One Arrowverse Hero Got to Reset All of Their Mistakes (With One Major Exception)

Being a superhero isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of sacrifice to put on a mask and take to the streets every night to protect the innocent. Even the Arrowverse, which prides itself on embracing the campy side of the source material, puts its heroes through the wringer. Barry Allen, aka The Flash, gets it worse than most, losing his mother at a young age and watching his father die after finally reuniting with him after years apart. Central City’s resident hero also has to watch his daughter from the future cease to exist, powerless to save her because she threatens the stability of the timeline.

While Barry has a rough go of it, he’s not the only Arrowverse hero to lose people over and over again. The hero who started it all, Oliver Queen, can’t catch a break during his run on The CW’s Arrow. Eventually, the franchise throws him a bone by allowing him to make up for his major mistakes, but even then, there’s one moment that he can’t set right despite having all of the power in the world.

The Queen Family Never Finds Its Footing in Arrow

Oliver Queen is a typical rich kid early in his life, opting to party instead of making something of himself. His parents, Moira and Robert, don’t set the best example, making shady business deals to keep their empire flourishing. Where the money comes from doesn’t make a difference to Oliver, though, so when his father offers a trip on the family boat, he takes it. Of course, tragedy strikes when the Queen’s Gambit goes down, with Robert sacrificing himself so his son can live. Oliver doesn’t waste the opportunity, training for five years before returning to Starling City to become a vigilante. Unfortunately, being a hero doesn’t stop darkness from coming Oliver’s way.

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Oliver loses his best friend Tommy shortly after coming home, and when Slade Wilson comes to town to get revenge, he doesn’t pull any punches, killing Moira in front of her children to prove a point. The losses mount in subsequent seasons when Laurel Lance dies in Arrow Season 4 at the hands of Damien Darhk, and her father, Quentin, can’t survive a run-in with Ricardo Diaz in Season 6. It’s hard to imagine Oliver being able to withstand much else, but he doesn’t get a choice when his half-sister, Emiko, shows up. While she’s out to take down Oliver, he understands where she’s coming from. Sadly, she dies as well, making sure the siblings never have a chance to connect. Oliver doesn’t forget about any of his departed loved ones, though, and he gives nearly all of them a second chance.

Oliver Queen Becoming the Spectre Changes the Arrowverse for the Better

During the “Elseworlds” crossover, Oliver makes a deal with the Monitor to save the lives of The Flash and Supergirl. The upcoming “Crisis on Infinite Earths” will kill him, but he’s ready to make that sacrifice. When the time comes, it’s a shock to everyone but Oliver, who is content to pass the baton. However, the multiverse has other plans for him, sending Jim Corrigan to offer him the chance to become the Spectre, an omnipotent being who has the ability to go toe-to-toe with the Anti-Monitor. Oliver confronts the villain at the end of “Crisis” and creates a new multiverse to replace the one that was destroyed.

When the other heroes arrive on the newly dubbed Earth Prime, many things are different, such as Supergirl and National City being on the planet. Oliver also helps the people in his life by bringing Tommy, Quentin, Moira, and Emiko back to life. They all gather at Oliver’s funeral to remember their hero, but there’s one person missing: Robert. It turns out that the Queen family patriarch’s death is a fixed point in time that Oliver is unable to change, which can’t be an easy pill to swallow. While Robert wasn’t the best father, he was the one responsible for Oliver turning his life around, and he’ll never get to learn what kind of man his son turned out to be.

Arrow is streaming on Netflix.

Were you happy to see all the dead Arrow characters return? How do you feel about Robert Queen not being able to return? Let us know in the comments below!