Arrow Makes A Surprise Powerless Reference

A lot of DC TV series were referenced in Crisis on Infinite Earths, but one particular series that aired in recent years finally got mentioned in the Arrow series finale “Fadeout” which aired tonight.

Spoilers for the episode are being discussed within.

As Roy and Thea are jumping on rooftops and ultimately, Roy proposes, we see a billboard in the background referencing “Van Wayne Industries.” That is, of course, a reference to Bruce’s cousin Van Wayne, as played by Alan Tudyk and protagonist of the short-lived NBC comedy Powerless. Powerless is probably best known for being one of Adam West’s final live-action appearances as well as having some really good opening credits:

“So, a lot of times the art department will tell us about a location, and we’ve trained them over the years to look out for Easter egg [opportunities],” Marc Guggenheim told us in a group Q&A earlier this week. Guggenheim spoke to his partner in crime for so many of these things, Dan Evans, who pitched the Powerless shoutout, which was easy to pull off. “Anything I can clear at this point, it was like, ‘let’s do that’,” Guggenheim admitted, adding that he loved the show, “so it worked out very well.”

As for the engagement of Roy and Thea, this was something that the producers really seemed to agree on. “I always wanted them to be together in the end, no matter what,” Beth Schwartz said. “I love them together and I think they’re one of my favorite relationships in the series, and then Marc went further with the engagement. He surprised me.”

“I was doing my pass on on that, and I’m like, oh, this feels right,” Guggenheim recalls. “Because I’m also a big fan of that relationship. That was actually something we had discussed and agreed upon very early on, [that] they have to end up together.”

If you have not yet seen the Arrow series finale, it should be available on The CW app very soon. You can see the opening credits of Powerless below.