Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Arrow, season 8, episode 10, “Fadeout.”
Arrow’s series finale established the existence of Alan Tudyk’s character from the short-lived series Powerless in the Post-Crisis Arrowverse. This gives the fan-favorite actor two recurring characters in the Arrowverse, including his role as Mr. Nobody in Doom Patrol.
Premiering on NBC in February 2017, Powerless was a sitcom set in the DC Comics universe. The series centered around the employees of Wayne Security, a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises overseen by Bruce Wayne’s cousin Van Wayne (Alan Tudyk), which designed technology that could protect ordinary civilians from the dangers posed by supervillains. While the response from critics was largely positive and Tudyk’s performance was singled out as one of the series’ strongest elements, Powerless failed to find an audience and was cancelled with 3 of its 12 produced episodes unaired.
Despite Crisis on Infinite Earths establishing many television series and movies based on DC Comics as part of the Arrowverse, Powerless was seemingly snubbed. That oversight was corrected in Arrow’s series finale “Fadeout,” with one notable scene establishing Van Wayne’s existence in the Post-Crisis Arrowverse. While searching Star City for Oliver Queen’s kidnapped son, Thea Queen and Roy Harper stopped for a moment on the rooftop of one industrial building. A sign in the background identified the building as the Star City headquarters of Van Wayne Industries.
With Alan Tudyk also playing Mr. Nobody (the chief villain of DC Universe’s Doom Patrol) this Easter egg puts Tudyk in a unique company of actors who have played multiple roles in the Arrowverse. Tom Welling did the same thing, with Crisis on Infinite Earths placing the realities of both Smallville and Lucifer in the Arrowverse. The record for most individual Arrowverse roles played by a single actor is still held by John Wesley Shipp, who has played three separate characters (Barry Allen’s father Dr. Henry Allen, Jay Garrick and The Flash of Earth-90) on The Flash. Allowing for doppelgangers from alternate Earths, the record is held by Tom Cavanagh, for his portrayal of the many versions of Harrison Wells.
Arrow’s nod to Powerless may also have been a last minute tribute to one of Tudyk’s other roles. A prolific voice actor, Tudyk is considered by many to be the definitive voice of Oliver Queen in the world of animation and video games. Tudyk lent his voice to Green Arrow in both Young Justice and the Injustice series of fighting games.
It remains to be seen if Tudyk might appear as the Powerless boss elsewhere in the Arrowverse. It might be a fun gag, in the same vein as the Arrow Easter egg, for Van Wayne to show up in Batwoman, asking Kate if she has any idea why Bruce isn’t returning his calls. Or perhaps Van Wayne might appear in the second season of Doom Patrol?
More: Arrow Series Finale Ending Explained (& What Happens Next)