Arrow

Heroes fall. Legends rise.

RELEASED 10 Oct 2012119h 10m · 170 episodes★ 6.8 TMDB

Spoiled billionaire playboy Oliver Queen is missing and presumed dead when his yacht is lost at sea. He returns five years later a changed man, determined to clean up the city as a hooded vigilante armed with a bow.

Why it matters in DC

Oliver Queen's return establishes the personal mission around which the Arrowverse's street-level starting point is built. His changed identity and campaign against corruption make the series a foundation for understanding the television setting before its range of heroes expands.

Watch these first

2 titles to watch before Arrow — 154h 9m in total.

SmallvilleOptional background152h 54m★ 8.2
Justice League: Crisis on Two EarthsOptional background1h 15m★ 7.3

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How these titles are selected

Story prerequisites are curated. Likely prerequisites are inferred from sequel numbering or explicit synopsis references. Recommendations are earlier stories in the same continuity; background picks are separate adaptations. Series lists cover whole shows, not an episode-by-episode watch order.

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Where it fits in the DC universe

Arrow is title 1 of 7 in our Arrowverse viewing sequence. Arrow is the starting television series for the Arrowverse collection and introduces Oliver Queen's ongoing story. Later shows connect through characters and crossover episodes, so a complete watch requires more detail than placing whole series one after another. The catalogue's grouping is an overview of that network, not an episode-by-episode crossover schedule.

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