Arrow Season 1
The first season of the American action television series Arrow premiered on The CW on October 10, 2012, at 8:00 pm (ET) and concluded on May 15, 2013, with a total of 23 episodes, after the network ordered a full season on October 22, 2012.
The Arrow comic book series, which ran from July 13, 2012 – June 12, 2013, ties in with the first season of the television series of the same name. The chapters generally have little correlation with the series and are mostly self-contained stories, with the exception of a select few; still, the comics do expand the overall story. Arrow chapters were released digitally each Wednesday, and published later as physical three-chapter comic books. Issues of this series are numbered as Season 00 as they begin before the TV series.
This is how the season plays out with when you combine the TV series with the comics, at least the way I would recommend experiencing them!
Arrow S00E14 Call to the Bar
Arrow S00E18 Keep ‘Em Coming
These two issues are set before the start of the series and set up characters Quentin, Sara & Laurel Lance. There are other issues set before the series but they either spoil reveals from the series or feature events from later episodes mixed in so can’t be read before the series begins without things getting extra confusing.
Arrow S01E01 Pilot
Arrow S01E02 Honor Thy Father
Arrow S00E03 China White
Picking up where her story ended in 1×02 “Honor Thy Father”, this issue explores the backstory of Chien Na Wei while setting up her next appearance in the series.
Arrow S00E04 Diggle
While Oliver is doing a background check on Diggle’s military service (something that was mentioned in S01E01 “Pilot” & S01E02 “Honor Thy Father”), we see flashbacks to Diggle’s past. Oliver’s background check here foreshadows events in upcoming episodes, and is mentioned on screen in S02E09 “Three Ghosts”.
Arrow S00E05 Fathoms
This chapter is set before the series but features spoilerish information which plays better here than before the series. There’s a reveal in S01E02 “Honor Thy Father” that I personally found rather confusing, rather than enlightening. This issue helped to unravel that scene for me so I prefer it being placed here. The flashbacks feature what appears to be the final farewell between Moira and Robert but we later see in the series that she actually said goodbye to him a final time at the Queen’s Gambit. This could be considered a continuity flub, but there’s nothing here that says this was the last time that they saw each other so I don’t actually see it that way at all. And though this issue elaborates on something revealed in “Honor Thy Father”, that information is woven into further episodes throughout the season.
Arrow S01E03 Lone Gunmen (Part 1)
Arrow S01E04 An Innocent Man (Part 2)
Arrow S01E05 Damaged (Part 3)
Arrow S00E01 Time’s Arrow
The first official issue of the comic series, which serves as a companion to the television show, this issue recounts select events from episodes 1-4, setting the stage for what is to follow. Given the nature of the events in episodes 4 & 5 it feels more appropriate to read the issue here. The issue itself is set near the end of 1×02 “Honor Thy Father”, but features flashbacks and flash-forwards to depict various scenes that thematically link Oliver’s words to events in the series, giving them more weight and expanding on the emotional depth of the series.
Arrow S00E00 Test Drive
This promotional issue, released before the television series first aired, gives more backstory to Oliver and Detective Lucas Hilton (who appeared in S01E02 “Honor They Father” & S01E04 “An Innocent Man” and continues on after this as a recurring character). This issue also reveals the fate of Warren Patel (who was seen in S01E03 “Lone Gunmen” and mentioned in S01E04 “An Innocent Man” as target of the Hood) – meaning the present day events of this issue are set sometime after the last time we saw Patel in “Lone Gunmen” and before Malcolm Merlyn mentions that he was a target (in “An Innocent Man”). Like “Time’s Arrow”, given the nature of the stories in episodes 4 & 5 of the series it felt more appropriate to read these stories here.
Arrow S00E21 Limbo
Set shortly after Diggle says he’s not signing on to be Oliver’s sidekick in S01E04 “An Innocent Man”; likely just after S01E05 “Damaged”. It tells a story of Oliver dealing with criminals not on the list (something he doesn’t actively do until after S01E06 “Legacies”) but it’s also something he just sort of falls into rather than something he seeks out.
Arrow S01E06 Legacies
Arrow S00E02 Prey
In Arrow S01E06 (“Legacies”) Oliver mentions the next man on his list is Scott Morgan, who we see briefly in a photo, before Oliver is sidetracked by the first appearance of the Royal Flush Gang. This issue explains how Oliver hunted Scott Morgan.
Arrow S00E08 [REC.]
3 boys go looking for the supposed vigilante, who some consider a myth; the boys mention that “HE TOOK OUT SEAVERS DOWNTOWN, MARTIN SOMERS AT THE PORT, SAVED MORE THAN A FEW BANKS, AND THEN THERE WAS THAT PRISON RIOT…”; later one of them thanks Oliver for saving his brother Dave at Redwood United Bank.
Martin Somers was featured in S01E02 “Honor Thy Father”. Oliver saved several banks, including Redwood United in S01E06 “Legacies”. There was a prison riot involving Oliver in S01E04 “An Innocent Man”. I’m not sure who Seavers is, but it doesn’t appear to be a plot point in any of the episodes or comics so this seems like a great place for this story.
Arrow S00E07 Boys Night
This issue is set after Diggle wore the Hood at least once (S01E05 “Damaged”), and after Oliver has decided to fight crime along with the men on his father’s list (S01E06 “Legacies”), but before Tommy was serious with Laurel (S01E07 “Muse of Fire”) or working with Oliver (S01E08 “Vendetta”).
Arrow S00E12 Limbo
After Oliver has decided to fight crime (S01E06 “Legacies”) but early enough in the series that Oliver might still be dealing with fallout from the Queen’s Gambit. It also seemed like a good time to bring Sara back into things before the events in the next arc. Some of this seems to clash with later revelations, yet there’s enough wiggle room that once again, it’s not an overt flub.
Arrow S01E07 Muse of Fire (Part 1)
Arrow S00E09 Falling (Part 2)
Arrow S01E08 Vendetta (Part 3)
Arrow S00E11 Huntress: Year One (Part 4)
Arrow S01E07 (“Muse of Fire”) & S01E08 (“Vendetta”) contain a two episode thread introducing the Huntress. Chapters 9 (“FAlling”) & 11 (“Huntress: Year One”) of the Arrow comic tie into the ends of both episodes giving us a 4 installment arc that begins in one spot and then ends with us coming full circle. For me, this was the most impressive crossover between the comics and the series and though I enjoy the comics, I wish they could have been like this more often.
Arrow S00E13 Shanghai
Arrow S00E15 6:15 to Starling City
Arrow S00E16 Sins of the Father
Arrow S00E17 Two Minute Warning
Set after the events of S01E08 “Vendetta”.
Arrow S00E31 No Way Out
Arrow S00E34 You Owe Me
Arrow S00E06 Moscow
Oliver removes Justin Whicker form the list.
Arrow S00E10 Caged
Oliver removes Monty Cora from the list.
Arrow S01E09 Year’s End
During S01E09 “Year’s End”, Felicity mentions that 7 names on the list have been hit by the Hood; we know that there have been more than this but here’s my interpretation. I think the 7 names Felicity refers to are: Adam Hunt (from S01E01 “Pilot”), Marcus Redmond (from S01E02 “Honor Thy Father”), Martin Somers (from S01E03 “Honor Thy Father”), Scott Morgan (from Chapter 02: “Prey”), Jason Brodeur (from S01E04 “An Innocent Man”), Warren Patel (from “Test Drive”) & Leo Mueller (from S01E05 “Damaged”). We know that others have been hit on the list but a few of these weren’t taken out by Oliver and were likely reported as such: James Holder (from 1×03 “Lone Gunmen”) was killed by Deadshot, Frank Bertinelli (from several episodes) was actually saved by the Hood, and Anthony Venz (from 1×08 “Vendetta”) was taken out by Huntress. Also, at the start of “Year’s End” it’s mentioned that Oliver has taken 3 names off his father’s list in the last week alone (and that Oliver has been logging more hours since the events of 1×08 “Vendetta”). We know that one of these names is Nelson Ravich as it’s mentioned here, but that leaves two more that Felicity might not even know about, especially if they were taken out overseas or in an underground sort of way, which is why I chose to place several seemingly stand alone comics here, concluding with two (“Moscow” & “Caged”) in which Oliver takes care of names on his father’s list.
Arrow S01E10 Burned
Arrow S00E23 Hunters
Set after the events of S01E09 “Year’s End”, and very unlikely to be set before S01E10 “Burned” despite the time gap between episodes – in fact, it would surprise me if any of the comic stories are set in that space of time.
Arrow S00E29 Shado of the Past
The placement of this comic is the closest I’ve come to having an issue of the comic possibly spoil a twist in the series, but by this point I felt that the comics were on an equal footing with the television series and having this information felt less like a spoiler and more just a valid episode of the series. Suffice it to say, this IS where this story takes place, but some characters within the series are not privy to these events. To be blunt, without spoiling anything (I think) this issue explains what happens to Yao Fei after the flashbacks in S01E09 “Year’s End” and his appearance in the flashbacks of S01E11 “Trust but Verify”, and while that changes the emotion of certain scenes, it doesn’t diminish them.
Arrow S01E11 Trust But Verify
Arrow S01E12 Vertigo
Arrow S00E25 The Pieces Missing
Set 1 week after “Trust but Verify”. It seems to play better after “Vertigo” which picks up with a vengeance after “Trust But Verify”, but that’s just my personal preference.
Arrow S01E13 Betrayal (Part 1)
Arrow S01E14 The Odyssey (Part 2)
Arrow S00E19 Wintergreen
This chapter explains how Slade Wilson and Billy Wintergreen came to be on the island, as referenced in S01E13 “Betrayal” & S01E14 “The Odyssey”.
Arrow S01E15 Dodger
Arrow S00E27 Lone Hunter
This chapter is set between episodes 15 & 17 of Arrow.
Arrow S00E26 Lapse
The story is mostly flashbacks to before the series and explores how Tommy Merlyn and Laurel Lance became lovers while Oliver was missing. The story ends in the present on Tommy’s birthday. The end of his birthday is featured in S01E16 “Dead to Rights”.
Arrow S01E16 Dead to Rights
Arrow S00E22 Back from the Deadshot
This chapter explains what happened to Deadshot after the events of S01E03 “Lone Gunmen” up through his opening scene in S01E16 “Dead to Rights”. It’s possible to read it before “Dead to Rights” as a set up for that story, but with “Lapse” also leading into that story I found it a little confusing there, and also felt the explanation for where he’d been was more interesting after the episode itself as it features several scenes from the episode, playing off having seen it, similar to the next installment.
Arrow S00E32 From the Darkness
This chapter is set during the final scene between Malcolm & his son Tommy in S01E16 “Dead to Rights”; the story features flashbacks filling in some important details about Malcolm that the audience has been denied up to this point. Later flashbacks in Arrow S03E12 “Uprising” contradict this story – yet they’re very similar. Later stories introduce alternate Earths and it’s my interpretation that the comic represents the events of an alternate Earth and that events transpired in a similar fashion on Earth-1 (the Earth on which the Arrow TV series is set).
Arrow S01E17 The Huntress Returns
Arrow S01E18 Salvation
Arrow S00E33 Potential
Set during S01E18 “Salvation”, this story features flashbacks about Roy Harper.
Arrow S01E19 Unfinished Business
Arrow S00E28 Aftermath
This chapter begins with the events in S01E16 “Dead to Rights”, fills in some backstory for Diggle, before catching up to events seen in S01E19 “Unfinished Business”.
Arrow S01E20 Home Invasion
Arrow S00E20 Make It Rain
Arrow S00E21 Diamond in the Rough
Arrow S00E22 Patient Zero
There’s a 1 week gap between S01E20 “Home Invasion” & S01E21 “The Undertaking”; we know because the latter is said to be a week before S01E22, while S01E22 is said to be 2 weeks after 1×20. At the end of “Home Invasion” Diggle leaves the team before returning in the following episode. These 3 stories feature Oliver and Felicity without Diggle. There’s a suggested reference to him in “Diamond in the Rough” but it’s open to interpretation.
Arrow S01E21 The Undertaking
Arrow S01E22 Darkness on the Edge of Town
Arrow S01E23 Sacrifice
Arrow S00E35 Sacrifices: Part 1
Arrow S00E36 Sacrifices: Part 2
The final story in the first Arrow comic series ties directly into the events of the Season 1 Arrow finale “Sacrifice”, revealing information that we didn’t get in the episode itself, and then extending that story to provide even more closure for Season 1 while helping to set up what’s to come in Season 2. It’s a really great story that was a great buffer between installments of the series, which I’m extremely happy I was able to read at the appropriate interval.
Additionally, the Arrow episode “Canary Cry” (S05E19), features flashbacks set in this same era that actually mesh perfectly with what we’re shown here, making this story that much more impressive.
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