When Arrow first came out I remember the complaints that accompanied it. Many people wished the show could focus on the smallville version of Green Arrow that everyone had grown to love over the course of the show's ten year tenure. I for one didn't really care. I hadn't seen any of smallville and I kinda wanted a fresh story not bogged down by ten years of story. Yet I didn't know how much of the same we were getting.
These Universes' similarities revolves around the lives of two characters, The Flash and Clark Kent. Both of these characters survive an ordeal that leaves them stranded with adopted parents. They both are in love with the girl next door, even if in Barry's case it's the girl in the next room. Both are kindhearted and infinitely forgiving leading to circumstances that may seem like naivete. These heroes are also both immensely more powerful than they original realize. Yet these heroes share something more similar, as Oliver Queen put it Barry has the ability to inspire people in a way he couldn't. This is one of the most obvious aspects of superman the flash borrowed to meet a similar dynamic with his worlds batman and other heroes.
Arrow is obviously very similar to Smallville's Green Arrow. Both are billionaire tech based vigilantes whose tactics are not seen as to be as moral as the other main heroes. They also both take the place of the batman in this universe both are constantly trying to be prepared and equipped to handle problems. In the end these heroes and their super powered counterparts agree that some people handle problems differently and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The last thing to be discussed in this article is the love interest. These don't necessarily match up in terms of which hero is dating which but are mostly based on the girl herself. Firstly there is Iris West and Lana Lang. These are both the beautiful neighbors that the heroes have loved since childhood. They both know martial arts though that rarely (never) helps them out. They also both are with someone else at the start of their respective shows. Next we have Alicia Baker and Helena Bertinelli. These are the crazy girls the hero has a fling with before they turn out to be murdering psychopaths and must be taken down. These are two of the first people the hero feels he can share his secret with because he feels they get him. Next is Felicity and Chloe these girls are so similar they should be the same person. The are both smart, quirky, blonde braniacs of their respected groups and one of the first people the hero trust (after giving them really bad lies about why they need their particular help). They also are in a love triangle with the main two heroes (and a few other special people). Lastly there are Lois and Laurel these two girls are introduced kicking butt and they do a lot of it throughout there shows while they may be love interest they are also the heroes partners. They both also donned masks at one point or another and pranced around as vigilantes.
So what do you think are these two universes similar?
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