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Team Arrow Family Members

Queen Family

Oliver Queen

see the Arrowverse: Oliver Queen page

Thea Queen

see the Arrowverse: Team Arrow page

Moira Queen

Moira Dearden Queen

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/queen_moira_9127.jpg

"From the moment your children are born, you worry what the world might do to them. But you never stop to think what you might do to them."

Species: Human

Played By: Susanna Thompson

First Appearance: "Pilot" (Arrow 1x1)

Appearances: Arrow | Invasion! (2016) ^note(Arrow)

Oliver and Thea's mother, Moira was coerced into joining Tempest and contributing to the Undertaking by Malcolm Merlyn after the murder of her husband. She manages to expose Malcolm's plot at the end of Season One, but is arrested for her part in the conspiracy. After being found not guilty, Moira begins a campaign for mayor of Starling City.

see Arrowverse: Earth-2 page for Earth-2 Moira

see the Arrowverse: Earth-X for the unnamed AI who bears her voice likeness

Action Survivor: Ironically, she is one of the few people to wound The Vigilante.
Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Given that she's initially Spared by the Adaptation, the show gave her personal demons to struggle through for her own Character Development.
Affably Evil: She is always polite when dealing with people, but she is a reluctant accomplice to Malcolm Merlyn.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When confronted by the Hood, she's willing to beg for her life, for the sake of her children.
Amicable Exes: With Walter in Season 2. She also had a brief affair with Malcolm, though it turns out that they're actually not really in good terms because he was threatening her and her children.
And Starring: In the first two seasons of Arrow.
Anti-Villain: Slides from Type I to Type IV over the course of the first season. In the first few episodes, she's a Well-Intentioned Extremist, even by Undertaking standards. By the middle of the first season, we see that unlike most members, she is trying to stop the Undertaking from within, though she uses rather underhanded methods to do so. By the end, we see that she's been coerced into it ever since Malcolm killed half her family. Ultimately, this leads to her Heel–Face Turn.
Arch-Enemy: Malcolm, for effectively murdering Robert and stranding Oliver on Lian Yu. As it is, Moira is directly and indirectly responsible for Malcolm's life falling apart post-Season One; first by exposing the Undertaking, then by informing Ra's al Ghul of his survival.
Ascended Extra: Like her husband, she's a Posthumous Character in the comics.
Back for the Finale: She's resurrected after Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) and shows up for Oliver's funeral in Arrow's Grand Finale.
Back from the Dead: Oliver as the Spectre's restoration of The Multiverse includes undoing her death.
Celebrity Paradox: An episode of Legends of Tomorrow mentions the Star Trek franchise. Susanna Thompson was one of the franchise's "go-to actors".
Composite Character:
- Her role as the ruthless head of Queen Industries appears to be based a bit on Isabel Rochev/The Queen, an ex-lover of Robert Queen who became the Big Bad of Green Arrow in the Brightest Day era. Though later Isabel herself shows up.
- Also, her maiden name is the last name of the second Speedy; it's also part of her daughter's name (Thea Dearden Queen), and said character has "Speedy" as an Affectionate Nickname.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Seems to be one, but she doesn't want to be. She's forced to support Malcolm in his plan to destroy the Glades out of fear, following him having Robert killed.
Damsel in Distress: The second time the Hood comes for her.
Dead Alternate Counterpart: Inverted. She initially was the dead counterpart to Earth-2 Moira, but after Earth-2's destruction and her death being prevented Post-Crisis, the Earth-2 version is the dead one.
A Death in the Limelight: Dies in Seeing Red after the episode's flashbacks center on her and, in the present, reveals she knows Oliver is the Arrow.
Death Equals Redemption: For all her immoral actions earlier in the series, willingly sacrificing herself to save her daughter Thea really made up for it.
Death by Secret Identity: She winds up dying in the same episode it's revealed that she knew Oliver was the Arrow. Also right before her death, she's trying to reveal a secret - most likely the fact that Malcolm Merlyn is still alive.
Dies Wide Open: Her death episode closes with the camera zooming out from her opened eyes.
The Dragon: Played with. The traditional role of the Dragon as the brutal enforcer is played by the Dark Archer, Malcolm himself, but Moira carries out most of the overt business of traveling around the city, threatening and extorting people on behalf of the Undertaking. She plays this role to the hilt, but she's only doing it because she's terrified Malcolm will kill her and her family.
Dragon with an Agenda: Her agenda initially seems to be simply to protect her family from Malcolm but she also tried to stop the Undertaking.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: If Moira has one saving grace, it's the fact that she loves her children.
Even Evil Has Standards: Despite betraying Frank to save her own skin, Moira convinces Malcolm to spare his innocent daughter.
Evil Parents Want Good Kids: While not exactly evil, she's certainly participated in some nasty things, including being coerced into committing mass murder. But she genuinely wants the best for Thea and Oliver.
Heel–Face Turn: She outs Malcolm and the Undertaking to the media during the Season One finale, knowing that she will immediately be arrested for her participation.
Heroic Sacrifice: After Slade captures her, Thea, and Oliver, she chooses to take the bullet, despite Oliver and Thea's pleas. Slade kills her anyway with a sword, though not without noting her courage.
Hypocrite: She cheats on Robert with Malcolm and then lies that Thea is Robert's daughter. Then when she learns that Robert also cheated on her with Kazumi Adachi and has a daughter of his own, she forces him to abandon Kazumi and Emiko, leaving them with nothing.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Stabbed through the chest by Slade.
Iron Lady: When she's running Queen Consolidated. And later in Season Two, when she runs for Mayor.
Knight Templar Parent: Participates in mass murder in the name of protecting her children, turns Malcolm over to the League of Assassins to keep him away from Thea, has Oliver kidnapped and beaten to prove he doesn't know anything and thus keep him from being a target... you can see where her son gets it from.
Mama Bear:
- But she's the one who arranged Oliver's kidnapping, right? By the end of the first season, we've learned she's only ever participated in the Undertaking because Malcolm was threatening her family, a threat he carried out on Robert, with Oliver caught as an innocent bystander, and again on Walter.
- Cemented in Season Two, when she informs Ra's Al-Ghul on Malcolm Merlyn to keep him away from Thea.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Selling Malcolm out to Ra's Al-Ghul opened up a new can of worms for Team Arrow.
No Party Given: While running for mayor, she makes statements that imply she is a Republican. However, her party is never specifically named, which is normal for local elections in the United States.
Outliving One's Offspring: Oliver's Heroic Sacrifice resulted in her and many other dead characters sans Robert and Earth-1 Laurel being resurrected. Upon her resurrection, Moira is seen attending Oliver's funeral.
Parent with New Paramour: Within the past five years, Moira married her dead husband's business associate, Walter Steele. It's quickly revealed to be... an innocent and genuinely loving relationship with nothing underhanded about it. Until Walter starts investigating the Undertaking...
Parents as People: As this entry demonstrates, she cares for her children and wants the best for them, but she's not perfect.
Punch-Clock Villain: Deconstructed. Punching the clock has not been good for her.
Redemption Equals Death: She posthumously regains Thea's respect.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: She's handed one by Thea after Walter is kidnapped. And by both Thea and Oliver after they find out about the Undertaking, and especially Thea's true paternity during her mayoral campaign.
Related in the Adaptation:
- While Thea's comic counterpart Mia was later adopted by Oliver, she is not related to the Queens by blood.
- She was also married to Walter Steele for a few years in this version.
- Inverted with Connor Hawke, who is not her grandchild in this version.
The Mole: As of "Dodger", we learn that Moira is trying to have Malcolm killed.
Sacrificial Lion: She gets killed by Slade Wilson, to show just how much of a monster he is, and delivering the biggest blow to Oliver since he started his vigilante activities.
Sadistic Choice: Merlyn presents her with this: help him kill all the people in the Glades, or have your whole family killed.
Scrubbing Off the Trauma: When the Dark Archer murders Frank Chen, she feels great guilt in knowing that she was responsible in framing him. She starts trying to feverishly rub the blood stains off her hands.
Secret Secret-Keeper: She knew Oliver was the Arrow since the Undertaking, keeping quiet about it until the episode where Slade killed her. Even before she found out in Season 1, Moira was one of the few Arrowverse characters not to mind secrets from her loved ones, telling Thea when she was complaining about Oliver being private that he needed his space. She had plenty of reasons to believe this, considering the secrets she was herself holding on to.
Serial Spouse: Her first husband died, while her second divorced her.
Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: Every time you think she's going to be a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, it turns out that she's just a mother trying to protect her family, albeit often through underhanded and deceptive means.
Shipper on Deck: Approved of Oliver dating Laurel in their youth, since Laurel was a good influence on her son. It's implied in Season One that she's still holding out hope for them, until the Undertaking.
- Later for Thea and Roy — she wants her daughter to be happy, even if it damages her case.
Silk Hiding Steel: A beautiful and loving upper class mother... who participates in blackmail, kidnapping, and mass murder in the name of protecting her family.
Spared by the Adaptation: Her comic counterpart is a Posthumous Character like Robert. She ultimately dies, though. This then becomes double-subverted when Oliver, as the Spectre, undoes her death in the Grand Finale.
Silver Vixen: Moira is still acknowledged as beautiful (mostly by Walter) despite having two adult children, one of which already having a kid of his own.
Take a Third Option: When Slade offers a Sadistic Choice to Oliver in "Seeing Red" in the second season, Moira offers a way out: she tells Slade her son will not be forced to choose between his mother and his sister, and says that she herself will be the one dying. Slade is impressed. And kills her.
Trapped in Villainy: The reason she's still The Dragon is that if she isn't, her family will be hurt.
Took a Level in Kindness: She has a nicer demeanor after being relocated to Earth-Prime and reviving due to the Multiverse's recreation. Despite previously forcing Robert to disregard Emiko some time ago, at Oliver's funeral, Moira welcomes Emiko to come to the Queen mansion whenever she wants.
Unscrupulous Hero: As revealed in "The Undertaking", she absolutely hates the Undertaking itself, and is trying her best to stop it. The only problem is she's also the Big Bad's Dragon with an Agenda.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: She informed the League of Assassins about Malcolm's survival in order to get rid of him. While this had good intentions, it was also the indirect cause for the events of Season Three, where Sara was killed (for real) and both of her children would have near-death experiences that they just barely survived.
Villain with Good Publicity: She helped murder 503 people, but apparently there are enough people in Starling City who'd vote for her that she can run for Mayor. It doesn't hurt that she's considerably less evil than Sebastian Blood, of course.
Wrong Genre Savvy: Moira seems to believe the Arrow is a Robin Hood figure stealing from the rich to give to the poor. It has to be pretty much spoon-fed to her by Malcolm that the Arrow is going after only specific targets in their Organization that just happened to be rich.

Robert Queen

Species: Human

Played by: Jamey Sheridan

First Appearance: "Pilot" (1x1)

Appearances: Arrow | Invasion! (2016) ^note(Arrow)

Husband of Moira and father of Oliver, but not Thea (though he still loved her like his own). He was a well-intentioned member of Malcolm Merlyn's scheme to clean up Star(ling) City, until he learned of Malcolm's plan to level the Glades. Malcolm sabotaged the Queen's Gambit to prevent him from exposing the conspiracy, which resulted in Robert passing the list onto Oliver before committing suicide.

see the Arrowverse: Earth-2 page for Earth-2 Robert

Accidental Murder: Why he joined the Undertaking.
Alphabetical Theme Naming: He and his wife Moira were friends with Malcolm and his wife Rebecca Merlyn.
Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: As revealed in "Enter Zoom", there exists an Alternate Self on Earth-2 where it is he that became "The Hood" and not Oliver, who had died instead of Robert.
The Atoner: In his last moments, he really seems regretful of his past. Turns out in "The Undertaking" that he's been this way for a long time prior to his death. At some point when he was trying to set up some building in the Glades, the councilman he spoke to tried to blackmail him into bribing him. When he refused and the resulting fight ends with him accidentally killing the councilman, he joined Malcolm's group to clean up the Glades to atone for this, until he finds out what Malcolm is planning.
Be All My Sins Remembered: In Season 5, the body of the corrupt councilman he accidentally killed is found, with his DNA on it, so Robert will forever be remembered as murderer even by his children since the true circumstances of that event will never be known. Season 7 only adds to his tarnished legacy with the revelation he had a second family - which he ended up leaving on their own to avoid losing his other one - and that he killed someone else on the raft before himself; although only the second one is revealed to the public.
Boom, Headshot!: How he killed himself.
Broken Pedestal: At the beiginning of the series, he confesses to Oliver that he and a few people have been ruining Starling City, which shows Oliver his father is not a saint. Prometheus later shows him that he covered up the accidental murder, which his children have a hard time justifying. Later, When Oliver finds out about his second family, he's distraught that his father wasn't the man he remembered.
Celebrity Paradox:
- An episode of The Flash (2014) mentions the existence of the Law & Order franchise. His actor was one of the original main characters of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
- An episode of Supergirl (2015) mentions the existence of the Homeland. His actor was one of the key characters of its first season.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Confessed to being one while they were on the life raft.
Dead Alternate Counterpart: He died in 2007 whereas his Earth-2 counterpart is still alive as of 2013. The Earth-2 version eventually dies with the rest of his world in 2019.
Death by Origin Story: He does appear a few times in flashbacks, though.
Disappeared Dad: He cut himself out of Emiko and her mom's lives completely, not because he loved his other family more but because if Moira divorced him for infidelity he was afraid he'd be left with nothing (though it was also implied he'd lose his other children, as he still saw Thea as his own despite knowing the truth). He also tried to avoid seeing Emiko despite her coming to want to see him.
Driven to Suicide: Shot himself to ensure that Oliver would survive.
Even Evil Has Standards: Though he was willing to atone for his manslaughter by blackmailing the city's worst criminals, he drew the line at Malcolm's absolutely insane plan to destroy the Glades with a machine capable of creating a natural disaster.
Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Though not "Evil" in a Sense, Robert Queen wanted his son to clean up his mistakes.
Heroic Sacrifice: Robert shot himself and his bodyguard on the lifeboat to save his son, wanting him to survive.
Honest Corporate Executive: He started as one of these; turns out that he was a rather honest and decent businessman until he accidentally killed a corrupt councilman in self-defence. He joined Malcolm's crusade to clean up the Glades by taking control of the corrupt executives, but he refused to go along with destroying the Glades, and from the start his only motive was to help people.
Knight Templar Parent: To save his son, not only does Robert shoot himself to leave all the survival supplies to Oliver, but he also kills his own bodyguard, Dave Hackett, as he feared there wouldn't be enough for Oliver if the two of them shared.
Like a Son to Me: When Malcolm disappeared from Tommy's life, he took the boy in and essentially raised him as his own.
Never Got to Say Goodbye: Only Oliver was there in his last moments. Justified since they were Lost at Sea at the time.
Parental Substitute: After Tommy's mother died and his father disappeared, Robert largely took over the role. Even after Malcolm returned, he was still distant, so Robert still basically treated Tommy as his own.
Tommy: My dad was never there. Your dad was the one who took me to baseball games, went to school plays, helped me with birthday parties...
Plot-Triggering Death: So much so to the point that his death remains in the Post-Crisis world in spite of nearly everyone else coming back, as without it, Oliver would have never become the Green Arrow.
Posthumous Character: By the time of the pilot airs, he's already been dead for five years. All of his appearances are through flashbacks.
Redemption Equals Death: His suicide in the pilot flashback, when he tells his son to make up for his mistakes. Also, by the end of the season, we've learned that Malcolm had the yacht sabotaged because Robert was going to betray the Undertaking.
Related in the Adaptation: Subverted. While Thea's comic counterpart Mia was later adopted by Oliver, she is not related to the Queens by blood; however, it was later revealed that Thea is conceived by Moira's infidelity with Malcolm, and that Robert knew this but loved her like his own anyway.
Unrelated in the Adaptation:
- Unlike in the comic books, Shado is not his second wife/mistress.
- Connor Hawke is not his grandchild in this version.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Whatever one thinks of his intentions, there's no question that when Robert Queen uses his very last breath to place his own sins, and the responsibility for atoning for them, onto the shoulders of his son, he sets Oliver on a path of truly mind-boggling hardship and suffering.

Walter Steele

Species: Human

Played By: Colin Salmon

First Appearance: "Pilot" (Arrow 1x1)

Appearances: Arrow

CEO of Queen Industries, Walter was Robert Queen's best friend. He married Moira sometime after Robert's death, but divorces her after Season One due to her lies and role in the Undertaking. He is the current CFO of Star(ling) National Bank.

All-Loving Hero: Downplayed. But you'll notice that Walter likes just about everybody, and everybody likes him.
Amicable Exes: Despite the fallout of their marriage, he and Moira patched things up and remain civil with each other.
Ascended Extra: Appeared in exactly one panel in one issue of any comic book, ever. * Bad Liar: It's because he's British according to Felicity.
Bald of Authority: He's the CEO (former CFO) of Queen Industries.
Beard of Sorrow: He has no time (and tools) to shave when he was captured by Tempest for much of Season 1. He shaved immediately once he's rescued.
Benevolent Boss: Gets along very well with employees. His kind nature is why Felicity wanted to help find him.
Big Damn Heroes: Helps Oliver secure a 50% stake in Queen Consolidated, saving it from a corporate takeover by Isabel Rochev.
Celebrity Paradox:
- Ray is apparently a fan of Doctor Who, which his actor appeared in a guest role.
- Ray also acknowledges the existence of the James Bond film series in this universe. Colin Salmon was a prominent supporting cast during Pierce Brosnan's tenure as the title character.
- An episode of The Flash (2014) mentions the existence of the Law & Order franchise. Colin Salmon was a Recurring Character in Law & Order: UK.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He departs the series after season 2.
Commuting on a Bus:
- He leaves on a "business trip" in "Damaged" where he's actually investigating Moira's lies, but he returns in "Muse of Fire". Then he gets kidnapped in "Year's End". He's rescued in "The Undertaking", but leaves again at the end of the following episode after telling Moira that he's filed for divorce.
- He returns in Season Two as an angel investor in Queen Consolidated, then shows up again in the middle of the season to try to convince Moira to run for Mayor, and pops up once more to comfort Thea at Moira's funeral.
- He hasn't been since Season 2, after Moira's funeral, but he still lives in Star City, where he was asked by the Star City council to run for mayor. He declined.
Distressed Dude: He's kidnapped by Malcolm and spends six months as a captive until he's rescued by the Hood.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: Subverted. Is used as a mid-episode cliffhanger, but the source was lying.
Good Stepmother: Walter Steele cares for Moira's children, Oliver and Thea, and gets along with them. Even after divorcing Moira, he is still willing to help them, as shown when Oliver asked him to help prevent Queen Consolidated from being absorbed by Isabel Rochev at the beginning of Season 2.
Happily Married: Until "Darkness At the Edge of Town".
Honest Corporate Executive: He's definitely one of these — see Non-Idle Rich below. Ironically, he's married to his polar opposite, though he doesn't realize this at first.
Honor Before Reason: Walter's stated reason for investigating further into Robert Queen's murder despite being told that doing so was dangerous? Because Robert was his friend and he's the type of guy to avenge his best friend's murder.
Intergenerational Friendship: With Felicity Smoak. This may be a Mythology Gag since Felicity is originally the stepmother of the DC hero Ronnie Raymond (though not here in the show).
Large and in Charge: He stands 6'4 1/2 and serves as the CFO of Star City national Bank, and was previously Queen Consolidated's CEO.
Like a Son to Me: Treats Thea as if she were his own daughter. And while things are initially frosty between them, it's clear that he views Oliver as if he were his own son, and actually calls him "son" in "The Undertaking". He reiterates this in "City of Heroes" when he states that regardless of the situation between himself and their mother, if Oliver and Thea need anything, they can call him.
Long Bus Trip: He stopped appearing after Arrow Season 2 and is treated as The Ghost since.
Nice Guy: Friendly and personable to more or less everyone.
Nice to the Waiter: Being this to Felicity is explicitly the reason she tries to discover his fate. Also, when his head of security gets killed under suspicious circumstances, he's reluctant to have any other staff continue that investigation.
Non-Action Guy: Walter doesn't get involved in fights.
Non-Idle Rich: Though a Non-Action Guy, because he's an Honest Corporate Executive, he tends to do his due diligence. When he suspects potential embezzling within his company, he personally investigates despite the fact that he has an entire department also investigating.
Race Lift: He's Caucasian (and American) in the comics.
Red Herring: Savvy viewers expect him to be the bad guy. Oliver comes home and finds Walter married to his mother. In just a few episodes, we learn that nope, Walter's a genuinely good guy who loves Moira and Thea, is a caring and dedicated CEO, and wants nothing but the best for his adopted family and the employees. The reason people think he's evil in the beginning is mostly because a) he's British and b) he's a bit uptight. Regardless, he's an honorable gentleman through and through.
Refused the Call: He rejects the offers to run for Star City's mayoral position at the start of Season 4.
Related in the Adaptation: He becomes the stepfather of both Oliver and Thea (Mia Dearden, herself being heavily associated with this trope) due to his marriage to Moira. In the comics, he's just a minor character unrelated to both characters.
Romancing the Widow: Or rather romanced the widow.
Secret-Keeper: One of two people who knew that Thea is actually Malcolm Merlyn's daughter prior to the Undertaking. Notably, Walter is the only one Moira chose to tell, with the other person being her doctor after complications with the birth.
Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He stands 6'4 1/2 and is definitely a good-looking man.

William Clayton

Species: Human

Played By: Jack Moore

First Appearance: "Legends of Today" (The Flash 2x8)

Appearances: Heroes Join Forces^note(The Flash | Arrow) | Arrow

Oliver Queen's illegitimate son, whose existence was kept from him by his mother and Moira.

see the Arrowverse: Future Characters for his potential future self.

Adaptational Name Change: In the comics, Oliver's child is named Connor Hawke, but here he is called William Clayton. The Legends of Tomorrow episode "Star City 2046" introduces a Connor Hawke who takes up the mantle of Green Arrow, but he is introduced as John's son. This episode's events are later retconned to be happening in Earth-16, while Arrow introduces another Connor Hawke in Season 7 who is Bronze Tiger's biological son and John's adopted son.
Adaptational Wimp: Word of God claims that he's never going to take up the Green Arrow mantle. Because his half-sister will.
Back for the Finale: He returns in the Grand Finale, being abducted one last time, this time to be saved by his half-sister Mia.
Decomposite Character: He's Oliver's illegitimate son, just like Connor Hawke, not to mention the fact that he shares Connor's potential sexuality. But the name Connor Hawke and taking up the Green Arrow mantle, not to mention Connor's ethnicity, goes to a different character who appeared in Legends of Tomorrow (later retconned to be happening in another Earth entirely), and another Connor Hawke appears in Season 7 as John's adopted son. His role as Green Arrow's successor went to his sister Mia instead.
Give Him a Normal Life: Inverted. He feels unable to be a normal kid after all that happens to his father and step-mother, the breaking point being forced to move away after they fear Diaz will abduct him and then coming home only to be ignored by the both of them, so he decides to live with his grandparents. His grandparents then cut off all contact between William, Oliver, and Felicity, so that the former feels he was abandoned, while the latter hope he gets to live a normal life.
Happily Adopted: While there were understandably a few bumps in the road, eventually he accepts living with Oliver full-time and having Felicity as his stepmom. Somewhat subverted with his grandparents, who take him in when he's unhappy living with Oliver's and Felicity's violent life. They cut off all contact between William and his parents, leading him to believe he'd been abandoned.
Heroic Bastard: His parents were never married and his mother made him believe that his father died before he was born.
Hero-Worshipper: The kid idolizes the Flash, then switches to Green Arrow after being rescued from Darhk. His faith in superheroes is shattered after his mother's death at the hands of Prometheus after it's revealed to him Oliver is his father and the Green Arrow.
Nom de Mom: He uses his mother's surname. Justified since he never knew of his paternity until he's 10.
Non-Action Guy: Naturally, being a kid and all.
Mythology Gag: His name being William and being the son of the Green Arrow could be a reference to William King a.k.a. White Feather, the son of Green Arrow's counterpart on Earth-12 and a member of the Inferior Five in the comics.
One Degree of Separation: Is not aware that his father is good friends with The Flash, and that he already met him (he was introduced getting accidentally tripped by Oliver when he and Barry are chilling). For the matter, he has no idea that Oliver is his father. At least until Prometheus abducts him.
Race Lift: His comics counterpart, Connor Hawke is of mixed race, but William is Caucasian. The actual Connor undergoes a similar treatment. While Connor is still of mixed race, his Asian-American roots is omitted.
Straight Gay: As seen in the Arrow Season 7 flash-forwards, he mentions having an ex-boyfriend, but isn't shown to have stereotypically "gay" qualities. His present self never came out to Oliver and Felicity, but the former tells his future self that they knew.
The Heart: Fully embraces this role in the dark future of 2040. He knows fuck-all about fighting and people tend to ignore him, but he has good tech skills and is far more emotionally aware than pretty much everyone else in the shit-hole that is 2040!Star City.
You Can't Go Home Again:
- After he was rescued from Darhk, Oliver has him and his mother move to another city so they can be safe from H.I.V.E.'s clutches.
- In season 7, Felicity sends William to a boarding school away from Star City until Ricardo Diaz is found, then she and Oliver let him live away with his grandparents after he feels emotionally trapped. He never sees his father alive again, but he meets his half-sister's future self in the series finale.

Emiko Adachi

See the Arrowverse: Criminal Groups & Organizations page

Lance Family

Laurel Lance

see the Arrowverse: Team Arrow page

Sara Lance

see the Arrowverse Sara Lance page

Quentin Lance

Quentin Larry Lance

^{Click here to see him as a detective}

^{Click here to see him as a police officer}

"What this city needs is someone willing to stand up in the light of day. Not a guy lurking around in the shadows."

Species: Human

Played By: Paul Blackthorne

First Appearance: "Pilot" (Arrow 1x1)

Appearances: Arrow | Flash vs. Arrow^note(Arrow) | The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow | Invasion! (2016) ^note(Arrow)

Father of Laurel and Sara, Quentin is a police detective who is none too overjoyed when Oliver returns to Starling City or with the appearance of a vigilante. However, he slowly comes to forgive Oliver, and begins to appreciate what the Arrow is doing for the city. He eventually enters into a partnership with the Arrow. In Season 3, Lance is promoted to captain. By season 5, after loosing his police commission due to working with Damien Darhk, he becomes the Deputy mayor of Star City under Oliver and then becomes the Mayor himself after Oliver got impeached.

see the Arrowverse: Earth-2 page for his Earth-2 counterpart

see the Arrowverse: Other Earths page for his Earth-16 counterpart

see the Arrowverse: Earth-X page for his Earth-X counterpart

Adaptational Angst Upgrade: While his family has some serious drama going on in the comics, here it's bleaker; one of his daughters supposedly (and eventually for a little while) dies because she cheated with his eldest daughter's boyfriend. This leads to his wife leaving him, and ever since he has secretly hoped that they'll eventually get together again. Said events made him an alcoholic. Oh, and those happened before the show even started...
Adaptation Name Change: Subverted. Detective Larry Lance is now Detective Quentin Lance. However, his middle name in the show is Larry.
Amicable Exes: With Dinah. However, it is openly stated in Season 2 that he's still in love with her.
The Alcoholic:
- He's seen attending an AA meeting in "Crucible" after learning Laurel is falling off the wagon like he did when Sara had "died".
- After Laurel's death in season 4 Quentin ends up falling off the wagon again (the fact that his relationship with Donna Smoak broke down didn't exactly help matters). He eventually goes back into rehab because he doesn't want his alcoholism to effect his job as deputy mayor.
All Love Is Unrequited: He never got to move on from Dinah after their divorce until season 3.
And Starring: In Arrow's OBB.
Arbitrary Skepticism: Subverted. When Thea explains to Quentin that "Laurel" is actually her Earth-2 counterpart, he's initially incredulous, but is convinced when she reminds him about the existence of metahumans and aliens. In his all subsequent interactions with Black Siren, he holds absolutely no illusions that she's his Laurel.
The Atoner: Is noticeably politer towards Oliver post-"Damaged," because of his arresting Oliver on supposedly false charges and almost getting him killed.
Authority Equals Asskicking: The most competent SCPD officer shown on-screen and was Da Chief from season 3-4.
Awesomeness by Analysis: Quentin's deduction abilities were incredible:
- With nothing but a red hoodie and association with the Arrow, Quentin pieced together that Roy was Arsenal within seconds of seeing him.
- He realized that Laurel was the most recent vigilante running around just because he was told it wasn't Sara.
Back for the Finale: He's resurrected after Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) and shows up for Oliver's funeral in Arrow's Grand Finale.
Back from the Dead: Oliver as the Spectre's restoration of The Multiverse includes undoing his death.
Badass Normal: He's only a police detective, but he's managed to take down both a member of the League of Assassins and a mirakuru soldier. This gets played with by Season 3 due to his heart condition acting up when he's in the field, and by Season 4 he's explicitly not a fighter anymore, meaning this trope gets played straight, deconstructed, and then subverted.

Big Good: Even before he became Captain, the police department would turn to him for leadership due to his connection with the Arrow. He would retain this role all the way until he resigned from the police department.
Blood from the Mouth: Has this after a Mirakuru-fueled punch causes a blood clot.
Broken Pedestal: Oliver is incredibly angry and disappointed when he finds out that he was conversing with a Damien Dahrk behind everyone's backs.
By-the-Book Cop: When he's not the Commissioner Gordon for Oliver. One of his biggest gripes with Oliver's crusade is him killing or maiming too many bad guys, which Lance chalks up to Oliver enjoying it.
Calling the Old Man Out: Laurel does this when he uses her as bait to try and catch the Vigilante.
The Captain: He is Da Chief of SCPD fromin Arrow Season 3-4.
Career-Ending Injury: Deathstroke's siege inflicts him with internal injuries that give him a heart condition, causing him to be promoted but refraining from field work.
Character Development: Initially completely opposed Arrow and standing by the law, he comes to realize that you can't always do the right thing without breaking the law. Unfortunately it doesn't last due to Sara's death. However after suffering a taste of Humble Pie after unwittingly helping Damien Darhk rise to power he becomes much more willing to help Oliver out and, after Oliver avenges Laurel's death in the season 4 finale, Quentin becomes loyal to Oliver and actively helps him out in his crusade as opposed to constantly hindering him.
The Commissioner Gordon: For a while in seasons 2-3 to Oliver, before their alliance is frayed with Sara's second death and blaming Oliver for upping the crime quotient in Star(ling) City, as well as feeling Oliver kills too many in the heat of battle. He works with Team Arrow grudginly at the start of Season 4 and then he reconciles with Oliver.
Composite Character: His role as Oliver's ally with a badge traditionally belongs to Edward Fyers in the comics. He also has a long history with Dollmaker, which is taken from Jim Gordon, that follows Oliver's own borrowed traits from Batman.
Cool Old Guy: Despite the gruff demeanor, he is actually a stand up guy.
Da Chief: He's the SCPD Captain from Season 3-4.
Dating What Daddy Hates: Quentin really doesn't like his daughter's choice in boyfriends.
Laurel: [Tommy] has a name you know.
Quentin: I know. I just can't quite bring myself to use it. Baby steps.
Deadpan Snarker: He gets progressively snarky as the show goes on.
Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Badass Normal Commissioner Gordon. As one of the only honest cops in Starling City, Quentin is Oliver's go-to officer for any inside information or help... help he almost never gets, because Quentin is a police officer who is not going to help a vigilante continue to break the law. He does eventually come around to Oliver's side after the two rescue Laurel together, and while he may not be quite to Oliver's level he does manage to kick his fair share of ass. All this gets him is a police force that doesn't listen to him when the situation is dire because his source is a literal criminal, a demotion to a place where he can provide Oliver almost no help, and, after so long in the firing line against enemies more suited for Oliver than the average police officer, a heart condition that takes him out of the field for good. He becomes a straight Commissioner Gordon in Season 3 thanks to his promotion, but all that means is that once Quentin has a reason to believe Oliver has gone back to his murderous ways then he has the entire SCPD chasing the Arrow down.
Demoted to Extra: In Season Three. He's gone from being a prominent member of the cast in the first two seasons, to missing several episodes at a time and only appearing in brief scenes in the episodes he is in.
Determinator: Deconstructed. Quentin never gives up when he wants to catch a criminal (see season 1) but it's his best and worst trait. His singlemindeness alienates his family when he focuses too much on work, his guilt and stress drives him into being an alcoholic and he ends up ignoring other criminals and refusing to divert his resources leading to either both the Arrow and the criminal of the week escaping or the criminal being killed by the Arrow.
Dented Iron: Quentin is very tough. The dude has managed to escape serial killers and alike without much of a real mark on him. However, his fight with Cyrus Gold in "Three Ghosts" leaves him in terrible condition, enough so to place him in the hospital. This comes to a head in "Unthinkable", the finale of Season Two, when a Mirakuru-fueled soldier punches him hard enough to cause internal bleeding. In Season Three this has forced him to retire from street work, and he needs to use a cane.
Disabled in the Adaptation: He's healthy in the comicbooks. Here, he gets a weakened heart after the battle with Slade in the Arrow Season 2 finale.
Enemy Mine: When he's at odds with Oliver/the Vigilante in seasons 1, late in 3, and early in 4. He is at odds with Oliver being the source of losing his daughter and his police force frequently under siege, but reluctantly will accept his help when threats are too great for SCPD to handle.
Everyone Has Standards:
- Despite not initially liking Oliver, he's disturbed by the possibility that most of Oliver's scars could be self inflicted. They're not, but it's the thought that counts.
- Even when he hates the Arrow for keeping Sara's death from him, he doesn't want him to die when it looks like he's still trying to save the city and he looks noticeably shocked when one of his officers opens fire.
Fantastic Racism: For a time after Sara's death he really has in out it for masked vigilantes and superheroes. He even calls the Flash a "freak". He gets over it later on.
Foil:
- To Laurel. In Season 1, Quentin is an angry alcoholic who refuses to listen to any kind of reason until it's too late. In Season Two, Laurel takes on many of these flaws when Quentin finally gives up drinking, helps the Arrow, and welcomes Sara home.
- To Joe West. Both of them are the cop main characters ^note of their respective show, and actively involved with their city's resident hero as a result. But while Joe has always been supportive of Barry being The Flash, Quentin's relationship with The Arrow is pretty shaky and unpredictable. Around the time he discovered The Arrow's real identity, their relationship had completely gone to shit. They also have a daughter whom they've always been especially close to - while Quentin had a second child (Sara), he's described the bond between Laurel and himself as one of trust, similar to Joe and Iris. Furthermore, one side of the relationship has been keeping the other Locked Out of the Loop with good intentions; and the level of hurt that Quentin felt about Laurel doing it, when Sara died, has forced Joe to reconsider his own self-righteous attempts to keep Iris from finding out that Barry is The Flash.
Forgotten First Meeting: He forgot about his first meeting with Rene, back when he was a punk on the streets, but managed to sway him from a life of crime and put him on the correct path.
Good Is Not Nice: Yep, but he gets better.
Good Parents: In a series full of absent, manipulative or crazy parents, Quentin stands out as someone who cares for and loves his daughters, no matter what.
Great Detective: Lance has shown some signs of this, such as despite wanting to arrest the vigilante he's able to easily tell when a crime they come across is not because of said vigilante despite everyone else assuming so. Such as pointing out that the vigilante does not use guns when they found someone shot, the fact that he hasn't snapped any necks (as of recently), or the fact that the arrows used to kill Adam Hunt were black and not green like he is known for.
- The first time he sees Arsenal, he identifies him as Roy Harper the second he lays eyes on him just because of the fact that he wears red and wants to help the Arrow.
Handicapped Badass: Due to the heart problems he obtained during Deathstroke's raid, he is less active in field work, but he can still be active. Deconstructed when he tries aiding the Arrow against Werner Zytle and nearly gets himself killed because of his health. Afterwards he still participates somewhat in field work, but not as much as before.
The Heart: Wendy Mericle has described him as "the moral center of the show, and someone who's lorded his morality over Oliver's".
Heroic BSoD: After he finds out Sara was killed. He becomes angry towards both Laurel and the Arrow as a result to the point of refusing to cooperate with the latter anymore.
Heroic Sacrifice: Dies taking a bullet for Black Siren.
He Who Fights Monsters: Laurel accuses him of becoming this.
Hollywood Law: With his connection with the Queen family he should not be allowed anywhere near a case involving them.
Important Haircut: Shaves his head starting Season 3, around the same time when he's both promoted as SCPD captain and his daughters finally started to become major players in the Arrowverse.
Inspector Javert: In Season 1 to a certain extent, in contrast to his daughter's more Commissioner Gordon attitude. By Season 2 he's become the Commissioner Gordon while Laurel is more of an Inspector Javert. He goes back to Inspector Javert in Season 3 after Sara's death shakes him up and he pins the blame on the Arrow.
Irony: Quentin is one of the most competent detectives within the SCPD and spends the entirety of Season 1 trying to find the Arrow’s identity. He is also the last member of the main cast (up to that point) to find it out, and even then he has to be told.
Jerkass Has a Point:
- Quentin is crusading against Arrow since... uh... the guy's killed and maimed several people. On the personal side, Quentin's hatred towards Oliver makes a lot of sense when you consider Oliver is the guy who cheated on his one daughter with his other daughter, and got said daughter killed. Then you find out that the fallout of his daughter's death resulted in his wife leaving. Yikes.
- Him taking Thea and Roy to the morgue to show them one of the bodies the Arrow left behind may cross several lines, but Quentin is not wrong that the Arrow is not someone to emulate or seek out as long as he's willing to kill those who stand in his way. Plus, with Roy having been arrested several times while trying to seek out the Arrow, not much else would have a chance of setting him straight.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He makes a joke about Oliver being kidnapped right to his face and his family. Oliver's mother showed an instant disliking to his behavior towards the subject. Justified, since he considers Oliver to be responsible for Sara's death, as well as breaking the heart of his other daughter. Despite what one could say about him, he truly does care for his daughter and wouldn't hesitate to use the entire police force to protect her when she is threatened.
Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: At first he was just reasonably upset and furious that Laurel and the Arrow kept Sara's murder a secret from him. Then when Ra's framed the Arrow for a killing spree Lance fell for it hook, line, and sinker letting his emotions cloud his judgement, becoming single-mindedly determined to arrest him ignoring all the good the Arrow had done for the city. Then Ra's told him Oliver was the Arrow and the man became freaking Captain Ahab, Took a Level in Jerkass going out of his way to harass Oliver's friends and family and take every chance to Kick the Dog.
Kicked Upstairs: He now leads the SCPD by Season 3, but he became Out of Focus at the same time.
Large and in Charge: Stands 6'3 1/2 and is captain of SCPD starting Arrow Season 3.
Like a Son to Me: He starts developing this dynamic with Thea in Season 5, where she comes to care for him and tries to put him back on his feet when he has a drinking problem. After a lot of back and forth, Oliver also becomes another son figure to him.
Line-of-Sight Name: He comes up with Helena's future moniker "the Huntress" on the spot.
Locked Out of the Loop:
- In Season 3, all of the good guys are actively conspiring to prevent him from finding out that Sara was murdered for fear that the shock of learning the truth could give him a fatal heart attack. While he doesn't have a heart attack when he finds out he doesn't take the news well.
- He's also the only member of the main cast to be unaware of the Arrow's true identity now that Thea knows during "Canaries". This he's eventually told by Ra's al Ghul of all people, and from there he starts to lose all sense of restraint in his vendetta against the Arrow.
The Mole: In season four, he's being blackmailed by Darhk to help H.I.V.E. destroy Star City. Then he agrees to help Ollie instead.
My Greatest Second Chance: He sees redeeming Earth-2 Laurel as this, as he failed his earth's Laurel. Though he succeeds after numerous attempts, he dies without getting the chance to form a bond with her. However, his resurrection in the finale means that he finally has his chance of doing so.
Never Got to Say Goodbye: He was not able to say goodbye to Sara in all her deaths. Sadly, and permanently, also the case with Laurel.
Never My Fault: Lays all of the fault upon Oliver for all the results of the vendetta he goes on against him in season 3, up to and including Roy's incarceration and subsequent "death". He even blames him for Roy's death to his face while denying any responsibility.
Lance:I would say I'm sorry, but we both know whose fault this is.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: A recurring theme with Quentin:
- He tells the precinct that he's been working with the Hood to convince them the earthquake machine isn't crazy talk and promptly gets demoted.
- Later on, he gets arrested for continuing to work with the Arrow.
- In the season 2 finale, he attacks a Mirakuru soldier laying a beatdown on a fellow officer, gets punched in a desk, resulting in internal injuries that continue to plague him via a heart condition in Season 3.
- After the city was left in shambles at the end of season 3 he ended up enlisting the help of a man whom Quentin believed wanted to genuinely help the city. That man turned out to be Damien Darhk whose rise to power thanks to Quentin's actions actually made things worse.
Oblivious Guilt Slinging: He confides in Joe that his relationship with Laurel is severely strained, because his daughter kept something monumental from him and he has trouble getting past that betrayal of trust. He's unaware that the person he's talking to is keeping similar monumental secrets from his own daughter, but from his expression Joe clearly sees the parallels. Part of Joe's response is an attempt to justify his own actions.
Odd Friendship: In Season 5 he forms one with Thea, former Hard-Drinking Party Girl-turned vigilante, after she helps him crawl out of the bottle he crawled into after Laurel's death. He tries to push her away as he did with everyone else who tried to help him, but unlike the rest Thea refuses to give up on him, even getting him the job of deputy mayor to help keep his head above water. The two are True Companions from that moment on.
- The same season sees him getting quite close with Rene Ramirez, a former delinquent who, as it turns out, was originally put on the straight-and-narrow after being arrested by Quentin himself back in his beat cop days. Rene joins city hall as Quentin's assistant mostly to keep an eye on him and be a shoulder to lean on, but Quentin ends up helping Rene out too by getting him reconnected with his daughter.
- These both also count as Intergenerational Friendships.
The One Guy: He's the only male in the Lance household consisting of his (now ex-) wife and two daughters.
Open-Minded Parent: When Sara admits to him that Nyssa was her lover there is a pregnant pause, before he tells her he's just glad there was someone to care for her and make her happy during her otherwise brutal experiences.
Outliving One's Offspring: Subverted with Sara, but played straight with Laurel. Although she's on Earth-Prime, it's her Earth-2 iteration that's still there.
Parental Substitute: After years of bad blood, he ultimately becomes this to both Queen siblings post-Season Four (aided by the fact that he's known both all their lives). Oliver and Thea clearly look up to and rely on him, and for all his faults, he's easily the most admirable out of all their parental figures. When he died, Oliver was devastated.
Perpetual Frowner: Particularly early on. He is a grim mother fucker. Lost his daughter, estranged from his wife and other daughter, drinking problem... He outgrows this in later seasons.
Reasonable Authority Figure: In Season One, he is determined that 'The Hood' will pay for his actions, but he's still reasonable enough to a) use evidence that the vigilante gives him, b) realize when it's not The Hood that's doing the killing, c) help the vigilante when there is nothing that he can do, and d) ask the vigilante for help when Starling City PD's in over their heads.
Reassigned to Antarctica: At the start of Season Two, he's been demoted to a beat cop for helping the vigilante during Season One.
Rebuilt Pedestal: After being disillusioned by helping the Arrow once he learns it's Oliver Queen and all his bad blood with him, the two end up mending fences by Season 4. At the unveiling of the Green Arrow statue in the finale, he considers the fact that Oliver wasn't always the man he became to be "even more honorable".
Red Herring: "So It Begins" seemed to hint that Quentin was Prometheus, with the cut on his arm matching the one Artemis gave to Prometheus, as well as Quentin finding a throwing star in his house. This all turns out to be a ruse to throw viewers off.
Related in the Adaptation: Since Sara dons the White Canary identity in Legends of Tomorrow, this makes the character related to him, Laurel and Dinah by default. In the comics, the White Canary is an unrelated character who is a self-appointed Arch-Enemy of Black Canary (the Dinah Laurel Lance version).
Retired Badass: By the end of season 2 Lance gets Kicked Upstairs and becomes a Captain in the police due to almost suffering from a heart attack due to internal bleeding from a Mirakuru soldiers punch. Because of this Lance is a lot less active in the field then he used to be however, when he does go out to the field, he can still take down people half his age if he needs to.
Secret-Keeper:
- For most of Team Arrow, as he knows Felicity works with them, Sara and then Laurel eventually join the vigilante crusade, then finally Oliver himself, although he's not happy about it as he continues to pin both the city's endless crime wave and Sara's deaths on him, but knows that Ollie is a valuable last resort when the police are over their head.
- When he and Joe West discover the corpse of Earth-1 Harrison Wells, Joe asks him to be silent about what happens to the late Harrison Wells to prevent that his impersonator Eobard Thawne kills or blackmails them or people close to them.
Second Love: He and Donna Smoak to each other, starting Season 4.
Selective Obliviousness: Eventually admits that he doesn't want to know who the Arrow really is. Which explains how he could "miss" the fact that when he called the Arrow, Oliver (who was right in front of him) just happened to get a call on his phone. He explains why during an exchange with Laurel in the episode "The Man Under the Hood".
Quentin: If I knew who he really was then he would become a person. Maybe he's got family. Friends. People that care about him. Some other life. And then he couldn't be what I needed to him to be. What this city needs him to be. It's The Arrow that matters...The man under the hood isn't important.
Spared by the Adaptation: In most stories, Detective Lance is usually dead by the time Laurel is the Black Canary. Here, he outlives her, though he finally bites it in the Season Six finale, even mirroring his most famous death in the comics. And then he's still spared in the Post-Crisis universe.
Sixth Ranger: Team Arrow's most consistent outsource ally. He joins the core group at Season 4, though and by season 5 will even go out with Oliver and the team for certain cases or help out Felicity in the Arrowcave.
Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: Throughout Season One, but leans further and further towards 'sympathetic' as time goes by.
Taking the Bullet: He dies due to shielding Black Siren from Ricardo Diaz's bullet.
Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He stands 6'3 1/2 and is definitely gruff and sarcastic.
Team Dad: For Team Arrow from Season 4 on, up until his death in the Season 6 finale.
This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: When he swears, he's goddamned serious.
This Is Unforgivable!: He really doesn't take Laurel keeping him in the dark about Sara's death well. His usually loving demeanor disappears in place of his old cynicism, he seems to contemplate falling off the wagon (but doesn't), won't even go to the same AA meeting as she and stops answering her calls. He eventually admits to her that while he still loves her, they won't patch things up any time soon.
To Be Lawful or Good: Struggles with this as the series goes on, wanting to catch the vigilante however grudgingly helps him when there is no other choice. In "Sacrifice", he chooses Good, understanding that laws and rules are useless if they are not protecting anyone. He is ultimately demoted to beat cop for this. He continues to work with the Arrow in Season Two with little internal conflict, showing that he has embraced Good. Though Sara's death makes him regress, he switches back when she's resurrected.
Took a Level in Cheerfulness: In Season 4, after Sara is revived, and when he starts going out with Felicity's mother, Donna.
Took a Level in Jerkass: After finding out that Sara died and Laurel and the Arrow have kept him in the dark, he understandably isn't happy.
Took a Level in Kindness:
- Quentin is noticeably much more calm and easygoing in Season 2 when he isn't focused on catching Arrow. This goes away in Season 3 when he finds out Sara died, though he comes back around in season 4 when she's (properly) brought back to life.
- After everything that happened to him in season 4, as well as the death of Laurel, Quentin has become a lot more tolerant of Oliver's actions and actively helps him in his crusade now as oppose to hinder it as both a member of Team Arrow and as the deputy mayor. He also seems to have lost his old animosity towards Oliver and now acts as a Parental Substitute of sorts to him and Thea.
Ungrateful Bastard: In Season 3, his grief over Sara's death and anger at Laurel and the Arrow for keeping it secret from him pushes him to ignore all the good Oliver did and focus on the bad, and he becomes a prime believer in the Superhero Paradox, (even though roughly half of the villains were active before Oliver took up his hood) blaming Ollie for everything wrong that has happened in Starling. He does grow out of this mindset eventually.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
- Blind hatred and arrest-at-all-cost mentality towards Oliver pushed him to joining the League.
- After the Outbreak, he became desperate to help the city recover and gladly took help from Damien Darhk, accidentally making the situation much worse.
Unwitting Pawn: To Ra's al Ghul in Season 3, although he really has no excuse anymore that doesn't include the words "hate" and "Arrow".
Up Through the Ranks: A police detective in his introduction, he was demoted to a beat cop the following season due to working with the Hood who is a vigilante. He got his shield back in the Season Finale, and is then the police captain in Years 3 and 4. He is then appointed as Deputy Mayor by Oliver in Year 5 and is promoted to Mayor the following Season following Ollie's resignation.
What the Hell, Hero?: Oliver calls him out, hard, for working with Damien Darhk.
White Shirt of Death: Was wearing a white polo when he was fatally shot, and is wearing a white hospital gown like his late daughter when he dies.
You Are in Command Now: After Oliver got impeached, Quentin became the Mayor of Star City himself.
You Have to Believe Me!: He might have chosen a better way to explain how he heard about the "destroy the Glades" plan. In his defense, with literally no hours remaining, zero leads, and thousands to evacuate, he might not have been thinking about that sort of thing.

Dinah Lance

Species: Human

Played By: Alex Kingston

First Appearance: "Dead to Rights" (Arrow 1x16)

Appearances: Arrow

Ex-wife of Quentin Lance and mother of Laurel and Sara. Currently living in Central City and is a professor of Greek and medieval history at Central City University.

see Batman (1966): Heroes page for Dinah Drake, the Earth-66 character who bears her first name and comic book connections

see Smallville: Clark's Allies for Dinah Drake, the Earth-167 character who bears her background

see Birds of Prey (2002) for Carolyn Lance, the Earth-203 character who bears her background

see DCEU: Gotham Vigilantes for the first Black Canary, the character from an unknown Earth who bears her background

Abled in the Adaptation: She has Cancer in the comicbooks. She seems pretty healthy here.
Adaptational Intelligence: To complement her being an Adaptational Wimp (see below), the show made her both a multi-national historian and a linguist.
Adaptational Wimp: Her comic counterpart is the original Black Canary, but she's not implied to be at least an Action Survivor here. Nyssa even kidnapped her without putting up a fight during mid-Season 2. The similarly named Dinah Drake becomes Laurel's successor after her death.
Adaptation Dye-Job: She has dirty blond hair while her comic counterpart has raven hair.
Alliterative Name: Her maiden name is Drake (as was in the comics).
Amicable Exes: With Quentin, though he still obviously hoped for them to get back together until Season 4.
And Starring: She's either given this citation in the guest stars line-up or is billed first.
The Cassandra: Throughout Season 1, she repeatedly told Quentin and Laurel that Sara might still be alive. They both don't buy it. Lo and behold at Season 2.
Celebrity Paradox:
- Ray is apparently a fan of Doctor Who. Alex Kingston played River Song, a major character circa the Eleventh Doctor's era.
- An episode of The Flash (2014) mentions the existence of the Law & Order franchise. Alex Kingston was a Recurring Character in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She never appears again after season 4.
Cool Old Lady: Unlike Quentin, she is nice and civil to Oliver and doesn't hold Sara's apparent death against him.
Cool Teacher: Currently works as a professor in Central City.
Decomposite Character: Has the name of the original Black Canary but the role of the vigilante herself and Laurel's predecessor was taken up by her youngest daughter, Sara.
In Name Only: So far, the only things she shares with the original Black Canary is the name, (former) marital status with (Quentin) Larry Lance and the mother of (Dinah) Laurel. In fact, her status as "Black Canary" goes to the similarly named Dinah Drake instead.
It's All My Fault: Holds herself responsible for Sara's death because she was the one who let her go on the cruise with Oliver. That's why she was so desperate to confirm that Sara was alive.
The Maiden Name Debate: An Inverted variant. She's still called "Mrs. Lance" long before she and Quentin got divorced.
Missing Mom: Disappeared some time before Sara's death, but came back when she claimed to have proof that Sara is alive.
Never Got to Say Goodbye: She was not able to say goodbye to Sara in all her deaths. Sadly, and permanently, also the case with Laurel.
One-Steve Limit: Averted, as she shares a name with Dinah Drake, who becomes the second Black Canary.
Outliving One's Offspring: After Sara's death. Both apparent and official. This gets subverted yet again as she's slated to come Back from the Dead to be part of another Spin-Off show. And then Laurel was Killed Off for Real in Season 4, thus playing this straight.
Real Life Writes the Plot: We were denied a scene of her learning Sara was alive again due to Alex Kingston not being available. Instead we just get Sara talking to her on the phone.
Related in the Adaptation: Since Sara dons the White Canary identity in Legends of Tomorrow, this makes the character related to the her, Quentin and Laurel by default. In the comics, the White Canary is an unrelated character who is a self-appointed Arch-Enemy of Black Canary (the Dinah Laurel Lance version).
Shout-Out: Alex Kingston playing a history professor? Sounds familiar.
Spared by the Adaptation: In many versions, Laurel's mother and predecessor is dead by the time she dons the costume. Here, she even outlives her.
Two First Names: Per the DC Comics norm. Her maiden name, Drake, counts too.

Merlyn Family

Malcolm Merlyn

see the Arrowverse: Malcolm Merlyn page

Tommy Merlyn

Thomas "Tommy" Merlyn

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0ec018712b511a089e2c3a41e8ca5f47.png

"I'm sorry. I was angry. I was jealous. [...] Thank you."

Species: Human

Played By: Colin Donnell, Arien Bouey (young)

'First Appearance: "Pilot" (Arrow 1x1)

Appearances: Arrow

Oliver's best friend, who has romantic feelings for Laurel and dated her throughout most of the first season. His father, Malcolm Merlyn, is the Big Bad of the season. He also learns about his friend's vigilante duties and his father's Secret Identity as the Dark Archer.

see the Arrowverse: Earth-2 page for his Earth-2 counterpart

see the Arrowverse: Earth-X page for his Earth-X counterpart

Adaptational Heroism: Zig-Zagged. He's not really the Dark Archer his father is, though that didn't stop the New 52 Dark Archer from being named after him, then in DC Rebirth it was revealed that he's a Legacy Character and Malcolm Merlyn is his father, making him an unintentional case of Adaptational Villainy.
And Starring: Future seasons after his death gives his actor Colin Donnell a "Special Guest Star" citation separated from the regular guest stars line-up every time he'll make an appearance.
Back for the Finale: He's resurrected after Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) and shows up for Oliver's funeral in Arrow's Grand Finale.
Back from the Dead: Oliver as the Spectre's restoration of The Multiverse includes undoing Tommy's death.
Being Good Sucks: Uses this as an excuse to walk out on Laurel. It isn't actually what he feels, though.
Big Brother Instinct: Towards Thea. Come Season Two, turns out they're actually half-siblings.
The Bro Code: Tommy really doesn't want Oliver to find out that he hooked up with the latter's ex-girlfriend Laurel while Oliver was missing. Never mind that Oliver had been cheating on Laurel with her sister, everyone thought he was dead, and he was gone for five years. It's only Oliver himself telling Tommy that it was okay did he let up on it. He also immediately backs away from ever possibly even doing anything that might hint at something remotely approaching looking like showing even a touch of interest in Thea, or in Diggle's sister-in-law.
Brother–Sister Incest: Thea briefly showed an attraction to him in Season 1, though nothing really came of it. He only sees her as his younger sister, and it is revealed the next season they were half-siblings.
Butt-Monkey: The poor guy never could catch a break.
Calling the Old Man Out: Justified in that his father is a world-class jerk to him. And also the Big Bad, but he doesn't know about that part until the Season One finale.
Canon Immigrant: A character named Tommy Merlyn showed up in the New 52, one month after the series started.
The Casanova: Tommy is stated to have quite a reputation as a ladies man. Quentin Lance taunts him in the pilot by asking if he drugged his dates.
Celebrity Paradox:
- The Supergirl (2015) Pilot mentions Wicked, a popular musical in which Colin Donnell played the male lead during the 2009 season.
- A Season 2 episode of The Flash (2014) mentions the Law & Order franchise. Since his tenure from this show ended, Colin Donnell has been part of Chicago Med which takes place in the same universe as the shows from the said franchise.
Character Death: In the Undertaking, saving Laurel.
Comforting the Widow: After Oliver died, Tommy and Laurel, for a little while. Oliver is surprisingly cool with it, but considering the circumstances, he really didn't have a leg to stand on to be mad.
Dead Alternate Counterpart: For the Earth-X Tommy aka Prometheus, though he's also dead by the end of his introduction. Also for the Earth-2 Tommy, who like the Earth-X version didn't survive past his first episode either. Inverted in the finale where this version is the only living one.
Death of the Hypotenuse: Tommy is killed off just as Oliver and Laurel get back together.
Disappeared Dad: His father became cold and emotionally distant after his mother's death and disappeared outright for about two years. He came back, though they never repaired their relationship.
Dogged Nice Guy: To Laurel, proving that he actually cares and wants more than just a Friends with Benefits relationship, that he's matured and is a good guy. It works, because it's all true.
Friendly Target: That said, he wasn't actually a target, but an unfortunate casualty.
Green-Eyed Monster: Toward Oliver, with regard to Laurel. It doesn't help that their incredibly awkward double date happened right after Tommy's father cut him off, leaving Tommy penniless.
- In a smaller way, the GOM rears its head at the fund-raiser Tommy threw for CNRI, when Laurel went to dance with the smarmy neurosurgeon/writer. It really didn't help that, just before they went off to the dance floor, Dr. Smarm had talked about opening a free clinic in the Glades... which was Tommy's mother's thing before she was murdered.
Happily Married: Due to not dying in the Undertaking, he got to marry to Earth-Prime/Earth-1 Laurel and both found happiness until her eventual death at Damien's hands.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Oliver.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: He gets impaled by a rebar while saving Laurel from the collapsing CNRI building in "Sacrifice".
I Am Not My Father: Tommy does not want to be like his father.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Tommy loves Laurel so much that he breaks up with her because he knows she's in love with both Oliver and the Vigilante, and he believes that should she ever find out they are the same person, she'd choose Oliver in a heartbeat.
Irony: He's the first of his trio consisting of him, Oliver, and Laurel to die, but by the end of the series he's the only one left of the three of them.
Killed Off for Real: In a show universe not afraid to bring back seemingly dead characters, Tommy has stayed dead since season 1. Any appearances past that are either flashbacks, an evil alternate Nazi version or Christopher Chance impersonating him. Subverted in the finale, as Oliver allowed him to survive.
Ladykiller in Love: He seems to be ready to abandon his womanizing ways so he can start a serious relationship with Laurel. Laurel is initially skeptical of whether he is capable of changing, but they seem to be going steady.
Let Them Die Happy: Becomes best friends with Oliver again (see quote above). Oliver lies to him as he dies, telling him that he didn't kill Malcolm. Later though, it turns out to be true.
Millionaire Playboy: This is the role he occupies until his father cuts him off from his trust fund. In "Muse of Fire", he takes the job as the manager of Oliver's nightclub, which he chooses even after Oliver freely offers to let him share his own large trust fund. He eventually loses the "playboy" side of it in order to be with Laurel.
Missing Mom: She was killed during a mugging in the Glades when he was eight.
Morality Chain Beyond the Grave: Oliver takes up a Thou Shalt Not Kill policy in Season Two to honor Tommy's memory.
Morality Pet: Tommy serves to be this to his father as well. Malcolm may be a Jerkass to his son, but he does love him and wants him to be happy. Examples of this can be seen during "Dead to Rights".
Nice Guy: Despite originally being assumed to be a shallow playboy and possible future supervillain, Tommy has, from Episode One onward, proven to be nothing but a completely dependable friend, dedicated boyfriend, and in general, an all-round awesome person. Towards the end of the season, his attitude unfortunately soured quite a bit, especially towards Oliver, and it wasn't totally unjustified.
Nice Mean And In Between: Of the three known Tommy Merlyns in The Multiverse, he's the obvious nice one. The Earth-2 one is the in-between due to being a misguided Knight Templar Big Brother, while the one from Earth-X is the mean one due to being a supervillain Nazi.
Non-Action Guy: He's not combat proficient like Oliver. And even though he has the balls to defend the people close to him, he always lose badly if he decides to fight.
Only Known By His Nickname: Never referred to as Thomas, until his tombstone was marked as such.
Parental Abandonment: After his mother died, his father flat-out took off for two years, with no explanation, and remained distant even upon returning.
Parental Substitute: After his mother died and his father became cold and disappeared, the Queens became his surrogate family.
Plucky Comic Relief: As Oliver's best friend, he provides the light touch to counterbalance Oliver's darkness early on. Also as Oliver's best friend, he's easily inserted in the plot in a way that Diggle and Felicity couldn't be.
Posthumous Character: After dying in the Season 1 finale, he occasionally shows up as a ghost or in flashbacks at least Once a Season.
Present Absence: His death is the main reason why Oliver adopted his Thou Shall Not Kill rule.
Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: A Rare Male Example. He got his very dark hair from both his parents, but judging from photos, his pale skin comes from his mother.
Red Herring: DC Comics fans might recognize his surname as the name of Green Arrow's Evil Counterpart in-comics. He's not. His father, on the other hand...
Running Gag: He just can't catch a break with the My Sister Is Off-Limits trope.
Sacrificial Lion: The only member of the main cast to die in the Undertaking, and drives Oliver's Thou Shalt Not Kill afterward.
Second Love: He's the only man after Oliver that Laurel loved. In the series finale, it is revealed they got married due to the post-Crisis changes.
Secret-Keeper: Tommy finds out that Oliver is the Vigilante as his father was dying from Deadshot's bullets in "Dead to Rights".
Secret Secret-Keeper: During the pilot episode, he opens his eyes as Oliver kills and chases after their kidnappers/torturers, but closes them quickly. The audience is left unaware whether he saw Oliver's identity or not until "Dead to Rights": it turns out he did, but chose not to say anything. Some of his conversations with Oliver before this episode (such as that regarding Laurel's relationship with the Hood in "Betrayal") carries hints that he knows and wants Oliver to open up to him.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He is the sensitive guy to Oliver's manliness.
Shipper on Deck: Subverted. He doesn't actually want Laurel to be with Oliver. He just thinks it's inevitable.
Strong Family Resemblance: Laurel notes that Tommy looks a lot like his dad in "The Undertaking".
Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He's 5'11.
Throw the Dog a Bone: Oliver resurrects him in the finale, which allows him to marry Laurel, even though she still died at this point.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: As previous entries have shown, Tommy is a Nice Guy and a Ladykiller in Love. He also has the distinction of being the only one to learn about Oliver's secret and not join his crusade. These factors make his Dying Moment of Awesome in the season finale all the more tragic.
What the Hell, Hero?: When Tommy finds out about Oliver's secret, he calls Oliver out on being a murderer.
White Shirt of Death: Was wearing a white polo when he dies.
Wrong Genre Savvy: While Tommy is certainly aware of the murderous vigilante tearing up his home city, his actions and priorities are those of a character from a much more grounded relationship drama.
Yank the Dog's Chain: Pretty much everything that could go wrong in his life does go wrong. He does a good deed? It blows up in his face. Does something good happen to him? Due to circumstances outside of his control, he gets it cruelly ripped away from him. This reaches its logical conclusion with his death in the Season One finale.
- Happens in flashbacks too. After finding a possible clue that suggests Oliver may still be alive, he travels to Hong Kong, only to be kidnapped and told it was all a set-up.

Rebecca Merlyn

Species: Human

Played By: Laura Adkin

First Appearance: "Trust But Verify" (Arrow 1x11, photo), "Sacrifice" (Arrow 1x23, voice)

Appearances: Arrow

Malcolm and Tommy's beloved late wife and mother. She was killed eighteen years before the start of the story. She was a wealthy philanthropist whose main goal in life was to help the less fortunate residing in the Glades.

Being Good Sucks: She started up a free clinic for the low-income denizens of the Glades. She was eventually mugged there and none of those people she wanted to help helped her back when she was dying.
The Lost Lenore: Her death still haunts Malcolm in the present. In fact, he even considers his Sex for Solace with Moira after her death as dishonoring her memory.
Missing Mom: For Tommy.
Morality Chain: Her death becomes the ultimate catalyst to Malcolm's descent to crime.
Plot-Triggering Death: Ultimately, everything stems from her death. Had she not died, Malcolm would have never gone to Nanda Parbat or plan the Undertaking just to avenge her, resulting in the sinking of the Queen's Gambit and Oliver being stranded on Lian Yu.
Posthumous Character: She's long dead by the start of the series.
Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: She has very fair skin, which, coupled with both her and his husband's dark hairs, was passed into their son, Tommy.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: She's a kindhearted person, but nobody in the Glades lifted a finger to help her as she was dying. This served as Malcolm's Cynicism Catalyst.

Diggle Family

John Diggle

see the Arrowverse: Team Arrow page

Carly Diggle

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/96efa9c20c72b30a997f0e98925233b1.jpg

Species: Human

Played by: Christie Laing

First Appearance: "Lone Gunmen" (Arrow 1x3)

Appearances: Arrow

Diggle's sister-in-law, who was widowed when her husband was killed by Deadshot. She works at a diner in Star(ling) City.

Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: At times particularly when it comes to Oliver.
Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear if she and her son were Locked Out of the Loop regarding Andy's true nature.
Canon Foreigner: Doesn't have a comic book counterpart.
Damsel in Distress: When she's kidnapped in "Trust But Verify".
Deadpan Snarker: Particularly when it comes to Oliver, whom she only knows as a rich white playboy who either annoys Diggle with his Ditch The Bodyguard stunts or puts him at risk as Oliver's bulletcatcher.
Demoted to Extra: To ludicrous extremes, despite being Diggle's Love Interest in season 1 she has disappeared from the show entirely from 2 onwards. The only thing that stops her from becoming chucked is that Diggle still mentions her and Andy Jr in passing. This is especially baffling when you consider that her husband Andy is revealed to be alive and well in season 4 and yet the two never even see each other.
Long Bus Trip: Never appears again after Arrow Season 1.
Love Interest: For Diggle in season 1 although this is subverted come season 2 onwards after the two of them breakup and Lyla comes back into the picture.
Parent with New Paramour: Her son is probably young enough not to understand the change in relationship between his mother and his uncle.
Sassy Black Woman: She's always snaky in her dialogue.
Satellite Character: To Diggle, only appearing to show their interest.
Satellite Love Interest: We know very little about her outside of her relationship with Diggle. Then they break up after Season One because of Diggle's obsession with Deadshot.

A.J. Diggle

Andrew "A.J." Diggle, Jr.

Species: Human

Played By: Julius Fair

First Appearance: "Unfinished Business" (Arrow 1x19)

Appearances: Arrow

Diggle's nephew.

Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear if he and his mother were Locked Out of the Loop regarding Andy's true nature.
Ancestral Name: His father's name is also Andrew.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Never appears again after Arrow Season 1.
Military Brat: Andy was in service when he was born.
What Happened to the Mouse?: He disappears after Season 1.

Andrew "Andy" Diggle

see the Arrowverse: The H.I.V.E. page

Lyla Michaels-Diggle

see Arrowverse: A.R.G.U.S. & Task Force X

Sara Diggle

Species: Human

Played By: Tiahra Allen (Season 8 and Legends of Tomorrow)

First Appearance: "The Calm" (Arrow 3x1)

Appearances: Arrow | Crisis on Infinite Earths^note(Legends of Tomorrow)

John Diggle and Lyla Michael's daughter, and potentially first born child. She was born during Arrow Season 3.

Back from the Dead: Or rather back from nonexistence. In the aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths, history is changed so that John and Lyla have two children instead of one: JJ and Sara.
Canon Foreigner: Doesn't have a comic book counterpart.
Dead Guy Junior: Named after the at the time recently deceased Sara Lance.
Never Got to Say Goodbye: Thanks to being Ret-Gone'd by Barry creating the Flashpoint timeline, her parents never even know who she was.
Ret-Gone: Thanks to Barry creating the Flashpoint timeline and then exiting it, Sara was never born, with John Diggle Jr. born in her place. She is brought back to reality in Crisis on Infinite Earths and allowed to exist alongside JJ.

J.J. Diggle

John Diggle, Jr.

Species: Human

Played By: Keon Boateng

First Appearance: "Paradox" (The Flash 3x2, photo), "Vigilante" (Arrow 5x7, person)

Appearances: Arrow | Crisis on Infinite Earths^note(Legends of Tomorrow)

Diggle and Lyla's son born in Sara's place after Barry Allen "fixes" the "Flashpoint" timeline he created, itself being a Cosmic Retcon. He still remains Post-Crisis, with his (presumably) twin sister Sara.

see the Arrowverse: Future Characters for his potential future self.

Ancestral Name: Shares his father's name.
Future Badass: In the future, he is leader of the Deathstroke Gang.
In-Series Nickname: He's addressed as JJ by everyone, presumably to differentiate him from his father, with whom he shares his name.
Military Brat: His parents are veterans and his father reinstated in the Army when he was around two.

Roy Stewart

See the Arrowverse: U.S. Military page

Smoak Family

Felicity Smoak

see the Arrowverse: Team Arrow page

Donna Smoak

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/80801647c6e9699389f27cfa21faa35b.png

Species: Human

Played By: Charlotte Ross

First Appearance: "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" (Arrow 3x5)

Appearances: Arrow

Felicity's mother.

Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: For Felicity, especially in her flashbacks.
And Starring: In the guest stars lineup.
Ascended Extra: She was previously a really minor character before getting bumped up to a recurring character.
Badass Pacifist: She's not a fighter, but she won't hesitate to give a villain "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
Beauty Equals Goodness: She's beautiful and Felicity's kind mother.
Big-Breast Pride: Anyone noticing her fondness for low-cut dresses?
Canon Foreigner: Felicity's comic counterpart is really minor, so no family members of hers appeared. Since Felicity obviously has/had a mother, she's a case of Named by the Adaptation technically speaking.
Dumb Blonde: Zig-zagged. Although she is rather ditzy, she's also a good parent for Felicity and is well-aware when her Evil Genius ex-husband is playing others.
Everyone Loves Blondes: Unlike her daughter, it's natural.
Fanservice with a Smile: She works as a cocktail waitress in Vegas.
Genki Girl: She is much more energetic than Felicity.
Giver of Lame Names: She's no Cisco or Mick Rory when it comes to nicknames, calling Brie Larvan's robotic bee human form the unimaginative moniker of "Bee Man."
Good Parents: Singlehandedly raised her daughter to grow up into a noble person.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's blonde and the kindest character on the show.
Innocent Blue Eyes: She has such colorful baby blues.
Like Mother, Unlike Daughter: Other than the blonde hair (which even then is dyed by Felicity), she has very little in common with Felicity. Played for Drama as it made Donna feel quite lonely and disconnected from her daughter, who she felt turned out to be more like Noah.
Ms. Fanservice: Wears a lot of revealing outfits, and played by Charlotte Ross to boot. ^note
Nice Girl: She's very pleasant to others.
Non-Action Guy: One of the few recurring females of the show who doesn't fight.
The Pollyanna: Doesn't seem to get bad vibes get to her. Unless she's being held hostage by a terrorist group led by her daughter's ex-boyfriend that is.
Offscreen Breakup: Breaks it off with Quentin between seasons 4 and 5. Coupled with Laurel's death, this leads to him falling Off the Wagon.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Becomes uncharacteristically serious and cold where her ex-husband is concerned.
Running Gag: Other characters have a hard time believing she and Felicity are related.
Second Love: For Quentin Lance.
Shipper on Deck: She supports her daughter and Oliver.
Single Mom Stripper: She's a cocktail waitress rather than an actual stripper, but the trope principle is there.
Smart Ball: Occasionally provides her daughter good life advice when necessary.
Strong Family Resemblance: Averted. Numerous characters have pondered over how Felicity looks nothing like her mother, save for blonde hair (which is actually dyed). Ray even wonders if she was adopted. It turns out Felicity takes more after her father's side.
That Came Out Wrong: Where exactly do you think Felicity got it from?
Wacky Parent, Serious Child: Her dynamic with Felicity.

Noah Kuttler

Felicity's estranged father.

see the Arrowverse: Star City - Independent Criminals page

Holt Family

Curtis Holt

see the Arrowverse: Team Arrow page

Paul Holt

Paul

Species: Human

Played By: Chenier Hundal

First Appearance: "Dark Waters" (Arrow 4x9)

Appearances: Arrow

Curtis' estranged husband, who divorced him after discovering that he is a vigilante and didn't tell him about it.

Adaptational Sexuality: From straight woman in the comics to gay man in the show.
Adaptation Name Change: To accommodate the Gender Flip, as his comic counterpart is named Paula. His new surname is also unknown since he's only addressed as Paula Holt in the comics.
Gender Flip: He's a woman in the comics.
Race Lift: He's African-American in the comics.
Spared by the Adaptation: He's a Posthumous Character in the comics.
Straight Gay: Much like Curtis.
Wet Blanket Wife: A rare male version, he demands that Curtis stop working with Team Arrow, and leaves him when he doesn't.

Nick Anastas

see the Arrowverse Star City Citizens page

Ramirez Family

Laura Ramirez

Species: Human

Played By: Samaire Armstrong

First Appearance: "Spectre of the Gun" (Arrow 5x13)

Appearances: Arrow

Rene's late wife and mother of Zoe. She used to be a drug addict whom Rene tried to help get clean before she was fatally shot by a dealer.

Missing Mom: She's dead, making her this for Zoe.
Posthumous Character: She's already dead in The Present Day.

Zoe Ramirez

Species: Human

Played By: Eliza Faria, Andrea Sixtos (future)

First Appearance: "Spectre of the Gun" (Arrow 5x13)

Appearances: Arrow

Rene's young daughter with Laura.

see the Arrowverse: Future Characters for her potential future self.

Celebrity Paradox: Tommy makes a Take That! at the Twilight films during the Arrow Pilot. Her actress played the daughter of the film's Official Couple in its Grand Finale.
Daddy's Girl: In Spades.

Characters / Arrowverse: Team Arrow - Family Members

Edit Locked

Team Arrow Family Members

Queen Family

Moira Dearden Queen

Species: Human

Played By: Susanna Thompson

First Appearance: "Pilot" (Arrow 1x1)

Appearances: Arrow | Invasion! (2016) note (Arrow)

Robert Queen

Species: Human

Played by: Jamey Sheridan

First Appearance: "Pilot" (1x1)

Appearances: Arrow | Invasion! (2016) note (Arrow)

Walter Steele

Species: Human

Played By: Colin Salmon

First Appearance: "Pilot" (Arrow 1x1)

Appearances: Arrow

William Clayton

Species: Human

Played By: Jack Moore

First Appearance: "Legends of Today" (The Flash 2x8)

Appearances: Heroes Join Forcesnote (The Flash | Arrow) | Arrow

Lance Family

Quentin Larry Lance

Species: Human

Played By: Paul Blackthorne

First Appearance: "Pilot" (Arrow 1x1)

Appearances: Arrow | Flash vs. Arrownote (Arrow) | The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow | Invasion! (2016) note (Arrow)

Dinah Lance

Species: Human

Played By: Alex Kingston

First Appearance: "Dead to Rights" (Arrow 1x16)

Appearances: Arrow

Merlyn Family

Thomas "Tommy" Merlyn

Species: Human

Played By: Colin Donnell, Arien Bouey (young)

'First Appearance: "Pilot" (Arrow 1x1)

Appearances: Arrow

Rebecca Merlyn

Species: Human

Played By: Laura Adkin

First Appearance: "Trust But Verify" (Arrow 1x11, photo), "Sacrifice" (Arrow 1x23, voice)

Appearances: Arrow

Diggle Family

Carly Diggle

Species: Human

Played by: Christie Laing

First Appearance: "Lone Gunmen" (Arrow 1x3)

Appearances: Arrow

Andrew "A.J." Diggle, Jr.

Species: Human

Played By: Julius Fair

First Appearance: "Unfinished Business" (Arrow 1x19)

Appearances: Arrow

Sara Diggle

Species: Human

Played By: Tiahra Allen (Season 8 and Legends of Tomorrow)

First Appearance: "The Calm" (Arrow 3x1)

Appearances: Arrow | Crisis on Infinite Earthsnote (Legends of Tomorrow)

John Diggle, Jr.

Species: Human

Played By: Keon Boateng

First Appearance: "Paradox" (The Flash 3x2, photo), "Vigilante" (Arrow 5x7, person)

Appearances: Arrow | Crisis on Infinite Earthsnote (Legends of Tomorrow)

Smoak Family

Donna Smoak

Species: Human

Played By: Charlotte Ross

First Appearance: "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" (Arrow 3x5)

Appearances: Arrow

Noah Kuttler

Holt Family

Paul

Species: Human

Played By: Chenier Hundal

First Appearance: "Dark Waters" (Arrow 4x9)

Appearances: Arrow

Appearances: Arrow | Invasion! (2016) ^note(Arrow)

Appearances: Arrow | Invasion! (2016) ^note(Arrow)

Appearances: Heroes Join Forces^note(The Flash | Arrow) | Arrow

Appearances: Arrow | Flash vs. Arrow^note(Arrow) | The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow | Invasion! (2016) ^note(Arrow)

Appearances: Arrow | Crisis on Infinite Earths^note(Legends of Tomorrow)

Appearances: Arrow | Crisis on Infinite Earths^note(Legends of Tomorrow)