Arrow Just Dropped Another Batman Reference
Arrow just borrowed another page from the Dark Knight’s book. In “Divided,” the midseason premiere of Arrow, a member of the Bertinelli family had to take extreme measures to get Green Arrow’s attention. When he greeted Oliver, he suggested that the Emerald Archer get himself an Arrow signal.
At the beginning of the episode, Cayden James approached Jerry Bertinelli, the cousin of Huntress and one of the last remaining members of the crime family. Using Black Siren and the Dragon as his muscle, James gave Bertinelli an ultimatum: give them the docks, or they would hurt his daughter.
Bertinelli wasn’t too keen about either of those choices, so he reached out to the Green Arrow by staging a crime. When Oliver showed up, Bertinelli explained that it was a ploy to get his attention. He suggested that Green Arrow should have a direct line of communication, like a website or a big light in the sky with the silhouette of an arrow.
Of course, Bertinelli’s suggestion references the Bat-Signal, a Batman convention that has transcended the comics. The Bat-Signal has appeared in almost every feature film that the Dark Knight stars in, from 1989’s Batman to last year’s Justice League.
Earlier this season, Arrow confirmed the existence of Batman’s alter ego Bruce Wayne with a quick Easter egg. In an effort to discredit a photo that revealed him to be Green Arrow, Mayor Oliver Queen addressed the press and used the billionaire of Gotham City to illustrate how insane a theory it is that he could ever be a masked vigilante. “Photos can be doctored. They could have put Bruce Wayne’s head on that body,” Oliver told the media. “Has Bruce Wayne left Gotham to hang out in Star City recently? No.”
This earlier Batman reference was a spur-of-the-moment decision, ushered in by Green Arrow himself Stephen Amell. “I ended up in a four-way conversation with Peter Roth, Diane Nelson and Kevin Tsujihara, all at the same time. I was like, ‘Guys, I have an idea! It will cost you nothing. I think it’d be really fun. It opens the door to a lot of possibilities,’” he recalled during a set visit. “I have this holy trinity of DC and Warner Bros. Television and Warner Bros. overall in front of me, and I pitched this idea. I’ve got all my follow-up points, and Kevin Tsujihara just goes, ‘Yeah, sure.’ I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Yeah, that sounds fun. Do that.’ So we did it.”
If tonight’s Batman Easter egg is any indication, it seems this clandestine meeting opened the door for Arrow to begin referencing the wider DC Universe, including Batman’s famous Bat-Signal.
Starring Stephen Amell as the Emerald Archer, Arrow airs Thursdays at 9pm ET/PT on The CW. The series also stars Emily Bett Rickards, David Ramsey, Willa Holland and more.
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