The Arrowverse is probably television’s biggest interconnected superhero universe, especially now that they’ve included Batwoman, Smallville and Black Lightning in their rostra. It’s amazing to think that it started out with just Arrow, and then it evolved from there on in.
The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow are also all part of the same universe but with so many superheroes on our screens, it is inevitable that some of them will kick the bucket. Fortunately, many fan favorites have gone on to survive their own deaths, popping up in later seasons, but it still doesn’t lessen the shock of their original demise.
Astra - Supergirl
Astra was the first main antagonist in Supergirl and, as a villain, she wasn’t half bad. She had a close personal connection to Kara as she was her mother’s twin and Kara’s aunt. Her motivations were also surprisingly pure, as everything she did was to save Krypton, and then Earth, from their impending destruction.
As a result, everyone expected Astra to last longer. Her connection to Kara was largely left unexplored and it would have been nice to see the two super women explore their bond more and possibly become allies. Alas, that never happened, as Alex drove a kryptonite spear through Astra to save J’onn, shocking Kara and the viewers in the process.
Henry Allen - The Flash
Henry Allen was Barry’s father, and a recurring character on The Flash for the first two seasons. In Season 1, Henry remained incarcerated due to him being framed by Reverse Flash for the murder of his wife and Barry’s mom, Nora Allen. Thankfully Barry was able to free his father in the second season’s premiere.
Realizing that he had to let his son live his own life, Henry moved away for a while but returned occasionally throughout the season. However, on one of these trips, Zoom took Henry hostage and killed him in front of Barry, his reasoning being that it would make Barry faster. This was a twist that no one saw coming and it certainly made Zoom a more dangerous speedster.
Sara Lance - Arrow
Sara Lance has probably died and come back to life more times than anyone else on this list. Her first ‘death’ was when everyone assumed she had died on The Gambit with Oliver and Robert Queen. In fact, Sara survived and was held prisoner by Ivo. However, her second death seemed to be a lot more permanent.
After helping out Team Arrow throughout the show’s second season, Sara returned to the League of Assassins. One of her missions was to bring in Malcolm Merlyn so that he could face League justice. However, she was shot with multiple arrows and fell off a rooftop in the Season 3 premiere. The even more shocking aspect was the mystery surrounding who actually killed Sara.
Laurel Lance - Arrow
It must just run in the family, as Sara’s sister Laurel has also remained in Arrow even after her death. Granted, the second Laurel is actually a doppelgänger from Earth 2 but at this point, who’s counting?
The original Laurel joined Team Arrow fairly late in the game and only took up the mantle of the Black Canary halfway through the third season. Before then though, she was a badass lawyer who worked tirelessly to put away the criminals of Starling City. She was progressing in her career when she was fatally stabbed by Damien Darhk. Although everyone knew someone was going to die, not many thought it would be Laurel, and not midway through the season.
Moira Queen - Arrow
Arrow is no stranger to killing popular or important characters at impromptu moments. Even in its first season, there were some absolutely shocking deaths, which we’ll get to later on. However, Moira’s death was shocking as it was just so violent and awful.
Moira Queen was a very morally ambiguous character. She loved her children dearly and would do anything for them but that included killing thousands of people and threatening Felicity, which is a no-no. Her death came at the hands of Deathstroke, aka Slade Wilson, as she sacrificed her own life so that her children could live. Suffice to say, everyone was traumatized after watching that.
Martin Stein - Legends Of Tomorrow
Professor Martin Stein had been a regular fixture on Legends Of Tomorrow for 2 and a half seasons until his untimely death in the Crisis On Earth X crossover. Stein was one half of the entity known as Firestorm, with Jax as the other. Both characters depended on the other for their survival but Stein wanted to leave the Waverider to go back to his family.
If anything, this made his death all the more tragic. Shot when escaping the Nazis, Stein and Jax merged to keep Stein alive, but this was slowly killing Jax. Knowing this, Stein convinced Jax to take the Firestorm cure so the two could separate and Jax would live. It was an emotional and shocking moment, and we’ve never really gotten over it.
Eddie Thawn - The Flash
Poor Eddie was somewhat of an awkward character during The Flash’s first season. He felt a bit like an outsider and seemed only to exist to act as a blockade to Barry and Iris becoming a couple. However, as the season progressed, he revealed himself to be a more complex character than anyone could have known.
He was a skilled cop and very good at his job, and he had Joe’s back on multiple occasions. He also put up with a hell of a lot of moody glares from Barry. However, his finest moment was when he shot himself in the heart to defeat Reverse Flash, with the two being distantly related. This wiped out Eobard Thawn from the universe and gave Eddie the heroic death he truly deserved.
Leonard Snart - Legends Of Tomorrow
Leonard Snart was quite simply, an amazing character. Wonderfully portrayed by Wentworth Miller, Snart started off in the Arrowverse as a recurring villain on The Flash. Every episode he was in was entertaining and so when he became a regular cast member on Legends Of Tomorrow, everyone was thrilled.
Unfortunately, his stint on Legends Of Tomorrow didn’t last very long. In the penultimate episode of the first season, the Legends were focused on trying to defeat the Time Masters so that they themselves could stop Vandal Savage. They did so by destroying the Oculus, but this meant that Snart had to stay behind and sacrifice himself, becoming a hero in his final moments.
Tommy Merlyn - Arrow
Yet another character who has died a ridiculous number of times, Tommy’s first death was one of the most shocking and heartbreaking deaths in the entire Arrowverse. Although he was only a regular for Arrow’s first season, Tommy really fit in with the rest of the cast. Plus, there was so much potential to expand his character further.
At the point of his death, Tommy had just found out that his best friend was the murderous vigilante known as the Hood, and his relationship with Laurel was stronger than ever. However, Tommy was killed by his father when Malcolm activated the earthquake machine. This was the first serious death in the Arrowverse and it devastated everyone.
Cisco Ramon - The Flash
It seems a bit of a cheat, to have our top kill be something that didn’t really even happen, but based on shock value alone, it more than deserves its place here. Right from the beginning of Season 1 of The Flash, viewers knew there was something dodgy about Dr. Harrison Wells. It then transpired that he was, in fact, Reverse Flash.
Up until this point, all Wells had done was run around a bit and kill a few minor characters. However, when Cisco discovered his true identity, Wells wasted no time in plunging his hand straight through Cisco’s heart. What made this worse was that Wells even admitted that he was very fond of the young scientist. It was this moment that cemented Reverse Flash as one of the Arrowverse’s greatest all time villains.
