After kicking off in 2012 on the CW with Arrow, the Arrowverse has become a huge franchise not unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, albeit on the small screen. As it happens, the MCU has recently dived into the world of animation with Marvel’s What If…?, but the Arrowverse beat them to the punch in that regard.
Vixen was the franchise’s first leap into animated territory in 2015, followed by Freedom Fighters: The Ray in 2017. With so many different live-action series’ still making up the Arrowverse, there are several arguments to make both for and against introducing new animation into the ever-expanding mythology.
10 FOR: Animation Can Bring Lesser-Known Characters To The Spotlight
Most of the time, the big screen is reserved for well-known characters with a proven track record or that the studio firmly believes will be a hit, regardless of their prior status in the public eye. Live-action TV serves as a suitable platform to explore more obscure characters that still have dramatic potential.
Further still into obscurity is where the animated approach could work perfectly, helping the producers to save on cash while still providing fans with new storylines featuring characters that most people have never heard of. Should the shows prove to be well-received, perhaps the new characters could make the leap into live-action.
9 AGAINST: Obscure Characters Are Still A Big Risk
DC Comics has a library of thousands of heroes and villains thanks to many decades of publication, and the vast majority of them are completely unknown to not only the public at large but even a large percentage of comic readers themselves. As such, launching a new animated series based on such an obscure character/team could flop massively.
Sometimes a studio can strike gold with a relatively unknown property— such as Blade or Guardians of the Galaxy— and sometimes something like Steel or Howard The Duck happens. Going with animation is less of a risk, but also means fewer general viewers are likely to check it out in the first place.
8 FOR: Budget Is Far Less Of An Issue
Sometimes the Arrowverse over-reaches a little when it comes to the action and effects, and the end result can look somewhat ropey. The vast majority of fans understand that the episodes don’t have huge budgets, and as long as the storylines are engaging, they don’t care about some lackluster special effects.
Using animation would allow the writers much more creative freedom to frequently incorporate bigger action and spectacle to rival larger crossover events such as Crisis on Infinite Earths. It would also let the creators make use of more extreme characters that may be too over-the-top for live-action network television budgets.
7 AGAINST: There’s Plenty Of DC Animation Out There Already
Sometimes, too much of a good thing can be a very real problem. While Marvel has tended to dominate the big-screen over the last decade plus, DC has put out plenty of feature-length animated movies featuring fan-favorites such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and more.
While it’s always nice to have plenty of content based on fan favorite properties, at some point it can all get a little too much. With so many long-running shows part of the Arrowverse and multiple animated movies already out there, perhaps further animated series would be pushing it.
6 FOR: The Multiverse Could Allow For Older Shows To Return
The Arrowverse is hardly DC’s first foray into television, with fondly remembered early-’90s shows such as The Flash and Lois & Clark up to 2000s efforts like Smallville, all still being re-watched and enjoyed to this day. Some of these continuities have been revisited in the Arrowverse already thanks to the multiverse, but why stop there?
With animation, several older DC shows could see a new lease of life and allow the appropriate actors to return and voice their old characters. Such a plan may already be in motion for Smallville, but how about a return to the campy banter between Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher? Or a revisit to Gotham?
5 AGAINST: Too Many Shows Could Become Hard To Follow
For anyone who is late to the party and decides to start watching the entire Arrowverse from start to present, they would now have hundreds of episodes to dive into that all share continuity— with multiple references, Easter eggs, and crossovers with the other shows.
If someone only wanted to get invested in a select few shows, including more animated efforts, then some of these references and guest stars could become quite confusing without knowing the bigger picture. For instance, in Arrow‘s 4th season, Vixen makes a guest appearance and references her first encounter with Oliver Queen that took place within her own animated series, a reference that likely flew over the heads of many and people don’t like feeling like they’ve “missed something” in that regard.
4 FOR: Animation Could Reimagine More Mainstream Characters
Superman joined the cast of Supergirl for a few guest spots from season two onwards, before finally landing his own show in 2021. While his presence in the Arrowverse is a welcome one, two very obvious absences are still sorely felt— the other two members of DC’s Trinity: Batman and Wonder Woman.
While most fans would love to see the iconic heroes join the fray and allow for a Justice League team-up event, the studio seems hesitant to commit to them for live-action. So why not try them out with animation first and set up the groundwork there? At the very least, it would capture the attention of many.
3 AGAINST: The CW Is Already Stretching Itself Thin
The first few seasons of Arrow and The Flash were especially well-received and are generally seen as the strongest work the CW has produced so far. Later shows have certainly had their moments, but it’s hard to deny that as more and more series get added to the lineup, the overall writing quality dips.
Adding even more to the mix could potentially further dilute the level of storylines and result in not just a weak solo series, but a weaker Arrowverse in general. Perhaps the best way to reach the former glory of the early years is to streamline the number of shows back to something more manageable rather than continuing to add to it.
2 FOR: They Could Embrace Darker Storylines
The live-action CW shows tend to remain fairly family-friendly, and for good reason. This allows the bigger budget shows to embrace as wide an audience as possible and continue telling exciting stories. However, perhaps the realm of animation would be a good place to explore darker, more mature themes.
In a similar style to Netflix’s Marvel series such as Daredevil and Jessica Jones, a darker side to the Arrowverse could be a great avenue for unique storytelling. Whether it made use of stronger violence and language or simply more adult concepts, many fans would appreciate something that mixes up the formula.
1 AGAINST: It Already Failed To Take Off
Probably the biggest and most obvious reason not to attempt more animated Arrowverse shows is the simple fact that the previous attempts never really went anywhere. So far, only Vixen and Freedom Fighters: The Ray have been produced and most fans haven’t even seen them, let alone know they exist.
Experimentation is key to keeping things fresh and no one can judge the CW for trying to expand the Arrowverse beyond live-action, but for whatever reasons, the attempt didn’t really make an impact. As it stands, there are two animated efforts to check out which isn’t a bad thing at all.
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