommy dies saving Laurel when CNRI is destroyed along with much of the Glades.

In season two, Laurel is hired as an assistant district attorney, assigned to prosecute Moira Queen. Because of guilt over Tommy's death, she and Oliver decide to remain friends, and Laurel begins taking drugs and drinking while pushing friends and family away. Laurel eventually chooses sobriety after an argument with Oliver. Inspired by Sara's vigilante alter-ego, Canary, she regains her job as assistant district attorney. Learning from Slade Wilson that Oliver is the Arrow, Laurel confronts Oliver and decides to keep his secret, also deducing Sara's secret.

In season three, Laurel works to prosecute the criminals Oliver catches. Sara returns to Starling City and is killed in front of Laurel, who makes an amateurish attempt to replace her as the Canary. Oliver refuses to train her, so Laurel seeks former boxer and vigilante Ted Grant/Wildcat's help with combat training. Laurel does not tell Quentin about Sara's death until a near-death experience, resulting in their estrangement. She wears Sara's Canary jacket and eventually becomes the Black Canary, partnering with Roy Harper. She learns that Malcolm is directly responsible for Sara's murder and tries to avenge Sara and Tommy's deaths. Nyssa saves her from Malcolm and furthers her training. Laurel gradually becomes a skilled combatant and Cisco Ramon provides her with an ultrasonic collar using components from both Sara's and Hartley Rathaway's weapons, improving Laurel's tactics with sonic weaponry. This collar, dubbed the “Canary Cry,” becomes her primary weapon used to disorient enemies with an overwhelming scream, while Team Arrow use ear-pieces to shield them from the effect. After Raʾs al Ghul's defeat and Oliver's retirement, Laurel remains on Team Arrow defending Starling City.

In season four, Laurel and Thea realize they are outmatched against H.I.V.E. and they bring Oliver back. Laurel hopes to revive Sara in the same way Thea was resurrected; with help from Oliver and John Constantine, Laurel retrieves Sara's soul from the afterlife. Laurel discovers that Damien Darhk is extorting her father to work with H.I.V.E. Laurel is further frustrated at Oliver when she learns that he cheated on her, resulting in his having a son named William, but has no ill feelings towards William's mother, Samantha. During Darhk's attempted breakout, Laurel is stabbed with an arrow by Darhk as revenge against her father's betrayal. She later dies after making Oliver keep a promise to not let her be the last Canary, and confessing that she still loves him. Evelyn Sharp begins masquerading as Black Canary; her actions brand Black Canary as a criminal. Oliver saves Laurel's image by revealing her secret to the public. Laurel is later avenged when Oliver kills Darhk.

In season five, when Oliver, John, Thea, Sara, and Ray are abducted by the Dominators, they are placed in a shared hallucination where Laurel is alive; seeing Laurel allows Oliver and Sara to move on from her death. In the mid-season finale, Oliver discovers Laurel seemingly alive and well, but Felicity discovers she is actually Laurel's Earth-2 counterpart "Black Siren" — previously introduced in The Flash as a minion of Zoom—and is working with Prometheus. Oliver hopes to help Earth-2 Laurel find redemption, believing it to be the only way to forgive himself for Earth-1 Laurel's death. Earth-2's Laurel was in love with Oliver's Earth-2 counterpart, until the latter's death 10 years ago; she moved to Central City to start a new life, only to become Black Siren when affected by Harrison Wells's particle accelerator, and then fell under Zoom's influence. Encountering Black Siren also motivates Oliver to keep the promise to Earth-1 Laurel. Black Siren works with Evelyn to kidnap the members of Team Arrow including Quentin. Black Siren reveals to Quentin that, while she helps Adrian out of gratitude for freeing her from A.R.G.U.S., she is sentimental towards her father's Earth-1 counterpart. After the destruction of Lian Yu at the end of the season, Black Siren's fate is unknown.

In the sixth season, while Black Siren is revealed to have survived the destruction of Lian Yu, she has been injured by Quentin and left for dead. A mysterious figure, later revealed to be Cayden James, finds and rescues her. Having lost her father when she was 13 and envious of her doppelgänger's life, she grew to love Quentin as her father in time. Quentin's attempts at contact leave her conflicted, but she still murders Vigilante at James' orders. After Dinah Drake learns that Black Siren murdered her boyfriend (albeit under James' orders), she shoots Black Siren in cold blood and leaves the latter for dead. Quentin patches Black Siren up and takes her to parts unknown to attempt to restore the part of her goodness that she has lost. Black Siren also prepares to take over her late doppelgänger's life, claiming that the original Black Canary never died in action. Later on, Black Siren turns against Ricardo Diaz and helps to fight his forces. When Ricardo wounds Quentin, Black Siren knocks Diaz off a building; he survives and escapes. She later acquaints with her doppelgänger's sister Sara Lance. After Quentin dies during surgery, Laurel is left devastated.

In an episode of The Flash, titled "Fury Rogue", which serves as an epilogue to the “Crisis on Earth-X” crossover, Cassidy portrays Dinah Laurel Lance’s Earth-X doppelgänger, known in production as "Siren-X." She survives the disestablishment of Earth-X’s Nazi regime at the end of “Crisis on Earth-X” and travels to Earth-1 to avenge the death of Dark Arrow and her regime's collapse. With help from Leo Snart, Team Flash are able to defeat and imprison her.

Katie Cassidy received star billing for her portrayal of Dinah Laurel Lance during the first four seasons of Arrow. Cassidy was demoted to guest during the fifth season of Arrow, but she regained her star billing in the sixth season for her portrayal of Black Siren.^[1][2]

Tommy Merlyn

Colin Donnell

Thomas "Tommy" Merlyn (portrayed by Colin Donnell; Season 1) is Oliver's best friend and the son of Malcolm Merlyn. He shares his surname with the DC Comics character Merlyn, and a version was introduced as a former friend-turned-enemy of the titular character in the Green Arrow comics in The New 52.^[3]

In season one, Tommy is a spoiled playboy who lives off Malcolm's financial support. After Malcolm cuts him off, Tommy manages Oliver's nightclub Verdant, and dates Laurel. He learns Oliver's secret when Oliver, as the vigilante, saves Malcolm from assassins. Oliver and Tommy's relationship becomes strained with Tommy seeing Oliver as a killer. Tommy later breaks up with Laurel thinking that she belongs with Oliver. Tommy is killed rescuing Laurel from a collapsing building damaged by his father's earthquake machine during the Undertaking.

In season two, Oliver vows never to kill again in Tommy's memory. During Oliver's fight with Cyrus Gold, he sees an image of Tommy, calling him a hero and urges him to defeat his enemy. It is also revealed that he is the paternal half-brother of Thea Queen. In season three, Tommy appears twice in flashbacks. He travels to Hong Kong looking for Oliver but fails,^[4] and throws himself a birthday party while trying to stop Thea from using drugs and grows closer to Laurel. In season five, the Dominators' dream world has him mentioned as a cardiothoracic surgeon after completing his residency in Chicago (a nod to Donnell's role as Dr. Connor Rhodes in Chicago Med after leaving Arrow) and he appears as a ghost when Oliver leaves the dream world.

In season six, Tommy Merlyn's Earth-X doppelgänger is revealed to be an equivalent of Prometheus in said parallel world, introduced in Supergirl. Like his doppelgänger, Merlyn is friends with the Dark Arrow. He is a member of the New Reichsmen with Dark Arrow, Overgirl, and the Reverse-Flash, and his parents are alive on Earth-X. Unlike his Earth-1 self, Merlyn received trainings in combat and archery similar to Dark Arrow's (and thus has skills consistent to Malcolm Merlyn and Adrian Chase, even his costume style is an amalgam of theirs). After Sara Lance and Alex Danvers subdue and capture him, Merlyn cruelly taunts Oliver over the attachment to his deceased doppelgänger, and kills himself via cyanide capsule, leading Oliver to see Tommy's doppelgänger as a perversion. Despite Tommy's memories is posthumously tarnished because of both his father's and doppelgänger's actions, Christopher Chance redeemed his image by disguising himself as him and tells Star City that he is the Green Arrow; though this clears Roy Harper of all charges as the vigilante, Oliver is later forced to reveal the truth to the F.B.I. in exchange for their aids against Ricardo Diaz.

John Diggle / Spartan

David Ramsey

John Thomas Diggle, Sr., (portrayed by David Ramsey; Seasons 1-present) is a decorated former United States Army Special Forces soldier, honorably discharged with the rank of master sergeant, ordained minister, and Oliver's best friend and partner. While John Diggle was originally a character created for the show, his popularity led to a character of the same name modeled after Ramsey's appearance to be created for the Green Arrow comics in The New 52.^[5] While elements from the Arrow TV series were removed after issue 40, John appeared again following the relaunching of the series as part of DC Rebirth.^[6]

During season one, John is hired as Oliver's bodyguard and becomes his confidant in his mission to save Starling City. John tries to help Oliver balance his normal life and vigilante life, and occasionally helps him in the field. John provides Oliver with medical assistance, limiting his need for hospital treatment. Already a skilled fighter, John receives additional training from Oliver. John has a grudge against Floyd Lawton / Deadshot who killed his brother, Andy. John dates his brother's widow, Carly, and is a father figure to her son, A.J., during this season.

In season two, John and Felicity continue to help Oliver with his crusade and John continues to be Oliver's adviser and field partner, along with Sara and Roy. John has a relationship with his ex-wife Lyla Michaels, is an unofficial member of A.R.G.U.S., and is a member of the Suicide Squad under the codename "Freelancer". He also develops an uneasy alliance with Amanda Waller who occasionally asks him for field assistance with A.R.G.U.S. missions. It is revealed that Lyla is pregnant with John's child.

In season three, John continues to help Oliver and his team, but has to devote more of his time to his new baby with Lyla, whom he names Sara after Sara Lance is killed. After Lyla is seriously injured in an attack, they decide to remarry. When Oliver is presumed dead at Raʾs al Ghul's hands, John leads Felicity, Roy, and Laurel until his friend's return. After Oliver's return, John accompanies him to Nanda Parbat to help him free Malcolm, but the two are captured. John and Lyla marry after a near-death experience with the Suicide Squad, when Deadshot sacrifices himself for them. John and Lyla decide to quit Team Arrow and A.R.G.U.S. for their daughter's sake. After Oliver leaves the team to join the League of Assassins as part of a deal to revive a deceased Thea, John becomes the team leader, though he is not yet ready to forgive Oliver for kidnapping Lyla as part of a deception to gain acceptance by the League.

In season four, John, going by the codename "Spartan",^[7] discovers that the organization that targets Star City is H.I.V.E., who have hired Lawton to murder John's brother, Andy. John eventually forgives Oliver after their fight with a H.I.V.E. metahuman operative named Jeremy Tell. With Quentin Lance's help, John learns that Damien Darhk had Andy murdered, and that he was a drug cartel leader and Darhk's territorial rival prior to his death. However, John discovers that Darhk actually faked Andy's death and recruited him as a H.I.V.E. soldier, leading John and his brother to become enemies. Guilt-ridden over his brother's role in causing Laurel's death, John seeks revenge against Andy and Darhk. John kills his brother after Andy nearly causes Lyla and Sara to be killed. He initially lies to Lyla, saying that he killed Andy in self-defense, but Oliver encourages John to admit the truth to his wife. John rejoins the US Army after confiding to his wife and Darhk's defeat.

In season five, John is betrayed by his commanding officer, J.G. Walker, following a failed attempt to sell nuclear weapons. John is framed for Walker's crimes; Oliver and Lyla break him out of state prison, and John stays at H.I.V.E.'s former base until his innocence can be proven. John remains guilty about killing Andy and continues to serve as Spartan to redeem himself. Due to the events of The Flash episode "Flashpoint", John's family history is altered: his daughter Sara has been erased from existence and replaced by John "J.J." Diggle, Jr., as a result of a timeline change caused by Eobard Thawne, correcting the Flashpoint reality created by Barry. John eventually learns of the alteration of his life, his daughter's erasure and his son's status as a time aberration, and despite the hurt caused by these circumstances, he chooses to forgive Barry. Lyla, however, distrusts Barry for this. Felicity is able to prove John's innocence by restoring the digital files that Walker had destroyed. However, Andy's betrayal and death at John's hands has taken a toll on him; he struggles to control his rage and occasionally pulverizes criminals to vent it, fueling Oliver's concern over his erratic behavior. John later befriends Oliver's chosen successor to Laurel's mantle, Dinah Drake, a Central City detective, and encourages her to set down roots in Star City. By the end of season five, John's fate is unknown due to the destruction of Lian Yu caused by Adrian Chase.

In season six, John is revealed to have survived the explosion by taking shelter in the plane like the others. However, he was wounded by bomb shrapnel and suffers a degenerative nerve injury that affects his motor control that requires taking daily medications, resulting him to develop a drug dependency. When Oliver decides to retire from being the Green Arrow, he appoints John as his successor, not knowing that John is not in condition to remain in action until later. Oliver returns to vigilantism until John is fully recovered from his injury. Curtis Holt develops an implant for John to help him control his tremors as he progressively recovers. After Oliver decides to remain being the Green Arrow, John accepts the job offer from Lyla as one of the commanding officers in A.R.G.U.S., using his new position to lead his subordinates to maintain order in the city's police's place due to they have been compromised by crime lord Ricardo Diaz. Nearing the end of the season, John is fully healed and no longer needing Holt's implant. His A.R.G.U.S. team later joins forces with the Samantha Watson's subordinates from the F.B.I., and working with Team Arrow, they ultimately take back the city from Diaz.

Thea Queen / Speedy

Willa Holland

Thea Dearden Queen (portrayed by Willa Holland; Seasons 1-6) is the daughter of Moira Queen and Malcolm Merlyn, though both Malcolm and Thea were unaware of their relation to each other until season two, and the younger half-sister to Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn. Her brother's nickname for her and later hero persona ("Speedy"), her middle name of Dearden and the alias "Mia" she used during her time at Corto Maltese, are Easter egg connections to one of Green Arrow's sidekicks in the comics.^[8]

In season one, Thea is battling a drug and alcohol problem which she used to fill the pain of losing her brother. After court-ordered community service from taking "Vertigo", she grows to be more responsible. Thea's addiction with Vertigo causes a bitter animosity between Oliver's vigilante alter-ego and the drug's creator, The Count. She also falls in love with Roy Harper, a lifelong street criminal who she meets when he steals her purse. Though he initially has no romantic interest in Thea despite an obvious physical attraction to her, mainly out of resentment of her wealth, Roy later begins to genuinely fall in love with her.

In season two, Thea runs the Verdant nightclub in Oliver and Tommy's absences and continues seeing Roy, but is frustrated by Roy's need to save people, though she gradually comes to accept it. She is the subject of exclusion as most characters keep secrets from her including her true paternity which she eventually discovers when Slade Wilson abducts her. She breaks up with Roy when he cheats on her, though he only does this to keep her away from him during his Mirakuru problem. Despite reconciling with Roy after having learned of his illness, she breaks up with him again after discovering his allegiance to the Arrow. After her mother's death, she decides to leave Starling City. Malcolm comes to save her and convinces her to leave with him.

In season three, Thea is in Corto Maltese receiving combat training from Malcolm, though she soon decides to return to Starling with Oliver. She reopens her nightclub after Malcolm secretly buys the foundry from Queen Consolidated for her. She learns Oliver's secret identity as the Arrow when he shows her his hideout under the nightclub and begins to distrust Malcolm after learning that he already knew Oliver's secret. After Thea is told that her father used her as a pawn against both Oliver and Raʾs al Ghul by drugging and manipulating her into killing Sara Lance, she arranges for him to be captured by the League in retaliation. She reconciles with Roy but is nearly killed by Raʾs and brought back to life in the Lazarus Pit in exchange for Oliver joining the League of Assassins. Thea blames herself for letting her brother join the League. Roy breaks up with her when he leaves Starling City after faking his death, hoping that Thea can make a life of her own without him. He also leaves her his red costume which she wears to become a vigilante herself as his successor.

In season four, Thea works with Oliver and his friends in the fight against the terrorist organization H.I.V.E. as "Speedy".^[9] Despite the enjoyment of being a vigilante, Thea's behavior becomes increasingly volatile and reckless when in the field, which Oliver realizes is a side effect of being in the Lazarus Pit. Thea helps Laurel to bring Sara back from death in hopes of making amends towards the Lance family. Because of this, Thea becomes telepathically linked with Sara for a period after her resurrection in the Lazarus Pit. It is also revealed that Thea's Lazarus Pit side effect is able to counteract Damien Darhk's life force drain, temporarily relieving her bloodlust. Thea begins to die as the Pit's restorative effect wanes. With Tatsu Yamashiro's help, Nyssa al Ghul gives Oliver the "Lotus", an elixir used by the Crescent Order that permanently reverses the effects of the Lazarus Pit, saving her life. Thea learns that Oliver is William's father, and that her mother had known and kept it a secret from them all. Thea meets William after Darhk kidnaps him, but she and Oliver are unable to acknowledge their relation to William due to their mother's actions and for the boy's safety. Darhk's wife, Ruvé Adams, eventually brainwashes Thea's new boyfriend, Alex Davis, into kidnapping her to a miniaturized H.I.V.E. facility built from stolen technology belonging to Ray Palmer.

In season five, Thea now works as Oliver's mayoral chief-of-staff and is adamant about retiring from being a vigilante after Oliver kills a number of Tobias Church's thugs. She hires Quentin as deputy mayor and helps him beat his alcoholism. However, while working to help her brother politically she makes some ruthless decisions, including ruining the career of Oliver's new love interest, reporter Susan Williams. Felicity is able to restore Susan's credibility, and Thea, realizing she has gone too far, resigns from her position soon afterward, despite Oliver asking her to stay. She occasionally resumes her vigilante role when needed. She is abducted by Adrian Chase and brought to Lian Yu with the others on the team, and was on the island when Chase sets off the massive explosions at the end of the final episode.

In season six, Thea is in the hospital, still in a coma five months after being critically injured in the destruction of Lian Yu. She later recovered during Thanksgiving Day and is greeted by her family and friends, including William, whom she happily acknowledged and help raising her nephew with Oliver and Felicity. She is also again working as Oliver's chief-of-staff following her recovery. After reuniting with Roy, Thea learns that Malcolm named her as his successor as leader of the League of Assassins' splinter faction Thanatos Guild. She then went into hiding with Roy and Nyssa al Ghul, along with searching for the locations of three remaining Lazarus Pits.

Moira Queen

Susanna Thompson

Moira Queen (portrayed by Susanna Thompson; Seasons 1-2) is the mother of Oliver and Thea, the former acting CEO of Queen Consolidated, mayoral candidate and wife of Robert Queen and later Walter Steele. She also had a brief affair with Malcolm Merlyn after his wife's death, which resulted in Thea's birth. She is based on the minor DC Comics character of the same name.

In season one, Moira is involved in "The Undertaking", a criminal conspiracy orchestrated by Malcolm to destroy the Glades, with him forcing Moira to handle all interference and supply him with the resources needed. Her involvement causes her to keep many secrets from her family which, when revealed, causes Walter to divorce her and her kids to become distant. Moira eventually confesses her involvement and Malcolm's, which results in her arrest.

In season two, Moira is put on trial but she is acquitted as Malcolm returns, alive. She makes Malcolm go on the run by informing Raʾs al Ghul of his survival. Moira eventually becomes a mayoral candidate against Sebastian Blood on Walter's advice, but the secret of Thea's parentage is revealed, causing a rift between Moira and her children. It is revealed that she had been aware of Oliver's secret identity as the Arrow since the night of her arrest. She is murdered by Slade Wilson as part of his revenge plot against Oliver. In a flashback, Moira paid Samantha Clayton to tell Oliver she lost their baby and to move away to Central City.

In season three, Moira's voice is briefly heard when Oliver calls home from Hong Kong.^[10] In season four, Samantha reveals she never cashed Moira's check, and the attempted bribe resulted in Samantha hating Moira; as a result, Samantha denied Moira access to her grandson, William. Oliver is hurt when he finds out, and angry with Moira for the deception.

In season five, Moira is seen as a figment of Oliver's Dominators-induced hallucination.^[11]

Quentin Lance

Paul Blackthorne

Quentin Larry Lance (portrayed by Paul Blackthorne; Seasons 1-6) is a deputy mayor, mayor, former police detective and captain, the father of Laurel and Sara, and former husband of Dinah Lance. He is based on the DC Comics character Larry Lance, husband to Dinah Drake Lance and father to Dinah Laurel Lance.

In season one, Quentin resents Oliver for causing Sara's death, becoming an alcoholic who throws himself into his work to avoid the pain. After Oliver returns, he openly shows his hatred of him and also hates the Arrow for being against everything Quentin believes in. Quentin attempts numerous times to arrest him, one time using Laurel, which causes her to be distant for a time. He works with the Arrow from time to time and eventually comes to accept him.

In season two, Quentin is demoted to officer; an ally to the Arrow, Quentin becomes his informant and occasional field partner on cases. He struggles to recover from his alcoholism and repair the relationships with his family. After Quentin discovers Sara is alive and the vigilante "Canary", he helps her adjust to life in Starling City. He helps Laurel cope with her pain over losing Tommy, and seeks to rekindle his relationship with Dinah, but she has moved on after their divorce. Quentin later regains his detective title. Following a battle with Slade's forces, Quentin passes out from internal bleeding and falls into a coma.

In season three, Quentin is in recovery, with frequent chest pains, and has been promoted to captain; he uses this authority to disband the anti-vigilante task force. His condition is strained due to assisting the Arrow in the field, and he relies on his new political connections and his subordinates to continue serving the city. Although Laurel kept the information from him, he ultimately learns the truth about Sara's death and Laurel becoming her vigilante successor. Quentin becomes estranged from Laurel and relapses in his alcoholism. He blames the Arrow for Sara's death and is determined to bring him to justice; he learns of Oliver's secret identity from Raʾs al Ghul. Quentin supports Team Arrow when Raʾs plans to unleash the bio-weapon on Starling.

In season four, Quentin is forced to work with H.I.V.E. after Darhk threatens the lives of his family. Oliver discovers this and persuades Lance to become a double agent and report information on Darhk. Darhk gradually becomes suspicious of Quentin, who discovers the source of Darhk's supernatural powers: an ancient artifact. With this information, Mari McCabe destroys Darhk's idol, leaving him powerless. Quentin publicly admits in court his association with H.I.V.E. under Darhk's duress, determined to see justice served, despite endangering his career. He reconciles with Laurel and reunites with Sara after she is brought back from the dead. Quentin begins seeing Donna Smoak, Felicity's mother. After Darhk murders Laurel, Quentin seeks to bring her back the same way Sara returned, only to learn from Nyssa that the Lazarus Pit was destroyed shortly after Sara's return. With Donna's support, Quentin copes with his loss without succumbing to alcoholism. After saving the city with Oliver, Quentin is fired and decides to leave Star City with Donna.

By season five, Quentin has broken up with Donna and, now having no one left, returns to Star City and falls back into alcoholism. With encouragement from Oliver, Quentin begins reforming Star City's police force as deputy mayor, working with the Green Arrow to reduce the city's rising crime rate. Quentin also formed the Anti-Crime Unit to combat serious crimes prior to his dismissal from the police, and leads them under his new position when needed, though this puts him at odds with his former colleagues. However, after Evelyn Sharp's fight with Prometheus, Felicity discovers that the shurikens Prometheus used were made from Oliver's old arrow heads stolen from the police evidence lockup, and Quentin finds cuts on him that implicate him and raise doubts of his sanity. Quentin eventually learns that Adrian Chase is Prometheus and responsible for attempting to frame him. Thea convinces Quentin to seek help at rehab after realizing how much Laurel's death is affecting him, and holds the position of deputy mayor for when he recovers. After resuming his position, Quentin befriends one of Oliver's protégés, Rene Ramirez, after Quentin learns of his past encounter with a young Rene when Quentin was a beat officer, and offers Rene a job as his assistant. He also befriends Oliver's chosen successor for the Black Canary mantle, Dinah Drake. When Dinah expresses her hesitance at accepting Laurel's mantle, Quentin gives Dinah his blessing, saying it is what Laurel would want. Quentin later encounters the Earth-2 Laurel and is disturbed to see what his own daughter could have potentially become. By the end of season five, Quentin's fate is unknown due to the destruction of Lian Yu caused by Adrian Chase.

At the beginning of season six, it's revealed that Quentin survived the explosion by taking shelter in the plane like the others, but was left emotionally scarred following his encounter with Laurel's doppelgänger. However, he later shares Oliver's hope for Black Siren of redemption. He later serves as the city's acting mayor following Oliver's impeachment, resulting him at odds with his corrupt subordinates led by crime lord Ricardo Diaz. During Team Arrow's showdown with Ricardo Diaz, Quentin is wounded by him causing Black Siren to push Diaz off the building where he survives. This wound got Quentin hospitalized. Despite the surgeons' attempts to save his life, Dr. Elisa Schwartz told Team Arrow that Quentin passed away when his brain wasn't getting any oxygen. This left Sara and Black Siren devastated.

During the "Crisis on Earth-X" crossover, Quentin's Earth-X doppelgänger is a Sturmbannführer of the Nazi's paramilitary rank. This Quentin also killed his version of Sara after discovering that she was bisexual. In an episode the season four of The Flash, reveals that, like his Earth-1 and Earth-2 doppelgängers, he is the father of Earth-X's version of Laurel, who is Siren-X.

Felicity Smoak / Overwatch

Emily Bett Rickards

Felicity Megan Smoak (portrayed by Emily Bett Rickards; Seasons 1-present) is an I.T. expert, a partner (and eventual love interest and later wife) of Oliver Queen. Felicity is a MIT graduate with a master's degree in cyber security and computer sciences, and ranked second in the National Information Technology Competition at age 19. Felicity was raised by her mother, Donna Smoak, who left her father Noah Kuttler when Felicity was seven years old due to his life as a criminal. During season one, she is initially an employee of Queen Consolidated, asked by Walter to investigate the list and by Oliver for occasional favors. She learns Oliver's secret when he is shot and has her take him to his lair where she and John patch him up. She stays on as Oliver's computer expert in hopes of finding Walter Steele by helping Oliver, and becomes one of Oliver's confidants. Felicity chooses to remain at Oliver's side after Walter is rescued.

In season two, she continues to serve as Oliver's partner, upgrades his safehouse, and has a custom bow made for him. Felicity also helps in the field as a decoy or to field-hack a computer, but sometimes gets herself in deeper trouble. Felicity and Oliver also start to develop romantic feelings towards each other despite the fact that he is in a relationship with Sara Lance at the time.

In season three, Felicity continues to be Oliver's tech support but has been forced to work for another company after losing her Queen Consolidated job. She eventually returns to work at Queen Consolidated (renamed Palmer Technologies) under new CEO Ray Palmer as his vice president. Felicity becomes conflicted by her feelings towards both Oliver and Ray. While Ray and Felicity become a couple, many people, including her mother, see that Felicity is in love with Oliver. Felicity finally admits her love to Oliver and the two consummate their relationship. However, Oliver's decision to join the League of Assassins causes a rift between them. At the end of the season, Oliver retires from being the Arrow and he and Felicity leave Starling City to start a new life. In flashbacks, it is revealed that she was a part of the cybergoth subculture and a member of a hacktivist group on her college campus.

In season four, Felicity becomes Palmer Technologies' acting CEO after Ray's presumed death; she becomes friends with one of its scientists, Curtis Holt. After living in Ivy Town for several months, she and Oliver return to Star City to help with the 'Ghost' problem. Felicity is the first person—before Laurel and Sara—to find out that her mother is dating their father. She and Oliver become engaged, but are attacked by H.I.V.E, resulting in Felicity being shot and left permanently paralyzed from the waist down. After coming to terms with her paralysis and her rebellious past, Felicity is given the codename "Overwatch" by Oliver.^[12] Felicity is reunited with her father after eighteen years, but learning that he is cyber-criminal mastermind the Calculator, Felicity has Quentin arrest him. With Curtis's help, Felicity's mobility is restored after a chip is surgically implanted in her spine. She learns of that Oliver has been lying to her about his secret child with Samantha Clayton, leading to her breaking off their romantic relationship. Later, after an encounter with the villain "Cupid", Felicity leaves the team until Laurel's death motivates her to return. Felicity decides to dedicate Palmer Technologies' innovations to help people, which causes her to lose her position as CEO. The season ends with Felicity and Oliver the only ones remaining in the destroyed lair.

In season five, Felicity continues to assist Oliver, and convinces him to build a new team, recruiting Curtis Holt, Rene Ramirez, Evelyn Sharp, Rory Regan, and Dinah Drake. She also dates police detective Billy Malone. When Billy is killed by Oliver in an accident planned by Prometheus, she seeks revenge and joins a hacker group called Helix. When Prometheus traps both Felicity and Oliver under their lair, the pair begin to reconcile after Oliver admits he trusts her but not himself. Felicity comes to understand the complexity of the decisions Oliver has made, and apologizes to him for her own hypocrisy. By the end of season five, Felicity's fate is unknown due to the destruction of Lian Yu caused by Adrian Chase.

In season six, Felicity, having survived the explosion by taking shelter in the plane like the others, remains on the team. She and Oliver rekindle their relationship and forms a bond with Oliver's son William. She and Curtis also begin a partnership in starting their own company. After the events of "Crisis on Earth-X", Felicity and Oliver marry each other. However, by the end of the season, Oliver turns himself in to the F.B.I. in exchange for the aids in defeating Ricardo Diaz, leaving Felicity and William devastated. As William's stepmother, Felicity is now a full legal guardian of her stepson following Oliver's arrest.

A parallel universe doppelgänger of Felicity from Earth-X is also introduced, a concentration camp prisoner, during the "Crisis on Earth-X" crossover; Oliver saves this Felicity when he was stranded in Earth-X with other heroes. Felicity learns that she has a lookalike (but not knowing is a parallel universe version of her) and that her facsimile is romantically involved with the Führer's before escaping from a Nazi facility.

A character by the same name appeared in the comics as Ronnie Raymond's step-mother who runs a software company.^[13] A version based on Rickards' portrayal was introduced in the DC Comics universe in Green Arrow (vol. 5) #35.^[14]

Roy Harper / Arsenal

Colton Haynes

Roy William Harper Jr. (portrayed by Colton Haynes; Seasons 1-3, 6-present) is a former street criminal, Thea's boyfriend and a supporter of the Arrow. He is based on the DC Comics character of the same name.

In season one, Roy is a small-time criminal who falls in love with Thea after robbing her, and is arrested multiple times by Quentin Lance. He does not see any other way to live until the Arrow saves him from a kidnapping, after which Roy attempts to find the Arrow to help him. Roy later works as a waiter at Verdant.

In season two, Roy often goes out to clean up the streets, until the Arrow convinces him to gather intelligence instead. After being injected with Mirakuru, Roy gains super strength but slowly loses his sanity. The Arrow reveals his identity when Oliver convinces Roy to stop Bronze Tiger. Roy trains with Oliver in order to control his strength, but is forced to break up with Thea. Slade kidnaps Roy to use his blood to create his army, leaving Roy completely insane and causing him to go on a rampage, killing a cop. Roy takes part in the season finale's battle, with his own mask, but he is slightly amnesiac, not remembering anything after breaking up with Thea.

In season three, Roy is Oliver's partner and participates with him in the field. He takes on the alter-ego "Arsenal", though the media also refers to him as "Red Arrow". Thea makes Roy her assistant manager at Verdant, and they eventually get back together. Sara's murder brings the repressed memories of his ramage to the surface and Roy supports the family of the police officer he killed. When Oliver is presumed dead, Roy takes his place as the team's head archer, often teaming with Laurel on missions. After Quentin Lance resumes his manhunt against Arrow, Roy subsequently impersonates Oliver's alter-ego and fakes his own death, leaving Starling City to assume that Arrow is dead so that Oliver can be free. Roy passes on his Arsenal suit to Thea after leaving town.

In season four, after building a new life in Hub City, Roy returns to his vigilante role after the Calculator extorts him to steal technological components and Thea is out of commission. In season five, Roy appears as a hologram when Oliver is about to leave the Dominators' simulated dream world.

In season six, Roy is brought back to Star City by Ricardo Diaz, in an attempt to make him testify that Oliver is Green Arrow in court. As he refuses to betray his friend and former mentor, he's tortured by dirty cops and by Diaz himself. He's then rescued by Oliver and Thea, who put back their shared red hood suit for this. He helps Thea and Team Arrow to fight against Thanatos Guild and leaves the city with Thea and Nyssa al Ghul to find and destroy the Lazarus Pits around world. Later, after Christopher Chance disguised himself as Tommy Merlyn and tells Star City that he was Arrow and is Green Arrow, Roy is now cleared of all charges of being the vigilante. When Oliver revealed to Star City that he was both the Arrow and the Green Arrow, Roy's name was permanently cleared.

Haynes will return as a regular for season 7.^[15]

Slade Wilson / Deathstroke

Manu Bennett

Slade Wilson (portrayed by Manu Bennett; Seasons 1-3, 5-6) is one of the world's deadliest assassins and mercenaries, a former Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) operative, and the mentor-turned-archenemy of Oliver Queen. He is based on the DC Comics character of the same name and is the main antagonist of season two.^[16]

In season one flashbacks, Slade is a combat mentor to Oliver on Lian Yu and teaches him to fight Edward Fyers and his mercenaries in their attempts to escape the island and stop Fyers' plans. Though Slade openly doubts Oliver's abilities to survive or fight, often giving him demeaning nicknames, the two become close friends and fight together well. He also becomes romantically drawn to Shado.

In season two flashbacks, he is severely wounded by Dr. Ivo's mortar attacks and Oliver injects him with Mirakuru, a strength-enhancing serum left on the island in WWII by Japan, in order to save his life. When Shado is killed, Slade blames Oliver for her death and turns on him. In the present, Slade is alive, now operating as the mercenary "Deathstroke", and plots to destroy Starling City with an army of Mirakuru soldiers working with Sebastian Blood and Isabel Rochev. He undermines Oliver's life by causing him to lose his money and his business, revealing some of Oliver's secrets to Laurel and Thea and killing Moira before unleashing his army on the city. Oliver defeats him when Felicity injects him with the Mirakuru cure and he is imprisoned in an A.R.G.U.S. supermax prison on Lian Yu.

In season three, having been temporarily released by Malcolm Merlyn, Slade attempts to imprison Oliver and Thea in the supermax and return to Starling but the two are able to beat him.

In season five, Deathstroke appears in a hallucination created by the Dominators, where he serves as a countermeasure to prevent Oliver and his friends from escaping. Bennett did not portray the character in the episode. Bennett would later reprise the role for the final two episodes of the season, appearing in a cameo in "Missing" and appearing as a major character in the finale. By the time of the season five finale, Slade is revealed to have completely recovered from the effects of the Mirakuru and willingly helps Oliver in his quest to rescue his team and son from Adrian Chase. Slade's fate is unknown due to Lian Yu's destruction.

In season six, Slade, having survived the explosion, returns to Star City to see Oliver and thank him for giving him information about where to find his son.

Malcolm Merlyn / Dark Archer

John Barrowman

Malcolm Merlyn (portrayed by John Barrowman; Seasons 1-5), born Arthur King, is a wealthy businessman, member of the League of Assassins, father of Tommy and Thea and one of the main antagonists of the series. During season one, Malcolm plots the Undertaking, the destruction of the Glades using an earthquake device, after his wife Rebecca was murdered there. When Robert Queen earlier threatened the Undertaking, Malcolm arranged to destroy Robert's ship, Queen's Gambit, resulting in Robert's death and indirectly leading to Oliver and Sara becoming the Arrow and the Canary. In the main story of season one, he uses Moira to gain access to the resources needed for the Undertaking. He tries to reshape Tommy into a better person by cutting him off which works but causes tensions between them. When the Arrow interferes with his plan, Malcolm becomes a vigilante called "Dark Archer" to oppose him and proves to be far more skilled. He suspects Oliver to be the Arrow and is proven right after defeating him a second time. In the season finale, Malcolm is seemingly killed by Oliver though he manages to destroy much of the Glades, inadvertently kills Tommy, and is publicly exposed for his crime by Moira.

In season two, Malcolm returns to suborn the jury in Moira's trial to find her innocent of the Undertaking. He discovers that he is Thea's biological father, following Adam Donner's discovery of Malcolm's affair with Moira. In an attempt to keep Malcolm from Thea, Moira informs Raʾs al Ghul of his survival, forcing Malcolm to flee Starling City. During Slade's attack on the city, Malcolm returns to save Thea from the Mirakuru soldiers and convinces her to leave Starling with him.

In season three, Malcolm is revealed to have trained Thea to be a warrior in Corto Maltese. Despite being both the League's target and a fugitive of the law, Malcolm secretly returns to Starling City, using personal wealth and resources following the loss of his company. Under an alias, Malcolm purchases the foundry from Queen Consolidated, the site of Thea's nightclub, Verdant. It is revealed that his name in the League of Assassins is "Al Sa-Her" (Arabic: الساحر), which translates to "The Magician". He continues to train Thea until she can defeat him in combat. Malcolm plots the death of Raʾs to eliminate his blood debt, and manipulates Thea into killing Sara so that Oliver will take the fall for her murder and challenge Raʾs to a duel; this plan fails and almost gets Oliver killed. Malcolm learns that crime lord Danny Brickwell was responsible for the murder of his wife, but Oliver persuades him to choose justice over vengeance for Thea's sake, allowing Brickwell to be tried for his crimes. Malcolm trains Oliver in swordplay in preparation of battling Raʾs together. When Oliver tells Thea that Malcolm brainwashed her into killing Sara, she betrays Malcolm to the League; he is captured and tortured but freed from Nanda Parbat when Oliver takes the place of Raʾs. After Thea is killed by Raʾs, Malcolm accompanies Oliver to Nanda Parbat to revive her but Oliver is forced to join the League. Malcolm secretly works with Oliver to cripple the League from within and stop the plan of Raʾs to unleash the Alpha/Omega bio-weapon on Starling City. Malcolm leads Team Arrow to save the city until Oliver's return. After Raʾs is killed by Oliver in a final sword fight, he passes leadership of the League to Malcolm, which Nyssa suspects had been Malcolm's scheme all along. Despite their renewed animosity, both Malcolm and Oliver harbor deep respect for each other: Malcolm regards Oliver as a surrogate son and Oliver himself remembers the man Malcolm was before the death of his wife.

In season four, Malcolm helps Laurel resurrect Sara in order to settle his family's blood debt with Laurel, and helps Thea control her bloodlust. He provides information to Oliver and Barry Allen about Vandal Savage. To keep Darhk from learning Oliver's secret, Malcolm masquerades as Green Arrow. However, despite occasionally helping Oliver, Malcolm remains an amoral man and is despised by Oliver's team and their allies. Malcolm's aid to Oliver is either for protecting Thea or for his own agendas. Malcolm ultimately loses both his left hand and his power after Nyssa wins the League's leadership with Oliver's help, leading Malcolm to align himself with Darhk for revenge against Oliver. In the process, Malcolm reveals Oliver's secrets to Darhk. As a result, Darhk makes Malcolm a H.I.V.E. member and provides a cybernetic prosthesis. In order to protect himself and Thea from Damien's plans, Malcolm steals Damien's idol, working with Andy Diggle, which results in Laurel's death. Malcolm remains a leader to disbanded remnants of the League, and with them he forms its splinter faction the Thanatos Guild. Malcolm allies with Team Arrow again when Darhk tries to destroy the world without the means to survive it.

In season five, an illusion of Malcolm appears in the Dominators' dream world and opposes Oliver, Thea, John, Ray and Sara when they try to leave, but is swiftly killed by Thea. Malcolm appears in flashbacks working with Konstantin Kovar, giving him sarin gas in exchange for the means to acquire information on Unidac Industries to build the earthquake device. Malcolm returns in the penultimate episode of season five, offering Oliver his assistance in saving his friends, most importantly Thea. After Malcolm frees Thea, Felicity, Curtis and Samantha, Thea accidentally steps on a landmine. As Captain Boomerang approaches them, Malcolm takes Thea's place, telling the others to run. As they run, the landmine is seen exploding in the distance, killing Malcolm and presumably Captain Boomerang.

Before his death on Lian Yu, Malcolm assembled the Thanatos Guild.

Malcolm Merlyn is based on the DC Comics character of the same birth name and is the main antagonist of season one.

Curtis Holt / Mister Terrific

Echo Kellum

Curtis Holt (portrayed by Echo Kellum; Seasons 4-present) is a technological savant, inventor, and bronze-medal-winning Olympic decathlete, who works with Felicity at Palmer Technologies.^[17] In season four, he helps her rescue Ray Palmer from Damien Darhk. He later learns Oliver's secret identity and helps them defeat Brie Larvan. He then helps Felicity and Noah shut down Rubicon to stop H.I.V.E.

He officially joins the team in season five as part of Oliver's efforts to expand and accept help after Diggle and Thea retired. While in the field, Curtis adopts a costume similar to his comic counterpart, including his 'Fair Play' jacket and T-shaped mask. He alternates between field work and tech support depending on the crisis, such as helping Felicity devise a means of translating the extraterrestrial technology during the Dominators' invasion. In the mid-season finale, "What We Leave Behind", Curtis is hospitalized after he is shot with a tuberculosis vaccine by new villain Prometheus, aided by the treachery of apparent teammate Evelyn Sharp. Curtis's husband Paul leaves him after discovering his vigilante activities, and they eventually divorce.^[18] At the end of season five, Curtis' fate is unknown due to the destruction of Lian Yu caused by Adrian Chase.

In season six, Curtis has survived the explosion by taking shelter in the plane with the others and is working with the team using his upgraded T spheres and other tech. He is revealed, that after leaving Palmer Technologies last year, he started an online business, which prompts Felicity to propose partnership with him to form their own company. After Oliver's actions causes Curtis to leave Team Arrow, he forms a new team with Dinah and Rene, with the same goals as the Original Team Arrow.

He based on the DC Comics character Mister Terrific.

Adrian Chase / Prometheus

Josh Segarra

Adrian Chase (portrayed by Josh Segarra; Season 5) is the new Star City district attorney in season five who helps Mayor Oliver Queen clean up the streets through the justice system.^[19] Chase is also Prometheus,^[20] a ruthless and mysterious hooded archer who kills, and has a grudge against Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, being the main antagonist of season five. He wears a black uniform almost identical to the Green Arrow's first garb. Prometheus is aware of Oliver's identity, having deduced that the Green Arrow was the presumably-deceased Hood/Arrow, and begins a killing spree of innocent people with arrows and shurikens made from Oliver's discarded bolts. Prometheus has no tolerance for anyone else targeting Green Arrow and kills Tobias Church when he ignores a warning to leave Green Arrow alone. He also targets those close to Oliver by framing Quentin Lance, manipulating Evelyn Sharp into betraying Oliver, staging Billy Malone in his uniform to be killed by Oliver, and sends Laurel Lance's interdimensional doppelgänger Black Siren to tarnish Oliver's memories of her.

Prometheus is the illegitimate son of Justin Claybourne, a pharmaceutical owner on the List who was killed by Oliver during his first year as the Hood.^[21] It is eventually revealed that his birth name is Simon Morrison, and that he was taught by Talia al Ghul to gain a skillset to match Oliver's. Despite seeking revenge against Oliver, Adrian was never close to his father who realized that Adrian is psychopathic and wanted nothing to do with him. After Adrian and his allies kidnap Oliver's friends and family to Lian Yu, Oliver's party ultimately beats Adrian's. Unwilling to accept defeat, Adrian kills himself, detonating the bombs throughout the island in an attempt to kill Oliver's loved ones; though most of them survived, he succeeded in killing the mother of Oliver's son, Samantha Clayton.

In season six, Chase returns as one of Oliver's hallucinations when he was drugged by Vertigo.

On why Adrian is not Vigilante, as in the comics, Guggenheim stated,

We knew we were going to do Vigilante this year, we knew who the character of Prometheus was, we knew that the character of Prometheus was the son of one of Oliver's early kills in season one, we knew that he was going to be someone who was going to indoctrinate himself into Oliver's good graces in the mayor's office and eventually betray him. One morning... it occurred to me that if we called this character Adrian Chase, and we made him a district attorney, everyone would be so focused on when he becomes Vigilante that they wouldn't be expecting that he really was Prometheus.^[20]

He is based on the DC Comics characters Adrian Chase and Prometheus.

Rene Ramirez / Wild Dog

Rick Gonzalez

Rene Ramirez (portrayed by Rick Gonzalez; Seasons 5-present) is a vigilante in Star City whose reckless and cocksure actions prompt the Green Arrow to guide him.^[22] His vigilante attire consists of normal clothes, with a hockey mask to hide his identity; the red dog image on the shirt of his uniform, led to his gaining the moniker of "Wild Dog". Already trained as a soldier, Renee receives additional trainings from Oliver and becomes a skilled combatant. Prior to becoming a vigilante, Rene kills a criminal in defense of his family, which led to his wife's death during the altercation; his daughter was put in a foster care due to the community deeming him unfit as he succumbs to alcohol blackouts. With Curtis Holt's help, Rene seeks legal actions to get his daughter back. He later becomes Quentin Lance's assistant to help him reform Star City politically and they become friends.

Rene later becomes one of the main characters in Season 6, having survived the explosions on Lian Yu. He then becomes one of the main members of Team Arrow, and receives improved vigilante attire. However, after helping Team Arrow, Team Flash, Supergirl and the Legends save the multiverse from the interdimensional invaders of Earth-X, Rene is cornered by FBI agent Samandra Watson, who knows about his secret identity as Wild Dog and forces Rene to testify against Oliver as the Green Arrow. If Rene refuses, he will never see his daughter again. When Rene confesses this to Oliver, Oliver kicks him off the team. But the entire team is soon brought back together, in order to rescue Quentin from Cayden James and Black Siren. After the team rescues Quentin, Rene is kicked off the team permanently for abandoning his primary mission. Because of this, Dinah and Curtis leave the team too, no longer trusting Oliver. Oliver later apologizes to the three, but while they accept his apology, they refuse to return to Team Arrow and form a team of their own called New Team Arrow. Later, when it is revealed that Ricardo Diaz is the true villain of Season 6 after he kills James, Rene is coerced by Diaz into testifying against Oliver at his trial, with Diaz threatening the safety of Rene's daughter in front of him. However, Rene, despite Diaz's threat, supports Oliver along with the rest of Team Arrow. After the trial, Oliver is free to go, thanks to Christopher Chance posing as the judge, and finally makes peace with Rene. Later, during the final battle with Diaz and his organization, The Quadrant, Quentin gets shot and eventually dies of his wounds in hospital later that day. Rene becomes one of the many members of Team Arrow, who mourns Quentin's death. When Oliver is arrested by Watson and the FBI, and publicly announces his identity as the Green Arrow to the world, Rene continues to protect Star City in his honour.

He is based on the DC Comics character Wild Dog.

Dinah Drake / Black Canary

Juliana Harkavy

Dinah Drake (portrayed by Juliana Harkavy; Seasons 5-present) is a detective, formerly of the Central City Police Department. She went undercover in a drug ring with the alias "Tina Boland", only for her partner to be murdered after they were both revealed to be cops. After the particle accelerator explosion, she receives the ability to produce sonic waves with her scream and hunts down the leader of the drug ring to get revenge for her partner's death.^[23][24] Oliver and his team seek to recruit Drake as a candidate to succeed Laurel Lance as Black Canary. Dinah joined the Star City Police Department after she settled in the city.

Harkavy has been promoted to the main cast for the sixth season, her character having survived the explosions on Lian Yu.^[25]

Following the battle on Lian Yu, Dinah was upgraded from a detective to police lieutenant. In flashbacks, Dinah was almost killed by Black Siren before being saved by Quentin. She later finds out that her former partner-lover, Vincent Sobel is alive and the Vigilante, She resumes her relationship with him before he is killed by Black Siren. She goes on a killing spree, targeting Black Siren and her allies. She is later fired from her job after Oliver fires the corrupt police captain, Kimberly Hill. Before leaving the desk, she fires Dinah and the rest of the honest cops. She and Black Siren become allies when Quentin is shot by Ricardo Diaz.

She is based on the DC Comics character Black Canary.

Ricardo Diaz

Ricardo Diaz (portrayed by Kirk Acevedo as an adult,^[26] Max Archibald as a kid) - A drug lord recently released from incarceration who leads a team street criminals and scientists in the development of an experimental steroid used by John Diggle to work around his tremors. He is later revealed to be the main antagonist of the sixth season who manipulates events of Oliver Queen and Cayden James' lives behind the scenes, and kills James upon admitting that he orchestrated his son's death and prepares to launch his own scheme upon Star City while getting its judges, politicians, and police officers on his payroll. Ricardo later gains new allies in the Longbow Hunters. With help from Samandra Watson and the FBI, the politicians and police officers that are on Ricardo's side are arrested. Though Ricardo wounds Quentin Lance, he is knocked off the building by Black Siren yet survives and gets away. Now in hiding from both the federal authorities and Oliver Queen's allies for his machinations, Ricardo is vengeful towards Queen for crippling his criminal empire and of him becomes a fugitive.

He is based on the DC Comics character Richard Dragon.

Introduced in season one

Introduced in season two

Introduced in season three

Introduced in season four

Introduced in season five

Introduced in season six

Introduced in season one

• Billy Wintergreen (portrayed by Jeffrey Robinson^[170][171]) - Slade Wilson's partner in the ASIS, who betrays him and joins Fyers. He is later killed by Slade.

Introduced in season four

• Paul Holt (portrayed by Chenier Hundal^[172]) - The husband of Curtis Holt until their divorce in the fifth season^[173] and Felicity Smoak's physiotherapist.^[174]
• William Clayton (portrayed by Jack Moore) - Oliver's son.^[175] Oliver finds out about William in mid-Season 4. William then learns of his relation to Oliver and discovers his father's secrets at the end of season five. In season six, William is now living with Oliver after being kidnapped and his mother Samantha is killed by Adrian Chase/Prometheus. His faith in superheroes is shattered after Oliver's failure of saving his mother from Prometheus, but comes to recognize that, despite their abilities, they can only try their best to protect people. Oliver now acknowledged William publicly and therefore his part of the Queen family without causing scandals to his family and career. Despite William initially struggles to accept Oliver, he eventually bonds with him and William's own bravery and caring for others in dangerous situations prove that he is no different from his father in heroic. He has not yet taking Oliver's surname despite the revelation of his lineage. Though remains grieving over his mother, William sees Felicity as a surrogate mother after he admires her intellect and accepts her as his stepmother after she marries his father. When Oliver turns himself in to the F.B.I. for the city and his family's sakes, William is devastated by his father's imprisonment and under the custody of his stepmother.

Introduced in season five

• Gideon (voiced by Amy Pemberton) - The on-board navigational assistant of the Waverider. Pemberton stars as the character on Legends of Tomorrow.^[160]
• C. McGarvey (portrayed by Gaalen Engen) - A corrupt judge in Star City. When it came to the trial of Oliver Queen, he got knocked out by John Diggle and Rene Ramirez so that Christopher Chance can pose as him in order to get Oliver Queen to seek probation before being free to go. When Ricardo Diaz had C. McGarvey brought to him over what happened at the trial, he tries to explain what really happened only for an angry Diaz to shoot him dead.