Arrowverse
The Arrowverse is an American media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series primarily airing on The CW and web series airing on CW Seed. The series were developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, Geoff Johns, Ali Adler, Phil Klemmer, Salim Akil and Caroline Dries, and based on characters appearing in publications by DC Comics. Set in a shared fictional multiverse much like the DC Universe and DC Multiverse in comic books, it was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters that span six live-action television series and two animated series.
The franchise began with Arrow, based on the character Green Arrow, which debuted in October 2012. It was followed by The Flash in 2014, and the animated web-series Vixen in 2015. The franchise was further expanded in 2016, when in January of that year a new series titled Legends of Tomorrow debuted, starring characters that originally appeared on both Arrow and The Flash. Later that year, the CBS series Supergirl, having already crossed-over with The Flash, was moved to The CW for its second season, where it has remained since. A second animated web-series, , was released in 2017, which followed Ray Terrill / The Ray, who would make a live-action appearance during that year's crossover event "Crisis on Earth-X". In addition to the live-action and web-based series, the franchise has spawned three promotional tie-in live-action web series, Blood Rush, Chronicles of Cisco, and The Flash: Stretched Scenes; released in 2013, 2016, and 2017 respectively. A fifth series, Batwoman, premiered in 2019, with a sixth, Superman & Lois, scheduled for 2021. Since 2014, there has been a yearly crossover event involving many of the live-action series of the Arrowverse. Additionally, Matt Ryan has reprised his role as John Constantine from the NBC series Constantine, initially in guest appearances in episodes of Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, before becoming a series regular for the latter, in addition to continuing storylines from the former series.
The 2018 and 2019 crossovers, "Elseworlds" and "Crisis on Infinite Earths", respectively, saw multiple DC television series and films be retroactively added to the franchise's multiverse. "Crisis on Infinite Earths" also rebooted the multiverse, which saw Supergirl join the other live-action series on a new fictional earth along with the series Black Lightning, which had previously been separate up to this point. The franchise has been successful, creating a large fandom around the world and has received positive reviews, where critics have praised the themes, acting, action sequences, direction and character development.
Development
In January 2012, The CW ordered a pilot for Arrow, revolving around the character Green Arrow and developed by Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti, and Marc Guggenheim. Stephen Amell was cast in the titular role. When developing the series, Guggenheim said that the creative team wanted to "chart own course, own destiny", and avoid any direct connections to the series Smallville, which featured its own Green Arrow. In July 2013, it was announced that Berlanti, Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns would be creating a spin-off television series based on The Flash. The character, played by Grant Gustin, was set to appear in three episodes of Arrows second season. The third episode was supposed to act as a backdoor pilot for the new series, but a traditional pilot was eventually ordered instead.In November 2014, Berlanti expressed interest in making his CBS series Supergirl exist in the same universe as Arrow and The Flash, and in January 2015, The CW president Mark Pedowitz revealed that he was also open to a crossover among the series and networks. However, CBS president Nina Tassler stated that month that, "those two shows are on a different network. So I think we'll keep Supergirl to ourselves for a while." In August 2015, Tassler revealed that while there were no plans at the time to do story crossovers, the three series would have crossover promotions.
In January 2015, the CW announced that an animated web-series featuring the DC heroine Vixen would debut on CW Seed in late 2015 and be set in the same universe as both Arrow and The Flash. Amell and Gustin would reprise their respective roles in the series, and the character of Vixen was expected to make a live-action appearance on The Flash and/or Arrow as well. The next month, it was reported that another spin-off series, described as a superhero team-up show, was being discussed by The CW for a possible 2015–16 midseason release. Berlanti, Kreisberg, Guggenheim and Sarah Schechter would be executive producers of the potential series, which would be headlined by several recurring characters from both Arrow and The Flash. That May, the CW officially confirmed DC's Legends of Tomorrow for a January 2016 premiere. Pedowitz later stated, "There is no intention, at this point, to spin anything else off" to add to the universe, though after Vixen was renewed for a second season he said, "Hopefully, that character could actually spin itself out, if not, maybe join as one of the Legends" in Legends of Tomorrow. In August 2015, in a video about the production of Vixens first season, Guggenheim referred to the series' shared universe as the "Arrowverse". Kreisberg confirmed that this was the name the producers used for it. The universe has also been referred to by the media as the "Flarrowverse", "Berlanti-verse" and "DC TV-verse". In October, additional Arrow showrunner Wendy Mericle revealed that the producers had begun having someone track all the characters and plots used by each series, in order to make sure everything lines up. The Flash executive producer Aaron Helbing noted in April 2016 that "sometimes the schedules don't line up exactly...and that stuff is out of our control", such as when Barry was shown using his abilities on Arrow, while not having them the same week on The Flash.
In January 2016, Tassler's successor Glenn Geller said "I have to be really careful what I say here" in regards to a potential Supergirl/Arrowverse crossover, so "Watch and wait and see what happens." The following month, it was announced that Gustin would appear on the Supergirl episode "Worlds Finest". Berlanti and Kreisberg, also Supergirl executive producers, thanked "the fans and journalists who have kept asking for this to happen. It is our pleasure and hope to create an episode worthy of everyone's enthusiasm and support." In "Worlds Finest", Supergirl is established as being in an alternate universe where the Flash helps Kara fight the Silver Banshee and Livewire in exchange for her help in returning home. The events of the episode intersect with the events of the eighteenth episode of The Flash season two, "Versus Zoom". The crossover required "a lot more logistical trickery" than the usual Arrowverse crossovers, due to Gustin filming The Flash in Vancouver alongside Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, while Supergirl was produced in Los Angeles. The producers chose to use the Flash as the character to crossover, due to his ability to travel between various Earths, and because it was "a little more fun at first to bring the veteran from that show to the chemistry of a new show." Berlanti stated that "in a perfect world", the crossover would have featured both Gustin and Amell's Green Arrow, "but logistically that would have been a nightmare to try and do both shows. We had to facilitate one." Gustin was optimistic that the crossover in 2016 would allow another crossover the following year with the rest of the Arrowverse shows. In May, it was announced that Supergirl would move from CBS to The CW for its second season, and that production would move from Los Angeles to Vancouver, where the CW Arrowverse series film. The second season premiered on October 10, 2016. It was also announced that Supergirl would appear on Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow during the 2016–17 season crossover episodes, though Guggenheim cautioned that "She is going to be coming over but we're not going to do a full on Supergirl crossover". Kreisberg also confirmed that, despite the series moving to The CW, the title character's universe would not be integrated into Earth-1, the main universe of Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, and would continue to exist in a parallel universe. The Earth the Supergirl series inhabits is Earth-38 in the Arrowverse multiverse, and has been informally referred to as "Earth-CBS" by Guggenheim, named for the network where Supergirl first aired. In August, the CW announced the animated web-series for CW Seed, intending that the actor cast as Raymond "Ray" Terrill would appear in the live-action series, much like Mari McCabe / Vixen.
In May 2017, The CW ordered Black Lightning to series. The series had previously been in development at Fox, at which point Berlanti had stated Black Lightning would not crossover with his other DC Comics television properties on The CW, nor would it exist in the Arrowverse. With the move to The CW, Pedowitz said the series "at this time, is not part of the Arrowverse. It is a separate situation." Showrunners Salim Akil later clarified that they were not ruling out eventual crossovers, but wanted to establish the series and its own world first.
In July 2018, it was revealed that the CW was developing a script for a potential series centered on Batwoman, intending to launch it after the character debuted in the "Elseworlds" crossover event. The series, if picked up, would be written by Caroline Dries, with plans to air in 2019. In August, Ruby Rose was cast as Kate Kane / Batwoman. In December, it was announced that "Crisis on Infinite Earths" would be the fifth annual crossover, following the "Elseworlds" crossover. Further details explained that "Crisis" would run for five hours, marking the Arrowverse's longest crossover, and that the five parts would not air on consecutive nights, as with previous crossovers. Instead, three episodes would air in December 2019 and two in January 2020. It would also include Batwoman and Legends, which were not part of the "Elseworlds" crossover.
In January 2019, Batwoman received a pilot pick-up from the CW. On January 31, 2019, the four series already running on The CW were confirmed for further seasons, carrying them through the 2019–20 television season. On March 6, 2019, it was announced that the eighth season of Arrow would be the final season of the series, with an abbreviated ten-episode season. On May 7, The CW ordered Batwoman to series. Discussing a potential Black Lightning crossover with the Arrowverse in July 2019, Cress Williams revealed that "there's been lots of talk nothing official, but at this point, I wouldn't be surprised." Two weeks later in August, Williams confirmed reports that characters from Black Lightning would appear in "Crisis on Infinite Earths". Also in August, it was reported that another untitled spin-off has been plotted. In September 2019, it was reported that The CW was developing a female led spin-off series with Katherine McNamara, Katie Cassidy and Juliana Harkavy as the leads. The following month, Marc Guggenheim released an image indicating Green Arrow and the Canaries as a potential name for the show. The same month, a Superman & Lois spinoff series entered development with Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch reprising their roles as Clark Kent / Superman and Lois Lane from Supergirl.
In January 2020, the five series running on The CW were confirmed for further seasons, carrying them through the 2020–21 television season. Superman & Lois was also ordered to series. At the end of "Crisis on Infinite Earths", the new Earth-Prime was formed, which saw Black Lightnings earth merge with the former Earth-1 and Earth-38, creating a fictional universe where all of The CW series exist together.
Television series
''Arrow'' (2012–2020)
Billionaire playboy Oliver Queen returns home after being stranded on a deserted island for five years. Upon his return to Starling City, Oliver rekindles his relationships and spends his nights hunting down wealthy criminals as a hooded vigilante known as The Green Arrow.''The Flash'' (2014–present)
Crime-scene investigator Barry Allen awakens from a nine-month coma after being struck by lightning due to the S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator explosion and finds himself with superhuman speed. Barry vows to use his new powers to protect Central City as the Flash, a masked superhero, while he pursues his mother's murderer, the Reverse-Flash.''Supergirl'' (2015–present)
, who was sent to Earth from Krypton as a 13-year-old and taken in by the Danvers family, must learn to embrace her powers after previously hiding them. After an unexpected disaster, Kara is forced to reveal her powers, and becomes National City's protector.''Legends of Tomorrow'' (2016–present)
travels back in time to the present day where he brings together a team of heroes and villains in an attempt to prevent Vandal Savage from destroying the world and time itself.''Black Lightning'' (2018–present)
High school principal Jefferson Pierce, who retired from his superhero persona Black Lightning nine years ago after seeing the effects it had on his family, is forced to become a vigilante again when the rise of the local gang called The 100 led by Tobias Whale leads to increased crime and corruption in his community of Freeland.''Batwoman'' (2019–present)
Kate Kane must overcome her own demons before being able to protect the streets of Gotham as Batwoman and becoming their symbol of hope.''Superman & Lois''
Superman and Lois Lane cope with the stress, pressures and complexities that come with being working parents in today's society.Web series
''Vixen'' (2015–2016)
After her parents were killed in Africa by local corruption, Mari McCabe inherits her family's Tantu Totem, gaining the powers of animals, using them to fight as Vixen to stop threats like those that claimed her family.''Freedom Fighters: The Ray'' (2017–2018)
is a reporter who gains light-based powers after being exposed to a genetic light bomb. Ray discovers the bomb in his investigation of a secret government project attempting to harness the power of light and weaponize it. The Ray is a member of the Freedom Fighters on Earth-X, a world in the multiverse where the Nazis won World War II.Recurring cast and characters
- A number beside a character's name indicates the character is from that alternate world.
Expanded setting
Official crossover events
List indicators- A grey cell indicates the series was not a part of the crossover event.
- The number in parentheses next to the episode title indicates which part of the crossover it is, if not clear otherwise.
Additional crossovers include "Worlds Finest", an episode which sees Barry Allen travel to Supergirl's Earth for the first time, and "Duet", a musical crossover with The Flash and Supergirl.
Multiverse
In October 2014, Johns explained that DC's approach to their films and television series would be different to Marvel Studios' cinematic universe, stating that their film universe and TV universes would be kept separate within a multiverse to allow "everyone to make the best possible product, to tell the best story, to do the best world." The second season of The Flash began to explore this concept of the multiverse, by introducing Earth-2, which features doppelgängers of the inhabitants of Earth-1. Supergirl was confirmed as an alternate universe, later designated Earth-38, with The Flash crossover episode "Worlds Finest". Freedom Fighters: The Ray is set on Earth-X.The 2019 crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths", inspired by the comic of the same name, destroyed all of the universes within the Arrowverse multiverse, both on- and off-screen. At the time, the highest-numbered universe to be referenced was Earth-898, though the multiverse contained an infinite number of universes. The end of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" saw the creation of a new multiverse, most notably the new Earth-Prime, a world featuring inhabitants from the pre-Crisis Earth-1, Earth-38, and Black Lightnings Earth, combining all of the CW series at the time and moving forward with all of them on one fictional earth. Six additional Earths within this new multiverse were revealed in the crossover.
''The Flash '' (1990–1991)
In The Flash episode "Welcome to Earth-2", glimpses of the multiverse are seen, including an image of John Wesley Shipp as the Flash from the 1990 television series, implying that the series exists on an alternate Earth within the Arrowverse multiverse; Shipp reprised his role as Barry Allen / The Flash from the 1990 series in the annual crossover events "Elseworlds", and "Crisis on Infinite Earths". His native universe was designated Earth-90 in the pre-Crisis Multiverse.''Constantine'' (2014–2015)
By May 2015, Amell had had discussions with DC Entertainment about portraying Queen on NBCs Constantine, starring Matt Ryan; saying, "The reason that I was going to guest star on Constantine...was an expert when it comes to the Lazarus Pit, which is now something that is a part of and will continue to be a part of Arrow." Amell stated that, even though Constantine was not renewed for a second season, a crossover "was and is still on the table". Guggenheim revealed a desire to integrate John Constantine into the Arrowverse, saying, "A lot of the pieces are in place, except for that one final piece, which is what's the fate of Constantine? That's the tricky thing. But it comes up in the writers' room constantly—we have a number of ideas, one idea that's particularly exciting to me. We're in a little bit of a wait-and-see mode". In July 2015, Mericle added on the subject, "It's something we've been talking to DC about and it's just a question of some political things, but also 's schedule."In August 2015, it was confirmed that Ryan would appear in Arrows fourth-season episode "Haunted" for a "one-time-only-deal". Guggenheim said, "This is something the fans were clamoring for," praising DC for being so "magnanimous and generous in giving us this one-time dispensation." Due to Arrow and Constantine sharing the same studio, the producers of Arrow were able to use Ryan's original outfits: "The trench coat, the tie, the shirt...the whole wardrobe is being taken out storage and shipped up to Vancouver ." John Badham, a director on Constantine, directed the episode that Constantine appears in. Mericle confirmed that this version of Constantine would be the same character that had appeared in Constantine. On filming the episode, Guggenheim referred to it as "a Constantine/Arrow crossover" and felt that "we got the chance to extend Matt Ryan's run as Constantine by at least one more hour of television. I think you'll see he fits very neatly into our universe. It never feels forced".
In July 2017, Guggenheim indicated that "really good conversations" had taken place with Ryan to appear again in the Arrowverse, and in October 2017, it was revealed that Ryan would appear in two episodes of the third season of Legends of Tomorrow, "Beebo the God of War" and "Daddy Darhkest", with the appearance taking place chronologically after "Haunted", revisiting the setting of Arrows fourth season and the events following that season's final episode. Klemmer described the tone of the episodes as "The Exorcist meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Ryan was made a series regular for the fourth season of Legends of Tomorrow.
Jesse Schedeen of IGN felt in October 2018 that none of the character's Arrowverse appearances thus far "really directly reference the events of the Constantine series, leaving it up in the air as to whether this John Constantine is the same character from that series or if Ryan is merely playing a different, very similar version of his character." In November 2018, Ryan spoke to the relationship between the character seen in the NBC series and the one seen on Legends of Tomorrow and in the Arrowverse. He said the two were the same character with "the same DNA", and likened each appearance to that of different comic book writers and artists working with the character: "He has the same outline, but he looks different. The hair is slightly different. He has a slightly different cadence sometimes. Different artists and different writers write him in different ways." Ryan also noted that while the fourth season of Legends of Tomorrow mentions the Astra storyline from the NBC series, it would not explore the Brujeria storyline, though Constantine "still carries that baggage around with him".
"Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossovers
The 2019 crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths" incorporated several DC Entertainment properties into the Arrowverse multiverse, including those that had already been established in previous series and crossovers. The new properties that appeared in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" included:- Batman : Burt Ward reprises his role as an aged Dick Grayson. This reality is designated Earth-66 in the pre-Crisis multiverse.
- Batman : Robert Wuhl reprises his role as Alexander Knox. This reality is designated Earth-89 in the pre-Crisis multiverse.
- Smallville : Tom Welling and Erica Durance reprise their roles as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, respectively. This reality is designated Earth-167 in both the pre- and post-Crisis multiverse.
- Birds of Prey : Ashley Scott and Dina Meyer reprise their roles as Helena Kyle / Huntress and Barbara Gordon / Oracle, respectively. This reality is designated Earth-203 in the pre-Crisis multiverse.
- Superman Returns : Brandon Routh reprises his role as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman, albeit as an aged incarnation inspired by the Kingdom Come comic story. This reality is designated Earth-96 in both the pre- and post-Crisis multiverse.
- Green Lantern : This reality is designated Earth-12 in the post-Crisis multiverse.
- DC Extended Universe : Ezra Miller reprises his role as Barry Allen, though his universe was left undesignated.
- Lucifer : Tom Ellis reprises his role as Lucifer Morningstar. This reality is designated Earth-666 in the pre-Crisis multiverse.
- Titans : Alan Ritchson, Curran Walters, Teagan Croft, Minka Kelly, and Anna Diop appear in their roles as Henry "Hank" Hall / Hawk, Jason Todd / Robin, Rachel Roth, Dawn Granger / Dove, and Koriand'r / Kory Anders / Starfire, respectively, from archive footage. This reality is designated Earth-9 in both the pre- and post-Crisis multiverse.
- Swamp Thing : Derek Mears appears in his role as Alec Holland / Swamp Thing. This reality is designated Earth-19 in the post-Crisis multiverse.
- Doom Patrol : April Bowlby, Diane Guerrero, Joivan Wade, Riley Shanahan, and Matthew Zuk appear in their roles as Rita Farr, Jane, Victor "Vic" Stone / Cyborg, Cliff Steele, and Larry Trainor, respectively from archive footage. This reality is designated Earth-21 in the post-Crisis multiverse.
- Stargirl : Brec Bassinger debuted as Courtney Whitmore / Stargirl, along side Yvette Monreal as Yolanda Montez / Wildcat, Anjelika Washington as Beth Chapel / Doctor Mid-Nite, and Cameron Gellman as Rick Tyler / Hourman from footage from Stargirl. This reality is designated Earth-2 in the post-Crisis multiverse.
Marketing
Reception
Ratings
Critical response
Commentary
After the first Arrow/Flash crossover, Brian Lowry of Variety talked about the spin-off series and the crossover, applauding the producers for replicating the success of Arrow but with "a lighter tone" and "a hero with genuine super powers" in The Flash, and calling the crossover an appropriate moment for everyone concerned to take a short but well-deserved victory lap." Lowry also said that the crossover "does a nifty job of bringing the two series together, although probably not in a manner likely to boost the shared audience between them much more than already exists." Meredith Borders at Birth.Movies.Death. called the crossover episodes "fun" and said positively that "too much happened that was unrelated to one show or the other – and that's a good thing. While the crossover episodes were definitely open to new viewers of either The Flash or Arrow, with each episode wrapped up tidily by the end of its hour, plenty of show-specific plot stuff was advanced without spelling it out for newbies. New viewers to either show could follow along and have a good time, but veteran viewers were rewarded with major storyline motion."Following the release of the first trailer for Supergirl, Paul Tassi wrote for Forbes about why he felt that series should be kept separate from the Arrowverse: He called the moment in the Arrow third-season finale where Barry Allen appears briefly, but abruptly leaves since "Arrow needs to let its own characters solve its problems", a "weird moment" that shows "the cracks form when it's just two shows that have to work together on the regular." Tassi then noted the further complications of adding Supergirl, saying, "The more shows you have, the more heroes you introduce, the harder it is to keep explaining away why they're not constantly around to help each other. Supergirl already has that problem built-in with Superman, who it seems will not be a regular fixture on the show, and I'm sure there will be many excuses as to why he's too busy to help Supergirl fight her latest battle. Add in Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow mythology, and it's probably too much to juggle....I think Supergirl deserves to launch without Arrow and The Flash on its shoulders, and be allowed to find itself before being assimilated into an existing universe."
With the premiere of Legends of Tomorrow, ScreenRant's Alice Walker discussed how the series "has hurt Arrow and The Flash", noting that the latter required minimal setup when it was spun-off from the former and had an element of mystery surrounding its quality with "a "wait and see" attitude" from audiences, while Legends was instead met with much excitement long before its release leading to each piece of news concerning it being "publicized and met with fanfare – to the detriment of the other shows involved." Walker felt that audiences knowing which characters would appear in Legends, and how, took "the thrill out of the story" of the other series as such information spoiled some of their upcoming plot twists, including the resurrection of Sara Lance or the fact that Ray Palmer "could never really pose a threat to Oliver and Felicity 's relationship, or run Palmer Technologies long term, since it was widely known that he would be a huge part of Legends." Additionally, the annual Arrow/The Flash crossover suffered from also trying to set up Legends, which was "too much to ask from the already crowded storylines and ended up feeling like an exercise in synchronicity, with producers planting more seeds than they could reap. The crossover event was no longer a fun way to contrast the two shows; it now had to serve the much larger purpose of setting up an entirely new world." Walker stated that the premiere of Legends "means that Arrow and The Flash can finally stop dedicating so much time and plot to laying the groundwork for the spin-off, and start focusing on the fundamentals of their own shows again."
After the "Elseworlds" crossover teased the comic Crisis on Infinite Earths would be adapted in the 2019 crossover, Mike Cecchini of Den of Geek stated, "The Arrowverse is becoming the most intricate, risky live action superhero universe in history. Yes, it's at least as big and crazy than the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and we had best enjoy this while we have it, because it's unlikely we'll ever see this much crazy DC Comics love on screen in one place at one time ever again."
Other media
Comic books
Books
Novels
On February 23, 2016, Titan Books released ', a tie-in novel by Oscar Balderrama and Lauren Certo, which is set before and during Arrow's second season, which details the origins of Slade Wilson, Isabel Rochev, and Sebastian Blood, and how they would all eventually meet and collaborate with each other to battle Oliver Queen / The Arrow as seen in the TV series. On November 29, 2016, Titan released ', a tie-in novel by Susan and Clay Griffith, which is set during The Flash's second season and Arrow's fourth season, which detailed that after he closed the temporal anomaly that nearly destroyed Central City, Barry an older version of himself, beaten, injured, and batter, but before he can speak, his doppelganger disappears. Barry then starts experiencing glitches in his powers, moments that leave him immobile and ghostly during missions. When a group of his worst villains, including Pied Piper, Weather Wizard, and Peek-a-Boo, decide to launch an assault on him, so Barry decides to seek help from his most trusted ally, Oliver Queen / Green Arrow. The story continues in ', by Susan and Clay Griffith, which was released by Titan on March 28, 2017, which detailed Team Flash and Team Arrow working together to eliminate the bizarre energy that threatens to kill the Flash. When their quest leads them to Markovia, they must get past an army of mercenaries and assassins to face the mysterious Count Wallenstein.A fourth novel entitled ' was released in January 2018. It is co-authored by Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim and James R. Tuck, and is set between the fifth-season finale and sixth-season premiere of Arrow. A fifth novel, following The Flash villain Weather Wizard in his attempts at revenge, was released in May 2018. Written by Richard A. Knaak, the novel is titled '.
In May 2017, it was announced that Abrams Books would be releasing two trilogies of middle-grade novels for The Flash and Supergirl, written by Barry Lyga and Jo Whittemore, respectively. The first of these novels, ', was released on October 3, 2017. The novel takes place in an alternate timeline where the show's "Flashpoint" event never occurred, and The Flash must fight a villain known as Hocus Pocus who can control the minds and actions of people. A sequel, ' was released on April 3, 2018, as well as a third novel titled ' released on October 2, 2018.
The second of these trilogies began in November 2017, with '. The novel features Supergirl dealing with a surge of new powered people in National City, as well as a mysterious humanoid sea creature captured by the DEO who is seemingly attracted by the new superpowered people. A sequel, ', was released on May 1, 2018, with a third novel, titled , released on January 8, 2019.
In July 2017, a third trilogy titled Crossover Crisis was announced, focusing on crossovers between characters within the universe. The first novel, The Flash: Green Arrow's Perfect Shot, was released on August 13, 2019. The latter two novels will feature Supergirl, Superman, and the Legends of Tomorrow.
Guidebooks
The first guidebook to be released was ' by Nick Aires and published by Titan Books, released in February 2015. Described as "a companion" to the series, the book features sections on the various characters of the series, along with descriptions, backgrounds, comic book origins, and "where they stand as of the end of the second season of 'Arrow.'"A follow up to Heroes and Villains by the same author and publisher, titled ', was released in October 2016, during the series' fifth season. The book is presented as information collected by the Green Arrow and Felicity Smoak over the course of his four years of activity. Included in the book are "handwritten notes" and "police reports" regarding the Green Arrow and those he targets.
In May 2018, Titan Books and Aires released a guidebook similar to Oliver Queen's Dossier, but for its sister series, The Flash, from the perspective of Cisco Ramon. ' features "his confidential journal entries, covering everything from his tech designs, the villains and other heroes the team encounter, the team's personal challenges and his own Vibe abilities prior to Flashpoint."
A second guidebook for The Flash was released in November 2018, this time published by Abrams Books. ' features the Flash's "top-secret notes", as well as "classified S.T.A.R. Labs dossiers on everyone in Central City", an episode guide on the first four seasons of the series, and details on the life of the Flash "in Barry's own words."
A similar guidebook for Supergirl was released in March 2019 from the same publisher. features "detailed profiles on characters and super powers, a heroes and villains gallery, episode guide, and more" from the first three seasons of the series.