What Do We Call the “Arrowverse” Now?

OPINION – After eight years, Arrow has ended its run on The CW network. In addition to building a respectable fanbase (for a DC hero, anyway), the show also launched several companion TV series and established a shared universe inhabited by these shows (dubbed the “Arrowverse” by fans). Now that Arrow has ended, the dozen or so DC fans who still follow the Arrowverse are locked in a debate over whether to rename it the “Flashverse.” Here are our thoughts on the matter.

The Flashverse

As the first TV show launched by Arrow, The Flash is not only the longest-running show in the Arrowverse, but it is the only show to heavily feature running and it is the most obvious candidate for naming the shared universe.

This suggestion, however, presents a real problem. If you reverse “Flashverse,” you get “VerseFlash,” which sounds like “Reverse Flash,” who was the first Big Bad faced by Team Flash. Therefore, it’s likely that anything called “the Flashverse” would actually be a reality created or manipulated by the Reverse Flash. As he was defeated by Team Flash at the end of season one through the gut-wrenching self-sacrifice of a fan-favorite character, bringing the Reverse Flash back in subsequent seasons would be a terrible decision on the part of the showrunners. Comic book supervillains never come back from the dead, and that would be a silly storyline. Even DC wouldn’t be foolish enough to have the character return to the shared universe after the events of The Flash’s first season, right?

Other Options?

Photos: The CW

As we have so clearly explained, “Flashverse” is not acceptable. However, some argue that the shared universe could be named after one of the other shows.

• Supergirlverse. Please. She rolled her eyes when Barry suggested they have a team headquarters and do more team-ups. This means she’s against the Justice League, and that’s a pretty good indicator that she’s either a little bit super-villainy or she’s another person on the Snyder Cut bandwagon. Both positions just scream that she’s either delusional or suffering from bad judgment.
• Legendsverse. This one is probably a shoe-in. DC and DC fans are legends in their own minds.
• Lightningverse. Honestly, this would be a shocking choice.
• Batverse. Where to begin? Batman and the various members of the Bat family are cool and all (to the extent that a DC hero can be cool), but Batman’s obsessive need to name everything after himself is a little tedious. “Batverse” has a certain ring to it, but why does everything have to have a “Bat-” before its name? This may seem like a strange place to draw the line; the fanbase has already allowed in Batarangs, Batmobiles, Bat Signals, Batcopters, Batsubs, Bat pogo sticks, and Batlunchboxes. But it’s suffering from Batfatigue, and it’s about Battime that someone makes the Batcall to stop the Batnonsense before it drives everyone Batcrap crazy.
• Crisisverse. This is the name that makes the most sense. As Crisis on Infinite Earths is the seminal event that created the current iteration of the shared universe, it’s an accurate description. Additionally, as the American public becomes more discerning and demanding of quality comic book entertainment, DC properties are in a perpetual crisis. So this would be honest branding!
• Constantineverse. If this doesn’t make you shudder, what is wrong with you?

What are your thoughts? Hit us up in the comments with what you think is the best suggestion in the ‘verse!