October 10, 2012: The "Arrowverse" Begins

October 10, 2012: Arrow premieres on The CW. Stephen Amell plays Oliver Queen, who becomes the costumed vigilante Green Arrow.

The character had debuted in DC Comics in November 1941, in More Fun Comics #73. He had usually been portrayed as an upbeat character, with his Robin Hood-inspired costume and archery ability, and his tendency toward witty quips, a trait also common to Batman's sidekick Robin, and later to the Marvel superhero Spider-Man. But his Van Dyke beard, debuting in 1969, made keeping his secret identity problematic.

In 2006, Justin Hartley began playing the character on an episode of Smallville, and became a recurring character on that show, a re-imagining of the Superman story. His darker, Batman-like take on the character carried over into Amell's portrayal, which began The CW's "shared universe" franchise of superhero-themed dramas, which became known as the Arrowverse.

Each episode was introduced by Amell, usually with a variation on the following:

My name is Oliver Queen. For five years, I was stranded on an island with only one goal: Survive. Now I will fulfill my father's dying wish: To use the list of names he left me, and bring down those who are poisoning my city. To do this, I must become someone else. I must become something else.

The show ran for 8 years, with Oliver telling the bad guys, "You have failed this city!" until he died in the Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover.

The Arrowverse has also included The Flash, starring Grant Gustin as the Scarlet Speedster, which began in 2014 and will wrap up in 2023; Supergirl, starring Melissa Benoist as Superman's cousin, which ran from 2015 to 2021; DC's Legends of Tomorrow, about half of whose characters had previously appeared in DC, from 2016 to 2022; Black Lightning, starring Cress Williams, from 2018 to 2021; Swamp Thing, starring Derek Mears as the slimy but noble hero, in 2019; and Batwoman, from 2019 to 2022, first with Ruby Rose as Kate Kane, cousin of Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, for a season, and then Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder, a new character created for the series after Rose left the show.

There are also the current series Titans, starring Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson, Batman's original Robin, now leading a team of younger heroes as Nightwing, premiering in 2018; Doom Patrol, about a team of celebrities-turned-experiments-gone-wrong-turned-heroes, premiering in 2019; Stargirl, starring Brec Bassinger as the leader of a teenage team of "legacy heroes" using the codenames and equipment of previous heroes, premiering in 2020; and Superman & Lois, starring Tyler Hoechlin as Clark and Elizabeth "Bitsie" Tulloch as the Mrs., premiering in 2021.

The Arrowverse is not the only TV franchise born on this day: Chicago Fire premieres on NBC. It begins the One Chicago franchise. I have a separate entry for this event. As of 2022, there has been no indication of a crossover between the Wolfverse and the Arrowverse.

It's just as well: Given that overhead shots have meant Chicago has stood in for Starling City on Arrow, Gotham City on Batwoman, and Metropolis on Superman & Lois, as it previously had for Metropolis on the 1993-97 series Lois & Clark and Gotham City in the films Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, it might have made things super-awkward.

UPDATE: The Arrowverse came to an end on December 2, 2024, with the final episode of the last remaining series, Superman & Lois. The sale of The CW had led to the new owners having different priorities, and bringing the shows to conclusions. It had been 12 years, 1 month and 22 days, and the franchise had redefined how superheroes are shown on television.

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October 10, 2012 was a Wednesday. Game 3 of the American League Division Series was played at the new Yankee Stadium. The New York Yankees trailed the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th, when Raúl Ibañez hit a home run. He hit another in the 12th, and the Yankees won, 3-2. I have a separate entry for this event.

In Game 4 of the other ALDS, the Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-3 at the O.co Coliseum (as the Oakland Coliseum was then officially named). But the next day, the Tigers won Game 5 to eliminate the A's. Then they swept the Yanks in 4 straight to take the AL Pennant.

In the National League Division Series, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals, 8-0 in Game 3 at Nationals Park in Washington; while the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The Giants went on to beat the Reds, the Cards beat the Nats, the Giants beat the Cards for the Pennant, and the Giants swept the Tigers in the World Series.

Football was in midweek. The NBA season didn't start until October 30. The NHL team owners had locked the players out, so the season was delayed until January 19, 2013.