While our first DC movie crossover event, Batman V Superman, is still almost a year and a half away, the CW’s television superhero universe will get there first when the worlds of The Flash and Arrow collide. The two-night event brings Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) face to face for the first time since Allen was introduced on Arrow, outside of their brief scene in The Flash‘s pilot episode.

Unlike the initially-shaky Gotham or the struggling Constantine, The Flash found its footing almost immediately, developing its own tone and voice while boldly establishing an over-arcing mystery from the very first episode. Fans will soon see some kind of payoff when Barry finally clashes with traditional arch-nemesis the Reverse-Flash but Starling City’s vigilante is up first. Watch the trailer above.


We know the two shows have very different styles, but we’ve also heard from the cast how the post-production-heavy fight scenes of The Flash diverge from the then-and-there on-set choreography of Arrow. From the trailer above, we can infer that this kind of conflict extends to shows’ leads and their worldviews. With superpowers banished from Season 3 of Arrow, Oliver of course doesn’t want to hear the word “metahuman.”

Still, that’s what the duo will have to deal with as they hunt down a superpowered bank robber, but this external foe is evidently nothing compared to the threat the two superheroes pose to each other. Their fun and games at the beginning of the promo has Ollie’s dark sense of humor on display as he shoots Barry with a couple of arrows, but foreshadows the problems that arise when they try to team up.

flash arrow crossover trailer Flash vs. Arrow Trailer: Who Would Win?

Barry still has a lot to learn – but he’s getting there – and Oliver is by now a seasoned fighter – and (let’s face it) a killer. The crossover’s long-teased surprises are still concealed, which are hinted to resonate within the world of Arrow while being important to Barry’s growth. Will the reach of aspects of The Flash such as time travel and characters like Gorilla Grodd somehow extend from Central City to Starling City, even in a limited fashion? Or will it be a more personal reveal that could change Oliver Queen?

The crossover event begins with The Flash Season 1 episode 8 ‘The Flash vs. Arrow’ on Tuesday, December 2nd @8pm, and concludes with Arrow Season 3 episode 8 ‘The Brave and the Bold’ on Wednesday, December 3rd 8pm.