Stephen Amell has been very busy torturing Arrow fans this past week with tidbits from Arrow’ s 100th episode, the four-way crossover, and most recently, the return of Deathstroke.
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) September 26, 2016
The revealing photo of Amell sitting with Deathstroke on a park bench with a salty look on his face came after a series of tweets about a mystery guest appearance in the 100th episode, Season 5 episode 8, which happens to be smack in the middle of the crossover event.
A few days back, Manu Bennett (who played Deathstroke all throughout Season 1) joked back with Amell. The actor posted a photoshopped photo of the original, with a word bubble saying, “Why are you back Slade??” The second photo, pasted underneath, shows Deathstroke with his arm extended, slicing Amell across the throat.
Bennett posted another suspicious photo yesterday, seemingly confirming his role. He used the hashtags Arrow and Deathstroke in a post that was actually a promotion for a brand of health food.
At this point, it’s most likely all the characters returning from the dead -- Moira Queen, Robert Queen, Black Canary -- are from a different Earth. The Dominators (recently confirmed as the crossover event’s villains) and Deathstroke are both vicious. Tracking down the evil alter-egos or dopplegangers of Oliver’s loved ones to use as emotional leverage sounds like something we’ve already seen on The Flash many times. Black Canary’s alter ego, Black Siren, was actually very well received by fans as a villain.
When Robert Queen was first announced to appear, Marc Guggenheim made sure to clarify to fans his appearance was not flashback or flashpoint related. It may be safe to assume if the same goes for all the returning characters.
Arrow 100th Episode Table Read. No Flashpoint. No flashbacks. pic.twitter.com/bs4KXiPVNx
— Marc Guggenheim (@mguggenheim) September 23, 2016
Fans have also been calling for Tommy Merlyn’s return. His appearance would certainly follow the trend of every surprise guest being dead in the current timeline, and being very close to Oliver. After all, that is Deathstroke’s mode of interest -- to kill every single person Oliver ever loved. Knowing Deathstroke, he’ll want to make a big scene of it. The crossover episodes would be the perfect place to do so, and bring the promised Season 1 connection full circle.
Arrow producers have repeatedly described Season 5 as going back to its roots and revisiting aspects of Season 1 . Once allies, Deathstroke has sought revenge on Oliver Queen ever since the death of Shado on Lian Yu years ago. On a Mirakuru rampage, Slade came to Star City with an army to make Oliver’s life a living hell. He’s responsible for the death of Moira Queen. As far as we know at the moment, Manu Bennett’s Slade Wilson is still locked up in the ARGUS prison on Lian Yu.
Why do you guys think Deathstroke is coming back? Let us know in the comments below!
