After a season of buildup, Oliver’s story is reaching its conclusion in Crisis on Infinite Earths, but can the Arrowverse crossover offer a way for Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) to become the Green Arrow again? Crisis found a way to bring him back as “something else”, thanks to Jim Corrigan (Stephen Lobo), but there may be a precedent in the comics for Oliver to make a full return as the Emerald Archer.
At the end of the opening hour of the five-part crossover event, Oliver Queen met a shockingly early demise in an attempt to save the people of Supergirl’s Earth-38. In the aftermath of Earth-38’s destruction, Mia (Katherine McNamara), White Canary (Kaity Lotz), Barry (Grant Gustin) and Constantine (Matt Ryan) seek to resurrect Oliver by using a Lazarus Pit on an alternate Earth. Their plan is a success, but they’re not able to restore his soul. With the help of Lucifer (Tom Ellis), they travel to Purgatory and find a way to reunite Oliver’s soul with his body. Oliver declines the opportunity to be resurrected when Jim Corrigan gives him a way to save the multiverse.
Oliver is made the next host of the Spectre, a ghostly entity and one of the most powerful characters in the DC Universe. This gives Oliver a new role in the Crisis, but given the powers he will presumably have access to, it doesn’t appear that he’ll be operating as the Green Arrow. Also, Oliver’s return may only be temporary since he didn’t agree to have his soul restored. Instead, Oliver may remain the Spectre for the remainder of his time in the Arrowverse — unless, of course, Crisis completely reverses Oliver’s death. A particular storyline in the comics, titled Quiver, shows how that could happen.
In the 1990s, Oliver died sacrificing himself to stop a bomb from destroying Metropolis. His arm was attached to the bomb, and he could have been saved had he allowed Superman to amputate it. Following Oliver’s death, he was brought back to life by the Hal Jordan incarnation of the Spectre. Jordan resurrects Oliver without a soul so that his soul could remain in Heaven. Oliver, who has no memory of the events that led to his death, eventually discovers the truth and is haunted by the revelation that he has no soul. Later on, Oliver does find a way to get his soul back.
Part of what’s interesting about this scenario is that the entity responsible for bringing Oliver back in Quiver, is in Arrowverse’s Crisis, but in this version of the story, that role is actually being filled by Oliver himself. In Crisis, Oliver became the Spectre in nearly the same way that it happened to Hal Jordan. This twist would complicate any attempt to accurately adapt Oliver’s revival in Quiver, though this could be changed so that Jim Corrigan does it instead, if and when he becomes the host again.
More: What Green Arrow Being Spectre Means For Crisis On Infinite Earths
