For the past five years, the Arrowverse has introduced a myriad of characters from the DC universe. The Flash, Green Arrow, Supergirl, Zoom, Martian Manhunter, Deathstroke and more. In the beginning, major characters from the DCEU film slate were off limits. For instance, The Flash and Arrow couldn’t technically mention Batman or The Joker. This began to change, however, when Superman showed up on the Season 2 premiere of Supergirl. Then, a few weeks ago Oliver Queen mentioned Bruce Wayne on Arrow. Now Legends of Tomorrow has mentioned Wonder Woman. While this isn’t confirmation of any kind of TV show/film continuity, it does mean that film characters like Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman exist in the Arrowverse and are starting to have a greater presence on these shows.
Let’s take a look at how Legends of Tomorrow introduced a Wonder Woman connection on this week’s episode, “Helen Hunt”.
Legends of Tomorrow Meet Helen of Troy
Helen of Troy visited Legends of Tomorrow this week, where she nearly caused a movie studio war. When the Legends tried to return Helen to her true time, she didn’t want to go. She was tired of throwing men into war and wanted to stay in Hollywood for her own safety. Zari, the newest member of the Legends team, worked out a compromise: return Helen to the right time but a different place. Where did Zari send Helen? To Wonder Woman‘s homeland of Themyscira! That’s right, the famed island of the Amazonians!
Let’s Go to Paradise Island
We most recently saw the island of Themyscira in the summer blockbuster Wonder Woman. This is the island where Diana grew up. It’s where she was trained. It’s the island Steve Trevor crashed into when he was escaping the Germans in World War I.
So what’s the significance of this island showing up on Legends of Tomorrow? For one, it’s the first direct Arrowverse reference to the character of Wonder Woman. The writers of Legends of Tomorrow pretty much came out and said, “Yeah, we’re a DC show, we get to mention these characters too.” Honestly it was a refreshing reference. There’s no reason to pretend that Batman and Diana Prince don’t exist on these shows. Do they have to be mentioned every week? No, but it’s nice that they get to be included outside the realm of cinema.
Legends of Tomorrow airs Tuesdays on The CW at 9PM.