This week, Arrow and The Flash will team up for a two night crossover event of wit, masked crime-solving, and salmon ladders. However, this is far from the first time that the two vigilantes have chilled together. How did The Flash and Arrow first meet? The crossover has been a long time coming and has several moving parts. Barry Allen and Oliver Queen have a CW history that could make for a rad bromance.
Grant Gustin made his debut as Allen on an episode of Arrow last season. His scientific pals Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon appeared on Arrow in a different episode a few weeks later. In the pilot episode of The Flash, Barry went to visit Oliver for a quick pep talk about the plight of crusading. Then, just a few weeks ago, Felicity Smoak hopped on the commuter rail from Starling City to Central City to check in on her newly superpowered friend and get drawn into an awkward double date with Iris West and Eddie Thawne. So everyone is pretty much buddies at this point. There won't be too many awkward introductions. The friendships could even grow. Let's recap how the two CW protagonists met, and then figure out where their friendship could go next.
"The Scientist"
Last season on Arrow, Barry Allen visited Queen Consolidated to consult on a break-in. He is, after all, a forensic scientist. However, he was somewhat of a vigilante even then. He lied to get himself put on the case because it dealt with the supernatural and Barry was looking for answers about his mother's killer. Yes, we first heard the backstory about Nora Allen's mysterious murder on Arrow. Situations arose and Barry found himself in The Arrow's inner circle. He had already pretty much deduced that Oliver is the Arrow and Felicity is his computer scientist. His chemistry with Felicity was immediate, but who knows if that will continue with the many romantic partners each of them has hovering around. Unfortunately, I think this attraction caused Oliver to be a little suspicious of Barry from the start.
Barry also designed a mask for Oliver, which he now wears proudly instead of the old grease paint. The episode ended with a flash (no pun intended) forward to the particle accelerator explosion where Barry got knocked into a coma, thus teasing the spinoff series.
In the Flash pilot, when Barry visited Oliver and told him what had happened to him since they last met, Oliver said he thought the lightning chose Barry, rather than striking him at random. It was an important moment in character development, and I look forward to seeing how their relationship continues in the crossover.
Best Day Ever
Forget the metahumans and even, pardon me, forget Felicity Smoak. Oliver Queen can be a pretty gloomy guy. Barry Allen isn't quite the brooding type yet, but with Harrison Wells looming over him and metahumans that always seem to choose the dark side at every turn, he is well on his way toward a downward spiral. He could use a Boy's Day Out. What would Barry and Oliver get up to? Hopefully tons of working out. That's all anybody wants to see, really. What do they even have in common, other than a penchant for putting away bad guys? Barry may have a day job, but Oliver is flush with cash. I can't see Barry fitting in at Verdant, his pal's nightclub. He can't even get drunk, thanks to his metahuman metabolism. By the looks of the picture above, Barry will probably try to chase one of The Arrow's arrows.
Hopefully they at least hit up a taco stand or something. It can't all be high stakes and death wishes, even for superheroes.
Images: Cate Cameron, Diyah Pera /The CW, Giphy
