Arrow: Every Character Who Was Resurrected (& How)

Several characters on Arrow have died, only to be resurrected at some point later on, despite the show’s grounded nature. Arrow was envisioned as a series that would focus on non-superpowered characters, but it eventually began to incorporate both metahumans and mystical elements, all of which made resurrection ultimately possible.

Oliver’s long journey through eight seasons of Arrow was packed with casualties. A long list of characters (both on Oliver’s side and those against him) have met their end as a result of his crusade to save Star City. Among the people Oliver (Stephen Amell) has lost along the way were Earth-1’s Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy), season 1 main villain and occasional ally Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman), his mother, his sister, and more. In some cases, such as the situation with Laurel, these characters have remained dead.

However, there were others who did get resurrected eventually. A frequently used plot device Arrow was able to utilize to restore the dead was Ra’s al Ghul’s restorative Lazarus Pits from DC Comics. Other deaths were undone by the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Here’s every dead Arrow character who was brought back to life.

Sara Lance

Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) was murdered by a then-unknown assailant in the Arrow season 3 premiere. The killer was later revealed to be a hypnotized Thea (Willa Holland), who was being controlled by Malcolm Merlyn. Laurel was so upset by what happened to Sara that she was unable to accept her death. In season 4, she took Sara’s body to Nanda Parbat and convinced Malcolm to let her use the Lazarus Pits. The Lazarus Pits did indeed resurrect Sara, but unfortunately, she came back as a mindless killer; the Lazarus Pits could restore her mind and body, but not her soul. Oliver had to call in Constantine (Matt Ryan) and get him to perform a ritual that would reunite her soul with her body. After the spell was done, Sara’s resurrection was completed, paving the way for her to become a founding member of the Legends of Tomorrow team.

Damien Darhk

Oliver killed Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) in the season 4 finale, but this major event in Oliver’s life was threatened when Reverse Flash (Matt Letscher) used time travel to recruit an earlier version of him for his Legion of Doom team in Legends of Tomorrow season 2. Luckily, the Waverider crew defeated the Legion of Doom and erased Darhk’s memory so that his place in the timeline wouldn’t be changed. But though Darhk’s season 4 death wasn’t undone, his body was recovered by a cult led by his daughter. A magical ritual properly restored Darhk to life in season 3, allowing him to resume his role as a Legends of Tomorrow villain.

Roy Harper

It was revealed in Arrow season 7 that one of Oliver’s most reliable allies, Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), was killed and resurrected off-screen. It happened after Roy and Thea left Star City in season 6 to seek out and destroy all the Lazarus Pits. This was explained after he returned alone in season 7. During this time, Roy was suffering from the bloodlust that comes as a consequence of using the Lazarus Pits.

Yao Fei (& Arrow Season 1 Villains from Lian Yu)

In an Arrow season 8 episode, Oliver and his friends had to return to Lian Yu, where they discovered that the mysterious energy emanating from the island had somehow restored the mercenaries that were killed there during the Arrow season 1 flashbacks. Because of this, Oliver had to contend with Billy Wintergreen and Edward Fyers, who were killed by Deathstroke (Manu Bennett) and Oliver respectively in season 1. Also, Oliver was able to reunite with one of his first mentors, Yao Fei (Byron Mann), a victim of Edward Fyers. These resurrections were only temporary though, so once the conflict was over, all the resurrected characters on Lian Yu disappeared.

Oliver Queen

Throughout Arrow season 8, Oliver knew that death was in his future. He understood that it would have to happen for him to stop the Crisis. Even so, it happened sooner than anyone expected. Oliver was killed by the Anti-Monitor’s shadow demons in the first installment in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” when he was aiding in the evacuation of Earth-38. Barry (Grant Gustin) and Sara resurrected him with a Lazarus Pit, and though an opportunity presented itself for Oliver’s soul to be reunited with his body, he turned it down to become the Spectre and save the multiverse. Sadly, Oliver died again in the final battle with the Anti-Monitor (LaMonica Garrett). This death, unlike the first one, was final.

Tommy Merlyn

Oliver’s best friend, Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), was killed in the season 1 finale during the Undertaking. While trapped in a building, he was hit by debris caused by the earthquake. When Oliver rebuilt the multiverse in the conclusion of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, he took this opportunity to bring back the people who were close to him, one of which being Tommy. In the new reality, Tommy survived the Undertaking and went on to marry Laurel.

Moira Queen

A pivotal moment in Arrow season 2 was when Deathstroke forced Oliver to choose between the lives of Thea and his mother, Moira (Susanna Thompson). Moira, who was perfectly willing to die for her children, made the choice for him. The finale chapter of “Crisis on Infinite Earths” rewrote this story with a different ending. This time, Oliver was able to free himself of his binds and stop Deathstroke from landing the killing blow.

Emiko Queen

Oliver’s sister, Emiko (Sea Shimooka), was desperate to get revenge on the Queen family in season 7. She used the villainous organization known as the Ninth Circle as a weapon that she believed would help her secure her vengeance. But in the end, the Ninth Circle turned on her. Emiko was murdered by her own people, but returned to life after the Crisis. In the post-Crisis timeline, she didn’t die because she was never a member of the Ninth Circle. That being said, she still has her memories of what she did in before the Crisis.

Quentin Lance

Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne), survived longer than most people connected to Oliver Queen, but his Arrowverse story finally came to an end in the season 6 finale after he was shot by Ricardo Diaz (Kirk Acevedo). He died in surgery. Like Moira, Emiko, and Tommy, he was among the characters resurrected by Oliver at the end of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, but it was never explained how he lived through the incident with Diaz. He either made it through the surgery or was never shot at all.

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