Arrowverse

The Arrowverse was a shared DC Comics television universe that aired on The CW from 2012 to 2024, spanning eight live-action series connected through crossover events, shared characters, and a unified multiverse. Launched by Arrow in October 2012, the universe expanded across The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Batwoman, and Superman and Lois before ending with the conclusion of Superman and Lois Season 4 in December 2024. At its peak the Arrowverse was the most ambitious shared superhero universe in television history, running concurrent storylines across multiple shows with annual crossover events that rivaled major film releases in scale.

Arrow and the Beginning

Arrow premiered on October 10, 2012, starring Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, a billionaire playboy who returns from five years stranded on a remote island and begins operating as a vigilante archer in Starling City. The show took a grounded, serialized approach to superhero storytelling influenced more by crime drama than the colorful spectacle of contemporary superhero films. Its success gave The CW and Warner Bros. Television the confidence to expand the universe, and Arrow served as the anchor of the shared continuity through its eight seasons before ending in January 2020.

The Flash, Supergirl, and the Expansion

The Flash launched in October 2014 with Grant Gustin as Barry Allen, introducing a faster and more fantastical register than Arrow while maintaining narrative connections through shared characters and crossover appearances. The show ran nine seasons through May 2023 and became the most-watched CW series of the Arrowverse era. Supergirl debuted on CBS in October 2015 with Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-El before moving to The CW for its second season, initially set on an alternate Earth before the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover merged her world with the main Arrowverse continuity. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow followed the misfits and time travelers of the universe across seven seasons from 2016 to 2022, operating as the most experimental and comedic corner of the shared world.

Black Lightning ran from 2018 to 2021 as a separate series initially unconnected to the main Arrowverse before being folded into the main continuity. Batwoman ran from 2019 to 2022 across two lead actresses, Ruby Rose departing after Season 1 and Javicia Leslie taking over as a new character wearing the cowl.

Crisis on Infinite Earths

Crisis on Infinite Earths, the annual crossover event spanning December 2019 and January 2020, was the Arrowverse’s most ambitious undertaking. Adapted from the foundational 1985-1986 DC Comics storyline, the five-part crossover united heroes from across the multiverse against the Anti-Monitor, resulting in the deaths of Oliver Queen and a full restructuring of the Arrowverse’s multiverse. The event brought in actors from past DC adaptations including Brandon Routh reprising his Superman Returns role as the Kingdom Come Superman and Ezra Miller briefly appearing as the DCEU Flash, making Crisis the first moment the Arrowverse and the DCEU officially shared screen space. Oliver Queen’s sacrifice and resurrection as the Spectre closed out Arrow’s story and set the stage for the rest of the expanded universe.

Superman and Lois and the End

Superman and Lois launched in February 2021 with Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, a more grounded and family-focused take on the characters set on a parallel Earth separate from the main Arrowverse continuity. The show ran four seasons and was the last DC property standing on The CW after Warner Bros. Discovery’s cost-cutting under CEO David Zaslav led to the cancellation of Batwoman, Legends of Tomorrow, and other series in 2022. Superman and Lois concluded in December 2024, ending the Arrowverse era on its strongest remaining property. Arrow left Netflix in the United States on December 18, 2025, completing the franchise’s full streaming lifecycle.

The Arrowverse Legacy

The Arrowverse demonstrated that a shared superhero television universe was commercially and creatively viable at the same time the MCU was proving it in film. Its annual crossover events drew significant viewership beyond the individual shows’ audiences, and the universe launched careers and introduced a generation of fans to DC characters who had never appeared in major film adaptations. The end of the Arrowverse coincided with the launch of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe, which does not share continuity with the CW shows.