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Advanced Research Group United Support (A.R.G.U.S.)

General Shrieve can be found here.

Director Michaels

Lyla Michaels-Diggle / Harbinger

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ar_cwn2138_crossover_harbinger_v3.jpg

Species: Human^note

Known Aliases: Harbinger

Played by: Audrey Marie Anderson

First Appearance: "Unfinished Business" (Arrow 1x19)

Appearances: Arrow | Flash vs. Arrow!^note(Arrow) | The Flash | Invasion!^note(The Flash) | Crisis on Infinite Earths

A high-ranking member of A.R.G.U.S. and ex-wife (later remarried) of Diggle.

Adaptation Dye-Job: Her comic counterpart is blonde.
Adaptational Modesty: Her Harbinger costume doesn't bare her legs and entire right arm from the shoulder.
Adaptational Species Change: Subverted. She's a demi god in the comics but a Badass Normal in the show until the leadup to the sixth Crisis Crossover had Mar Novu empowering her and making her Truer to the Text.
Adapted Out: Harbinger has an assortment of superpower in the comics, while in the show she's a Badass Normal. That is until Crisis On Infinite Earths where she becomes Truer to the Text and gains cosmic powers.
Aesop Amnesia: She becomes very Waller-like in Season 5 in the name of security, even knowing that her policies where ineffective and exactly why she resigned in the first place. She justifies it by saying things look different now that she's on the other side of the desk.
Age Lift: Her comic counterpart is depicted as a teenager.
Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: As the new head of A.R.G.U.S., she now sports a more refined and collected aura.
Amicable Exes: Was this with Diggle, but they're back together as of Arrow Season 2 and a year later, they remarry.
Ascended Extra:
- Downplayed. Lyla is perhaps the longest and most prominent Recurring Character in the Arrowverse but was never an integral character until the sixth Crisis Crossover.
- Also applies to her screen time. The Lyla Michaels of the comics is nowhere as recurring as she is here, appearing only in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover and a handful of Post-Crisis stories (most notably in Milennium). This is because she is mostly an original character in the show, even though she is rooted in the comics.
Badass in Distress:
- She is captured and held in a Russian gulag in "Keep Your Enemies Closer" while hunting Deadshot, but is rescued by Diggle, Oliver, and Deadshot himself.
- Happens again in "Al Sahhim", at the hands of Oliver, no less.
Battle Couple: With Diggle in Afghanistan. They're actually a Reconstruction of this. First they split-up because they couldn't function as a couple without battles. But in time, they realized that both of them are the only ones who can truly understand each other.
Belligerent Sexual Tension: She and Diggle are prone to arguments and such, but they obviously love each other.
Birds of a Feather: With Oliver. She shares his more realist worldview and pragmatic approach to saving lives and stopping dangerous people, to the point where she bears no ill will towards Oliver when he has to kidnap her and her daughter in order to fool Ra's Al-Ghul that he'd turned. She also very much sympathizes with Oliver when he clashes with the more idealistic Barry in "The Brave and the Bold" crossover, having been through it herself with Diggle.
Lyla: There are people in the world who deal only in extremes...
Oliver: And it would be naive to think that anything less than extreme measures will stop them.
Lyla: Sometimes bravery isn't enough. Sometimes the world requires us to be bold.
Oliver: Whatever the personal cost.
Blatant Lies: After King-Shark is defeated, she promises that ARGUS will devote its resources to curing him of his affliction. The next time we see him, he's being used as a guard dog for the Dominator-tech.
Celebrity Paradox: The Walking Dead is mentioned a lot on The Flash. Her actress had a small but very important role in that show's fourth season.
Code Name: Her A.R.G.U.S call sign is Harbinger, a reference to her superhero identity in the comics.
Composite Character: It's revealed that on another Earth she takes Sandra Hawke's role (or Samantha Clayton in this case) as the mother of Connor Hawke.
Demonic Possession: Like in the comics, the Darkest Hour of the Crisis on Infinite Earths comes when the Anti-Monitor subverts her connection to the Monitor to make her kill him. This time he does it by assuming direct control, complete with Voice of the Legion and Glowing Eyes of Doom.
Dull Surprise: She sort of takes it a little too well that her husband murdered his brother Andy in cold blood and is suffering mentally because of it.
Empowered Badass Normal: Lyla is the director of A.R.G.U.S. and a career soldier beforehand, making her a capable Lady of War long before Mar Novu literally empowers her.
Fake Guest Star: She's in every episode of Arrow's final season leading up to the Crisis Crossover and plays a key figure in it but is only credited in her usual guest star spot.
First Girl Wins: Played with. We saw Carly first, but she was married to Diggle while in Afghanistan and ends up remarrying him in Season 3.
Friend on the Force: For both Team Arrow and Team Flash, who find her ARGUS connections useful.
General Failure: Her leadership over ARGUS hasn't been as successful as Amanda Waller's. In fact, she relies more on Team Arrow fixing her own mistakes; which may explain while she becomes more ruthless in Season 5.
Happily Married: With her husband during their second marriage.
He Who Fights Monsters: She becomes way too Waller-like in Season 5, much to John's distress.
Heroic Wannabe: She tries to be a better government agent than Waller, but she's not exactly as successful as her former boss was. She eventually becomes more and more Waller like, much to John's distress.
Honorary True Companion: She's not a part of Team Arrow, but she'll use her Knowledge Broker abilities whenever the team asks, sometimes even when doing so could get her arrested for treason. The team as a whole is also fond of her, with everyone getting rather... annoyed whenever her life is threatened.
I Did What I Had to Do: How she justifies her Waller-like decisions to John in Season 5.
Lyla: Waller's decisions seem a lot less wrong from this side of the desk, Johnny.
Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Very much on the cynical side and that causes a lot of tension between her and John, which is partly why the broke up in the first place.
- John believes that while Team Arrow bending the laws is necessary, he still believes that the USA Constitution and the justice system can be used to make the world a better place. Lyla believes that such idealism is naive and she fully approves of ignoring even the most civil rights if she believes it's for the greater good.
- All of this comes to a head in "Dangerous Liaisons" where John point blanks tells that while her polices may make the world safe, it doesn't make it better. Lyla responds that world isn't getting better it's getting worse, and she'll do whatever she has to protect it.
Idiot Ball: Once the team locates Damian Darhk, Lyla orders an entire squadron of soldiers to kill him, despite knowing that he's an Evil Sorcerer who can annihilate them all in a blink. Oliver even informs her about the chances of this tactic failing, but she has her troops attack anyway. This action results in the death of dozens of innocent government agents and Darhk gaining even more power than he already had.
In Name Only: This Lyla Michaels appears to be an original character who merely has the civilian name of a comic figure from Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Harbinger. Finally subverted when the comic's story is adapted seven years after her debut, as she is revealed to be the Harbinger all along.
Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Late into Season 5, it's shown that becoming the new head of A.R.G.U.S. has taken its toll on her and made her commit some questionable actions in the name of nationwide security, much like Amanda Waller did in the past. It causes a lot of tension between her husband and friendships with Team Arrow and Flash.
Knowledge Broker: Lyla is usually Diggle's go-to person for information on Deadshot.
Lady of War: She doesn't lose her cool even against the more dangerous Metahuman criminals.
The Lancer: Serves this role to Diggle when they're out on mission with the Suicide Squad.
A Lighter Shade of Grey: As the head of ARGUS by Season 5. She's not a sociopath like Waller, disapproves of needless loss of life; but she's is perfectly willingly to set up illegal black sites and trample all over the Constitution by keeping anyone she deems a security risk in indefinite custody.
Love Interest: For Diggle.
My Greatest Second Chance: She and Diggle are more Happily Married after their second wedding.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- Her decision to send down a vast number of troops to assassinate Darhk, results in all of them getting killed easily, which empowers the villain's Blood Magic even more.
- Illegally detaining Cayden James in what was basically a shipping container caused him to snap; he went from being hacktivist to full-scale terrorist.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Normally composed and professional in the field, but in "Suicidal Tendencies" when it appears that she, Diggle, and the rest of the Suicide Squad are trapped with no way out, she's terrified at the prospect of their daughter growing up without both her parents.
- On a lighter note, Lyla, a combat-hardened veteran who isn't fazed by boomerang-throwing mercenaries or colorful lunatics is completely awestruck when she meets Barry Allen.
Opposites Attract: Zigzagged with Diggle and a more realistic example of this trope. Despite being their differing views, she and Diggle fell in love and got married, only to get divorced partially due to their inability to reconcile his idealism with her more realist morals. They later rekindle their romance and remarry in season 3, but go through a rough patch in season 5 when Lyla's questionable actions as A.R.G.U.S. director causes the same old tensions to resurface.
Police Are Useless: In Season 6, she claims there's nothing A.R.G.U.S can do to arrest Diaz and can only "bend the rules" to get limited resources to assist Team Arrow. This is despite the fact that at least a half-a-dozen Star City criminals have ended up in A.R.G.U.S. custody.
Pregnant Badass: At the beginning of her pregnancy, Lyla was using a bazooka to clear out a clocktower filled of supersoldiers, and continued to be active during her nine months.
Rank Up: She is ascended, so she has to move to the Metropolis chapter with Diggle and their children.
Reasonable Authority Figure: While she has had a fair share of mishaps as a director, she nonetheless helps the heroes in their time of need.
Redeeming Replacement: She is Amanda Waller's far more moral successor as A.R.G.U.S. Director.
Related in the Adaptation:
- She becomes (or will become) the mother of Connor Hawke in the Arrowverse. Subverted as it turns out she is only the adopted mother of Connor Hawke, who turns out to be the son of Ben Turner.
- There's also the matter of her comic counterpart only being allies with Green Lantern John Stewart during Crisis on Infinite Earths, whereas this version of her and John Diggle, who turned out to be the Arrowverse version of Stewart, are married.
Religious Russian Roulette: Her version of the comics Harbinger's origin story involves her squad being blown up by an IED and her praying to any god or higher power that could hear her begging for her life to be spared. It turns out the entity that saved her was Mar Novu the Monitor, having chosen her to be his Harbinger, and years later he comes to collect on her debt when the Crisis hits.
Satellite Character: She mostly revolves around her husband Diggle's character development, never getting her own character focus.
Satellite Love Interest: She mostly acts as the loving wife towards her husband Diggle.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!:
- When she discovers that Deadshot's explosive chip is being used as a targeting locator for a drone strike, she helps Diggle rescue him and remove the chip temporarily. While she may approve of using the chip if one of the members of the Suicide Squad goes rogue, she doesn't like the fact that Waller was willing to kill Deadshot even though he hadn't violated his agreement with them.
- In "Unthinkable" she does this as well, taking John to storm A.R.G.U.S. with the Suicide Squad in order to prevent Waller from blowing up Starling City.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: She quits A.R.G.U.S. in Season 3 after they covered up for a senator who engineered a hostage crisis for political gain. Although she still has contacts with the organization. Eventually subverted when she succeeds Waller as the head of A.R.G.U.S. after the latter's death.
Secret-Keeper: Her position at A.R.G.U.S. gives her knowledge about Oliver's identity and Diggle helping him. She also keeps Barry's secret identity as The Flash after he accidentally reveals it to her.
Sergeant Rock: Her last known rank in the Army was Staff Sergean and while she is a strict director of A.R.G.U.S., she doesn't stoop to the levels her predecessor did and is far more reasonable.
Team Member in the Adaptation: The comics Harbinger was not affiliated with A.R.G.U.S. or Team Arrow.
That Man Is Dead: Once empowered with the Monitor's cosmic awareness she tells Team Arrow that Lyla is gone and there's only Harbinger now.
Token Good Teammate: Seems to be the only one at A.R.G.U.S. that has a moral compass. After Waller dies she becomes the new head ... only to make the same decisions that Waller did when she was in charge.
Toxic Friend Influence: In Season 7, her cynical pragmatism has rubbed off on Diggle, who is now doing things he would've balked at earlier,recommissioning the Suicide Squad and rationalizing its existence as necessary to do good in the world. Curtis is disgusted at this and leaves the organization.
Underestimating Badassery: When she locked up Cayden James, she assumed that Helix would fall apart without him and that any attempts to rescue him would fail. Instead they end finding the blacksite she had him locked up, break him out and then they cover their tracks so well that not not even Felicity can find them.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Despite originally chiding Diggle for it, she comes to agree with him, not able to get used to Flash's Super Speed.
Vetinari Job Security: Waller can't afford to get rid of Lyla because finding a replacement with her high-level security clearance would be too difficult.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: This exchange with Oliver says it all:
Lyla: There are people in the world who deal only in extremes...
Oliver: And it would be naive to think that anything less than extreme measures will stop them.
We Have Reserves: In Season 3, she admits to having sacrificed Task Force X operatives during a botched mission in Tanzania. She's leading a new group of agents in the present.
You Are in Command Now: After Waller's death, she becomes the Head of ARGUS.

Former Director Waller

Amanda Waller

"Embrace your inner darkness."

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Mockingbird, White Queen

Played By: Cynthia Addai-Robinson

First Appearance: "Dead to Rights" (Arrow 1x16, voice), "Darkness on the Edge of Town" (Arrow, 1x22, self)

Appearances: Arrow | Flash vs. Arrow!^note(Arrow)

Head of A.R.G.U.S., Waller is a morally ambiguous government figure with ties to both Oliver and Diggle. She contacts them whenever her agency needs their assistance.

see the Green Lantern (2011) page for the post-Crisis Earth-12 character who bears her name and background

see the Smallville: Government page for the Earth-167 character who bears her name and background

see the DCEU: Task Force X - Officials and Agents page for the character in an undesignated Earth who bears her name and background

Age Lift: She's quite a bit younger than the pre-New 52 Waller, who's middle aged.
Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She's alarmingly unattached to almost everyone and everything.
Ambiguously Evil: Given this is Amanda Waller, it isn't all that surprising. Assembling a Suicide Squad with the likes of Bronze Tiger, Shrapnel and Deadshot doesn't help matters.
- The fact that pretty much everyone she has recruited never wants to see her again or even wants her dead, along with the fact that Diggle trusts the Cold Sniper assassin who killed his brother more than he does this woman who claims to protect the country, adds a lot to this.
- She got Oliver off the Island (the first time) and basically press-ganged him to work for her. After he tried numerous failed attempts at escape and to make contact with his loved ones, she threatened to kill his Hong Kong handler and his family in order to get Oliver to toe the line. And when Tommy came to Hong Kong, she ordered Oliver to kill him!
Adaptational Attractiveness: This Amanda Waller is a lot younger and more slender than most adaptations of her character.
Adaptational Curves: Way slender compared to the Fat Bastard that she's usually portrayed.
Asshole Victim: Zig Zagged. Waller's killed off brutally and unexpectedly in "A.W.O.L." but it's still pretty karmic and her death is used an Alas, Poor Villain moment. On one hand, Waller was quite evil, if not very morally grey, and her death was karmic to say the least. On the other hand, Oliver and Lyla do drink in her memory and Felicity comments on this fact after Waller had tried to kill them a few times and destroy their city once or twice before.
Bad Boss: She's this to nearly everyone who works for her, to the point where they would all want to kill her if they could.
- With regards to the Suicide Squad, she implants explosives in their heads, which double as GPS locators in case she decides she wants to fire a drone missile at something they are standing next to. However given the're all dangerous criminals who can't be trusted this is slightly understandable.
- With her regular agents she'll hire you or press-gang you to become an agent, and she'll have no problem threatening your loved ones if you step out of line just ask Oliver and his handler Maeso.
  - Wen Maeso's wife Tatsu is kidnapped by China White, she point-blames tell him that getting her back is not a priority. However she knew he would do anything to get his wife back including giving China White the virus she wants. So she switched it with a fake. But it doesn't stop her from torturing him for pulling the stunt in the first place.
Back for the Finale: She shows up again in the conclusion of season 4's flashback story arc, congratulating Oliver for another job well done.
Big Bad Ensemble: She's shaping up to be this alongside China White in Season Three's flashbacks, what with forcing Oliver and his new handler, Maseo, to do her dirty work in Hong Kong. Later, General Shrieve usurps the position, going as far as to usurp ARGUS and hold her prisoner.
Black Boss Lady: True to the character, she's a black woman who is absolutely ruthless when it comes to her job.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: While one would except some moral ambiguity from the head of intelligence agency, Waller's disturbing tendency to threaten to the loved ones of her agents is clearly not within normal ethics. Then again considering she's a sociopath this isn't really surprising.
Boom, Headshot!: On the receiving end of a pretty one in "A.W.O.L.".
Break the Haughty: Her agency ends up invaded by terrorists in an ambush and she ends up killed.
Celebrity Paradox:
- The Law & Order franchise is acknowledged to exist in the Arrowverse. Her actress plays a Recurring Character on Chicago Med, which takes place in the same universe.
- An episode of Legends of Tomorrow mentions the Star Trek franchise. Her actress was on Star Trek Into Darkness.
Chekhov's Gunman: She's Edward Fyers' unseen benefactor in the Arrow Season 1 flashbacks.
Code Name: Mockingbird, one of her call signs in the comics.
Death by Adaptation: Thanks to Executive Meddling because of the Suicide Squad (2016) film.
Disc-One Final Boss: Is replaced by Shrieve as the villain of the Season Three flashbacks.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: After getting her first major role in Season 4, Waller ends up shot dead by the villain of the week.
Evil Is Petty: Let's face it, there really was no reason for her to reveal the fact that Lyla was pregnant when she did. It ended up sounding like a petty jab to get back at Lyla for prioritizing the lives of the people of Starling.
Evil Mentor: To Oliver in Hong Kong, actively teaching him torture techniques to make him a very unwilling agent.
Greater-Scope Villain: "The Magician" reveals that she was this in Season One's flashbacks. She was Edward Fyers' benefactor who wanted the plane shot down.
Hate Sink: The more we see her and just exceedingly callous and ruthless she is, you really wonder why someone hasn't succeeded in killing her yet. Until Season 4's "A.W.O.L.".
Heroic Wannabe: She thinks she's a hero, but she comes across as more of a villain.
Ice Queen: She wouldn't be Amanda Waller if she weren't one.
Iconic Sequel Character: Does not properly appear in the series until Season 2.
I Gave My Word: Despite viewing the Suicide Squad as little more than expendable assets for the purposes of dirty work with Plausible Deniability, she apparently honors the promise of release for services rendered, as was the case of Cupid. Granted, this is done with no regard to whether they're still a threat to the public as the still deranged Cupid went on a killing spree after being released.
Insane Troll Logic: Really, it's easier to count the moments when she's not holding this, to the point that one really has to wonder just how she was promoted to head A.R.G.U.S in the first place. For example, using Deadshot as a human bullseye for a drone strike; ignoring the morality to efficiency of killing off all of those innocent bystanders in the process, A: it would have been just as easy to drop a targeting device there and escape, and B: Deadshot is one of the most deadly snipers on the planet and an incredibly valuable asset for future missions. Killing him off in such a fashion is wasteful. Or the whole mess with Oliver during the flashback storyline for season 3; seriously, what intelligence chief in their right mind would think that shanghaiing a miraculously survived lost billionaire's son into being a covert operative is a good idea?! Or a device that can be used to launch every single nuke in the world?
Karma Houdini Warranty: She ends up killed by Shadowspire for her Bad Boss tendencies.
Karmic Death: Her disregard for human life is ultimately what does her in, as a Shadowspire team takes her crew hostage and threatens to execute them one by one until she gives up a certain program. Upon being convinced that Waller is cold-blooded enough to simply let everyone die to keep that secret, their leader promptly kills her instead.
Leg Focus: Her legs were her main distinguishing characteristic as Edward Fyers' benefactor; she wasn't shown above the waist until Season 2.
Love Is a Weakness: She has no problem threatening to kill friends and family of her agents as motivation.
The Man Behind the Man: Season Three's flashbacks reveal her to be this to Edward Fyers in Season One's flashbacks.
Murder Is the Best Solution: Seems like every single one of her answers to a problem is to either assassinate someone or to hit the area with a drone strike.
Nerves of Steel: Amanda Waller is damn near impossible to intimidate, with the only instance of her showing fear is discovering Slade Wilson was still alive. She can face a gun pointed to the head and still won’t break her icy cold demeanour.
Non-Action Big Bad: In Season One, she only appeared to be working in an office somewhere and never confronted Oliver in-person.
Not Me This Time: In Hong Kong, after it seems Maseo and Oliver would go home, ARGUS suddenly appear trying to kill them. Oliver tries to infiltrate ARGUS to confront Waller, only to find her wounded by gunshots herself. It turns out that General Shrieve usurped control of ARGUS from her and held her prisoner.
Not So Stoic: She has her moments of this, especially regarding learning about developments involving Mirakuru. This becomes perfectly understandable given what Slade would do to her if he ever found out about her involvement in the events of the Season 1 flashbacks.
- When she plans to destroy Starling City to stop the Mirakuru soldiers from getting away, she states what the population of the city is, suggesting she hasn't forgotten about the human cost of her ruthless pragmatism.
Sassy Black Woman: She's very harsh to others.
Silk Hiding Steel: As per usual for Amanda Waller in the DCU; any politeness or level-headed aspects to her character (and, in this version's case, her attractive appearance) is a thin veil over an almost sociopathic level of merciless dedication and ruthless pragmatism.
The Sociopath: She has a disturbing lack of respect for human life, to point she would willingly murder anyone if it would suit her purposes — doesn't matter if it's an innocent civilian or a wanted criminal. It's a telling sign she refers to her people as assets and not agents. Indeed, she's well aware of the fact that everyone wants to kill her, and it doesn't faze her in the slightest.
- Her own actor commented that she figured Waller was a total headcase and used that to inform her performance.
The Spymaster: Comes with being head of a massive government spy agency.
Stupid Evil: Will almost always take the extremist route. Regardless of whether or not it actually makes any sense.
- One example was when Tommy came to Hong Kong to find Oliver after his email is activated. She orders him to be assassinated to end the investigation. Because you know, killing a billionaire's son when he's investigating his friend's disappearance wouldn't draw any attention at all. That said, she could also use it as a way to get more funding and moral support by claiming the Triad murdered Tommy.
Surprisingly Sudden Death: She's shot dead unexpectedly by Shadowspire for her refusal to cooperate.
Took a Level in Kindness:
- Compare and contrast her flashbacks to present day. The "current" Waller has more or less been toned down her vague evilness. While she is still pretty damn morally ambiguous, she seems to be slightly more intelligent about actually leading her troops, instead of trying to hamfistedly rule them through fear. It's likely due to having control of ARGUS usurped from her by Shrieve, which happened in part because she was such a bullying bitch that her own agents decided that they'd rather be traitors than follow her.
- She appears to treat Lyla a little better than the other agents. She's a little upset to see her leave, and was happy of her visits. Though she's a little annoyed when Lyla reminds her of her reason to quit.
Two Aliases, One Character: Season Three's fourth episode, "The Magician", reveals that she is the mysterious emplower of Edward Fyers.
Ungrateful Bastard: Oliver and Maseo foil China White, and the Army rewards them by allowing them to return to civilian life. Waller however decides to have her agents kill Ollie and the Yamashiro family on their way to Japan. Except it's actually General Shrieve, who seeks to use the Omega/Alpha virus on Hong Kong as part of a preemptive strike on China and wants to tie up any loose ends.
Villain Ball: When at the mercy of Shadowspire, they threaten to execute her workers if she doesn't provide them with information. She completely refuses because she considers all her agents expendable. Outraged by this, the leader simply offs her instead.
We Have Reserves: Her attitude towards the Suicide Squad, since they can always just recruit more criminals.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: However, as we learn more about her, she's coming off as less "well-intentioned" and more deranged. Examples:
- She orders a drone strike to destroy a nerve agent hidden in Gholem Qadir's house, regardless of whether or not the party guests — or the Suicide Squad — would make it out alive.
- Later in the season, while Slade's Mirakuru army are assaulting Starling, she prepares to completely destroy the city (killing everyone in it) to prevent them from causing devastation across the globe.
- "The Magician" reveals that she believes shooting down an entire plane full of people just to kill one passenger is reasonable.
Would Hurt a Child: Sees nothing wrong with threatening Maseo's young son in order to make him comply.

Deputy Director Bell

Bell

Species: Human

Played by: David Stuart

First Appearance: "The Longbow Hunters" (Arrow 7x2)

Appearances: Arrow

Deputy Director of A.R.G.U.S.

Asshole Victim: Not a pleasant guy in addition to being The Mole
Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Dante kills him rather than the heroes.
Commander Contrarian: To John and Lyla
Obstructive Bureaucrat: Before it's revealed he's the mole
Mole in Charge: A high ranking member of A.R.G.U.S. secretly working for Dante.
Number Two: For A.R.G.U.S.
Slashed Throat: Courtesy of Dante
We Hardly Knew Ye: Not given much of a personality prior to being offed.
You Have Failed Me: Why Dante kills him.

John Diggle

See Arrowverse: Team Arrow page

Curtis Holt

See Arrowverse: Team Arrow page

Tanya Lamden

Dr. Tanya Lamden

Species: Human

Played by:Haley Beauchamp (The Flash Season 2)/Zibby Allen (The Flash Season 5)

First Appearance: "King Shark" (The Flash 2x15)

Appearances: The Flash

A marine biologist from Central City and the wife of the late (Earth-1) Shay Lamden.

Beast and Beauty: The beauty to King Sharks beast.
Brainy Brunette: Well, she is a scientist.
Friend to All Living Things: If her being a marine biologist isn't enough, she is also willing to help metahumans.
My Greatest Second Chance: One of her reasons for helping King Shark is due to her inability to save her husband, who was King Shark's Dead Alternate Counterpart.

Suicide Squad / Task Force X / Ghost Initiative

In General

A group of criminals forced together by A.R.G.U.S. to act as an expendable unit of special agents. Most of them were former criminals in Star City defeated by Team Arrow before being forcibly recruited onto the squad.

Later on a second iteration of the team are assembled by Lyla and John Diggle, acting as the successor for the founding team.

Adaptation Name Change: Named Suicide Squad in the comic books and most media, but this was changed for copyright reasons (see Writing Around Trademarks below).
Badass Normal: This incarnation of the Suicide Squad contains no super powered beings, with all of its members being just really skilled in certain areas. The only exceptions are Cheetah and Ricardo Diaz.
Boxed Crook: They were offered shorter sentences in exchange for their services.
Explosive Leash: Just in case anyone tries to escape.
Long Bus Trip: Due to the release of Suicide Squad (2016) film they were forced to take a lengthy absence due to Executive Meddling. Though they were finally able to return in Season 7 via a name change.
Meaningful Name: Since they're a group of criminals, it'll be easy to dispatch them via Explosive Leash and use them as scapegoats should the mission fail.
Multinational Team: The group is quite diverse.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Suicide Squad. Yeah, that's not good.
Plausible Deniability: Their sole purpose for existing is to be sent on high-risk covert operations where more conventional military options would be politically inconvenient.
Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits:
- A Cold Sniper, a guy with Wolverine Claws, a Demolitions Expert, a stalker with archery skills, and some unnamed deranged female inmate.
- The second incarnation includes a Super Serum empowered crimelord, the mercenary son of Deathstroke, and a Professional Killer.
Real Life Writes the Plot: They were given a Long Bus Trip by Executive Meddling due to DC higher ups giving more priority to the Suicide Squad movie.
Reformed Criminals: Heavily enforced. Literally enforced, in fact.
The Scapegoat: In case their mission gets compromised, they'll be used as this.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: They don't particularly like each other.
Token Good Teammate: Diggle and Lyla if they're on board.
Token Super:
- Initially introduced on Arrow as a team comprised entirely of powerless criminals with special talents. However in Season 3 of The Flash, it's revealed Cheetah also became a Squad member at some point.
- In the Ghost Initiative incarnation, Ricardo Diaz serves this role.
Trading Bars for Stripes: The whole purpose of the Squad is for convicted supervillains to offer their services to the government in exchange for reduced prison sentences or restricted freedom.
Two Girls to a Team: Cupid and "an unnamed deranged woman" are the only known female members of the group. Their handler, Amanda Waller, does not count.
Writing Around Trademarks: Due to the DC Extended Universe current usage of the Suicide Squad, the producers changed the name of the group to still be able to use it.

Task Force X additions

Deadshot

Floyd Lawton / Deadshot

"I don't miss."

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Deadshot

Played By: Michael Rowe

First Appearance: "Lone Gunmen" (Arrow 1x3)

Appearances: Arrow

A world-renowned assassin noted for his expert marksmanship, signature neuro-toxin on his bullets, and warped code of honor. He clashes with Team Arrow a few times, and is responsible for killing Diggle's brother.

See Arrowverse: Earth-2 page for his Earth-2 counterpart.

see the Smallville: Government page for the Earth-167 character who bears his name and background

see the DCEU: Task Force X - Original Team page for the character in an undesignated Earth who bears his name and background

Affably Evil: See Noble Demon and Professional Killer below; he may be a Cold Sniper at heart, but the man is rather personable, even allowing Diggle some closure as to why he had killed his brother.
Anti-Villain: Slides into this once joined into the Suicide Squad; it turns out that his mercenary work was so he could have the money to provide for his daughter, Zoe (whom he keeps pictures of in his cell), and although it's of little consolation to Diggle, Floyd lets John know that Andy Diggle's death was Nothing Personal and that Deadshot was hired by H.I.V.E. to kill him. Although his intentions are undoubtedly shaped by Amanda Waller's Explosive Leash in his body, he has proven to be a useful ally for Diggle and Lyla once Diggle spares him and Lawton is put into Task Force X. In "Suicidal Tendencies", he also genuinely wants Diggle and Lyla to return home to their daughter as his flashbacks reveal that he tried to go home from war to his wife and daughter and it didn't work out for him.
Arch-Enemy: He was originally this to John Diggle, before they become Friendly Enemies.
Arm Cannon: Possessed and owned a double-barreled machine gun on his right arm.
Awesome, but Impractical: His curare-laced bullets can kill his victims even if they survive the initial shooting, but they also made it easy for Oliver to single him out from other assasins and track him down.
Boxed Crook: He is captured by A.R.G.U.S. and becomes a member of the Suicide Squad.
Cold Sniper: The few flashes of personality we get out of him only serve to make him more chilling.
Consummate Professional: He gives off this air, especially in Season Two.
Crazy-Prepared: Deadshot, being known as the man that "never misses", goes as far as to soak his bullets in a poison to make sure even if he does miss a lethal shot, he'll still kill them.
Dead Alternate Counterpart: An Earth-2 version of him is introduced barely a year after his death.
The Dead Have Names: His tattoos are actually the names of the people he has killed.
Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments but eventually would have some Snark-to-Snark Combat moments with Diggle.
Death Equals Redemption: His almost death in "Suicide Squad", where he wanted to die doing something honorable really set the record straight. But he gets true redemption when he dies in "Suicidal Tendencies" helping the rest of the Squad escape and having Diggle and Lyla get back to their daughter.
Death Seeker: A reoccurring element is that he shows no hesitation on dying, being happy to stay behind and draw in the missile that Waller sent, while also pulling a Heroic Sacrifice to save his team.
A Death in the Limelight: He dies in the episode "Suicidal Tendencies", with said episode's flashback focusing on his backstory.
Death Seeker: True to the comics, he seems more or less unphased when Waller's drone attack would blow up the building he was residing in. Diggle had to remind him of Lawton's own daughter to bring him back to his senses.
Disabled in the Adaptation: His right eye gets a Moe Greene Special courtesy of Oliver and his Eyepatch of Power serves as his artificial replacement. In the comics and most adaptations, his eyes are just fine and the eyepatch is merely a vision enhancement gadget.
Driven to Suicide: Implied to be the reason he stays behind.
Enemy Mine: Three times, during Season Two and personally counts as a Godzilla Threshold to Diggle. The most notable was in "Keep Your Enemies Closer" where him and Diggle were trapped inside the Gulag, and Lawton kills the only guard who knew where Diggle's ex-wife resided inside the Gulag. The next two times were under orders in "Suicide Squad" and during "Unthinkable" when Diggle went to stop Waller from destroying Starling City with a drone strike.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He has a daughter named Zoe, for whom he genuinely cares.
Evil Counterpart: To Oliver Queen. Also having Improbable Aiming Skills, but instead using it for evil.
Eyepatch of Power: He seems to think so, since in Season Two's "Keep Your Enemies Closer", after being placed in the Gulag, he quips about wearing his high tech eye piece again:
Lawton: So much better.
Eye Scream: The Hood puts an arrow in his eye in his debut episode.
Face Death with Dignity: He calmly waits for the bomb planted in the building he's at to explode.
Friendly Enemy: Starts becoming this to Diggle somewhat near the end of Season 2.
Goggles Do Something Unusual: The cybernetic eye-patch given to him by China White is essentially a replacement for his damaged eye. It was later upgraded to act as a sniper rifle scope and also possesses thermal imaging. A.R.G.U.S. agents can remotely access the eye-patch to use it as a camera, seeing what Floyd does.
Good Old Fisticuffs: He can really hold his own in hand-to-hand combat.
Handicapped Badass: After losing his eye, but when he gets his patch back, he returns to form.
Heroic Sacrifice: Chooses to stay behind in a building about to explode in order to cover the escape for his team.
I Choose to Stay: He dies because he refuses to leave the building that he's at which was about to explode.
Improbable Aiming Skills: Uses a high-tech eyepatch, much like in the comics, to make the shots that count.
Large Ham: Michael Rowe is obviously enjoying playing the character.
Laser Sight: Formerly had one on his rifle.
Locked Out of the Loop: He didn't actually kill Andy Diggle. HIVE gave him special ammo that merely made it look liked he was dead, and Floyd was none the wiser.
Moe Greene Special: He takes an arrow to his high-tech eyepatch. Subverted, however, as he returns alive in "Dead to Rights".
Morality Chain: "Suicide Squad" reveals that he has a daughter, Zoe, to whom most of his money goes, though he stays far away from her so she'll have a normal life.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Duh.
Never Found the Body: While his death was mandated by DC, presumably so as not to conflict with the Suicide Squad movie's version of the character, Word of God states that it was framed in such a way to leave his return a possibility should that restriction ever be lifted. The same Word of God also reiterates that he is off the table indefinitely however, so don't get your hopes up. Though that didn't stop him from being brought back as a "ghost" hallucination for Diggle, as well as his Earth-2 counterpart in The Flash appearing.
Noble Demon: For a former Psycho for Hire, Deadshot has a strong sense of honor and actively supports his daughter.
Pay Evil unto Evil: After The Reveal that Andy was Evil All Along and is even worse than Lawton himself, Lawton's attempt on his life doesn't seem as horrible as Diggle or others play it out to be.
Poisoned Weapons: His specialty. If it wasn't the bullets that killed you, it was the poison on them that did.
Professional Killer: So professional that when he has Diggle at his mercy, he expressly states that while he would love to kill Diggle and put his name next to his brother's, no-one's paying him for it, so Dig gets to live.
Psycho for Hire: He was one originally, but after surviving an arrow to the eye, he seems to have softened up a bit and works more professionally.
Restraining Bolt: An explosive chip is put in his head when he joins Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad in order to keep him compliant on missions.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: In the comics, Deadshot is usually a Batman villain. Justified Trope as Deadshot has antagonized Green Arrow numerous times in the comics and they even reached Friendly Enemy status around the time Floyd's daughter, Zoe was introduced.
Shell-Shocked Veteran: Season 3 reveals that the war took a toll on his sanity.
Tattooed Crook: He tattoos the names of the people he's killed on his body, including Andy Diggle, Dig's brother.
Worthy Opponent: Admires the Vigilante's work.

Bronze Tiger

Ben Turner / Bronze Tiger

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Bronze Tiger

Played By: Michael Jai White

First Appearance: "Identity" (Arrow 2x2)

Appearances: Arrow

A highly skilled mercenary who utilizes bladed knuckles.

Adaptational Villainy: The comic's Bronze Tiger is a good man who joined the squad to atone for his actions while Brainwashed and Crazy. He even had a relationship with Vixen. Here, he's an amoral mercenary who's forced onto the Squad like the others. His return in Season 7 however brings him in line with his comics morality and he’s become a legitimate force for good.
Adaptational Wimp: Downplayed. He is undoubtedly badass in the show – being able to fight Oliver evenly and even wound him – but not as much as his comicbook counterpart, who is possibly the third greatest martial artist on Earth.
Alphabetical Theme Naming: Ben Turner aka Bronze Tiger.
And Starring: Always appeared with a "Special Guest Star" citation.
Animal Motif: He has the alias of a tiger and uses bladed knuckles.
Ascended Extra: Originally a recurring Villain of the Week, after he reforms he becomes a far more significant character given he is the father of Connor Hawke.
Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: He kills Derek Sampson during the prison riot.
Blood Knight: He likes his jobs to be challenging, and is disappointed when he realizes that the Arrow is fighting to subdue, not kill.
Boxed Crook: He is offered a reduced sentence by Amanda Waller if he joins the Suicide Squad.
Bus Crash: Though it goes unstated in the show proper, he's absent in Season 3 because he was supposedly killed on one of the Squad's missions in the Arrow: Season 2.5 comics. The canonicity of this tie-in novel is questionable given he reappears in the seventh season of Arrow.
Celebrity Paradox: Cisco referenced Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight in the Chronicles of Cisco. Turner's actor played Gambol, the mob boss who Joker killed midway through the film.
Co-Dragons: With Derek Sampson to Brick during his stint in Slabside. Until he turns on him to help Oliver.
Color Character: Bronze Tiger.
Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He has a son, who he loves very much despite his chosen profession. Said son ends up getting adopted by John and Lyla and grows up to be Connor Hawke.
Hazy-Feel Turn: It's not enough to call it a full-on Heel–Face Turn yet, but him helping Oliver during the riot and saving the lives of guards indicates that he is on the path of redemption.
Heel–Face Turn: By the Season 7 finale, he has full transitioned into The Atoner, helping out Team Arrow while he is on parole.
Lack of Empathy: He was tasked to retrieve the prototype Earthquake Machine from the Season 1 finale during Season 2. When Oliver/The Arrow scolds him about what will happen if the machine falls into the wrong hands, he casually replied that he will get paid.
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Turns on Brick when the opportunity arises, as he has threatened to kill him in the past should he not follow his orders.
Not Quite Dead: Got fatally stabbed in the gut by Khem-Adam in the tie-in comics. But it turns out he survived.
Professional Killer: Though, as the Blood Knight entry suggests, he may enjoy his job a little too much.
Related in the Adaptation: Turns out he is the real father of Connor Hawke, who got split into Decomposite Character twice^note
Restraining Bolt: An explosive chip is put in his head when he joins Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad in order to keep him compliant on missions.
Scary Black Man: Just look at him.
Second Episode Introduction: Debuted on the second episode of the second season.
Villainous Rescue: He saves Lyla from Gholem Qadir during the mission in Markovia. In Season 7, he also comes to Oliver's help when he is being brutalized by Sampson and Brick.
Villainous Valour: Due to his Blood Knight nature. Despite being already paid off by Milo Armitage, he returns to fight when the Arrow attacks his former employer, and he saves Lyla's life when he could have obeyed orders and sat on the sidelines.
We Can Rule Together: A deleted scene shows he's the lover of China White, who invites him to join her scheme to take over the Glades for the Triads, but he's simply not interested as he's just looking for a Worthy Opponent.
Wolverine Claws: He uses three knuckle-attached blades.

Shrapnel

Mark "Shrapnel" Scheffer

"Freedom. Liberty. Justice. Too long have the people of this city suffered under the shackles of a corrupt government. Slaves to self-interested politicians and their lobbyist puppeteers. I declare war on them all."

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Shrapnel

Played By: Sean Maher

First Appearance: "Blast Radius" (Arrow 2x10)

Appearances: Arrow

A toy shop owner and radical extremist, Scheffer is a serial bomber who begins a campaign of terror across Starling City.

Adaptational Attractiveness: In the comics, Shrapnel looks monstrous.
Adaptational Heroism: In a sense. In the comics, he fought the Squad on behalf of a Central American dictator.
Adaptational Wimp: The show reduces him to a Badass Normal serial bomber who is nothing more than a Villain of the Week for the Arrow.
Adapted Out: His comics counterpart is a living metal monster with Super-Strength and a Healing Factor. There is nothing remotely similar to this in Arrow.
Back for the Dead: He returns in "Suicide Squad" only to be killed by Amanda Waller via a bomb in his head.
Bomb-Throwing Anarchists: He's part of an anti-government militia known as the Movement.
Boxed Crook: He is recruited into the Suicide Squad by Amanda Waller, but he quickly bails the first opportunity he gets, which results in his death.
Composite Character: He has Shrapnel's name, but fills Plastique's role as the Suicide Squad's Demolitions Expert.
Demolitions Expert: He is a highly skilled bomb maker.
In Name Only: If it weren't for the name Shrapnel and being on the Suicide Squad, he might as well be a Canon Foreigner. He instead seems to fill the role of Plastique as the Squad's Demolitions Expert.
Karmic Death: He's killed by a bomb.
Knight Templar: Believes he is a valiant freedom fighter striking blows against an oppressive government.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Thinks of himself as a anti-government freedom fighter, but he's really doing far more harm than good by endangering innocent civilians.
Restraining Bolt: One is put in his head when he joins Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad, and he takes the first opportunity to commit Suicide by Cop rather than help her.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: In the comics, Shrapnel is a Doom Patrol or Outsiders villain.
Sacrificial Lion: Killed off to demonstrate that Waller is not screwing around when it comes to the Suicide Squad.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The reason he died.
Straw Nihilist: Almost every one of his lines is a proclamation about the meaninglessness of everything, and how it somehow justifies blowing people up.
Stupid Evil: He's not the most rational anarchist.
Too Dumb to Live: He tries to make a run for it against Amanda Waller, the woman who has a trigger for a bomb in his neck, after she gives him a warning. No surprise how he ended up.
We Hardly Knew Ye: He gets killed off pretty quickly in his second appearance.

Cupid

Carrie Cutter / Cupid

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carrie_cutter_7122.png

"If I'm out of my mind, than it's because that's what love is - our own little slice of insanity."

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Cupid

Played By: Amy Gumenick

Voiced By: Betzabe Jara (Latin-American Spanish), Kikuko Inoue (Japanese)

First Appearance: "Guilty" (Arrow 3x6)

Appearances: Arrow

An insane former Starling City police officer who holds an obsession with the Arrow.

Adaptational Modesty: In the comics, Cupid's outfit is a lot more revealing, with a midriff-bearing sports bra. While her top still bears her midriff, it covers more and she has a jacket over that.
Added Alliterative Appeal: She uses a Code Name that starts with C while already having an Alliterative Name.
Alliterative Name: Carrie Cutter. Not as common as one would expect from a comicbook show.
Amazon Brigade: Is part of one with Liza Warner and China White in "The Sin-Eater.
Ax-Crazy: Diggle thinks she may be even crazier than the last chick they had in the Suicide Squad, and that was Harley Quinn, who was kept off of missions because she was too deranged. However, Cupid isn't off-her-rocks crazy, just a needy Yandere vs batshit insane.
Badass Longcoat: She has a leather trenchcoat as part of her gear.
Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The beauty in the Terrible Trio with Liza Warner (brains) and China White (brawn), flirting with the prison guard as a distraction to help engineer their breakout and being noted as especially attractive out of the three by a sleazy thug.
Big "NO!": When Deadshot dies.
Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The redhead to China White's light blonde and Liza Warner's brunette.
Boxed Crook: Oliver turns her over to the Suicide Squad because he doesn't believe Iron Heights is equipped to handle her.
Color Motif: As the Arrow is to green, Cupid is to red.
Costume Evolution: Her first outfit had green to signify her obsession with the Arrow, but after transferring her attraction to Deadshot then going on an "anti-love crusade" after his death, she wears a new black costume with red accents in "The Sin Eater."
Cute and Psycho: She's Exactly What It Says on the Tin; a cute woman who is also insane.
Dark Action Girl: As a former SWAT member, besides her skills with a bow, she can hold her own in hand to hand combat with the Arrow.
Distaff Counterpart: She deliberately mimics the Arrow's fighting style.
Evil Counterpart: To Roy. Both were obsessed with the Arrow, and both became vigilante archers associated with the color red. Roy became a genuine hero, while Cupid became a violent criminal.
Evil Redhead: Flaming red hair and nuttier than a bag of Snickers.
Fallen Cupid: Her name and M.O. are meant to evoke the Roman god just like her comic book counterpart.
Has a Type: She apparently falls for anyone who saves her life.
Hidden Depths:
- A Freeze-Frame Bonus of her background profile in "Draw Back Your Bow" reveals she was a champion gymnast in high school.
- Has quite the singing voice in the intro of "Broken Hearts."
Hopeless Suitor: Does everything she can to win over the Arrow's heart, with every line she says being some form of flirting.
If I Can't Have You…: Cupid tries to kill herself and the Arrow rather than face his rejection. She actually says this trope word for word. When Oliver escapes and saves her, it only cements her belief that he loves her.
Kick Them While They Are Down: She does a lengthy one with Liza Warner on poor Curtis in "The Sin Eater."
Large Ham: Has a theatrical way of speaking.
Laughably Evil: It's sometimes hard to take her seriously with her rather perky, lovey-dovey demeanor, and even her arrowhead replacing the Arrow's arrowhead in the title. Despite this, she is very much a capable threat to the Arrow.
Love Is a Weakness: Starts espousing this as her reason for her killing spree after Deadshot dies and says it almost word for word when she targets Oliver and Felicity at their fake wedding.
Love Makes You Crazy: A more literal example than most and Played for Drama. She was diagnosed with an attachment disorder where she's unable to form genuine, lasting relationships and instead develops unhealthy obsessions with the people who she has romantic feelings for, viewing them as mirroring her own emotional state.
Meaningful Background Event: In "Guilty", she makes two appearances in the background before she fully shows up at the end. The first is outside the gym when the police are investigating the dead body, and the second is her walking behind Diggle's van outside the club which Oliver and Ted went into.
Movie Superheroes Wear Black: Wears an all-black outfit with red accents. Her canonical outfit is green due to her obsession with Oliver, though she does wear a green crop top and leather pants as part of her first costume.
Not Good with Rejection: She says this word for word when Oliver rebuffs her yet again.
One Degree of Separation: Recognized by Rene as having been arrested by her in her cop days.
One-Liner Echo: In "Broken Hearts," she spouts Deadshot's line of "love is like a bullet to the brain."
Psycho Supporter: Deluded enough to think she's actually helping Oliver with her murderous actions. In her own words to Oliver:
Cupid: I want to help you. I want to fight with you. I want to kill for you.
Terrible Trio: Forms one with China White and Liza Warner when they escape from a prison transport and move to chase down Tobias Church's money.
Put Them All Out of My Misery: After she's released from Task Force X, she goes on a killing spree targeting high profile couples to deal with the pain of losing Deadshot.
Room Full of Crazy: Leads Oliver to her apartment as a horrifying Grand Romantic Gesture, as her room has news articles about the Arrow plastered on the walls, a collection of heart-shaped arrows hanging on her vanity, a Stalker Shrine, and a floor decorated with lit candles and rose petals.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: She wears an all black outfit with red accents and is an Evil Redhead to boot. Her arrows also matches the color scheme of her clothes.
Rescue Romance: How she (one-sidedly) fell in-love with the Arrow. And briefly, Deadshot.
Shout-Out: Her first line alludes to the 1950s hit song "Stupid Cupid".
Special Edition Title: The two episodes where she's the main villain, her heart-shaped arrowhead replaces the Arrow's arrowhead in the title and the normal dramatic opening theme ends on light harp chords.
Stalker with a Crush: She becomes obsessed with the Arrow after he saves her from two of Deathstroke's soldiers during the events of the Season 2 finale. She'd previously been one to her S.W.A.T. partner on the force, which her psychiatrist attributes to her being unable to form genuine romantic bonds.
Surprisingly Elite Cannon Fodder: The only member of the Suicide Squad to actually live long enough to be released from service.
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Not having the resources available to a billionaire like Oliver, she tries to reuse the arrows she's just used to to kill mooks in "The Sin-Eater," despite being a wanted fugitive on a timetable.
Liza Warner: We don't have time for that Cutter.
Cupid: Are you kidding me? These things are expensive.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: It's fairly obvious that the previous unnamed female squad member's characterisation has been tacked onto this one.
Villainous Friendship: With China White, where a simple exchange of looks between them is enough for her to kill a sleazy thug trying to make a pass at Cupid. After Cutter thanks her, China White replies, with true sincerity, "anything for a friend."
Villains Out Shopping: Apparently found time to make a dating profile on Upswipz, the Arrowverse's Tinder Expy, and the only one that's a match for Damien Dahrk's.
Wicked Heart Symbol: She uses custom made arrows with red, heart-shaped arrowheads and her first costume has studs in a heart pattern on the sleeves.
Yandere: She's completely obsessed with the Arrow and will hurt and kill anyone in order to be with him.

Digger Harkness / Captain Boomerang

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e9d1f918fd55fc14249e697974cfdedb.png

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Captain Boomerang

Played by: Nick Tarabay

First Appearance: "Draw Back Your Bow" (Arrow 3x7)

Appearances: Arrow | Flash vs. Arrow!^note(Arrow)

"That's the thing about our work. It always comes back to haunt you."

A former ASIS agent and Suicide Squad member who specialised in weapons and technology. On a mission in Tanzania where Harkness was supposed to kill a local warlord, the mission went bad and he and his entire team were left for dead. Now he sells his services to the highest bidder and is currently looking for the ARGUS agents who betrayed him to make sure they know what goes around, comes around.

see the DCEU: Task Force X - Original Team page for the post-Crisis Earth-1 character who bears his name and background

Adaptational Badass: Much tougher than most of his portrayals in other media, especially compared to the comics, where he spent his last years suffering in-universe Villain Decay. Among other things he waltzed into A.R.G.U.S' Starling branch, took out an entire squad of heavily armed security guards without having to break his stride, and was able to fight Roy and Oliver simultaneously. The crowner was when he broke into the Arrowcave and nearly succeeded in killing Lyla.
Arc Villain: He is the closest there is to one for the Flash vs. Arrow crossover, as he is the reason for the hero team-up on both shows, as Team Arrow visited STAR Labs to study one of his boomerangs, while his assassination attempt on Lyla is what summons The Flash to Starling City.
Awesome Aussie: He's an Australian mercenary and a One-Man Army who can decimate an entire squadron along with fight both Oliver and Roy simultaneously.
Back for the Dead: He's killed by a land-mine courtesy of Malcolm Merlyn for betraying Oliver and siding with Prometheus.
Badass Longcoat: A particularly awesome looking black coat which hides all his boomerangs.
Battle Boomerang: His weapon of choice.
The Bus Came Back: He returns in the Season 5 Finale. Oliver recruits Harkness to fight Prometheus, only for him to reveal Prometheus got to him first. He promptly ends up getting killed by a land-mine.
Casanova Wannabe: Tries hitting on Nyssa of all people, and only gets a death threat in response.
Celebrity Paradox: An episode of Legends of Tomorrow mentions the Star Trek franchise. His actor was on Star Trek Into Darkness.
The Chessmaster: Manages to play both Arrow and Flash, using their own attempt to trace his phone, to trace back the Arrowcave's location and pulling off an assassination attempt on Lyla.
Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: He is mostly addressed via Last-Name Basis by everyone. The only time he was referred to by his codename is after his defeat via Cisco's Take That! remark to him.
Crazy-Prepared: One major reason why he's so dangerous. When A.R.G.U.S. and Team Arrow track him down to a suburban house, he had the place rigged to blow to take care of anyone who might be looking for him. But the icing on the cake is when he threatened Ollie to let him escape Starling otherwise he'd set off five bombs spread around the city, all designed to explode if they weren't defused at the exact same time. It took the entirety of Team Arrow and Team Flash to deactivate them all.
Evil Counterpart: To Slade. Both were former Australian operatives who went rogue and became adversaries to Oliver Queen, before being incarcerated on Lian Yu upon being defeated. However the kicker is that Slade is a Tragic Villain who later pulls a Heel–Face Turn and regains Oliver's trust, while Harkness is just plain rotten and happily betrayed Oliver when a better deal came along.
Foil: To Black Siren in season 5 when he's recruited to Oliver's adhoc team to fight Prometheus. Both were imprisoned by Oliver and later broken out in exchange for their aid. Both lack a substantial history with Oliver or a personal stake in the final confrontation on Lian Yu like their respective comrades do. Ironically, while Black Siren shows Undying Loyalty to Prometheus for freeing her and is a willing ally, Captain Boomerang is a mere Boxed Crook to Oliver and had already been turned by Prometheus over to his side.
Implacable Man: For a guy with no powers, he proves to be a formidable killing machine with almost nothing able to put a stop to him on his crusade to kill Lyla. Even when he chooses not to face the Flash, he retreats for another attempt later on.
Improbable Aiming Skills: He can ricochet his boomerangs off multiple opponents to either knock them out or kill them.
It's Personal: Wants revenge on Lyla.
Harkness: Know what I like most about boomerangs, Lyla? They're proof that things can come back to haunt you! You had a bomb for the back of my head. I have a little something special for the back of yours.
Nerves of Steel: This is probably because he always has a contingency plan in case of complications. He walks with the air of someone who is in complete control of his situation. He strolls into the A.R.G.U.S. with nothing but a coat full of boomerangs, and when he makes his escape from Starling City he's seen whistling and when Oliver and Barry threaten to take him down he laughs in their faces. The only times he gets flustered is when Barry enters the equation, the only variable he doesn't account for.
Noodle Incident: He was once a member of the Suicide Squad and harbors a grudge against Lyla Michaels for ordering him and his squad to be blown up, but he survived and is out for revenge.
Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Boomerang in the comics is Australian, but while Harkness here was former ASIS he doesn't have the accent. It seems to boomerang around Britain and the US when he speaks. He does pick up the Australian accent when he returns in the Season 5 finale.
Not in This for Your Revolution: Unlike Nyssa, Merlyn, and Slade Wilson, he doesn't have a personal interest in helping Oliver in his final face-off against Prometheus in "Lian Yu" beyond a promise of release. Unsurprisingly, he betrays them the first chance he gets.
Not Wearing Tights: His flashy costume of the comics is completely absent.
One-Man Army: He took out an entire A.R.G.U.S squadron, as well as being able to fend off both Arsenal and Arrow at the same time. He only decided to hightail it out of there once the Flash showed up.
Pungeon Master: Not to the extent of Captain Cold, but spouts out a few boomerang related one-liners.
Pragmatic Adaptation: He drops his Battle Boomerangs in Season Five for a good old fashioned gun.
Professional Killer: One of his many services.
Put on a Bus: He isn't heard from after the 2014 crossover with the Flash "The Brave and the Bold" where he got incarcerated on Lian Yu. This is likely due to the release of Suicide Squad (2016) where Captain Boomerang appeared, and due to Executive Meddling priority was given to the bigscreen films. However, see The Bus Cameback...
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Looking for the A.R.G.U.S agent, Lyla Michaels, that gave the order to leave him to die. A squad of A.R.G.U.S. security guards, Team Arrow, and the Flash will not stand in his way.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: In a sense. Captain Boomerang is a very prominent Flash villain and a key member of the Rogues Gallery. While both Barry and Oliver appear in The Brave and the Bold, he is largely the focus of the Arrow side of the crossover story, antagonizing Team Arrow and Starling City, with Barry only being called to assist. Played straight when he returns in Season Five, where he is purely an enemy of Oliver with no ties to The Flash at all.
Servile Snarker: Is this to Oliver when recruited onto his team against Prometheus, though doesn't remain servile for long.

Harley Quinn

Species: Human

Played By: Cassidy Alexa

Voiced By: Tara Strong

First Appearance: "Suicide Squad" (Arrow 2x16, voice), "Unthinkable" (Arrow 2x23, deleted scene, self)

Appearances: Arrow

An "unnamed" female prisoner in A.R.G.U.S. — though she couldn't be named onscreen for legal reasons, the show's producer confirmed that the character is Harley Quinn.

see the DCEU: Harley Quinn page for the post-Crisis Earth-1 character who bears her name and background

see the Batman (1966): Rogues Gallery page for the Earth-66 character who bears her name and background

see the Batman Film Series: Supporting Characters page for the Earth-89 character who bears her name and background

see the Birds of Prey (2002) page for the Earth-203 character who bears her name and background

The Cameo: All her appearances (including the deleted scene from "Unthinkable") are basically One-Scene Wonder.
Chewing the Scenery: Courtesy of Tara Strong, she speaks very theatrically in typical Harley Quinn style.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She just disappeared after Season 2.
The Faceless: She's always shown from behind.
The Friend Nobody Likes: Deadshot and the other A.R.G.U.S. prisoners don't seem to like her.
Girlish Pigtails: Her hairstyle.
Mythology Gag: Her entire presence on the show is an Easter Egg to her being a member of the Suicide Squad.
No Name Given: To avoid lawsuits, but Word of God confirms who she obviously is.
Offscreen Villainy: She must have done something really bad to be incarcerated by A.R.G.U.S.
There Are No Therapists: Apparently, she is. But it's probably not a good idea to go to her...

The Ghost Initiative additions

Ricardo Diaz

"See guys like you never understand these things. Why destroy a city when you could take it over."

Species: Metahuman

Known Aliases: The Dragon

Played By: Kirk Acevedo, Max Archibald (young)

First Appearance: "Promises Kept" (Arrow 6x6)

Appearances: Arrow | Elseworlds ^note(Supergirl)

A key player of Seasons Six & Seven, a crime lord who initially supplied John with drugs against his tremors. He appeared to be in league with Cayden James and a member of his criminal cabal, though later he is revealed to be a much larger threat and the true Big Bad of the season, a crimelord bent on taking over Star City.

Adaptational Job Change: A crime lord and drug dealer rather than a martial arts master. However, he is proficient in martial arts nonetheless.
Adaptational Name Change: A light one, as his alias is simply The Dragon instead of Richard Dragon.
Adaptational Villainy: Traditionally, Richard Dragon in the comics was an Anti-Hero responsible for training heroes and villains alike in the martial arts such as the Huntress, the Question, Oracle, and Lady Shiva; but the New 52 reboot introduced Ricardo Diaz, a character who took Dragon's name for his own, was a villain and a Green Arrow rogue, debuting a year after the show premiered.
Adaptational Wimp: Zig-zagged. At first it seemed like Diaz was not proficient in martial arts, like his comics counterpart, instead resorting to guns. However this is revealed to be a ruse to get people to underestimate him. He later shows his true fighting prowess by holding his own if not overpowering skilled combatants like Diggle and Thea. He is also a close match for Oliver, who at this point should be the World's Best Warrior, albeit Diaz did get pressured enough to resort to cheating. Though despite this, he's still nowhere near the same level of skill that the comic version is, who was one of the greatest martial artists in the world and only equalled by Lady Shiva.
Advertised Extra: Subverted. He was made to look like the Big Bad by promotional material, even though for the several episodes he appeared to be an underling to Cayden James, with Diaz received the least attention out of the Big Bad Duumvirate. That is, until the second half of the season, where it ends up being a Bait-and-Switch where he kills James and is revealed to be the real Big Bad, just like he was advertised all along.
Always Someone Better: He plays Cayden James, a good strategist and a crafty schemer, like a fiddle with nothing but a few words and a Frame-Up on Oliver.
Ambition Is Evil: Diaz's driving force is to gain more and more power and influence to compensate for being treated as worthless throughout his childhood. This drive has brought him to a life of crime, in which he has murdered many innocent people and brought Star City to its knees.
Animal Motif: He obsesses in comparing himself to a dragon, having a dragon tattoo and favoring a flame thrower.
Arch-Enemy:
- Zigzagged with Oliver. They did not have this relationship in Season 6, despite Diaz trying to utterly ruin his life and targeting the people closest to him, there is never a deep, personal animosity between them. Played straight in Season 7 however, where both men bitterly hate each other, ironically for the same reason (ruining each other's lives).
- After the Season 6 finale, he is this definitely towards Black Siren, for killing Quentin.
- As of Season 7, he has become this towards Felicity, who utterly hates him for ruining her life and getting Oliver incarcerated. Felicity's life becomes dedicated to hunting down Diaz, while he in turn targets her and William to hurt Oliver.
Asshole Victim: Gets burned alive. Considering how despicable he was, this is entirely deserved.
Ax-Crazy: Beneath his controlled exterior, Diaz is clearly not a stable man. In "The Dragon", when he feels he's been disrespected, he furiously smashes a mirror with his fist, and later, brutally murders several of Cartier's mooks after the crime lord tries to have him killed. He also decides to settle his grudge with an old bully (three decades after the fact) by beating the man to a pulp and then burning him alive. In Season 7, he's even worse, personally attacking would-be victims, gleefully using a flamethrower against his enemies, and even plotting to destroy all of Star City, solely to spite Oliver. It reaches its apex in "The Slabside Redemption", where he butchers guards just to torment Oliver, and later, sets the entire prison aflame with a smile, willing to kill everyone within as long as he gets to kill Oliver.
Badass in a Nice Suit: He wears suits even as he's kicking ass.
Badass Normal: Take over an entire city under everyone's noses AND able to give Oliver Queen a serious fight in hand-to-hand combat? You qualify. Point Blank. Becomes an Empowered Badass Normal later.
Beneath Notice: When Diaz is first seen with Cayden James' cabal he has the least personal connection of anyone of its members within Team Arrow allowing him to take over Star City behind the scenes while Oliver and James are busy fighting each other. Even after Team Arrow realises that he is a much more serious threat then he initially seemed he's done such a good job keeping a low profile most people aren't even aware of who Diaz even is and the few who do think he is just some second rate drug dealer rather then a criminal mastermind who has successfully taken Star City over.
Benevolent Boss: He considers his men to be brothers, family, and treats them well as long as they don't betray him. Though he yells at Black Siren for taking all of the money they extorted from the city for herself, he doesn't kill her for it, instead offering her a place at his side, which she accepts. However, he does not extend the same courtesy to associates of the gang, like Captain Kimberly Hill, who was forced into his service under the threat of her family being harmed. Subverted in Season Seven; Diaz's grievances with Oliver have nothing to do with getting his men imprisoned (in fact, he never mentions them at all), his only concern being what Oliver has done to him.
Best Served Cold: Takes brutal revenge on the boy that made his life a living hell as a kid, decades later.
Big Bad: He's the true one for Season Six, having manipulated James all along. He's also this for the first seven episodes of Season Seven.
Big Bad Ensemble:
- In Season 6, aside from him, there are plenty of other villains gunning for the Green Arrow, like Black Siren, Cayden James, and Anatoly Knyazev. Subverted when it's revealed he's one of the Co-Dragons under James or so it seems.
- In Season 7, he still had to be dealt with while other threats like the Star City Slayer, the Longbow Hunters, and the Ninth Circle emerge.
Big Bad Wannabe: In Arrow Season 7. With his empire completely destroyed, he resorts to a petty revenge scheme towards Oliver, which ends up with him being in prison a mere seven episodes into the season. He later tries to get payback when he is getting recruited into the Ghost Initiative first getting played for a fool by Curtis and then being thrown back into prison after he tries to go rogue. Then he receives an undignified, fiery death at the hands of Emiko, the true main villain of the season.
Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Felicity is very close to shooting him dead, but Laurel stops her as now Diaz is needed in a court case to free Oliver Queen from prison.
Celebrity Paradox:
- The Law & Order franchise is confirmed to exist in the Arrowverse. His actor was a main cast member of the short-lived Law & Order: Trial by Jury and is a regular hat trick actor in the franchise.
- The The Walking Dead is confirmed to exist in the Arrowverse. His actor was a Small Role, Big Impact antagonist during its fourth season.
- The Planet of the Apes franchise is confirmed to exist in the Arrowverse. His actor was a cast member in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
- The Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel in general have been referenced before in the Arrowverse. His actor appeared on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a member of “real” SHIELD.
- Played With regarding Oz. His actor was a main character there (which was his Star-Making Role), but the show is only explicitly mentioned to exist on Earth-38. Then again, Crossovers between the two universes are not uncommon.
Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Goes by his real name rather than a codename alias. Though later he does get referred to as "The Dragon".
Composite Character: In the New 52 comics, Ricardo Diaz was a drug-dealing mob boss who had a son, Ricardo Diaz Jr., a martial artist who battled Green Arrow and John Diggle. The Ricardo of the show has his father's legal name and occupation, while his nickname "The Dragon" is taken from the father who was collectively known as Richard Dragon.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist:
- He's the first major Arrow villain since Season One who is primarily from Green Arrow lore, and not a Rogues' Gallery Transplant from either Teen Titans or Batman.
- He also wants to rule Star City, unlike the majority of the previous villains who wanted to destroy it.
- He's the only Arrow Big Bad who played no major role prior to his reveal. All other villains were either actively menacing Oliver and Team Arrow, or were alluded to numerous times, but Diaz was a Hidden Villain made to look like a mook who hid behind a Decoy Antagonist for the first half of Season Six.
- He also doesn't becomes a personal enemy to Oliver in the season where he is the main villain, with both treating each other as an obstacle in the way. All the other Arrow Big Bads ended up an becoming his Arch-Enemy or his Worthy Opponent. This however changes in Season 7 where he has attained Arch-Enemy status.
- He's also the first Big Bad to avoid justice or death (Oliver assumed he'd killed Malcolm in Season One) in his debut season. It isn't until a season later where the heroes finally make him answer for his crimes.
The Chessmaster: Plays both Cayden James and Team Arrow like a fiddle so he can quietly take over Star City. By the time he kills Cayden and usurps his resources, Diaz has already taken over Star City's political infrastructure.
Dirty Coward: Botches an A.R.G.U.S. operation to capture to Dante in hopes of ensuring his own survival. It doesn't work.
Disc-One Final Boss: After being the Big Bad for Season 6, he ends up defeated and imprisoned after the seventh episode of Season 7.
The Dog Was the Mastermind: It looked as though he was just a run of the mill mob boss working under Cayden James, only for it to be revealed he was the mastermind behind everything and had been manipulating James from the shadows to do his bidding before killing him when he was off no further use.
The Dragon: Starts out as this, No Pun Intended among Cayden James' Cabal. Until...
Entitled Bastard: He believes he deserves to rule Star City.
Evil Is Petty:
- Even after he's achieved a position of power in the largest crime syndicate in North America, Diaz proves he's not above settling a boyhood grudge, kidnapping his childhood bully, brutally beating him, then killing him by setting him on fire.
- Despite Oliver already being in prison, Diaz starts Season Seven bound and determined to lay waste to Star City to spite the former Green Arrow for dismantling his criminal empire.
Evil Overlord: Succeeds in establishing a criminal empire across Star City.
Evil Sounds Raspy: He has a low and raspy voice that he almost never raises, making him sound seriously creepy.
Faux Affably Evil: At times, Diaz is soft-spoken and sounds polite, but it's just a cover for how vicious he really is. On the same note, he addresses his men as friends and acts as though their gang is a brotherhood, but when it all falls apart, his only real concern is for what he's losing. When the mask falls off, he's a vicious, snarling beast who'll slaughter anyone who crosses him with a smile.
Foil:
- Much like Slade Wilson, he's a Hidden Villain who manipulated The Heavy for the first half of the season (in Slade's case Sebastian Blood), before revealing himself as the Big Bad. However, Blood knew his place was beneath Slade and obediently carried out his orders; Cayden James was led to believe he was at the top of the villain food-chain all the while Diaz manipulated him from the shadows. He even uses a Super Serum on himself much like Slade's mirakuru.
- To Darhk. Both run criminal organizations that want to target Star City, both are Badass Abnormals who Fights Like a Normal but have other factors complimenting their martial arts, and both lack super outfits and prefer to wear business suits. However, Darhk wished to take over Star City to allow it to be destroyed, while Diaz wished to rule Star City as its crime lord. Darhk utilized magic, while Diaz used a Super Serum to enhance himself. However, while Darhk is a bit of a Squishy Wizard due to being out of practice, Diaz excels in the physical department and is capable of fighting Oliver evenly.
Freudian Excuse: Whoo boy. His growing up as an orphan, having to fight for every meal, being tormented by another kid, while being made to feel every day like he wasn't worth a damn really did a number on him and the way it is presented is not as a small thing.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Diaz started out with nothing, growing up as a victim of bullying in an orphanage and having to fight for everything he ever got. As an adult, he's a powerful and ruthless crime lord who has brought Star City to it's knees.
Hate Sink: Diaz starts off as a prolific drug-dealer and becomes steadily more vile as Season Six goes on. He murders a young man, framing Oliver for it in such a way that Cayden James launches a reign of terror against Star City. Just to twist the knife, he reveals his deceit to James as he's stabbing him to death. He performs many more acts of gratuitous violence from this point onward, notably burning a childhood bully to death. He becomes even more heinous later on, casually using Rene's daughter as a hostage so that her father will be forced to testify against Oliver. In the Season Six finale, he shoots Quentin and leaves him to a long and painful death.
Hidden Villain: While he had already made his presence known, the fact he was the true Big Bad of Season Six was kept in the dark until the end of "The Devil's Greatest Trick".
I Own This Town: While Team Arrow and the New Recruits were so busy fighting Cayden James and each other, Diaz was quietly buying the loyalty of key city officials outside of Mayor Queen's circle — these include the new police captain and Oliver's DA friend. By the end of the season Diaz has complete control over every part of Star City's political infrastructure even smugly telling Quentin that he is "Mayor of my city."
It's All About Me: Diaz's crusade to conquer Star City was meant mostly to ease the feelings of inferiority that have dogged him since he was a bullied child. After losing his criminal empire, he goes to truly insane lengths to torment Oliver, because he can't stand the idea of being made to feel inferior again.
It's Personal: Originally he just saw Oliver and Team Arrow as obstacles. But when Oliver thwarted his plans for Star City, Dragon takes it very personally. In Season 7, he makes it his goal to kill Oliver's loved ones while he's locked up in supermax.
Karmic Death: He's killed by being burned alive the same way he killed his old bully. Bonus points for being brutally killed while in captivity, similar to how he killed a captive Cayden James.
Klingon Promotion: Diaz manages to get his way onto the Quadrant by killing Cartier Sr. and taking his seat. He later takes over the Quadrant completely by murdering two other members and forcing the last one to submit to him.
Lack of Empathy: The lives and suffering of others don't mean a damn thing to Diaz. In fact, when talking with Cayden James or Felicity about the pain he's caused them, Diaz mocks their suffering.
Laser-Guided Karma: Oliver locks him into the same prison cell he was in for more than 6 months thanks to Diaz, after a well-deserved beatdown.
The Man in Front of the Man: He posed as a lowly dealer who served underneath Cayden James, when in fact he was the true mastermind who had been orchestrating everything from the shadows and pushed James into his vendetta against Green Arrow to begin with. It turns out James was just distraction to keep Team Arrow occupied while he proceeded to take over all of Star City's underworld.
Manipulative Bastard: He killed Owen Post, knowing what Cayden would do, and allowed himself to be "recruited" as part of the latter's plan to weaken Team Arrow and Star City, all so he could take it over. He even leaked a doctored photo of Oliver as the Green Arrow to the media just to make sure the authorities would investigate and keep Team Arrow's attention divided.
Mask of Sanity: As shown in "The Dragon", Diaz's calm, calculating exterior is a front that he has to struggle to keep up. On the rare occasion that it slips, he shows himself to be a very violent man who never grew past the sense of inferiority that defined his childhood.
Motive Decay: He goes from trying to take over Star City and securing himself a place in the Quadrant, to trying to kill Oliver's family out of petty revenge.
Moral Myopia: In Season Seven, Diaz has grown to viciously despise Oliver and would do anything to make him suffer and watch him die. Why? Because Oliver dismantled Diaz's crime ring that had a stranglehold on Star City, and reawaked his sense of inferiority.
Nerves of Steel: Very little seems to genuinely rattle Diaz. After his arrest in "Due Process", he responds to Felicity pointing a gun at his head by mocking her, then daring her to do it, all without a hint of fear. Eventually subverted, when it's revealed there is exactly one thing he fears — the wrath of Dante.
Not Wearing Tights: Like Darhk, Diaz has no super suit and is just a Badass in a Nice Suit.
Outside-Context Villain: In contrast to the other members of the Big Bad Duumvirate, Diaz doesn't have the personal animosity for Team Arrow they do^note. It later becomes clear that he deliberately manipulated their personal vendettas in general and James's in particular for his own gain, leaving Star City ripe for a takeover.
Pragmatic Villainy: He seems to live this trope. As he himself points out, he has no interest in destroying Star City; he'd rather take it over, and by the time he kills Cayden James, he has done just that. Subverted in Season Seven, however; with his control over the city broken by Team Arrow, Diaz no longer cares about ruling Star City. He'd much rather see it burn to punish Oliver.
Promoted to Opening Titles: In Season Seven.
Psycho Knife Nut: He's an Ax-Crazy and mentally unstable criminal who displays an affinity for knives, notably using one to kill Cayden James and another to incapicitate Oliver.
Psychopathic Manchild: While he hides it well, the more Diaz appears, the more it becomes clear that he never got over the trauma he experienced as a child. His criminal activities and all the lives he's destroyed are all based on Diaz's desire to never have to feel like a loser again. By Season Seven, his new goal is to destroy everything Oliver cares about while he's in prison — not just Felicity and William, but even Star City itself (a plan he previously scoffed at).
Pyromaniac: He already showed signs of it, killing his childhood bully by setting him on fire, but come Season Seven, Diaz seems to take his moniker of "The Dragon" a bit more literally, wielding a flamethrower as a weapon with a wide smile and formulating a plan to trigger a gas explosion to immolate all of Star City. At the climax of "The Slabside Redemption", he starts an electrical fire within the titular prison for the sake of killing Oliver, not caring if everyone else in the prison dies as well.
Revenge by Proxy: Following his scheme to take over Star City foiled in the season six finale, he decides to get revenge on Oliver by attempting to murder Felicity and William in their own home.
Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Despite botching an A.R.G.U.S. sting to curry favor with Dante, he's still killed on his orders for being a loose end.
Sanity Slippage: The loss of his criminal empire didn't do wonders for Diaz's already questionable sanity; in Season Seven, he's more Ax-Crazy than ever and singularly focused on making Oliver suffer.
Sinister Switchblade: He pulls one out during his fistfight with Oliver and stabs him in the side.
The Sociopath: Let's see: He feels no empathy for others, is charming but only superficially so, is capable of playing others around him like chess pieces, cares only about himself despite his claims otherwise... yeah, he's this trope.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: Diaz rarely raises his voice about a raspy whisper, but that does nothing to downplay how vicious he can be. When he does raise his voice, however, it's even worse.
The Starscream: He kills James and becomes the main Big Bad.
Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!: Diaz is quite fond of doing these, goading the good guys into killing him as a taunt, banking on them not violating their Thou Shalt Not Kill mindset. He does this to Oliver at the end of Season 6 and then Felicity in Season 7.
Strong and Skilled: Is this after becoming an Empowered Badass Normal, essentially a martial arts master with Super-Strength.
Suddenly Shouting: It's very rare for him to raise his voice, so when he does, you know he's angry.
Superior Successor: He's essentially a more competent and successful Tobias Church, had he not been stopped and killed off midway.
Super-Strength: He receives a very low amount of it after consuming a serum in Season 7.
Tattooed Crook: Has a purple dragon tattooed on his neck and arms.
Took a Level in Jerkass: With a healthy dosage of Sanity Slippage to boot; in Season Seven, he's driven mostly by a desire for a bloody, brutal revenge against Team Arrow. He's more vicious and sadistic than ever, attacking Felicity in her own home and slaughtering the entire Bratva to get back at Anatoly for betraying him.
Token Super: As an Empowered Badass Normal, he becomes this to the Ghost Initiative incarnation of Taskforce X.
Trailers Always Lie: Press materials said he would be called Richard Dragon and they made it sound like he would be the Big Bad of Season Six, but in the actual show, he's named Ricardo Diaz, and it looked as though he was working under Cayden James. Then it's revealed Diaz was The Man Behind the Man who had been pulling James' strings by having his son killed, meaning he was the true Big Bad all along. Turns out the trailers didn't lie after all.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: In the flashback during "The Dragon", Diaz was shown to be a shy young boy who mourned his father.
Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Although his plan to take over Star City is foiled, he ultimately survives season six and appears to rendezvous with another highly dangerous group of people—the Longbow Hunters.
Villainous Breakdown: After the trial against Oliver fails, he completely abandons any restraint and tries to have him and everybody he loves killed in the most non-subtle ways possible, while screaming at everybody around him.
The Worf Effect: Able to give Oliver a hard time in combat, then he returns in Season 7 where Felicity is able to fend him off for a good while.

Joe Wilson

I'm my father's son.

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Kane Wolfman

Played By: Liam Hall, William Franklyn-Miller (young)

First Appearance: "Deathstroke Returns" (Arrow 6x5)

Appearances: Arrow | Elseworlds^note(Arrow | Supergirl)

Slade Wilson's estranged son, now leader of a dangerous mercenary group.

see the Titans (2018): Title Team page for the Earth-9 character who bears last name and background

Abled in the Adaptation: In the comics, he's mute due to a childhood incident.
Adaptation Dye-Job: Blonde in the comic books and most media, textbook Tall, Dark, and Snarky here.
Adaptational Nationality: Like his father, he's American in the comic books but Australian here.
Adaptational Villainy: Joe's mainstream counterpart, the superhero Jericho, is a Technical Pacifist and Nice Guy to the core. Pretty much this version's antithesis.
Age Lift: In the comicbooks he is a teenager and Slade's youngest child. Here, he's more or less in his early twenties and swapped roles with Grant Wilson as Slade's eldest child.
Antagonistic Offspring: Ends up becoming just as bad as Slade was while under the influence of the Mirakuru, in the end even being willing to kill his own father.
Arc Villain: Of the Deathstroke two-parter in Arrow Season 6.
The Bus Came Back: He makes a surprising, if short return in the annual crossover of 2018, Elseworlds, where he is confronted by A.R.G.U.S. agents and then apprehended with the help of Barry and Oliver. He then comes back as part of the Suicide Squad.
Chekhov's Gunman: Occasionally mentioned by his father in the first two seasons before finally showing up in Season 6.
Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: He doesn't use "Jericho" here (at least not yet).
Composite Character: Takes his father’s spot on the Suicide Squad.
Disownment: After Slade refuses to join his group, the two end up fighting each other. When Slade gives up on the fight and disowns the name Deathstroke, Joe disowns him, and tries to kill him.
Generation Xerox: Joe followed his father and became an ASIS agent, and later as a killer for hire. During their climatic battle, it becomes clear Joe was deliberately invoking this trope as his way of coping with his father's abandonment of him.
The Ghost: He's occasionally mentioned by his father in the first two seasons but will not personally appear until Season 6.
If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: Orders his father to kill Oliver as proof that he is one of them. Slade doesn't do it, even though he almost goes through with it.
Karma Houdini Warranty: He manages to slip away after Oliver rescues Slade from him, but then resurfaces in the next season and is captured by A.R.G.U.S.
Leave No Witnesses: His policy, as he mercilessly executes one man Slade merely shot in the leg.
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: How he justifies running the Jackals; ASIS left him for dead. In truth however, he feels betrayed by Slade for leaving him to seek vengeance on Oliver, after he promised he would stay.
Mythology Gag: Joe's codename for when he went undercover was Kane Wolfman, after comic author Marv Wolfman who helped make Deathstroke as we know him now.
Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: The younger villain to both his father and Oliver's older heroes (or Anti Heroes rather).
Parental Abandonment: His father was stranded on an island for the better part of three years. When Slade was rescued, he promised Joe that he wouldn't leave him again — only to break it when the effects of Mirakuru overwhelmed him.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: As of Slade's final appearance in Season Six, Joe seems to have brought in to take his father's spot as the Deathstroke figure due to Writing Around Trademarks. Specifically, he ends up on the new Suicide Squad rather than Slade.
Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Stands 6'1 and matches his father in snark and demeanor.
Two First Names: Much like his dad (and many other DC characters), his last name can pass as a given name.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: In the flashbacks he is a normal child, who clearly wishes his dad would be around more. Then he sees his father murder the chinese spy...
The Worf Effect:
- When Slade unexpectedly releases Oliver from his bonds, Oliver takes out Joe in seconds, giving him a bloody nose. That being said, Joe may have been distracted by his father betraying him, but considering that Oliver is the World's Best Warrior, Joe would have lost either way.
- He puts up a decent fight against his father, but the longer it goes on it becomes clear that Slade still outclasses him by a significant margin. The only reason Joe was in a position to kill him was because Slade had refused to continue to fight his son.
Would Hurt a Child: After hearing that Oliver has a child, he tells his father that they should kill him too for revenge.

Chien Na-Wei / China White

Chien Na-Wei (简娜伟) / China White

Species: Human

Known Aliases: China White

Played By: Kelly Hu

First Appearance: "Honor Thy Father" (Arrow 1x2)

Appearances: Arrow

A mercenary and assassin for the Starling City Triad. She takes it over following the death of her mentor Zhishan at the hands of The Huntress.

Abusive Parents: In the supplementary comics, it is shown that her father used to beat her.
Accidental Misnaming: Because her name is The Unpronouncable.
Amazon Brigade: Is part of one with Liza Warner and Cupid in "The Sin-Eater.
Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The brawn in her Terrible Trio with Cupid (beauty) and Liza Warner (brains), being the most brutal and skilled hand-to-hand fighter of the three.
Big Bad Ensemble: She and Amanda Waller more or less act as this in the Season Three flashback story, despite our knowing they both survive to the present day.
Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The light blonde to Liza's brunette and Cupid's redhead.
Breaking Speech: Tries one on Oliver at the start of Season Two when he's finally able to pin her down for good. He throws it back in her face.
The Bus Came Back: After being a recurring villain in the first three seasons (albeit only in flashbacks for Season Three), she disappears from the fourth season completely. She reappears in the fifth season — by literally riding on a corrections bus for prisoners, no less. She doesn't appear in the sixth season, only to reappear in the seventh season.
Catchphrase: "Anything for a friend".
Celebrity Paradox:
- An episode of The Flash mentions the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Her actress voiced a prominent Anti-Villain on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012).
- An episode of The Flash mentions the CSI franchise. Her actress played a Recurring Character on CSI: NY.
- Yet another episode of The Flash has Cisco wearing a Friday the 13th shirt. Her actress made her film debut in the eighth film.
Dark Action Girl: Can fight the Hood on mostly even ground. She is also one of very few characters able to go toe-to-toe with Oliver for a decent length of time and keep pace. The only reason Oliver keeps winning is because of essentially small advantages such as China White fighting barefoot on broken glass without her knives.
Disc-One Final Boss: For the Season Three flashbacks, being apprehended by Oliver a little more than halfway through.
Dragon Ascendant: Takes over the Triad after Zhishan is killed.
Dragon Lady: A Chinese Triad leader and expert in martial arts. She doesn't dress in qipao, but still fits.
The Dreaded: Enough that Amanda Waller was willing to shoot down a whole plane full of innocent people just to take her out in season 1's island storyline.
Lady of War: She's damn graceful with her knives and calmness in a fight.
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: In "Identity", China White is glad to see that the Hood didn't die in the earthquake, as it would have deprived her of the chance to kill him herself.
Parental Abandonment: In the supplementary comics, her father and mother were both murdered by Zhishan, but she was spared by him because he saw potential in her. He later came back and recruited China into the Triad, offering her training and power.
Prematurely Grey-Haired: According to the comics, the stress of living in an abusive home turned China's hair prematurely white. She later permanently bleached it by soaking it in hydrogen peroxide.
Professional Killer: One for the Chinese triads.
Put on a Bus:
- Was arrested early in season 2, and didn't appear in the present story again until season 5. Her season 3 appearances were all in flashbacks.
- After the ACU shot and arrested her in "The Sin-Eater", she didn't appear again until two seasons later, in the Season 7 episode "Past Sins".
Second Episode Introduction: Debuted on the second episode of the entire series.
Terrible Trio: In Season 5 she forms one with Liza Warner and Cupid.
The Triads and the Tongs: Head of the triads.
Uncertain Doom: Her last appearance in "Welcome to Hong Kong" has her blown away into the water by Laurel's Canary Cry. She is not mentioned again afterwards.
The Unpronouncable: Season 3 reveals that "China White" is just the closest Oliver can get to saying her real name.
Villainous Friendship: With Cupid, where a simple exchange of looks between them is enough for her to kill a sleazy thug trying to make a pass at Cupid. After Cutter thanks her, China White replies, with true sincerity, "anything for a friend."
Weapon Twirling: She seemingly cannot use her knives on someone without twirling them first. This is the sole reason Diggle survives meeting her, as her twirling windup before ending him gives Oliver the time he needs to perform an amazing long-range disarm.
White Hair, Black Heart: And after the Season One mid-season break, she has a pretty glamorous do.

Miscellaneous Squad members

Cheetah

Species: Metahuman ^note

Known Aliases: Cheetah

Played By: ???

A prisoner in A.R.G.U.S.

Ambiguous Situation: They were incarcerated under unknown circumstances, with it not being clear if they have any relation to Wonder Woman.
Easter Egg: Much like Harley Quinn, they are nothing more than this.
The Ghost: Only their vacated prison cell is shown.
Mysterious Past: We know absolutely nothing about Cheetah aside from a nameplate on a prison cell.
No Name Given: For this reason we don't even know which version of Cheetah this is.
Offscreen Villainy: They must have done something really bad to be incarcerated by A.R.G.U.S.

Shay Lamden / King Shark

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kingshark_6.jpg

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shay.png

Species: Metahuman

Known Alias: King Shark

Voiced By: David Hayter

Played By: Dan Payne

First Appearance: "The Fury of Firestorm" (The Flash 2x4)

Appearances: The Flash | Crisis on Earth-X ^note(Supergirl)

A metahuman from Earth-2 with the physical characteristics of a shark, sent by Zoom to kill the Flash.

See the Arrowverse: Central City - Citizens page for his Earth-1 counterpart.

see the DCEU: Task Force X - New Team page for the character in an undesignated Earth who bears his codename and comic book connections

Adaptation Name Change: Shay Lamden instead of Nanaue.
Adaptation Personality Change: Much more serious and focused than his comic counterpart.
Adaptational Seriousness: This version of King Shark, unlike the hilarious Boisterous Bruiser from the comics, is played mostly seriously.
Adaptation Species Change: Here he's a metahuman, rather than a demigod.
Always a Bigger Fish: He is this to Grodd, as he shows during his fight with the Meta-Gorilla, being much bigger and stronger than his opponent, who has to rely on his telepathic powers and using his environment to his advantage to be on even footing with King Shark.
Ambiguously Human: The DNA from his teeth ID'd as human, but to look at him, "human" is probably the last word that would come to mind. "King Shark" confirms that he was human before the particle accelerator turned him into what he is now.
Ambiguous Situation: He was relocated to Earth-Prime, but it is unknown if his redemption stuck.
Animal Themed Super Being: Shark powers.
Ascended Extra: His first appearance in "The Fury of Firestorm" was just as a fleeting cameo to please the fans, with Andrew Kreisberg calling him "a very expensive 35 seconds" and claiming that since he was the only Suicide Squad member they could use, they decided to go for it, but they unfortunately didn't have the budget for a full episode with the guy. A month later, after much acclaim and excitement over the effect, an entire episode was announced with him as the main villain.
The Atoner: After being restored to his original human form, he expresses the desire to atone for the things he did as King Shark. He even volunteers to be permanently changed back into his shark form so that he can help the Flash and XS in their fight against Grodd.
Badass in Distress: He's under A.R.G.U.S. custody on Earth-1 as of Season Two.
Bad Powers, Good People: He is a genuinely good person, but his shark-predator instincts make him a violent, uncontrollable mass murderer.
Beast and Beauty: His relationship with his Earth-1's doppleganger's widow Tanya.
Bond Villain Stupidity: Despite taking the Flash lure out in one swipe, when he comes across the actual Flash, he seems to want to spend all his time telling Barry that he's going to kill him rather than actually DOING it.
Breakout Villain:
- It's obvious the writers love him as much as the fans do, with King Shark returning for many appearances after his debut despite being a very costly CGI character. Sometimes he even shows up without any direct relation to the plot... because why not?
- It appears the popularity of this version of King Shark has led to his increased appearance in other DC media such as Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, being a main cast member in Harley Quinn, and eventually even in the feature film The Suicide Squad.
Brick Joke: He's briefly referenced in Episode 2x04 before he shows up in the very last minute of it.
The Brute: He's huge. Being a literal Threatening Shark helps.
Determinator: Even while trapped in ARGUS custody for weeks, King Shark refused to give up his hunt for the Flash. According to Lyla, he kept repeating "Zoom wants the Flash dead" while in prison.
Doppelgänger Replacement Love Interest: He gets tons of Ship Tease with the widow of his late Earth-1 counterpart.
Everybody's Dead, Dave: With Earth-2 destroyed by the Anti-Monitor, he becomes one of its few survivors along with Dinah Laurel Lance / Black Canary and Linda Park / Doctor Light. Earth-2 Linda's status is unknown after the recreation of the multiverse, though.
Evil Sounds Deep: He's not going to be singing soprano any time soon.
Evil Twin: His Earth-1 counterpart is said to be a Friend to All Living Things.
Fan Disservice: He sheds his shirt giving a look at his firm, chiseled body before he begins the painful and grotesque retransformation into King Shark.
Foil: To Grodd. Grodd was a benign animal who became more evil as he gained intelligence and humanity. King Shark was a human who was mutated into an animal and in the process lost his humanity along with his morality. Also Grodd started off good but had a Face–Heel Turn where he became more corrupt, while King had a Heel–Face Turn after his humanity was restored and became The Atoner.
Gone Horribly Right : Unlike his Earth-1 counterpart, he completed and survived his metahuman transformation; meaning he's stuck as a giant cannibalistic monstrosity.
Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: He is a human turned humanoid shark with pants.
Healing Factor: Gets his hand severed in "Infantino Street" only to regenerate it seconds afterwards and looking none the worse for wear.
Heel–Face Turn: Despite the Flash using him as a guinea pig for the newly developed meta-human cure against his will, he is overjoyed when it works and grateful enough at being restored to his human form that he becomes an ally to Team Flash. Even when he is mutated back into King Shark, he does so voluntarily in order to help in the fight against Grodd and remains an ally to Team Flash afterwards.
Heroic Sacrifice: He gives up his human form intentionally to fight Grodd, being warned by Team Flash that if he did so, it would be permanent.
HULK MASH!-Up: In his final appearance he's partially regained his human intelligence, briefly regained his human form and underwent a Heel–Face Turn, essentially becoming the Hulk.
Iconic Sequel Character: Does not appear in the Arrowverse until its fourth year during The Flash Season Two.
I'm a Humanitarian: A.R.G.U.S agents make for good eating as far as he's concerned.
Immune to Bullets: Immune to police-issued pistols and the assault rifles used by ARGUS.
I Was Quite a Looker: Before being turned into a shark monster, Shay Landon was once a good looking human man.
The Juggernaut: He's huge and super strong.
Jump Scare: He appears out of nowhere to grab the Flash by the neck. He pulls it off again in "King Shark", ripping the ceiling off of the West's house to try and find the Flash.
Last of His Kind: The last known male citizen of Earth-2, as the other two known survivors are both women.
Lifesaving Misfortune: Finding himself Trapped in Another World ultimately ends up saving his life when Earth-2 gets disintegrated by antimatter.
Lightning Bruiser: He can keep up to the Flash when they're on water. He's also fast enough on land to get away from A.R.G.U.S. agents after eating a team of them.
More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Being a shark and all, he has a whole load of fangs.
Noodle Incident: Crisis on Earth-X reveals he's escaped from ARGUS custody again... somehow, causing trouble for The Flash on the eve of his wedding.
Only Mostly Dead: The energy gun only knocked him out, but his "corpse" was taken away by ARGUS and he was declared dead. In reality, ARGUS had him in a special holding facility and there were plans to weaponize him and other captured metahumans.
Race Lift: Depicted here as Caucasian pre-mutation instead of Polynesian.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: He's normally an Aquaman or Superboy villain, as well as a member of the Secret Six.
Scarily Competent Tracker: He can sense and differentiate bio-electricity at long distances and uses that to locate his prey.
Shark Man: A humanoid shark, in case it's not obvious.
Small Role, Big Impact: His first appearance may be brief and he does not appear that much after that, but this appearance is what connects Earth-2 Wells to the main Story Arc.
Smarter Than You Look: He successfully breaks out of A.R.G.U.S. and tracks down the Flash's home.
Stalker without a Crush: He's persistently hunting the Flash down to kill him for Zoom and even manages to finds Barry's house.
Stealth Hi/Bye: Despite being a huge shark-man, he easily springs out of nowhere to eat someone and disappear with no one the wiser.
Super-Persistent Predator: Weeks, maybe months in an ARGUS prison, followed by the revelation that he was trapped on Earth-1, did absolutely nothing to dissuade King Shark from hunting the Flash for Zoom.
Super-Speed: When swimming, he is almost fast enough to catch up with Barry.
Super-Strength: Capable of giving people a Neck Lift and punches hard enough to demolish ceilings. In his cameo in Crisis on Earth-X , he sends a car flying from offscreen, before lifting Barry with one hand by the waist and throwing him through 3 walls.
Threatening Shark: As his name would imply.
Trapped in Another World: In A.R.G.U.S.' custody in Earth-1 since he attacked Barry. After escaping and attempting Revenge, Barry defeated him once again and is retaken by A.R.G.U.S.
Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: He clashes with Grodd in “Grodd vs King Shark”. King Shark wins with some assistance from Team Flash.
Uncertain Doom: Before he can take a bite out of Barry, Dr. Wells shoots him in the back, but it's unknown whether this killed him or stunned him, since nobody reports his current status. It's later revealed that he survived, but ARGUS took his body and falsely declared him dead as a cover for their plans to weaponize him.
Undying Loyalty: Out of all the metahumans that Zoom has sent after the Flash, King Shark seems to be one of the few (maybe the only one) who's actually loyal to Zoom rather than being strong-armed into working for him. Even after he learns that the breaches have all been closed and that he has no hope of returning to Earth-2, King Shark continues to obsessively hunt the Flash for Zoom.
Was Once a Man: He used to be a normal man working as a marine biologist. Then the particle accelerator turned him into King Shark.
You Can't Go Home Again: Earth-2 was destroyed by the Anti-Monitor while he's taking refuge in Earth-1.

Grodd

See Arrowverse: Time Travelers page

Ravan Nassar

Species: Human

Appearances: Arrow: Season 2.5 (tie-in comic)

Former head of the military dictatorship in Kahndaq, recruited for assisting in taking down Khem-Adam.

Adaptational Heroism: The comic Ravan is a fanatic who kills as an act of religious devotion. Mixed with Adaptational Villainy, since while comic Ravan was a murderous zealot, he believed he was delaying the age of destruction while doing so, while this Ravan was a military dictator.
The Atoner: Regrets his past crimes and willingly goes back into imprisonment after the mission is over.
Boxed Crook: After the dictatorship was toppled, he was imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay for 2 years. Lyla offers him a job in his old country, which he gladly accepts. Afterwards, he willingly goes back to prison.
Even Evil Has Standards: Is absolutely disgusted by Khem-Adam's cruelty, despite running a military dictatorship in the past.
He Cleans Up Nicely: This◊ is how he looked after 2 years in prison. Compare to the above picture.
A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: Khem-Adam was once a soldier under his command.
Race Lift: Indian in the comics, from Kahndaq here.
Rank Scales with Asskicking: He was the head of the military in Kahndaq and is an excellent fighter.

Characters / Arrowverse: A.R.G.U.S. & Task Force X

Edit Locked

Advanced Research Group United Support (A.R.G.U.S.)

Lyla Michaels-Diggle / Harbinger

Species: Humannote Briefly empowered by the Monitor in December 2019

Known Aliases: Harbinger

Played by: Audrey Marie Anderson

First Appearance: "Unfinished Business" (Arrow 1x19)

Appearances: Arrow | Flash vs. Arrow!note (Arrow) | The Flash | Invasion!note (The Flash) | Crisis on Infinite Earths

Amanda Waller

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Mockingbird, White Queen

Played By: Cynthia Addai-Robinson

First Appearance: "Dead to Rights" (Arrow 1x16, voice), "Darkness on the Edge of Town" (Arrow, 1x22, self)

Appearances: Arrow | Flash vs. Arrow!note (Arrow)

Bell

Species: Human

Played by: David Stuart

First Appearance: "The Longbow Hunters" (Arrow 7x2)

Appearances: Arrow

Dr. Tanya Lamden

Species: Human

Played by:Haley Beauchamp (The Flash Season 2)/Zibby Allen (The Flash Season 5)

First Appearance: "King Shark" (The Flash 2x15)

Appearances: The Flash

Suicide Squad / Task Force X / Ghost Initiative

Task Force X additions

Floyd Lawton / Deadshot

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Deadshot

Played By: Michael Rowe

First Appearance: "Lone Gunmen" (Arrow 1x3)

Appearances: Arrow

Ben Turner / Bronze Tiger

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Bronze Tiger

Played By: Michael Jai White

First Appearance: "Identity" (Arrow 2x2)

Appearances: Arrow

Mark "Shrapnel" Scheffer

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Shrapnel

Played By: Sean Maher

First Appearance: "Blast Radius" (Arrow 2x10)

Appearances: Arrow

Carrie Cutter / Cupid

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Cupid

Played By: Amy Gumenick

Voiced By: Betzabe Jara (Latin-American Spanish), Kikuko Inoue (Japanese)

First Appearance: "Guilty" (Arrow 3x6)

Appearances: Arrow

Digger Harkness / Captain Boomerang

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Captain Boomerang

Played by: Nick Tarabay

First Appearance: "Draw Back Your Bow" (Arrow 3x7)

Appearances: Arrow | Flash vs. Arrow!note (Arrow)

Harley Quinn

Species: Human

Played By: Cassidy Alexa

Voiced By: Tara Strong

First Appearance: "Suicide Squad" (Arrow 2x16, voice), "Unthinkable" (Arrow 2x23, deleted scene, self)

Appearances: Arrow

The Ghost Initiative additions

Ricardo Diaz

Species: Metahuman

Known Aliases: The Dragon

Played By: Kirk Acevedo, Max Archibald (young)

First Appearance: "Promises Kept" (Arrow 6x6)

Appearances: Arrow | Elseworlds note (Supergirl)

Joe Wilson

Species: Human

Known Aliases: Kane Wolfman

Played By: Liam Hall, William Franklyn-Miller (young)

First Appearance: "Deathstroke Returns" (Arrow 6x5)

Appearances: Arrow | Elseworldsnote (Arrow | Supergirl)

Chien Na-Wei (简娜伟) / China White

Species: Human

Known Aliases: China White

Species: Human^note

Appearances: Arrow | Flash vs. Arrow!^note(Arrow) | The Flash | Invasion!^note(The Flash) | Crisis on Infinite Earths

Appearances: Arrow | Flash vs. Arrow!^note(Arrow)

Appearances: Arrow | Flash vs. Arrow!^note(Arrow)

Appearances: Arrow | Elseworlds ^note(Supergirl)

Appearances: Arrow | Elseworlds^note(Arrow | Supergirl)

Species: Metahuman ^note

Appearances: The Flash | Crisis on Earth-X ^note(Supergirl)