Now that “Crisis on Infinite Earths” has come and gone, the new iteration of the Arrowverse is here to be explored. Arrow gave fans a look at the post-“Crisis” world in a pretty unexpected way, with a backdoor pilot for a potential “Green Arrow and the Canaries” spinoff. The prospective series, which would revolve around Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy), Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy), and Mia Smoak-Queen (Katherine McNamara), showcased what 2040 looks like in this brave new world — and introduced a character with unexpected ties to DC Comics lore in the process. Spoilers for this week’s episode of Arrow, “Green Arrow and the Canaries”, below! Only look if you want to know!
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The episode opened with Laurel time-traveling to 2040, in order to track down a young woman (played by Raigan Harris) who was in danger of being kidnapped. Soon after, she was in fact kidnapped, and Laurel, Dinah, and Mia began to investigate why. For DC Comics fans, the girl’s name probably raised a few eyebrows, as her name was Bianca Bertinelli (Raigan Harris). As audiences learned later on in the episode, Bianca was none other than the adopted daughter of Helena Bertinelli/Huntress (Jessica De Gouw).
Helena was introduced on Arrow in the show’s first season, as a brief romantic foil of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Stephen Amell). Over the course of her sporadic appearances, Helena ventured more towards the dark side, and was last believed to be hiding out in the criminal underworld. Although Helena’s fate in the Arrowverse has been a little ambiguous in recent years, it’s clear that “Crisis” rectified that to some degree. To an extent, it’s understandable that we might not have seen Helena in the episode itself – both given how much older she would need to be in 2040, and the fact that Mary Elizabeth Winstead is set to play the character in next month’s Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). But having her adopted daughter appear in the backdoor pilot is a clever extension of her legacy, both in Arrow and in the comics. Bianca being adopted also pays homage to a recent part of Huntress’ comic history, particularly when she was portrayed as black or mixed-race in the Grayson series.
What did you think of the “Green Arrow and the Canaries” backdoor pilot? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Arrow airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
