Arrowverse is the name of the fictional universe shared between various shows airing on The CW and web series airing on CW seed. The series are all based on characters from DC Comics such as: Green Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Atom, Captain Cold and more. The Arrowverse was first established in 2012 when Arrow was aired,  followed by The Flash and an animated web series titled Vixen. Supergirl became apart of the Arrowverse in 2016 when the show was picked up for its second season by The CW
(its first season was on CBS). The next series to join the franchise was Legends of Tomorrow which was added in 2016 and the last was the web series Freedom Fighters: The Ray in 2017.

1. Arrow (2012)

Arrow started this universe, hence the name Arrowverse, and the show follows the story of the DC Comics superhero, Green Arrow. Unlike the other DC characters who have shows on The CW, Oliver Queen (the Green Arrow) is human. Oliver was a billionaire who was shipwrecked and stranded on an island, Lian Yu, for five years. While there he learned many fighting skills that enabled him to fight the crime consuming his hometown, Starling City.

2. The Flash (2014)

The Flash was the second show to join the Arrowverse in 2014. It follows DC Comics superhero, The Flash and his journey to becoming a superhero and fighting other metahumans (people with powers). An event that heavily affected the type of person Barry is and influenced his passion for justice, is the murder of his mom and the framing of his innocent dad. 

3. Vixen (2015)

Vixen is the first web series and third show in general to join the fictional universe. This web series follows Vixen, a superhero with the power to mimic the abilities of any animal that has ever lived on Earth. Mari McCabe’s (Vixen) parents were killed in Africa and she inherited her family’s Tantu Totem, gaining the powers of the animal kingdom, and she uses these powers to stop threats.

4. Supergirl (2016)

Supergirl follows Kara Zor-el (Supergirl) and how she was forced to reveal her powers to the world but this leads to her becoming National City’s protector. She works alongside her adoptive sister Alex Danvers, a human, who works for the DEO, a secret government agency that monitors alien presence on Earth. Kara is Superman’s older cousin but her pod was knocked off course when she was sent to Earth from Krypton, so Clark Kent (Superman), arrived  first.

5. Legends of Tomorrow (2016)CW

Legends of Tomorrow combines heroes from The Arrow or The Flash. A Time Master, Rip Hunter, puts together a team to defeat Vandal Savage, who murdered Hunter’s family. The team consists of Atom/ Ray Palmer and White Canary/ Sara Lance who were seen in Arrow. Firestorm/ Martin Stein and Jefferson “Jax” Jackson, Hawkgirl/ Kendra Saunders, Hawkman/ Carter Hall, Captain Cold/ Leonard Snart, and Heat Wave/ Mick Rory were all previously seen in The Flash.

6. Freedom Fighters: The Ray (2017)

Freedom Fighters: The Ray was the second web series to join the fictional universe and it is based on Ray Terrill (The Ray), a reporter who gains light-based powers after being exposed to a genetic light bomb. Ray was a lawyer who discovered his own doppelganger from another Earth and the man disappeared and gave him his powers which leads to Ray becoming a member of Freedom Fighters.