Learn About Arrow Characters!
Oliver Queen/Arrow Oliver grew up a rich boy with little direction, spoiled and often getting into trouble, partying and cheating on his girlfriend with her own sister. After he was stranded on the island Lian Yu when his father’s yacht, The Queen’s Gambit, sank, he was forced to grow up and fend for himself against hostiles, natives, nature and the like, especially after watching his father shoot himself so that he could live. Yao Fei taught him to survive, to shoot arrows and kill for meat, but he was also tortured by Yao Fei’s enemies. As we learned over the past 5 years, Oliver had many adventures on and off the island and learned how to fight, especially with a bow and arrow, and how to disguise himself with a hood. Oliver vowed to return to Starling City and bring the enemies of the people to justice (thanks to the list his father gave him). Oliver is very damaged and has killed people who got in his way, but he is basically a hero, as he proves each week by rescuing the innocent and punishing the evil. Arrow or “The Vigilante” was the costume and mask he wore, but when he was Oliver, he often had to pretend to be the old, spoiled rich boy as well. Oliver is not very trusting (with good reason) and is often caught in the middle between members of his family as well as between Laurel and her father, and between his real life and that of “Arrow”. After 5 seasons, Oliver has lost most of his family and many friends, but he’s matured. He’s now mayor of Star City (no longer called Starling City) and leads a small band of heroes. He now goes by the name Green Arrow. He has an on-again, off-again relationship with Felicity, who also helps them fight crime. He also has a son, William, from a past girlfriend. In Season 6, Felicity and Oliver married, but Oliver was forced to tell the world that he’s the Green Arrow, and they put him in jail.
Felicity Smoak She worked at QC and helped Walter and Oliver many times. She is a computer genius and suspected at first that Oliver was not honest with her when he asked for her help. Eventually, she became an important part of Team Arrow and is “Overwatch”, helping the team out in the field with her computer skills. She sometimes goes out in the field herself as well. Her father was a great hacker and criminal, and her mother is a bit of a flighty bimbo, so Felicity has had a troubled relationship with them both. Felicity was a hactivist in college but quit after her boyfriend was arrested for it and hanged himself in prison. She and Oliver have been in love and had an on-again, off-again relationship. She was made paraplegic in an attack by the evil H.I.V.E., but she was given an experimental bio-stimulant that allows her to walk around. She dated Ray Palmer for a while and took over his company while he was presumed dead. She and Oliver were engaged for a while; they finally got married in 2017, and she’s helping to raise his son, William.
William Clayton is Oliver’s son with his ex-girlfriend, Samantha. He and his mom had to move and adopt new identities to protect them from Damian Darkh. Adrian Chase tracked them down and kidnapped William. Samantha died on Lian Yu when Chase blew it up. William now lives with Oliver and Felicity. William doesn’t want his dad to be The Green Arrow.
John Diggle He was hired as Oliver’s bodyguard by Moira, but Oliver let him find out that he is Arrow, so John now assists Oliver in bringing down the bad guys. John was formerly in the Special Forces in the Army, so he can fight well. Oliver taught him some of the moves he learned from Yao Fei, and he even donned the Arrow costume once to help out. Now he has his own costume and goes by the superhero name Spartan. He remarried his wife, Lyla, and they have a son together, JJ. John often serves as Oliver’s and the rest of his team’s moral compass. He had a falling-out with Oliver in Season 6, but they united in their fight against Diaz.
Thea Queen Nicknamed “Speedy” by her older brother Oliver, Thea was a bit of a wayward teen who liked to go out and party. She and her mother had problems getting along. When her father and brother were presumed dead, Moira shut down and didn’t talk about them, which hurt Thea deeply. Thea did a lot of drinking and sometimes drugs. She had a crush on Tommy as well and liked to lay a guilt trip on Oliver about when he was gone. Eventually Thea grew up and had to deal with her mother’s death and finding out that she was Malcolm’s daughter. She sometimes fights with Team Arrow. Thea died and was resurrected by the Lazarus Pit. After learning that Malcolm had drugged her and forced her to kill Sara Lance, she and Laurel forced him to bring Sara back from the dead as well, using the Lazarus Pit. Both Thea and Sara have trouble because of this, struggling with “the darkness.” Thea had to quit being a vigilante with Team Arrow because she couldn’t resist the urge to kill. Thea was helping Oliver to run Star City, but she quit that as well because her ruthless tactics were hurting people. After emerging from a coma in Season 6, Thea left town.
Dinah ‘Laurel’ Lance AKA Black Siren, is from Earth Two, where she was a villain. She was brought from Earth Two to fight but was defeated and imprisoned by Team Flash. She escaped due to Prometheus, so that he could use h er against Oliver. She was later recruited by Cayden James. She worked with Ricardo Diaz against Team Oliver (but she was really a mole for them). She grew very close to Laurel’s dad, Quentin, and he taught her to be a better person. He died saving her life.
Roy Harper Roy was a street-savvy young man from the Glades who became involved with Thea and her club. He was injected with the super-serum Mirakuru, which gave him powers but also made it difficult for him to stay sane. He was cured by S.T.A.R. Labs and became Arrow’s sidekick, Arsenal. He had to fake his death and leave town in order to protect Arrow. He came back to town last year and then left again with Thea. He’s supposed to come back to town again this year and stay.
Curtis Holt He was part of Team Arrow the last few years. He used to work for Felicity at Palmer Technologies. He’s another computer genius, but he also trained to fight as one of the Team Arrow vigilantes. He became Mr. Terrific. Curtis is a big nerd and often just says whatever dorky thing comes into his mind. He is often comic relief on the show. He was married to his partner, Paul, who divorced him after finding out that Curtis was lying to him for months about being a superhero. He created a technology known as T-Spheres to help him with crime-fighting. Curtis, Rene, Dinah and John lost faith in Oliver. They formed their own team (without John) for a while.
Rene Ramirez He’s also known as Wild Dog. He was fighting as a vigilante on the streets of Star City when he was recruited by Team Arrow. A former Navy SEAL, he was discharged when he beat up a prisoner. He still is very violent and loves guns. Rene’s former wife was a junkie, and she was murdered by her dealer. Rene lost custody of his daughter when he accidentally let her get burned by the stove. He’s trying to clean up his life, with the help of Quentin. He was a real hothead when he started, but now he’s grown a lot. He also helps Oliver at City Hall. Rene and Curtis have become very good friends, even though they don’t have a lot in common. Rene had to inform on Oliver in order to get back custody of his daughter, Zoe.
Dinah Drake The latest Black Canary, Dinah’s original name was Tina Boland. She was a police detective in Central City. She was being held captive by villains and watched her partner (and lover) die just as the particle accellerator hit, giving her powers. She was a lone vigilante after that, until Oliver convinced her to join Team Arrow. She also joined the police department in Star City and got an apartment, to settle down. She also has a device to magnify her sonic powers.
Lyla Michaels is in charge of A.R.G.U.S., a secret government anti-terrorist group. She’s also married to John Diggle and mother to his son, J.J. They were married while both soldiers but had trouble adjusting to regular married life and divorced. They met up again later, she got pregnant, and then they got married. She worked with the Suicide Squad and worked for years under Amanda Waller. Sometimes she and John clash because of their jobs, when they have different priorities.
Detective Quentin Lance He was Laurel’s father, and a police detective. He was angry at Oliver and his family for his daughter Sarah’s death. Also, he wanted to catch the Arrow very badly. He had suspected Arrow was Oliver, but then Oliver had Diggle pose as him at the same time that he was throwing a party, so they had to drop the charges. He worried a lot about Laurel and was very over-protective. Eventually, he worked with the Arrow to catch the bad guys. Damien Darkh threatened his family, so Quentin helped him take over Star City. This led to his losing his job as well as Laurel’s death. Now he’s deputy Mayor under Ollie, with full knowledge of all of the team Arrow identities and secrets. Like Laurel, he’s a recovered alcoholic who sometimes slips. He had a brief relationship with Felicity’s mother, Donna. He became good friends with Rene and tried to help him get custody of his daughter. In Season 6, Quentin formed a father-daughter sort of relationship with the alternate-reality Laurel, AKA Black Siren. He helped her become a better person and then he died when he took a bullet meant for her.
Malcolm Merlyn His real name is Arthur King. After his wife was killed during a robbery, he went to Nanda Parbat and joined the League of Assassins, gaining the name Al Sa-Her (“The Magician”). He left the group and was hunted by them, and Ra’s al Ghul, so he faked his death for a while. When season one started, he worked for the group The Tempest and met with Moira quite a few times (later we learned that they slept together and that Thea is his daughter). He figured out pretty quickly that Arrow qas targeting “The List” and thatOliver is Arrow. He masquerades as “Dark Archer” at times. He cut off his son Tommy from his fortune and tried to kill Oliver. Moira’s family thought that she and Malcolm may be having an affair because they keep meeting in secret for Tempest business. Malcolm has killed many people, as well as been involved in many criminal activities. He doesn’t have a lot of morality. He does protect Thea, but in a really weird, twisted way. At the end of season 5, he teams up with the Green Arrow to rescue Thea and the others. He ended up sacrificing himself for her by standing on a land mine.
Dinah ‘Laurel’ Lance Laurel, Oliver’s ex-girlfriend, lost her sister, Sarah, in the same wreck that stranded Oliver. She had bitterness and anger toward Oliver for cheating on her and then taking her sister on the fatal journey, but she claimed when he returned she was over that blame. Her mother also left after Sarah died. Laurel grew closer to Oliver, but it was still hard for her to trust. She was a lawyer, working for a group called CNRI that fights for the little people against the evil, much like Oliver does, except in court. However, she can also handle herself in a fight. Her father, Quentin, taught her to do that. They had a shaky relationship. She and Oliver still love each other, but she was dating Tommy. Tommy died, but Laurel and Oliver still had a rocky relationship. Laurel had to fight to overcome alcoholism. Then Laurel became the superhero “Black Canary” but was killed by Damian Darkh. She has a doppelganger from Earth 2 who is the villain Black Siren.
Tommy Merlyn Tommy was Oliver’s best friend, another rich playboy. While Oliver was missing and presumed dead, he and Laurel dated. He had real feelings for Laurel but was still very loyal to Ollie. He was estranged from his father, who is a bad guy. Tommy was cut off financially from his father but became a responsible worker. He was killed while saving Laurel.
Moira Queen She was Oliver and Thea’s mother, and she had a lot of influence in the family business, Queen Consolidated. She married Walter, who had been in charge of QC. She was in cahoots with this shady group, The Tempest, that sabotaged the yacht. She had a lot of secrets. She tried to have her son abducted but otherwise seems to love him and be concerned about him. She was caught up in a conspiracy with Malcolm Merlyn to destroy The Glades and was arrested and tried for that crime, but she was acquitted. She ran for mayor but was then killed by Slade Wilson, who was out for revenge on Oliver.
Walter Steele He was running Queen Consolidated after Oliver’s father died. He was married to Moira, making him Oliver’s step-father. Oliver made a lot of rude jokes about how his mother jumped into bed with him. Walter found out that the company owned a warehouse, within which was the wreck of the Queen’s Gambit, and that Moira knew about it, so he got very annoyed at her lying and left town for a while. He was kidnapped by Malcolm and then rescued by Arrow. He divorced Moira but stil kept good feelings for her chidren. He became CFO of Starling National Bank.
Robert Queen He was Oliver and Thea’s father, and Moira’s husband, and billionaire founder of QC. When he and Oliver were shipwrecked, he shot himself and another crewmember so that Oliver could survive. Before doing so, he gave Oliver a list of evil-doers in their town of Starling City and made him promise to go after them and save the city. Robert and Malcolm formed Tempest to get rid of the criminals in Starling City and clean up the Glade. Malcolm wanted to just kill everyone in the Glade, but Robert didn’t like that idea, so Malcolm sabotaged his ship, the Queen’s Gambit, thus causing his death and creating Arrow and White Canary (Sara Lance).
Sara Lance She was Laurel’s sister and Quentin’s daughter. She was on the Queen’s Gambit, Robert’s ship, partying with Oliver, before it was sunk. She was thought dead when she fell out during the explosion. She turned up later, having been rescued by Anthony Ivo and then recruited by the League of Assassins. She left the league and returned to Starling City as The Canary to protect Laurel, but the League hunted her down. She was released from them by her former lover, Nyssa. She joined Team Arrow and took up with Oliver again. When she helped defeat Slade Wilson, she agreed to rejoin the League. Later, she helped them hunt down Malcolm, but he had drugged Thea to kill Sara. Sara was resurrected a year later by the Lazarus Pit and then was recruited to join the Legends of Tomorrow. She became their captain after their leader Rip went missing. She seems to prefer women now, not men.
Anatoly Knyazev He’s a Russian mobster, leader of the Bratva, and Oliver’s good friend. When Oliver was presumed dead, he rescued Anatoly and became a member of Bratva in order to get their help to kill another Russian who had murdered a friend of his. Oliver and Anatoly have an on-again, off-again relationship due to Anatoly being a criminal.
Adrian Chase Originally Simon Morrison, he sought revenge on Oliver after The Hood killed his father, who was on The List. He studied everything about Oliver and his life as well as studied how to fight. He became the District Attorney in Star City and befriended Oliver. Meanwhile, he was killing people as Prometheus. The media dubbed him “The Throwing Star Killer.” He tortured Oliver and did a lot of terrible things to him and his friends. He wanted Oliver to admit that he was a killer just like him, but Oliver refused. Adrian was captured by A.R.G.U.S. but then escaped, kidnapping most of Oliver’s friends and family as well, including his young son, William. Oliver and Malcolm tracked him to the island, Lian Yu. Oliver helped his friends escaped from captivity, and then he had a confrontation with Adrian on his boat. Adrian was holding Oliver’s son at knife-point. Oliver saved William, but then Adrian killed himself, blowing up the island and all of Oliver’s friends and family.
Rory Regan He was avenging his family and others who died in Havenrock after it was destroyed in season 4. He was using the mystical rags of the Devarim, which gave him a disguise and protection as well as superpowers. He joined Team Arrow for a while when they were recruiting new members, but he saved everyone from a nuclear explosion using the rags, so his bond with them was destroyed. He left town, hoping to return when he was able to use the rags again.
Evelyn Sharp She was another new recruit in season 5, but she was secretly working with Adrian Chase to avenge her parents, who were killed when Malcolm blew up the facility they were in. She also blamed the Green Arrow, H.I.V.E. and all vigilantes. Her code name was Arsenal.
Joanna De La Vega was Laurel’s best friend, who seemed very devoted to her. They worked together at CNRI. She went on to work at a private law firm. She always loved and supported The Arrow.
Detective Lucas Hilton He was a police detective, who was partnered with Quentin. He disliked vigilantes and wanted to capture The Arrow. He was killed by Cyrus Gold, who made him shoot himself in the head.
Yao Fei Gulon He found Oliver on the island and taught him how to kill his own food, make traps, shoot arrows, etc. He was the first Arrow and had been sentenced to the island by the Chinese government, who thought him very dangerous. He was the father of two daughters, Mei and Shado. He was once a student of Talia al Ghul. A villain named Edward Fryers shot and killed him.
Andy Diggle He was John’s brother who had a drug problem when he was younger. He became a criminal while in the army and then joined H.I.V.E. He was presumed killed by the villain Deadshot, but H.I.V.E. had helped him fake his death in order to become one of their operatives. He later helped Damian Darkh escape. John tried to reach him, but he just kept betraying John and Team Arrow. He even tortured John and tried to kill his family. John was forced to kill him.
Carly Diggle She was John’s sister-in-law. Her husband, Andy, was supposedly murdered. She and Walter met sometimes at the restaurant she worked at, Big Belly Burger. John’s old friend suggested that Carly likes John as more than a relative. John had feelings for her, but they broke up after he decided to take revenge on Deadshot for Andy’s murder. She was kidnapped by a man named Ted Gaynor as leverage against John. John rescued her. She later left town with her son, A.J. to a safer place.
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