Warning: The following feature contains SPOILERS for the Arrow series finale.
The Arrow series finale revealed that Oliver Queen took advantage of the Crisis on Infinite Earths to resurrect many people while he was rebuilding the Arrowverse. Virtually everyone who ever died because of Oliver Queen’s failures as a vigilante was reborn in the new Arrowverse timeline, with events being changed to ensure they survived.
The revelation that Oliver Queen found a way to save a few more lives using his power as The Spectre was only the latest in a series of changes that have shaped what has become known as the Post-Crisis Arrowverse. Beyond three Earths merging into a single shared reality, the new Multiverse has seen a series of major and minor changes from the established continuity. These have ranged from the apparent resurrection of a major crime boss in Black Lighting’s hometown of Freeland to Lex Luthor once again being a respected philanthropist.
There is a poetic irony that Oliver Queen started his journey as a hero seeking to bring about the deaths of as many evil people as possible and yet his final act of heroism was to preserve several lives. Such is the dichotomy of the hero’s role, finding balance between the extremes of saving lives and delivering death. Yet whatever else may be said about Oliver Queen, it cannot be denied that he died as he lived; a hero. Here is a list of every previously dead character revealed to be alive in the Post-Crisis Arrowverse in Arrow’s series finale.
Moira Queen
The first scene of the Arrow series finale, “Fadeout”, flashes back to Star City in 2014, when Deathstroke tried to force Oliver Queen to make a sadistic choice between who should die; his mother, Moira, or his sister, Thea. Moira took the choice out of their hands, however, offering to sacrifice herself so that both her children could survive the night. It was a choice that Slade Wilson respected and honored with a quick death. At least, that was how it played out in the old Arrowverse.
The new scene showed Oliver Queen managing to free his hands and get loose before Deathstroke could administer the fatal sword strike. The scene then cut to an interview with Moira Queen, explaining that she was informed by people who remembered the old timeline that she had apparently died in the earlier reality. Moira had no way of knowing if this is true or not, but in either case, her son saved her life and that was good enough for her.
Quentin Lance
Quentin Lance had once been the Sheriff of Nottingham to Oliver Queen’s Robin Hood. In time, however, he came to appreciate that the spoiled rich kid who drove him crazy while romancing his daughters had become a better man - and that The Hood who worked outside the laws of Star City was ultimately serving the same ideals that inspired him to put on a badge. This led him to become one of Oliver Queen’s most stalwart defenders and his deputy mayor when he ran for high office.
Quentin originally died during the Arrow season 6 finale. He was wounded trying to rescue Black Siren from the crime lord Ricardo Diaz and died due to complications during the surgery to treat his bullet wounds. It was not explained just how things changed in the new Arrowverse timeline, but it seems likely that, much like in the reality depicted in the season 8 episode “Reset”, Quentin survived his surgery in the new Arrowverse and went on to finish his term as Star City’s mayor.
Emiko Queen
The product of an affair between Robert Queen and a woman named Kazumi Adachi, Emiko Queen grew up resenting the father who abandoned her and her mother for fear of losing everything he had built should his wife file for divorce and divide up his empire. This led Emiko to join The Ninth Circle; a sinister financial group that acted as bankers and financiers for various criminal and terrorist organizations. Emiko eventually took command of the group and turned them toward destroying everything Robert Queen and Oliver Queen had ever built, seeing Oliver as the symbol of everything she should have had in life and was denied.
Emiko was murdered by her own followers in the Arrow season 7 finale, after the rest of the ruling council of the Ninth Circle decided that her vendetta was bad for business. This came just after Oliver Queen convinced her that he truly wanted to make amends for his father’s crimes and would not kill her just to maintain his grip on what little remained of the Queen family legacy. In the end, Emiko redeemed herself by warning Oliver that the Ninth Circle knew that his wife was pregnant and would not rest until the whole Queen family was dead.
It was not explained precisely how Emiko Queen survived in the new Arrowverse. However, she was in attendance at Oliver Queen’s funeral, suggesting that either the Ninth Circle is no longer a concern in the new reality or Emiko was never under their influence. In any event, she met Moira Queen for the first time and Moira, showing something of a change of heart from her pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths incarnation, invites Emiko to come by the Queen Mansion whenever she wants.
Tommy Merlyn
Tommy Merlyn was Oliver’s best friend and Laurel’s love interest. He died in the finale of Arrow season 1, trapped in the rubble of a collapsing building during the earthquake triggered by his father’s Undertaking. He died happily, however, having sacrificed himself to save Laurel from dying in the same building.
Tommy’s time in the series was short, but alternate versions of Tommy appeared on occasion, such as in the Arrow season 8 premiere and in the crossover event Crisis on Earth X. Thanks to Crisis on Infinite Earths, Tommy apparently survived the earthquake in the new Arrowverse and went on to marry Laurel Lance. He apparently lived happily with her for several years before she died in the line of duty as the Black Canary.
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