MovieChat Forums > Arrow (2012) Discussion > Why does The Flash adhere closely to the...

Why does The Flash adhere closely to the comics, but Arrow doesn't?

posted 8 years ago by BrunoAntony
12 replies | jump to latest

Has Arrow ever adapted any of the actual storylines from the Green Arrow comics?

I've also noticed that the comic book characters used in The Flash also stick quite closely to their comic book counterparts, while Arrow loosely adapts them, sometimes to the point of "in name only".

I don't think it's necessary for TV series to slavishly copy the comic book material but, to be honest, there were several storylines in issues of Green Arrow that were a lot better than the storylines in Season 3 and 4 of the TV series.

Look at Shado, for instance. She was introduced in one of the best Green Arrow storylines in the comics and wasted as the love interest on the TV series.

I also think that if you deviate from the comic material, and that works, fine (Supergirl is a good example of this). But Arrow is clearly suffering for it, compared to a show like The Flash.

Basically, I'm not sure why two CW series, both based on DC comic books, continue to take such different approaches to the way they handle the material.

Do the people behind "Arrow" not regard the Green Arrow comics as material worthy of a closer adaptation?

Due to the lack of moderators, trolls can ruin the IMDB message boards. Don't feed them.

[–] ninthcentury 8 years ago

Could be that the writers know the audience too well. If they adapted an existing story line they'd be ripped and shredded on the one hand for not coming up with their own story line, and on the other hand for not getting the existing story line right.

So they invent their own stories and try to practice good storytelling, and get ripped and shredded for their crappy stories that should be thrown in the garbage because they're not those wonderful great old storylines from the comics...

That's my take on it, anyway.
~~~~~
Because supporting your thesis is tough, but throwing adjectives is easy.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] RightfulFireLordIroh 8 years ago

They very very loosely adapted things like Year One and vaguely adapted things like Green Arrow and Deathstroke's rivalry.
The Flash has people who care about the character.
They adapt storylines without being panel by panel, honoring it, while making it their own.
Arrow just makes crap up or copy and pastes it. Which is a Marc Guggenheim hallmark. I've heard his Agents of SHIELD comic was a copy of Batman's Tower of Babel storyline.

Ezra: I don't fear you
Vader: Then you will die braver than most.

[–] josuerios2694 8 years ago

Is that why the flash keeps copying Arrow's plot?

Sow me the comic where eobard becomes wells?
Are vibe and the flash besties?
The flash does nor follow the comics, it is just doing what you want to see

[–] dcfan1 8 years ago

biggest lies ever

The entire season 1 is inspired by the Longbow Hunter......elements of GA stories are used but no direct adaption.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] josuerios2694 8 years ago

I don't post lies, pay attention

[–] dcfan1 8 years ago

the op and their fake socket puppet JOuise

Mayor Queen is adapted from the comics after a terrible event

[–] Shooting-Star15 8 years ago

Thats a MYTH, Flash does not adhere that much to comics,.

Look at Barry, he looks and act nothing like comic Barry
They made iris and Barry, brother and sister for god's sake
Wally is not Iris' brother in comics nor becomes Kid Flash when he is a 20 year old man
caitlin and Cisco arent part of Flash comics
Reverse Flash in comics is not some unknown like Harrison Wells

Lets be fair here, lets not bash Arrow while letting The Flash get away with the same mistakes

[–] sanddragon939 8 years ago

Flash is a far more well-known and iconic character than Green Arrow. He's probably DC's fourth most iconic character and powerful brand, after the likes of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Green Arrow has been a B-lister at best for most of his history, who has never before enjoyed the kind of pop cultural awareness that he has amassed since 'Arrow' began.

So naturally, its far easier to take liberties with the Green Arrow mythos than it is to take with Flash. Not that there haven't been liberties taken with the Flash mythos as well.

Its also worth noting that the more 'Arrow' has become like the comic-books, the more the quality of the show has declined (I'm not saying there's a direct correlation though - just saying that the show happened to be at its peak back when it resembled the comic-books the least on a relative basis). With the exception of Olicity, 'Arrow' in Season 4 was pretty darn close to the Kevin Smith/Brad Meltzer/Judd Winick era. You had a 'Team Arrow' with Green Arrow, Speedy and Black Canary (Spartan filled in the spot of Connor Hawke). You had Oliver beginning his political career. You had Oliver fighting supervillains and dealing with mysticism. And so on. By that logic, Season 4 ought to have been the best season so far. Needless to say, it wasn't.

There's no getting away from the fact that some of the most successful storylines and characters on 'Arrow' have little to do with the comics. John Diggle. Moira Queen. Quentin Lance. Oliver's history with Slade Wilson. Hell, Oliver's entire characterization and arc. Even Felicity Smoak, back when she was truly a good character. And personally, I'd take Hayne's Roy Harper any day over ANY of the comic-book iterations.

And lastly, 'Arrow' has taken a fair bit from the Green Arrow comics. The aesthetics of the show in Season 1 were inspired by Mike Grell's work, as were characters like Edward Fyers and Shado. The plot to destroy the Glades, and the consequences thereof, are from Winnick's run. The flashback storylines have borrowed liberally from 'Year One'. Even the origin of Black Canary on the show is a somewhat simplified version of her rather convoluted comic-book history.

Formerly sn939

[–] RightfulFireLordIroh 8 years ago

Season One was heavy on the Nolan more than any Grell though.
And I'm sad to report that Diggle isn't as original as we once though.
Sasha Bordeaux was a bodyguard hired by Lucius Fox to watch Bruce Wayne. After playing the little game of trying to lose the bodyguard to go fight crime, she found out and joined Batman in the field. She also had heavy ties to Checkmate, ARGUS's predecessor. If Diggle ever becomes part cyborg the ripoff is complete.

Ezra: I don't fear you
Vader: Then you will die braver than most.

[–] canaryalive 8 years ago

Look at Shado, for instance. She was introduced in one of the best Green Arrow storylines in the comics and wasted as the love interest on the TV series

Wasting interesting female characters just as love interest is the mistake these writes do. It is such a shame.
Although, I think it is not so bad to differ from the comics, when you have a better story to tell. At least in the first seasons Arrow was targeted to adult audience and was made more realistic than the comics books, but still tried to be family friendly.
Although I think that Shado was a good character and had a compelling story even in the show. She is one of the few who wasn't ruined by the romance, which was a little part of the flashbacks story.