Yahoo News 7 major DC characters that the Arrowverse is banned from using
Even with flagship series Arrow departing next year, the TV universe it originated – the 'Arrowverse' – is continuing to expand. Not only is a Batwoman series set to join The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow, but the president of The CW has talked about establishing an entire "next generation" of DC TV properties.
There are plenty of candidates to potentially lead this new roster of shows – the Birds of Prey, the JSA, the denizens of Star City 2040 – but even now, there are still some DC characters who the Arrowverse is forbidden to touch.
The business of which characters can and cannot be used is murky, and, it seems, constantly in flux – both Superman and his nemesis Lex Luthor were originally on the banned list, but a deal was later struck to have them appear on Supergirl.
As it stands, though, these are the characters which have been ruled out of appearing on any Arrowverse shows, old or new, any time soon.
1. Batman
He's the focus of FOX's prequel series Gotham and cameoed on DC Universe's Titans, but the Arrowverse still can't go anywhere near the Dark Knight.
Following years of sly nods to the character, Batman's status in the 'verse was finally established in last year's 'Elseworlds' crossover: once the guardian of Gotham City, he disappeared sometime in 2015 and is now believed by many to have only ever been an urban legend.
The introduction of Batwoman in that same crossover led to fans hoping that Bruce Wayne would be next. But Arrow writer Caroline Dries explained that, while DC had relaxed its old rules in allowing Batman and his world to be referenced, having the character himself appear is still "where they cut you off".
For now, the comics giant wants Matt Reeves' upcoming big-screen take on the Caped Crusader to be the only screen version.
2. Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman: the Arrowverse is waiting for you... and the powers you possess!
And, by the sounds of things, it'll keep on waiting. Back in 2017, Marc Guggenheim, consulting producer on Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, told ComicBook.com that Diana of Themyscira was "spoken for" – i.e. Gal Gadot's much-loved movie version has put paid to any chance of seeing WW on television.
Legends has featured the isle of Themyscira itself but that's likely as good as we're getting.
3. Green Lantern
Again, there have been cheeky winks to the various iterations of Green Lantern: Hal Jordan's been alluded to on The Flash, while the 'Elseworlds' crossover featured a nod to the long-standing fan theory that Arrow's John Diggle is a version of comic book GL John Stewart.
But don't expect any version of the character to be lighting up the Arrowverse any time soon: Marc Guggenheim ruled out Green Lantern in the same interview where he dashed our Wonder Woman hopes, with the long-gestating Green Lantern Corps movie still said to be in development as of mid-2018.
4. Harley Quinn
Two years before Margot Robbie's performance in Suicide Squad was hailed as the best thing in an otherwise very bad movie, Arrow had Harley Quinn make a cameo in a season two episode, also called 'Suicide Squad'.
Glimpsed only in shadow, Harley was voiced by Tara Strong, who'd previously played the character in various DC animated projects and the Arkham Asylum video games.
But if there were any plans to feature the character more prominently, they never came to fruition, with Arrow actress Willa Holland suggesting that the show had been forced to "axe all of the characters" set to appear in the Suicide Squad film.
With Robbie's Harleen Quinzel still a big part of DC's movie plans, don't expect them to budge on this for the foreseeable.
5. Blue Beetle
Interesting Arrowverse factoid: Arrow had originally planned for its third season to introduce DC character Ted Kord, alias the Blue Beetle, as a new vigilante, love interest for Felicity and love rival for Oliver.
But the rights to the character proved to be unavailable, so Brandon Routh ended up playing Ray Palmer / The Atom instead, and the rest is, quite literally, history. "We actually originally asked for Ted Kord," then-showrunner Andrew Kreisberg explained. "But DC has other plans for him."
No live-action Blue Beetle project has emerged in the five years since, though there was talk in 2015 of a team-up movie that would've seen the character paired with another DC hero, Booster Gold.
6. The Question
Not one of the most high-profile DC characters, but Marc Guggenheim told Discussing Film in 2017 that he felt that vigilante The Question "would be a great fit with the tone of Arrow".
The masked sleuth, though, was apparently being held back for other screen projects. "It’s not our characters, it’s DC’s characters, and they’ve got other plans for the Question," Guggenheim said. "I don’t know what their plans are, but clearly they do have plans."
His home of Hub City has been referenced on both Arrow and Legends though.
7. Deathstroke
Bit of an odd one, this, given that Slade Wilson / Deathstroke (as played by gravel-voiced man-mountain Manu Bennett) has appeared in 39 episodes of Arrow and was notably the show's Big Bad across its second season.
But plans for the character to appear in his own movie and as the antagonist in Matt Reeves' The Batman meant that DC put the kibosh on any more small-screen outings following Bennett's appearance in the 2017 Arrow episode 'Promises Kept'.
Oddly enough, the character will be appearing in season two of Titans, played by Esai Morales, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the Arrowverse ban has been lifted – after all, Titans somehow got its mitts on Batman, too.
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