The seven Paragons expected to save the multiverse in the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover notably excludes Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), aka Green Arrow. According to the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett), Oliver Queen will be instrumental in stopping the Anti-Monitor from accomplishing his goal. If this is the case, why isn’t he one of the paragons?
In Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Monitor reviewed the Book of Destiny to find a way to defeat the Anti-Monitor. The ancient book included a prophecy about seven heroes, known as Paragons, who would have what it takes to defeat the Anti-Monitor. With a bit of research and help from outside sources, the Monitor was able to determine the identities of all seven Paragons: Flash (Grant Gustin), Supergirl (Melissa Benoist), Batwoman (Ruby Rose), White Canary (Caity Lotz), Martian Manhunter (David Harewood), Ryan Choi (Osric Chau), and the Kingdom Come Superman (Brandon Routh). Due to a last-minute rewrite to the book, Superman was replaced by Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer).
It’s worth noting that four of the five main Arrowverse protagonists are among the seven Paragons. The only one who isn’t included is Oliver Queen, which is interesting because he’s arguably more important than any of them, especially since Barry’s self-sacrifice, which The Flash has been predicting all season long, became unnecessary when a different Flash died in the Crisis. After all, season 8 of Arrow has made it no secret that Oliver’s death must happen in order for the heroes to have any chance of surviving. There must be some explanation for why Oliver isn’t one of the Paragons. The most likely reason is that Oliver has a totally different role to fill in the Crisis.
This notion is backed up by the third installment in the five-part crossover, which sees Jim Corrigan (Stephen Lobo) turn Oliver into the Arrowverse’s Spectre, who is easily one of the most powerful characters in DC Comics. Spectre is a key character in the Crisis on Infinite Earths comics, who unites the heroes for the final fight and battles the Anti-Monitor in an epic one-on-one collision.
If this is what the Arrowverse has in store for Oliver, then it makes sense for Oliver not to be a Paragon. The Spectre and the seven Paragons may have equally important but separate roles in the battle to come. It could be that the responsibility of the seven Paragons is actually to help Spectre beat the Anti-Monitor. Considering the importance of the Spectre to the original story, and that Crisis is potentially Oliver’s swan song, it may be Oliver who ultimately finishes off the Anti-Monitor and saves the multiverse.
More: Crisis On Infinite Earths: How Smallville’s Superman Removed His Powers
