Oliver Queen (Green Arrow)

Oliver returns to Starling City after five years on the island of Lian Yu. His father, Robert, died after the shipwreck and left him a notebook of names of people ruining the city. At night, in a green hood, Oliver hunts them down with a bow, and kills when he thinks he has to. Bodyguard John Diggle uncovers the secret and becomes his partner, and soon Felicity Smoak, from the family company's IT department, joins the team.

At home he plays the same old playboy and reconnects with his ex, Laurel Lance, who grows close to his best friend, Tommy Merlyn. The villain behind it all is Tommy's father, Malcolm Merlyn, who plans to destroy the Glades. Oliver's mother, Moira, publicly confesses her part in the plot. Oliver defeats Malcolm but can't stop the disaster, and Tommy dies in his arms.

To honor Tommy, Oliver swears off killing and becomes known as the Arrow. He trains Roy Harper and reunites with Sara Lance, who survived the shipwreck and came back as the Canary. He also meets Barry Allen, a CSI from Central City, and encourages him to become a hero.

The island's past returns in the form of Slade Wilson, his former friend and mentor, who blames him for Shado's death and uses the Mirakuru serum to build an army. Slade kills Moira in front of Oliver and Thea. Oliver wins without killing anyone: he cures the soldiers and locks Slade in a cell on Lian Yu.

Sara is murdered at the start of the season. The hunt for her killer leads Oliver to Ra's al Ghul, head of the League of Assassins, who demands a duel. Oliver is run through and thrown off a cliff. He survives thanks to Maseo and Tatsu, allies from his years in Hong Kong.

Thea was drugged by Malcolm into killing Sara, and Oliver agrees to become Ra's's heir in exchange for his sister's life. He takes the name Al Sah-him and appears to betray his friends, but it's all a plan to bring down the League from within. Oliver stops a virus from being released on Starling City, kills Ra's and hands the title to Malcolm. Then he hangs up the hood and leaves town with Felicity.

Back in Star City, Oliver takes the name Green Arrow, runs for mayor and takes on Damien Darhk of H.I.V.E. He learns he has a nine-year-old son, William, and hides it from Felicity, which ends their engagement. Darhk kills Laurel, and Oliver only beats him by rallying the city and killing him.

As mayor, he builds a team of rookies and faces Prometheus, an archer who knows all his secrets. In flashbacks to Russia, Oliver joins the Bratva and trains with Talia al Ghul. Prometheus is DA Adrian Chase, who wants to prove Oliver kills because he enjoys it. Chase kidnaps William and drags everyone to Lian Yu. Oliver saves his son, and the island blows up.

Oliver marries Felicity during the Earth-X attack and raises William on his own. To bring down drug lord Ricardo Diaz, he makes a deal with the FBI: he publicly confesses he is the Green Arrow and goes to Slabside prison.

There he endures months of torment until he's released and sees the team become an official police unit. He discovers a half sister, Emiko Queen, whom his father abandoned and who secretly leads the Ninth Circle; she dies after making peace with him. During an encounter with other worlds, Oliver strikes a deal with the Monitor to save Barry and Kara. Shortly after his daughter, Mia, is born, the Monitor comes to collect, and Oliver leaves knowing he will die.

The Monitor sends Oliver across other Earths to gather particles for a weapon against the Crisis. Mia, William and Connor Hawke arrive from the future and fight at his side. When the Crisis hits, Oliver dies holding off the enemy so thousands can escape Kara's Earth.

His friends won't accept the loss, and Oliver returns as the Spectre, a cosmic being. At the dawn of time, he uses that power to recreate the multiverse and dies again. In the rebuilt world, Moira, Tommy, Quentin and Emiko are alive. Everyone says goodbye at his funeral, and Felicity goes to join him in a place outside time. Years later, Oliver still turns up one more time to help Barry.

In the comics, Green Arrow debuted in 1941, created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp as a Robin Hood riff. The show stripped out the superhero trappings at first: Oliver goes years without a mask or the Green Arrow name. John Diggle was invented for TV, and Felicity Smoak, an obscure supporting character from the Firestorm comics, became a central player. Stephen Amell was the first actor to audition for the role.