- For the in-universe concept, see multiverse.
The "Arrowverse",[1][2][3] also known as the CW Multiverse[4] or simply CWverse,[5] is a television franchise that is based on characters that appear in publications by DC Comics. The shared multiverse is akin to the DC universe in their comic books, which has had crossover plot elements, settings, and characters.
History
The CW began airing Arrow in fall 2012. Due to its success, the network began production for a The Flash spin-off the following year. Barry Allen was planned to be introduced in the eighth and ninth episodes of the show's second season, followed by the twentieth episode acting as a backdoor pilot.[6] However, after executives saw the initial episodes, they decided to order the series straight to pilot.[7] In early 2015, the CW announced a web-series for Vixen to air on the CW Seed.[8] Two months later, The CW announced an additional series, DC's Legends of Tomorrow to air early 2016.[9] On August 12, 2015, Wendy Mericle confirmed their version of John Constantine follows the same continuity as NBC's Constantine.[10] On December 12, 2018, Marc Guggenheim confirmed their version of Barry Allen follows the same continuity as CBS's The Flash.[11]
Media
| Series name | Original run | Amount of media produced |
|---|---|---|
| Television series There have been a total of 823 episodes aired throughout the Arrowverse across five media platforms: The CW, CW Seed, The WB, NBC, and CBS. | ||
| The Flash | 1990–1991 | 22 episodes |
| Birds of Prey | 2002–2003 | 13 episodes |
| Arrow | 2012–2020 | 170 episodes |
| The Flash | 2014–2023 | 184 episodes |
| Constantine | 2014–2015 | 13 aired episodes; 1 unaired[12] |
| Supergirl | 2015–2021 | 126 episodes |
| DC's Legends of Tomorrow | 2016–2022 | 110 episodes |
| Black Lightning | 2018–2021 | 58 episodes |
| Batwoman | 2019–2022 | 51 episodes |
| Superman & Lois | 2021–present | 52 episodes |
| Web series Airing on CW Seed and YouTube, three animated and two live action webseries have contributed to the Arrowverse with content being released online. | ||
| Vixen | 2015–2016 | 12 episodes |
| Freedom Fighters: The Ray | 2017–2018 | 12 episodes |
| Blood Rush | 2013 | 6 webisodes |
| John Con Noir | 2015 | 1 webisode |
| Chronicles of Cisco | 2016 | 4 webisodes |
| Stretched Scene | 2017 | 3 webisodes |
| Mister Parker's Cul De Sac | 2020 | 5 webisodes |
| Comic book series Several comic book issues have been released online revolving around the characters in some of The CW television shows. Later the issues were released as a print graphic novel. As well, a comic book series was for CBS' The Flash in print. Several of the issues have been considered non-canon. | ||
| The Flash TV Special | 1991 | 2 issues |
| Arrow | 2012–2013 | 36 issues |
| Arrow: Season 2.5 | 2014–2015 | 24 issues |
| The Flash: Season Zero | 2014–2015 | 24 issues |
| Arrow: The Dark Archer | 2016 | 12 issues |
| Adventures of Supergirl | 2016 | 13 issues (+2 special editions)[13][14] |
| Crisis on Infinite Earths Giant | 2019-2020 | 4 issues |
| EARTH-PRIME | 2022 | 12 issues |
| Internet blogs Through the internet blogging sites Tumblr and Instagram, The CW promoted The Flash. | ||
| The Chronicles of Cisco | 2015–2020 | 101 blog posts |
| Novels Several novels have been released revolving around the characters in some of The CW television shows. Portions of the novels have been considered non-canon. | ||
| Arrow: Vengeance | 2016 | |
| The Flash: The Haunting of Barry Allen | 2016 | |
| Arrow: A Generation of Vipers | 2017 | |
| The Flash: Hocus Pocus | 2017 | |
| Supergirl: Age of Atlantis | 2017 | |
| Arrow: Fatal Legacies | 2018 | |
| The Flash: Johnny Quick | 2018 | |
| Supergirl: Curse of the Ancients | 2018 | |
| The Flash: Climate Changeling | 2018 | |
| The Flash: The Tornado Twins | 2018 | |
| Supergirl: Master of Illusion | 2019 | |
| The Flash: Green Arrow's Perfect Shot | 2019 | |
| The Flash: Supergirl's Sacrifice | 2020 | |
| The Flash: The Legends of Forever | 2021 | |
| Video games CBS released a video game to promote their television series, The Flash. | ||
| The Flash | 1991 1993 | |
| TV shorts The CW released non-canon advertisements for upcoming seasons of Arrowverse shows before they began airing. | ||
| Superhero Fight Club | 2015 | |
| Guitar Hero Challenge | 2015 | |
| Superhero Fight Club 2.0 | 2016 | |
| Suit Up | 2018 | |
| Nate AD | 2020 | |
| TV specials The CW released non-canon specials to promote different aspects of the Arrowverse series. | ||
| Year One | 2013 | |
| Chasing Lightning | 2014 | |
| DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Their Time Is Now | 2016 | |
| Constantine: The Legend Continues | 2018 | |
| Crisis Aftermath | 2019 | |
| Arrow: Hitting the Bullseye | 2020 | |
| Superman & Lois: Legacy of Hope | 2021 | |
| "Beebo Saves Christmas" | 2021 | |
Trivia
- As a further tie-in, DC Universe Online has a character skin for the Kara Danvers/Supergirl from the television series Supergirl.
- As of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the following universes are also tied-into the Arrowverse:
- The Batman TV series universe (set on Earth-66 in the original[15] and new multiverses)[16]
- The Batman Anthology universe (set on Earth-89 in the original[15] and new multiverses)[16]
- The Superman Anthology universe (set on Earth-96 in the original[17] and new multiverses)[18]
- The Smallville universe (set on Earth-167 in the original[17] and new multiverses)[19]
- The Green Lantern universe (set on Earth-12 in the new multiverse)[18]
- The Lucifer universe (set on Earth-666 in the original[20] and new multiverses)[21]
- The DC Extended Universe (set on Earth-TUD13)
- The Stargirl universe (set on Earth-2 in the new multiverse)
- The Swamp Thing universe (set on Earth-19 in the new multiverse)
- The Titans universe (set on Earth-9 in the original[15] and new multiverses)[18]
- The Doom Patrol universe (set on Earth-21 in the new multiverse)[18]
- In addition, the early planning stages of Crisis on Infinite Earths saw the writers considering looping the Gotham and Krypton TV series' Earths into the event as well (with their worlds being among those shown dying during the introduction to "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One").[22]
Unproduced media
- The CW was attempting to produce a spinoff series of Arrow, titled Green Arrow and the Canaries, but decided not to move forward with the project.
- The CW was also attempting to produce a spinoff series of Black Lightning, titled Painkiller, but decided not to move forward with the project.
- There were plans to have David Ramsey star in a series focused around John Diggle as Green Lantern, which never came to fruition due to disagreements with DC and Warner Bros.[23]
- The CW had considered releasing a series titled Wonder Girl, but later passed on the show.
- While Stargirl exists outside of the mainstream Arrowverse, series creator Geoff Johns confirmed that a spinoff of that show was in the works, but didn't come to fruition due to the sale of The CW. Said series would've focused on the children, nephews and nieces of other members of the original JSA; people like Jennie and her brother Todd, who'd been born with powers and were learning to use them, rather than members of Courtney's version of the revived JSA whose powers came from artifacts.[24]
- After the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, Jon Cryer pitched Warner Bros. Television a Legion of Doom series loosely based on the Forever Evil event, but passed on the show.[25][26]
- The CW had considered releasing a series titled Justice U, but later passed on the show.
References