Arrow: 8 Best Villains
Assassins, metahumans, evil archers... After five and a half seasons, which villains still shine?
Who would've thought that when Arrow launched back in 2012 it would serve as the launch pad for a massive franchise that has come to include shows like The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and Vixen known as the Arrowverse? For five and a half seasons now, Arrow has been plugging along, expanding the universe when it can while continuing to follow the trials and tribulations of Oliver Queen and his team of vigilantes.
The show, though, has faced its fair share of criticism from fans and critics alike, particularly in recent years, and while that's a conversation to be had for another time and place, one thing that has consistently stood out as a positive across its run has been a number of its villains, big and small, many of whom have left a significant mark on the show - and even the wider Arrowverse - even after their time on Arrow wrapped up.
With the show currently on its midseason hiatus, let's look back over the show's run to sort out the villainous cream of the crop, acknowledging eight faces who have antagonized Team Arrow over the years and become memorable pieces of the show's legacy.
Be warned, though, as this article contains spoilers for those who may not be caught up...
8. Vigilante
Arrow has had many cool minor, supporting villains across its run, from Count Vertigo to Brick to Tobias Church, but few have been as cool as Vigilante was in the show's fifth season. Though the show did its best to lead viewers into thinking that Adrian Chase was the man behind the mask, that wasn't the truth, and thus Vigilante was able to draw strength from being an enigma, a merciless murderer of criminals with no identity or tangible motive who even targeted a "corrupt" Oliver Queen.
Say what you will about the recent reveal that Vigilante is Dinah's former lover and partner Vincent Sobel, which some may have found to be underwhelming, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Vigilante was one of the slickest aspects about season five. He was no-nonsense, mirroring the type of crime-fighting vigilante that Oliver Queen used to be back in the show's earliest days, and it was neat seeing him frequently outsmart Team Arrow, even if just through brute force.
It remains to be seen why this man who has had a history of killing criminals has seemingly joined up with Cayden James' merry band of villains, but it's hard to imagine he doesn't have his own personal endgame in mind. At the least, his tether to Dinah has now given him a very personal connection to Team Arrow that will, hopefully, prove fruitful in its dramatic potential.