When a franchise focuses on world-ending events as much as the Arrowverse, it’s hard to avoid collateral damage. Every season, the titular hero’s city comes under attack, and more times than not, there’s significant destruction. But what’s worse than a building falling down or a hideout blowing up is suffering casualties. Each Arrowverse hero deals with their fair share of death, whether it’s a villain they’re trying to help find redemption or a close friend. However, not every death in the franchise is created equal, with some being far more surprising than others and shocking the heroes to their cores.
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Major Arrowverse deaths come in two categories: someone destined to die going out in a surprising way, or someone biting it seemingly out of nowhere. In both cases, the moments are jaw-dropping and alter the trajectory of the shows they take place in.
5) Eddie Thawne
When Eddie Thawne enters the scene in The Flash, it’s obvious he’s not long for this world. In addition to having the same last name as the Reverse-Flash, he’s also dating Iris West, who Barry Allen ends up with in the comics. However, while it’s clear Eddie’s got to go before The Flash ends, the way he goes out is rough.
With the Reverse-Flash preparing to head back in time at the end of The Flash Season 1, all hope seems lost for Team Flash. Eddie decides to step up and shoots himself, removing his relative, Eobard Thawne, from the timeline. Eddie bleeds out in front of his friends before being sucked into the time portal that threatens to destroy Central City.
4) Black Canary
Arrow Season 4 pulls no punches by revealing in its first episode that a major member of Team Arrow will die. There aren’t many teases after that, with the show choosing to keep people guessing, but that ends up blowing up in The CW’s face. Laurel Lance ends up meeting her maker near the end of Season 4, and her death is a ruthless fake-out.
During a battle with Damien Darhk, the villain impales Laurel with one of Oliver Queen’s arrows. Team Arrow is able to get her to the hospital pretty quickly, and it looks like she’s recovering initially. Unfortunately, she suffers a seizure shortly after and passes away, leaving Oliver and Co. broken.
3) Martin Stein
Martin Stein quickly becomes one of the most likable characters in the Arrowverse after joining up with Ronnie Raymond and becoming Firestorm. He even perceives after Ronnie’s death and recruits Jefferson Jackson to his cause. The new Firestorm joins the Legends of Tomorrow and has all kinds of wonderful adventures.
During the “Crisis on Earth X” crossover, the Legends jump at the chance to help take down an Earth ruled by Nazis. A nasty firefight breaks out at one point, and Martin takes a bullet to the back. The Legends try to save him on the Waverider, but he passes away, giving the heroes of the Arrowverse something else to fight for at the end of the crossover.
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2) Moira Queen
The second season of Arrow focuses on the rivalry between Oliver Queen and Slade Wilson. They have history due to their time together on Lian Yu, and Slade isn’t happy about how great Oliver’s life turns out. So, he decides to screw things up by forcing Oliver to choose whether his sister, Thea, or his mom, Moira, is going to die.
Instead of watching her son make an impossible choice, Moira volunteers to meet the end of Slade’s sword. The villain stabs her in the heart as her kids watch on in horror, with Oliver passing out from the heartache. Oliver’s able to resurrect his mother in Season 8, but her initial death probably sticks with him forever.
1) Henry Allen
Despite the whole world telling him he’s wrong, Barry Allen believes his father, Henry, didn’t kill his mother in Season 1 of The Flash. Barry’s faith gets rewarded when he discovers the existence of the Reverse-Flash, his mom’s actual killer. Unfortunately, another villain, Zoom, ruins all of Barry’s hard work by killing Henry.
The worst part about it is that Zoom kills Henry by phasing through his heart as soon as he returns to Central City and is ready to be part of his son’s life again. Zoom doesn’t last much longer, but his actions hurt Barry, motivating him to go back in time and create the “Flashpoint” timeline.
Were you shocked when these Arrowverse deaths happened? What other moments do you think belong on this list? Let us know in the comments below!
