Oliver Queen

> *"There is more than one path to justice"* - **Oliver Queen**
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# Early Life

## Childhood

Oliver Jonas Queen was born on May 16, 1373 in Washington, DC into the esteemed Queen family to his parents; billionaires Robert Queen and Moira Dearden.

When he was seven years old, Oliver met and befriended Tomlain Merlyn and later, Laurel Lance, both who would become his lifelong best friends. Oliver had a younger sister, Thea, whom he was very close to and protective of. He nicknamed Thea "Speedy" since he always chased after her when she was a kid. Every Christmas, Oliver and Thea would race to see who could eat the holiday candy canes the fastest.

## High School

While learning how to drive, Oliver once chipped the side paint off of his father's Maserati. Oliver did have some engineering skills due to working with his father, who was an aspiring pilot and sometimes performed his own maintenance with his son. Robert also taught Oliver how to operate a plane and the two often went flying together. As a teenager, Oliver used these abilities to hot-wire Malcolm Merlyn's car four times, which resulted in him getting grounded for an entire summer.

## University

Once Oliver entered his late teens and early 20s, he started sleeping around with other women and got into multiple social scandals by himself or with Tomlain, including assaulting a paparazzi bystander, driving while intoxicated, stealing a taxi, urinating on a police officer, and using a helicopter to impress Maria Sharapova at the U.S. Open. At some point, Oliver and Tomlain became acquainted with McKenna Hall and met Laurel's sister, Sara. Oliver's education was chaotic as well; he dropped out of four Ivy League schools, not even bothering to tell his parents about the last one until sometime after. The only book Oliver ever bothered to read in college was The Odyssey.

At some point in 1392, Oliver indirectly ran into Simon Morrison when he successfully stole the latter's girlfriend. At another time, Oliver slept with Vesper Fairchild during her exposé on white-collar crime in order to convince her that his family company, Queen Consolidated was clean. Over the following years, he would forget about both of these incidents.
In 1393, Oliver would begin dating his longtime friend Laurel, and they fell in love with one another. However, Laurel's father, Quentin, disapproved of their relationship and once threatened to use a taser on Oliver after catching the two in bed together. Despite this, Oliver enjoyed spending time with Laurel and her family as he felt unburdened from being Robert Queen's son. Oliver also held Quentin in high regard, secretly wanting to earn his validation.

Sometime after he began dating Laurel, Oliver cheated on her by sleeping with a college classmate, Samantha Clayton, in November 1392, and accidentally got her pregnant. Distressed and worried about his future, Oliver shared the news with his mother, expressing he "screwed up", and as such, his belief Robert would "kill" him. Unbeknownst to him, Moira stepped in and paid off  Samantha to raise the unborn child in Central City, lie to Oliver that she miscarried, and never speak to him again. Oliver was both saddened and relieved upon learning of his dashed fatherhood, unaware of the truth. Confiding in his mother once more, Oliver thanked her for being there for him, to which Moira promised that her son was never without her.

In 1395, after Moira caught Laurel sneaking away to Oliver's room in the Queen Mansion, Laurel suggested that she and Oliver could live in their own home, bringing up how their friends, Ray and Jean, had recently decided to get an apartment together. Oliver initially agreed to moving in with her, but he quickly began having doubts. Rather than talk to Laurel about his doubts, Oliver panicked, causing him to start cheating on her in an effort to back out of the commitment. He hurt his relationship with Laurel by sleeping with Sara, who before had a crush on him, and eventually inviting her to join him on his father's three-week trip on the Queen's Gambit. Before he boarded the Gambit, Laurel visited Oliver to say goodbye and gave him a photograph of herself for when he got lonely overseas.

#### Shipwreck on Lian Yu

That night on the Queen's Gambit, Oliver was in bed with Sara as they drank wine and flirted. Suddenly, the yacht, having been sabotaged, sank. Oliver witnessed Sara being swooped away by the rushing water before being pulled under. He eventually resurfaced from the ocean with Robert and a crew member, Dave Hackett, dragging him into a life raft, the three of them being the only known survivors. Oliver tried to go back and look for Sara, but Robert told him it was too late, much to his devastation. After days of drifting at sea and running low on provisions, Robert realized that there was enough for maybe one person and chose to give his son a chance at survival. He revealed to Oliver that their family's wealth had been built on the suffering of others and he was not the man his son thought he was. Robert urged his son to right his wrongs and be better than he was. He then took out a gun and proceeded to shoot Hackett, much to Oliver's horror, before turning it on himself. Robert told Oliver one last time, "Survive" before shooting himself amidst his son's pleas.

Sometime later, Oliver washed ashore upon an island, where he built a makeshift hut to spend the night in. The next morning, He spotted birds descending on his father's body and frantically rushed to shield him, only to suddenly vomit upon touching Robert's hand. While burying his father's body, Oliver found a notebook with a strange symbol filled with seemingly blank pages in his pocket. Immediately after, a hooded man named Yao Fei Gulong ambushed Oliver and shot an arrow into his shoulder. Oliver screamed in pain before collapsing and passing out.

Oliver awoke some time later in Yao Fei's camp, where he tended to Oliver's wound. Later, when the man fell asleep, Oliver tried to flee, only to trigger a snare. Yao Fei soon arrived, cutting him down and leaving Oliver with a warning of the island's dangers. Oliver was left with no other choice but to follow him.

Over the next few days, Oliver spent most of his time gazing at his picture of Laurel until Yeo Fei brought him a bird trapped in a cage. Oliver was confused, to which Yao Fei simply repeated, "Shēngcún", gesturing him to kill the bird if he wanted to eat. Horrified at the thought, Oliver refused at first but later, driven by hunger, he reluctantly broke the bird's neck. While eating, Yao Fei told Oliver that his mantra, "Shēngcún", means to survive. Yao Fei warned that Oliver would be forced to take more lives in the future, and advised him to forget about Laurel if he wanted to survive on the island.

Oliver was ambushed and captured by a group of armed men, who imprisoned him in an underground cage. Terrified, Oliver attempted to beg for his life, to no avail. They brought Oliver to their camp, where he was then interrogated by their leader, Edward Fyers. Fyers showed him a picture of Yao Fei, asking if Oliver had seen him, revealing the man's name as well as the island's; Lian Yu (meaning "purgatory" in Mandarin) Oliver denied any knowledge of Yao Fei in order to protect him. Not believing him, Fyers ordered an employee of his to extract information from Oliver.

The man tortured Oliver by slicing his torso with a katana. Despite the pain, Oliver refused to divulge anything. After a period of time, Yao Fei barged in, rescuing a severely injured Oliver and bringing him back to the cave.

Injured and alone in the cave, Oliver began burning the pages of his father's book to keep a fire going. He suddenly experienced a hallucination of Robert telling him to survive despite Oliver's contemplating suicide, otherwise Robert's sacrifice would have been for nothing. After awakening, Oliver tore another page out of the book, but just as he was about to throw it onto the fire, the heat from the flames caused letters to appear on the paper. He proceeded to do the same with other pages, and various names began to appear on the pages. Oliver then promised the hallucination of his father that he would live up to this responsibility.

One of Fyers' men continued to search for Oliver after Yao Fei was captured. Armed with only a knife, Oliver was eventually forced to confront him. The skirmish resulted in them tumbling and falling down into a stream. The soldier landed hard on a rock while Oliver ended up in the water. He managed to swim out and donned the uniform of the dead man, finding a set of keys and a map of the island in one of the pockets. Using the map, Oliver found his way to the camp where Fyers and his men were based. There, unfortunately accompanied by Fyers (who didn't seem to recognize him due to wearing a balaclava) he managed to make his way to where Yao Fei was being held prisoner, but once there, Fyers knocked down Oliver and put him in one of the cells.

When he came to, Fyers told him he'd known who he was because of his eyes, which tell everything about a person, which was the reason why his men all wore balaclavas. Fyers then rebuked Oliver for putting his trust in the wrong people, specifically Yao Fei. He motioned to the soldier next to him, who had been the first to talk to Oliver upon his arrival in the camp. The soldier took off his balaclava and revealed himself to be in fact Yao Fei, who had begun working for Fyers. Yao Fei proceeded to seemingly kill Oliver in a fighting circle, however he secretly used a technique in order to fake Oliver's death. As he hit the water, Oliver was revived and swam to shore. In his pocket, he found a map with a route marked out. Oliver proceeded to follow the route, leading to an abandoned plane.

#### Oliver meets Slade

A man jumped down, threatening to kill him. Oliver told him that he was sent by Yao Fei, and the man seemed to drop his suspicions, introducing himself as Slade Wilson. Slade then told Oliver that there was an airfield, and he and Yao Fei had been observing it for months, that they were going to get off the island together. He then threw a sword to Oliver and told him of his belief that Yao Fei sent Oliver to him because he knew that he could not take the air field alone. Slade then challenged Oliver to a brief sword fight in order to gauge Oliver's fighting skills. He was unimpressed, significantly beating Oliver and told him how he fought much worse than a girl.

Slade then knocked him out. Oliver woke, tied to a chair. Slade, in order to keep his location secret, decided to kill Oliver, however, Oliver managed to escape his bonds by breaking his hand, and then punched Slade in the face. Amused, Slade thought that there might have been a fighter inside of Oliver after all and decided to train Oliver instead. As Oliver went to choose a weapon, he found a bi-colored solid black and orange fabric mask, identical to the one worn by the man who had tortured him under Fyers' orders. When questioned about this, Slade explained that he and his old partner, and former friend, wore the same mask, that they had come to the island to rescue Yao as a mission from the Australian Secret Intelligence Service.

When the time came, the two of them made their way to Edward's camp, and ultimately the airstrip to a ride home. They set up camp, and Oliver tried to start a fire for several hours, before Slade pulled out a lighter and helped, bemused at Oliver's anger.

A day or so later, Oliver accidentally stepped on a land mine left over from a previous war. Slade ran to hide as a group of soldiers approached a masked Oliver. Oliver explained his situation, as Slade had deserted him, and they surveyed the mine. Suddenly, Slade jumped from his hiding spot, slicing through the soldiers with his sword, replacing Oliver with one of them. They continued towards the camp, finally reaching it at dark. Oliver, aided by Slade's sniping, raced stealthily to the communications tower. He attempted to quietly take out the only man in there, only resulting in having a gun pointed at his face. He tried to remove it, but his technique failed. Luckily, Slade reached him just in time, stabbing the man through the gut. They were able to contact the plane, allowing clearance to land.

Slade left Oliver on his own and Oliver, seeing his chance, grabbed a phone and called Laurel, hoping to make up for his wrongdoings. Before he could speak, Slade returned and stopped him, reminding him that it could be monitored. After a short argument, Oliver went to find Yao Fei and rescue him. Yao Fei explained that he was only staying for a person. Fyers and Wintergreen entered the tent, leading Yao Fei to knock out Oliver. When Oliver came to, he was forced into the middle of a circle. After questioning Fyers, he discovered that he meant for Wintergreen to kill him.

Before this could happen, Slade caused a distraction so that he could snipe several soldiers and Oliver could run to safety. Oliver watched as Slade and Wintergreen faced off, with Slade overpowering his former friend. As they were leaving, Slade was shot. Oliver helped to protect them as they left, finally knocking out his first soldier with the move Slade had shown him earlier. When they reached Slade's plane, Oliver helped remove the bullet in Slade's arm.

Later, Oliver checked Slade's wound and found that it was infected. He recalled the herbs that Yao Fei had given him that prevented infection from his arrow wound and offered to go get them. Slade said that he wouldn't last an hour out there, and Oliver believed that he could get them in 45 minutes. He then went to Yao Fei's cave, discovering a man tied up there. The man explains that he was the only survivor of a shipwreck, like Oliver, and had discovered Fyers' soldiers, who had beaten and taken him to the cave. Oliver, believing it to be a trap, grabbed the herbs and left the man there, returning to Slade with the herbs. Oliver began working on a broken down radio transmitter to find a way to get off the island with Slade.

After working on it for a while, they were able to hear conversations between radios, but unable to communicate back. After listening for a while, the two learned that Fyers had ordered the shipment of a missile launcher big enough to destroy an entire army. Oliver and Slade were able to sneak into Fyers' compound, where they stole the launcher's ignition chip. They called Fyers on his radio and told him that they would return the chip in exchange for a way off of the island.

#### Oliver is trained by Shado

Oliver and Slade soon met with Fyers, who quickly backed down from their deal by revealing to them that he would kill Shado, Yao Fei's daughter, if they did not give him the chip. Oliver then realized that it was because of Shado that Yao Fei joined Fyers' cause. Oliver and Slade escaped with Shado in tow, but soon learned that Fyers' men had found the chip while they had rendezvoused with Fyers, and had taken it back. Shado then told them how she knew of Fyers' plan. Shado decided to begin teaching Oliver archery so that he could help them defeat Fyers. She proceeded to get him to fill a bowl with water, and then continuously slap it.

After a while, Oliver became frustrated and asked Shado the purpose of the exercise, and she showed him that because he had spent so long slapping the water, he then had the strength in his hands to pull back a bow. She then told him that he had to learn how to shoot, during which the two grew closer romantically despite Oliver confessing that he was in love with Laurel despite it being complicated to Shado. After learning how to shoot, the three were shocked to see Yao Fei arrive at their compound. However, he was promptly forced to reveal that he had brought Fyers' soldiers along with him.

Oliver aims at Fyers to kill him, marking the first time he killed someone with a bow and arrow.
The soldiers brought the three of them to Fyers' compound, where Oliver saw that one of the soldiers was the young man who he had met in the cave who had claimed to be trapped there. Fyers revealed that the reason he was on the island was because he and his men were hired to shoot down a Ferris Aircraft on its way to China, thus destroying China's economy. Fyers then threatened to kill Shado if Yao Fei did not film a video taking responsibility for the terrorist attack. After reluctance, Yao Fei agreed, but subtly handed Oliver a knife. After filming the video, Fyers shot Yao Fei in the head, killing him. Just as Fyers and his men prepared to fire the missile, Oliver cut himself free using Yao Fei's knife, and he, Slade, and Shado, fought Fyers and his men. Fyers, however, was able to get the missile fired at the plane, and Oliver and Shado went to manually redirect the missile while Slade covered them.

Just as Shado was about to place the chip inside the switchboard, she was attacked from behind, and Oliver managed to redirect the missile, which hit Fyers' compound instead, with both Slade and Shado still there. Oliver went to search for them, and found Slade alive, but then turned around to see that Fyers was still alive and had Shado in his custody. Oliver found Yao Fei's wooden compound bow and arrow, and pointed it at Fyers, who mused about how his meticulously-executed plan over the past two years was undone by a shipwrecked boy, and admitted that he would've gotten him off of the island if Oliver had stopped messing with Fyers' plans. Before Fyers could make a move, Oliver shot an arrow at his throat, killing him.

#### The Mirakuru

Months later, Oliver had noticeably improved in his combat tactics, as noted by both Slade and Shado. The three of them soon discovered another group of people on the island, and went to track them down. However, Shado was soon abducted by the group, forcing Oliver and Slade to try and rescue her. They soon found her being interrogated by a group of pirates, who were asking her where to find "bodies." Slade told Oliver to wait for his signal to attack, but Oliver, unable to watch Shado be tortured, attacked them impulsively. While Slade fended off the other pirates, Oliver brutally murdered their leader out of rage, shocking both Slade and Shado.

Slade promptly suggested Shado talk to Oliver, worried that he would lose his mind. This leads to the latter two making love, to the clear annoyance of Slade, who told Oliver that Shado was simply a distraction that would lead to his death. The three of them soon found a cave with skeletal remains of Japanese soldiers from World War II, determining that they were the very same bodies that the pirates were looking for. They also deduced that more people were likely to follow, and so they took one of the bodies back to the plane. As Shado examined the body, Slade and Oliver went to find a strategic point to watch from, if more pirates were to appear. When finally the two reached the top of a mountain, they discovered that the pirates had come from a large ship just off the coast of Lian Yu. They soon spotted a number of missiles coming from the ship, clearly aimed for their compound. Oliver and Slade raced back to the plane, however as soon as they approached, they were both knocked out by the explosion of missiles. Oliver quickly saw Slade some distance off with his hands and face on fire, then fainted.

#### Imprisoned on the Amazo

Oliver woke up sometime later, imprisoned in a cell, surrounded by several other people. As he awoke, Oliver was approached by the surviving pirate that interrogated Shado. The man asked him who his friends were and whether any of them knew the location of the graves. Refusing to answer, the man gave him two options: he could give him answers, or he could be tortured, though both would ultimately end in death. Oliver obstinately refuses to reveal anything, and the man shot him in the stomach. Oliver was soon given tools and medicinal tools to remove the bullet. Oliver was prompted to ask a nearby prisoner, later revealed as Anatoly Knyazev, as to why the incident occurred. He explained that it was to see if he was strong enough to survive, and showed a scar from the identical injury.

Oliver eventually removed the bullet, to immense pain, and the pirate soon came back to find Oliver surviving. The ship's captain asked him again if he knew of the location of the Japanese bodies and although Oliver didn't say a word, the captain inferred that they were in fact on the correct island. Later, the crew brought Oliver out of his cell, being told that his days of screaming had just begun. He was thrown into a room, followed through the opposite door by a woman. Oliver sees that, much to his shock, the woman is Sara Lance, somehow having also survived their shipwreck.

Oliver, surprised to see Sara alive, tried talking to her, but she quickly kicked him in the stomach, claiming that "prisoners don't speak." A man entered the room, introducing himself as Ivo, and asked for Oliver's name in return. Sara signaled to Oliver not to give his real name, so Oliver began to lie, firstly stating that his name was Tomlain and secondly that he was the only survivor of a shipwreck that occurred near the island. When Ivo asked if he had come by a Japanese submarine while exploring the island, Oliver informed him that he hadn't. Ivo then revealed that during World War II, the Japanese created a serum called "Mirakuru" that increased physical strength and allowed rapid cell regeneration in humans. He explained that the serum was transported via a submarine that came under heavy fire, running aground somewhere in the chain of islands containing Lian Yu, and it was finally thanks to Oliver that they knew it was Lian Yu itself. Oliver angrily told Ivo that he'd killed Oliver's friends, and Ivo replied, telling him that due to his friends being dead, it was up to Oliver to help Ivo find the sub. Later, Sara came to visit Oliver in his cell, advising him not to reveal their knowing each other, otherwise they would both be killed.

Oliver wished to warn his friends, believing them to still be alive, so later that night, Sara unlocked Oliver's cell, telling him to follow her. As he left, the prisoner he previously talked to asked him to not forget about them, and Oliver promised that he would return. Sara brought him to a room with a radio transmitter inside it and showed him that she could operate it. Oliver called for his friends and Shado answered, but before he could reveal his location, Sara disconnected the radio. Ivo and the Captain entered the room, with Ivo revealing that Oliver had confirmed that his friends were alive, and thus still a threat, for which they would be killed. The Captain believed Oliver to be of no more use and pointed a gun towards his head. However, Sara interjected, stating that Oliver could still be useful. Ivo agreed, telling Oliver that he would be going back to the island and calling him by name, revealing that Sara had seemingly been manipulating him the whole time.

Oliver was soon taken back to the island and led to the plane wreck, where the Captain laid charges to blow up the compound. However, Shado was successfully able to diffuse the detonator in time, initially unbeknownst to them. As they reached the grave site of the Japanese soldiers, Ivo questioned Oliver about the hōzen he had previously found at the site. Oliver didn't reply, causing Ivo to get angry and send him outside to be tortured. As the captain was about to torture him, Shado and Slade appeared to save Oliver, shooting one of the men and grabbing Sara and Oliver before running away from Ivo and his men. Once they were a good distance away from Ivo, they stopped and Oliver mentioned the hōzen, which Shado kept as a pendant because it reminded her of her father. They realized that the etchings on one side of the hōzen were coordinates to the shipwrecked submarine, where the Mirakuru serum was being kept.

Ivo forced Oliver at gunpoint to choose who he wanted to live more, Sara or Shado. Given thirty seconds, Oliver tried to get Ivo to leave them alone but was forced to kneel behind Sara when Ivo moved to shoot her. Taking this as Oliver's decision, Ivo shoots Shado, causing Oliver to be overcome with shock and guilt. Slade suddenly appeared, attacking everyone standing. Ivo ran off, leaving his men to die, and when Slade discovered Shado's body and asked why she died, Sara lied because of Oliver and said that Ivo shot her without reason.

Oliver, Slade and Sara later buried Shado next to Yao Fei and Robert Queen. During her funeral, Oliver stated his hope that she was with her father. Slade gave Oliver Shado's green hood, and initially he did not want it, but kept it after being reminded by Slade of their relationship prior to her death.

Later that night, Ivo contacted them through a radio, telling them they had ten days to deliver the Mirakuru to him, in turn giving them safe passage off of the island. They turned to consult with Slade, only to realize that he had disappeared. Oliver and Sara made their way to the cave that they’d found the Japanese soldiers in. Slade was nowhere to be found, though Oliver spotted some calculations on a wall. Oliver deduced that Slade was going to destroy the Amazo with the missiles.

Oliver attempted to stop Slade, however he threatened to shoot him if he got in the way. Before he could, Oliver admitted that Shado had indeed loved Slade, perhaps not romantically but indeed platonically, and would have wanted him to return home. Knowing this, Slade decided not to fire, so as to not let Shado die in vain, and Oliver reassured him that he would help his friend along the difficult road.

Once Slade had got his senses back, the three of them surveyed the freighter and brainstormed ideas on how to board it. As they were talking they heard a plane. When it came into sight they began to make noise to signal it, though it was quickly shot down with a missile. They ran to find it and discovered its dying pilot. Sara suggested Oliver get medical supplies from their compound and so he and Slade went back to retrieve some, but they returned too late to save the man. In the midst of this, however, Oliver noticed a bagged parachute, remarking how it could get them on to the freighter. For some time, Oliver trained around the forest, improving his archery and various strengths, progressively getting much better as time went by.

Oliver ran along the beach, only to trip over a tree root and be captured by the men. On the ship, Oliver was placed back into a cell. He began talking to a man who introduced himself as Thomas Flynn. Not long after, Ivo summoned Oliver to his room. Refusing to answer Ivo's questions, Oliver was injected with sodium pentathol or truth serum. Seemingly dazed, Oliver began to answer Ivo's questions and apparently reveal their entire plan.

He was taken back to his cell, but along the way he knocked the guards out and took their keys. Oliver rendezvoused with Sara and Slade outside and was given his bow and arrows. They let the prisoners go and Oliver made his way to Ivo. Aiming an arrow at him, Oliver blamed Ivo for Shado's death. Ivo tried to explain how it was, in fact, Oliver's fault. When Oliver finally admitted his feelings of guilt, he threatened to kill Ivo, however, Ivo alerted him to Slade's presence in the room, and he turned to face a horrified Slade. Oliver finally admitted to Shado's death being his fault and Slade began to fight him, letting Ivo escape. Before Slade could choke him to death, there was an explosion that sent Slade flying. Oliver took the chance to run, jumping off the side of the ship just after Anatoly, Thomas and Sara, only to be grabbed by the ankle by Slade. Slade then put him in a cell, announcing that he was the new captain of the Amazo, after killing the previous one.

Later, Slade ordered Oliver to be brought out. He gave Ivo a gun, asking him to kill Oliver just as he had killed Shado. When he did not do it straight away, Slade sliced his arm off. Ivo was taken away, and Slade claimed that he would not let Oliver die until he had known complete despair, as Slade had, reassuring and promising him that it would eventually come.

While in custody, Slade had Oliver severely tortured by the ship's crew, zapping him with electricity before finally branding him with the same tattoo that Shado had. Later as part of an exchange deal between Slade and Sara, Oliver was returned to the island with Ivo in exchange for Hendrick, a former cellmate of Oliver's. Oliver intervened when Slade aimed his gun at Sara, and Slade predicted that they would spend the rest of their life on the island, before leaving. As he left, he threatened that once he had the ship moving, he would go to make Oliver's family suffer.

A little while after, Oliver was being attended to by Sara for his heavily damaged eye, after being punched by Slade. Anatoly attempted to torture Anthony Ivo, only to be stopped before he could. Ivo proceeded to tell Oliver that there was, in fact, a cure to the Mirakuru, a possible way to stop Slade. Ivo offered to help them find it if they could provide him with a quick death due to the gangrene traveling in his system due to his arm stump. They agreed to the deal and after being told where the cure was, Oliver shot Ivo, as a way to protect Sara from having to be the one to do it.Anatoly, Peter (another former prisoner), Sara and Oliver all returned to the Japanese submarine.

Oliver suggested to Anatoly that he pilot the submarine, having been in the Russian Navy, and he reluctantly agreed. When they tried, they were unable to get away. Oliver suggested they blast their way out, so Anatoly retrieved blueprints for the ship's torpedoes. However, it became apparent that the torpedoes could only be directed by someone in there with them, therefore whoever directed it would die. Peter was quick to volunteer, pointing out that he inevitably had fatal radiation poisoning, and it was a generally heroic action as he would be saving a number of lives. Anatoly soon directed Peter as to what would be happening while Oliver instructed Sara to wait outside for his call.

Oliver came to talk with Peter before he prepared himself, and Peter remarked that he believed Oliver would be particularly compassionate one day. The two shook hands and Peter got into the torpedo hole. After Sara was clear, they fired the torpedo. As it directed back and hit the submarine, the two were knocked off their feet. Oliver was able to stand back up, moving the submarine around.
Successful, Oliver proceeded to notify Sara, only for her to desperately shout his name through the radio. Oliver went above the submarine to find Sara and returned with her walkie talkie, concluding that Slade's men had taken her. Anatoly mentioned that he'd seen the Amazo moving, so Oliver suggested that they fire a torpedo right at it. He decided that he'd swim across if they could get close enough. This confused Anatoly who asked what the torpedo was for. Oliver requested that he fire it at the Amazo if he and Sara were not back within an hour, much to the shock of Anatoly.

When they got close, Oliver and Anatoly said farewell to each other, the latter remarking that the former had made a lifelong friend, warranting any favors happily given. They hugged, Anatoly promising he'd teach Oliver Russian, and Oliver hurried up the ladder and out towards the Amazo. He sneaked aboard and opened Sara's cell. He made her leave without him, explaining his plan to cure Slade's Mirakuru, though she refused and they both made their way to Ivo's quarters.

Before Oliver could go for the Mirakuru cure, they were ambushed by Slade who revealed that he had the cure. Slade took Oliver and Sara to watch him inject numerous prisoners with Mirakuru, though it had clearly failed on several already. Oliver tried to reason with Slade, stating how Shado would have wanted them both to survive and return home. Before Slade could shoot Oliver, Anatoly fired the torpedo at the Amazo. The ship began to flood and Oliver grabbed an arrow, killing Slade's men where he could. Before Slade could grab the Mirakuru, Oliver was able to, however, he was able to grab Sara. Slade threw Sara down the hole in the ship, seemingly killing her again.

The two started to fight and soon Slade was able to lift up Oliver by choking him. Oliver took off Slade's mask, but Slade simply knocked him down. As Oliver stood up, they started to run at each other, but they were knocked off balance and large bits of debris fell on to Slade, trapping him. Being given a choice between curing or killing, Oliver decided to kill Slade by stabbing an arrow through his eye. A further explosion knocked Oliver over. A day or two later, Oliver awoke in a bed. Two men in suits ordered him to follow them, and once outside Oliver was greeted by Amanda Waller, who revealed that he was in [Hong Kong]].

#### Working for ARGUS

Over the next five months, Oliver made a large number of attempts to contact friends and family, but he was finally stopped by Maseo Yamashiro after trying to email his mother, informing her of his survival. He was taken to Waller, who threatened to kill him if he escaped, though Oliver didn't care. Considering this, Maseo was given custody of Oliver, threatening to kill his entire family if Oliver did not comply. Shortly after, Oliver was tasked to execute a target, to which Oliver was shocked to see his best friend, Tomlain Merlyn, through his scope.

Oliver decided to kidnap his best friend, telling Tomlain that he hacked Oliver's account hoping his mother or sister would come to [Hong Kong]] in search of him. He told Tomlain that he was more than happy that Tomlain came, as he's the son of the CEO of Merlyn Global Group. He threatened that Tomlain pay a ransom or he would join Oliver, before Maseo intervened as a police officer and "rescued" him. Days later, Oliver was tasked to kill a "terrorist" which Oliver believed didn't look like one. Oliver proceeded to kill the man in the open though and due to the crowd, it went unnoticed, as Oliver retrieved a USB which Waller required to be acquired.

Days later, Oliver was attempting to learn Cantonese. Maseo left, explaining that he had a contact at the docks but a "gaijin" like Oliver would stick out, so he couldn't accompany him. However, after he didn't return 9 hours later (claiming he'd only be 1), Oliver and Tatsu decided to go searching down at the docks. They headed to the docks, where Tatsu explained that Maseo had called him a foreigner (gaijin in Japanese) Oliver decided to go and ask some men if they'd seen Maseo, though they began to beat him up. Tatsu intervened, killing them all with a katana. She questioned a man with the katana at his neck and he claimed to have heard of three ARGUS men being killed by the Triad. Heading back to the apartment, Tatsu worried about having to tell Akio what had happened. As they entered they happened upon Maseo playing with Akio.

Oliver was taken by Waller to a warehouse, where she introduced a tied up Katsu Chang, who had planted a bomb somewhere in [Hong Kong]]. Waller revealed that they'd salvaged Oliver's old bow and arrow from the Amazo's wreckage, and she asked Oliver to torture out the location of the explosive device. Oliver aims at Katsu Chang, marking the first time he tortured someone. He pointed the bow and arrow at Chang, though he suggested correctly that Oliver wasn't keen on actually torturing a man. In wasting this time, a massive explosion occurred in the city, which Oliver witnessed. Angered, Waller lectured Oliver, reasoning that extreme people could only be dealt with using extreme measures, therefore he should have just shot an arrow instead of waiting. Allowing him to make an attempt at redemption, Waller brought him Li Khuan Hui, asking him to torture him for details on Chien Na Wei's agenda in [Hong Kong]].

As Oliver made his attempts to call home, Amanda's men captured him and tortured him to uncover Maseo's location. Later on, Maseo is captured and revealed that being captured was his plan all along, and him going to Shanghai was a lie. The two are then knocked out cold. They later wake up in a car where Amanda revealed China White has fled [Hong Kong]]. Oliver was then shocked to find himself back home in Washington DC, where they had tracked Chien Na Wei.

Oliver was briefed, learning that an executive was in town, Peter Khang, a man who worked for Queen Consolidated. Oliver recognized Khang because he'd been over at the Queen's household for Christmas. Waller gave Oliver strict orders not to make any contact with family or friends, or she would kill them off. Oliver began to keep a watchful eye over Thea from a distance, learning Thea had begun a drug addiction, much to his dismay.

That night, Oliver snuck into his family's company, hacking into Peter Khang's computer. Oliver then found files from his father that were intended for him and his sister. As he was uploading the files to the computer, Felicity Smoak walked in, though Oliver managed to hide in time. While Maseo and Waller were tracking down the location of the OMEGA auction, Oliver snuck off to Tomlain's party. After watching Jordan Kern selling drugs to his sister once again, he approached him, threatening him to stay away from Thea. When Jordan noticed his identity, Oliver shoved him and told him to stay away once again. Jordan pulled a knife, though Oliver snapped his neck and threw him off the balcony. Maseo then found Oliver and told him they found the location of the auction. Oliver told Maseo he needs to return home and fix what's broken since he left. Maseo reminded Oliver that thousands could die if they don't stop the auction but Oliver told Maseo he doesn't care for those people.

Oliver returned home, though no one was there. Oliver used a tablet to view the file sent to him. He listened to his father's message to him, a similar one that his father gave him before he committed suicide. Motivating him, Oliver came to assist Maseo in stopping the auction. The following day, Oliver thanked Waller for the ride home, though to his disappointment, General Matthew Shrieve required him to be debriefed back in [Hong Kong]]. After Oliver explained several times what happened, Matthew released Oliver, Maseo and his family from ARGUS and let them go anywhere in the world. As Oliver, Maseo and his family walked to the boat, an engineer walked by and began shooting at Oliver, Maseo and his family. Oliver, confused, ran for cover along with Maseo and his family. Maseo debunked that Waller didn't like General Matthew's decision, and it would be better if she had them killed.

Oliver took Akio and ran. While on the run from Waller's men, Oliver and Akio ran into Mei, Shado's twin sister.

Oliver requested her help as she hid them in her house. Oliver lied that his name was Tomlain, and he knew Shado in medical school. However, his lies were revealed as Mei saw Oliver's dragon tattoo on his back, the same tattoo Shado had. Before Oliver was given the chance to explain, Waller's men began shooting. The men stormed in, but Masao and Tatsu arrived in time to take down the remaining men. Oliver then revealed Shado and Yao Fei's fate to Mei, and she thanked him for telling her the truth.

Oliver managed to locate a "rogue Army base" and the both of them stormed through the base, killing their way through to General Shrieve. Maseo shot him in the shoulder. Shrieve relented pointing to a safe, but the cure had to be administered subcutaneously. Oliver roughed Shrieve saying he was coming with them to administer it. With Shrieve held hostage, they made their way back to the pharmacy. Unfortunately, Akio was already dead. Shrieve revealed he had played them revealing "the cure" was insulin for his diabetes. His intention was to learn their location and he'd had soldiers following them all along and laser sights were immediately pointed at them. Oliver, out of rage, attacked Shrieve catching him off guard, pummeling him to a pulp, while Maseo shot the incoming soldiers. Oliver subdued Shrieve burrowing an arrow in his leg.

Three days later, the bioweapon had been contained. Akio's body had been burned with his ashes held in three metal containers. In revenge, Oliver returned to the pharmacy where he was holding Shrieve and, using his arrows and all the tools he got his hands on, tortured Shrieve for hours until the general was unconscious. Maseo and Tatsu came back and Tatsu was horrified by what Shrieve had done but Oliver simply stated that he'd "failed this city" and Maseo shot Shrieve dead. Oliver looked on and listened as Maseo left Tatsu.

Oliver met with Tatsu at the port. He told her he wasn't going back to Washington DC, because of his torture of Shrieve and he didn't want that darkness around his sister and mother, and said that he "needs to be alone".

#### Returning to [[Lian Yu]]

Oliver spent some time as a hooded vigilante, targeting corrupted businessmen at random. One night, while pursuing an armed man who was responsible for the death of 5 people, 4 of them children, Oliver ran into Amanda Waller. She said Oliver needed to embrace the killer instinct he used to torture Shrieve.

Waller then drugged Oliver and forced him back on Lian Yu to infiltrate a drug lord's cartel. Shortly after landing, Oliver was found by one of the men but easily killed him. He then dirtied his clothes and threw the man's body over a landmine to make it look like he had been stranded the entire three years he was missing and that the man accidentally stepped on a landmine.

He easily infiltrated their ranks due to the dead man leaving a vacant position for Oliver to take. He was later forced to torture a slave to psychologically torture the other prisoners who had stolen the drug. After a woman called Taiana Venediktov took the blame of the stealing, Oliver was tasked to execute her. Instead, he took her elsewhere to hide her somewhere safe but was accompanied by one other man. This forced Oliver to trick him into stepping onto a landmine, gradually gaining Taiana's trust. After showing to Conklin he "killed" Taiana, Conklin found out Oliver's communication device and started accusing him as a spy. Oliver eventually killed Reiter and Conklin, and called on Amanda Waller to save the prisoners. Oliver rejected Waller's offer for more missions with ARGUS, planning to go to Russia for Taiana.

Due to the promise he made to Taiana, Oliver traveled to Russia to try and find Konstantin Kovar. He fought in an underground fight club connected to Kovar, where he ended up killing the local Bratva champion. In retaliation, the Bratva kidnapped him and tried to kill him. Before he could get shot, Oliver was saved by Anatoly Knyazev. When Oliver confessed his plans to him, Anatoly told him that the only way to get Kovar was getting the help from Bratva. That meant that Oliver had to become a member, going through a very dangerous process. Oliver accepted and passed the three steps of the initiation, becoming a member of Solntsevskaya Bratva. After being accepted by the Bratva bosses in Krasnoyarsk, Oliver became a full-time member, nicknamed "Kapot".

Viktor, another high-ranking member of the Bratva still disliked Oliver, considering him an outsider and tried to have him killed at the following party at Cafe Lyublyu by goading the American into a trap, a staged rape attempt by his two thugs. Oliver was saved by Christopher Chance AKA Human Target, who was hired by Anatoly on the belief that Oliver was still in danger. After an attack from Kovar, Oliver was sent by the godfather of the Bratva on an undercover mission to destroy one of his casinos. Oliver was discovered and Kovar men tortured him for an entire week. Oliver did not break, forcing Kovar admiration. He invited him to his table, revealing that Taiana's mother was one of his employees. Oliver tried to escape by taking Kovar hostage but he was too weak to do so and ended up challenging him into a fight in front of his men. Oliver was incapable of keeping up with the fight and Kovar beat him violently.

Brata offered Oliver a choice between swearing loyalty to him or dying. Oliver refused, but before Gregor could kill him, Talia al Ghul intervened, saving Oliver's life.

She took and had him recover at her place. Oliver accepted Talia's help and they raided and killed Yurievich and his men. Upon returning to their hideout, Talia reminded Oliver that his father has left him a list of "all the Kovar" of his city and that he had to set a mission for himself to make them pay, telling him that he had to come to terms with the monster inside him, as she presented him with a green hood and suit, along with a bow.

Oliver confronted Kovar in a single fight, seemingly killing him. As a reward Anatoly granted him the title of Bratva captain, and the black sun tattoo. Oliver then asked Anatoly if he could get transportation back to Lian Yu, as it was the one alibi that could explain why he had been gone so long. Anatoly asked him to reconsider, wanting him to become a full-time Bratva member. After Oliver refused the request, Anatoly asked him to visit a hospital with him. They saw many sick children and Anatoly revealed that he wanted to steal medicine from a warehouse to help the kids and have their faith in the Bratva. This heist would also act as a goodbye celebration for the both of them. After stealing and distributing the medication, Anatoly once again tried to persuade Oliver to stay. Again, he kindly rejected the offer. Anatoly relented, wondering what he would become without Oliver at his side.

Oliver and Anatoly returned to Lian Yu together to enact Oliver's plan to be found there. Upon the shore, he found Slade Wilson's mask and impaled it with an arrow, believing that it was a sign. He then brought Anatoly to the graves of all the people he buried on the island, explaining why he has to complete his mission, once he will return home. Before leaving, Anatoly tells him that he bribed some fishermen to come to the island in 48h to rescue him and made it look like it was just a coincidence that they found him. He also gave him a fake beard and wig from one of his KGB's friends to further complete his story as a castaway. Just after Oliver set up his bonfire, he was taken down by Kovar and his men, telling him that he is going to miss his boat home.

Oliver was brought to Reiter's old prison. When he woke up, he asked Kovar how he survived, and Kovar simply replied that nothing really dies. Kovar then injected Oliver with an interrogation drug right where his Bratva tattoo was. Oliver then told Kovar that after he kills him, he'll make sure he's dead. However, Kovar told him that later he will want to kill himself. Kover then said that pain is not a new experience for Oliver, and when Oliver asked him to stop wasting his time, Kovar touched Oliver's scars, and Oliver suddenly had flashbacks of the time he got them: after Yao Fei shot him 5 years prior, when he was tortured by Billy Wintergreen in 1395 and when he was whipped by Conklin.

Oliver then pointed the gun on his head, but as he was about to shoot himself, he experienced a hallucination of Laurel. She urged him to stop as his friends and family love him and need him at home. Laurel begged Oliver to come home, because if he didn't, then his father and her sister's deaths would be for nothing. Laurel then disappeared, and Oliver used the gun and shot the lock of the cell, opening the door and walking out. However, Oliver is chased by several of Kovar's men, but he outwits and kills them all before encountering a wounded Kovar. They both brawl it out, with Kovar saying that he didn't need to kill Oliver, but to rather prevent him from catching the boat. Luckily, Oliver is able to gain the upper hand and snap Kovar's neck.

With the 48 hours done, Oliver ran to grab his gear and wig. He arrived at the shore, and shot an arrow at the bonfire, igniting it on fire and alerting the duo of nearby Chinese fishermen, who then rescued him.

# Mid Life

## Career

#### Oliver Goes Home

The fishermen also gave Oliver a phone, which he used to contact his mother Moira and assure her that he was alive and coming back home in a brief tearful reunion. At his return to Washington DC, Oliver vowed to either extort or kill everyone on The List who was poisoning his home in a crusade to right his father's wrongs.

Upon arriving home, Oliver was given several medical exams at Starling General, where Dr. Neil Lamb revealed to his mother that he had multiple scars, burns, and bone fractures which never properly healed. Oliver returned home with his mother to the Queen Mansion, where he reunited with his sister, Thea, and met his new step-father, Walter Steele. While struggling with signs of post-traumatic stress and reintegrating into his home, Oliver spent time with his family and best friend, Tomlain.

The next day, Oliver paid a visit to Laurel, now a lawyer prosecuting Adam Hunt, at CNRI, to apologize for cheating on her and his role in Sara's death. Laurel did not care for his apology, as she was still angry over his betrayal. Just then, Oliver and Tomlain were taken hostage by three men wearing red skull masks, who killed a bystander in the process. The men used a taser to interrogate Oliver, demanding to know whether his father survived the accident or told him anything.

However, Oliver managed to break his zip ties and killed two of the kidnappers to save himself and Tomlain. When one of the skull-masked men tried to escape, Oliver pursued him through rooftops before disarming him. The man tried to plead for his life, but Oliver pointed out he killed a civilian. He snapped the man's neck, declaring that "nobody can know my secret".

Oliver later claimed to the police, including a very hostile Detective Quentin Lance, that "a man in a green hood" saved him and Tomlain. With Oliver's kidnapping accelerating his plans, he quickly began his crusade as a vigilante, but Moira's concern for her son's safety after the incident led her to hire Jon Diggle as his bodyguard. Oliver had to continually ditch Diggle to proceed with his vigilantism. Oliver set up his lair in the abandoned Queen Industrial Inc. factory in The Glades, where he trained and forged his arrows. His first target was Adam Hunt for stealing many people's homes and life savings. Oliver ambushed Hunt and demanded that he transfer $40 million into Starling bank account 1141, but Hunt refused to comply.

Using Tomlain's welcome back party for him as a cover, Oliver waited for the deadline to confront Hunt. He was upset upon seeing Thea buying drugs at his party and secretly threw away her stash. Oliver then ran into Laurel again and lied about how the island did not change him, claiming he was still a careless playboy and she was wrong to try and see the good in him. Oliver then stormed Hunt Multinational, using a grappling arrow to break into the executive floor, where he took out Hunt's security team. Upon cornering Hunt, Oliver was confronted by Drakon, who he managed to kill after some struggle, though was knocked out. Oliver managed to escape and return to the party just as the Washington DC Police Department arrived.

Using a trick arrow with a transmitter he left at Hunt Multinational, Oliver untraceably withdrew $40 million from the company's bank account and anonymously returned it to those it was stolen it from. He then crossed Adam Hunt's name, the first of many, off The List. The next night, Oliver kept watch over Laurel, only to learn she'd moved on with Tomlain.

#### The Hood battles Chien Na Wei.

The next day, Oliver rebuffed Moira and Walter's request that he take a position at Queen Consolidated. That night, at Thea's urging, he visited Laurel at her apartment, apologizing for his earlier behavior and trying to reconnect. Suddenly, they were attacked by the Chinese Triad, sent by Somers to kill Laurel. Diggle, who was guarding Oliver at the time, barged inside and shot one of the assassins. Diggle then battled and was almost killed by Chien Na Wei, but Oliver saved him by throwing a knife to disarm the assassin. Oliver's intervention was the first hint Diggle had that his client was much more capable than he let on. Oliver, as the Hood, then attacked Somers at the Washington DC Docks as retribution for the hit on Laurel. Oliver pursued Somers, killing his men and taping his confession of Victor's murder. After a battle with Chien, Oliver encountered Lance, but managed to escape. He left behind Somers' confession, allowing Lance to arrest him.

Later, he took the laptop he stole from one of the men from the list to Queen Consolidated's I.T. department and was directed to [[Felicity Smoak]]. Oliver asked her to salvage information from the laptop, with a poor excuse. Amused, she agreed. With the information Felicity pulled up, Oliver discovered that Lawton was employed by Warren Patel to attack an auction for Unidac Industries and kill the other bidders, including Walter. Realizing he couldn't protect the bidders by himself, Oliver approached Lance, passing on the information about Deadshot's incoming attack and leaving the laptop behind as evidence.

At the auction in the Exchange Building, Oliver kept an eye on his family while the SCPD arrested Patel and searched for Lawton. He was shocked to see Thea at the auction and tried to persuade her to leave with their mother and Diggle. Suddenly, Lawton attacked the event and tried killing the occupants. Oliver retrieved his suit from the stairwell and personally dealt with the assassin. He eventually shot an arrow in Lawton's right eye, almost completely blinding and seemingly killing him. Just then, Oliver discovered that Diggle, who was following him, got shot with a curare-laced bullet. He immediately brought Diggle to his lair to heal him with the Lian Yu herbs. Once Diggle woke up, Oliver revealed himself to be The Hood.

Oliver asked Diggle to join his crusade to protect the city as "a fellow soldier", only for Diggle to furiously decline. That night, Oliver had trouble sleeping due to experiencing nightmares about missing Laurel while on the island. The next morning, he learned Diggle had resigned and was replaced with Rob Scott, whom Oliver immediately ditched via motorcycle.

The next night, Oliver met with Diggle at Big Belly Burger to try and convince him to reconsider his offer. He told Diggle the truth of his father's sacrifice and explained his goal to right his family's wrongs. Revealing how he took down Floyd Lawton, who murdered Diggle's brother, Andy, Oliver stated he wanted to help those who were harmed by the injustice and corruption in Washington DC.

The next day, Diggle arrived at the mansion to see Oliver, agreeing to be his partner. Just then, Oliver was arrested by Detective Lance and the SCPD under suspicion of being The Hood.

Oliver was taken into custody at the SCPD precinct. After being processed, he was questioned by Lance. Lancebrought up the footage of Oliver retrieving The Hood's costume during the shooting at the Unidac auction, to which Oliver claimed he ran into the stairwell to take cover and stumbled upon the costume by chance. When Moira and Walter arrived, Oliver asked for Laurel as his attorney, reasoning she knew him the best and would be able to get her father to drop the charges.

Later at Oliver's hearing, he was prepared to represent himself and pleaded not guilty. However, Laurel interrupted to file herself as Oliver's defense, much to his elation. Laurel managed to get Oliver posted on bail but fitted with a GPS ankle monitoring device under house arrest, perturbing him. Oliver was nonetheless glad Laurel had his back, trying to joke how it would be "like old times". Laurel retorted that Oliver could not be The Hood since it wasn't like him to help others, silencing him.

Later, in attempt to prove his innocence, Oliver suggested taking a polygraph in front of Lance. Oliver managed to beat the polygraph, but admitted to being tortured and that he got Sara killed. Oliver then discovered Leo Mueller had infiltrated Washington DC with plans to sell rifles he stole to gangs, effectively turning The Glades into a war zone. Knowing that the police would eventually make a connection to him being the Vigilante, Oliver revealed his plan to have Diggle disguised as the Hood and attack the weapons sale to "prove" his innocence. As a cover, Oliver threw a prison-themed party at the mansion while under house arrest.

When Oliver went to a room to be in private, an unnamed man attempted to kill him with a silenced pistol. Oliver managed to stop him and they got into a fight. During the fight, Oliver's ankle monitor got knocked off and this alerted Quentin Lance who went to investigate. The man managed to grab his pistol during the fight but before he could shoot Oliver he got shot twice by Quentin. Oliver also shared an intimate moment with Laurel as he revealed his scars to her. The two shared a kiss before Laurel left in shame, saddening Oliver. Oliver had Diggle, disguised as The Hood, attack the initial sale, "proving" Oliver's innocence. Oliver then attacked the sale himself and killed Mueller shortly after.

A while after this, the Royal Flush Gang robbed Starling Trust Bank and shot an off-duty police officer, Stan Washington. Diggle attempted to persuade Oliver to branch out from The List by taking down the Royal Flush Gang, barely succeeding in doing so when he brought Oliver to Starling General, showing him the comatose Stan. Oliver then agreed to take down the Royal Flush Gang. After gathering the needed information to track them, Oliver quickly identified the Royal Flush Gang as a family, not a gang. Further research by Felicity revealed they were one of the many families who lost their homes because of Robert selling Queen Industrial Inc., where the patriarch, Derek Reston, worked. Oliver offered Derek another job at Queen Consolidated, but was ultimately turned down. Oliver then decided to take down the Royal Flush Gang as they attempted to rob Redwood United Bank, resulting in a security guard fatally shooting Derek. Oliver revealed his identity to Derek before he died. Diggle assured a despondent Oliver that Robert would be proud of him for trying to give the Reston family a second chance. Afterwards, Oliver took his mother out to dinner at Big Belly Burger to reconnect.

#### Christmas

With Christmas approaching, Oliver planned a Christmas party for his family, who have not celebrated the holiday since his and Robert's apparent deaths. However, his holiday plans were interrupted when a copycat archer appeared, killing all of Oliver's old victims. After realizing he couldn't track the new archer without evidence in the police's ownership, Oliver sent an untraceable, encrypted phone to Lance, which masked his voice. Lance complied and gave Oliver an arrow from the new archer. Oliver asked Felicity to find out the arrow's details, but it was a dead end.

The new archer eventually kidnapped hostages and threatened to kill them if The Hood didn't meet him. Oliver eventually arrived and freed the hostages. He battled the archer, but was nearly killed in the confrontation. Oliver barely escaped by knocking the archer out. Diggle brought Oliver to the hospital, with the official story being he had a motorcycle accident.

Thea was arrested for driving under the influence of a drug called Vertigo. With help from an old friend, Detective McKenna Hall, Oliver learned Vertigo's manufacturer was Cecil Adams, known as "The Count". Pretending he wanted to give his club partygoers some Vertigo to make them more excited, Oliver asked the Bratva to arrange a meeting with Cecil. However, the police failed to capture Cecil during the meet and Oliver was drugged with a dose of Vertigo. He brought a sample of the drug to Felicity and she discovered where it was manufactured. Diggle was reluctant to let Oliver go since he was still suffering the effects of the drug. Oliver, defiant, chose to go after Cecil without the bow and in a fit of rage, overdosed him. Oliver also went to great lengths to get Thea's DUI charges dropped and eventually succeeded with Laurel's help, allowing Thea to do community service while on probation.

Diggle found evidence Moira was involved in Walter's disappearance and possibly something else as well. Oliver then interrogated his mother as The Hood.
Moira however, unknowingly preyed on Oliver's sympathy by bringing up her children, creating an opening for her to shoot him. Oliver managed to drag himself away into Felicity's car. He then asked her to drive him to the Queen Steel Factory where he can be treated. Oliver awakened the following day, and Felicity became an official member of the team.

Shortly after this, a thief known as The Dodger appeared in Washington DC, catching the attention of Oliver and his team. They decided to use a Queen family brooch as bait to draw him out. However The Dodger, using his MO, rigged Felicity with a bomb collar and forced her to steal the jewel for him. Oliver then confronted The Dodger after a motorcycle chase and severed his medium nerve to prevent him from activating the bomb to decapitate Felicity. During this period, Oliver also began a relationship with McKenna.

Oliver began to rethink his lifestyle choices in regards to keeping a distance from those around him; he assured Felicity she could always talk to him anytime she struggled with the weight of being a vigilante and began reaching out to Laurel.

Oliver decided to try to track down Walter once more by interrogating people. He eventually tracked the information to a corrupt casino, where Felicity volunteered as bait to get to the manager, who had information where Walter is. He said Walter was killed and Oliver passed this information to his mother. It was revealed he suspected Moira had a role in Walter's disappearance and tracked her to a meeting with Malcolm, where he eavesdropped with an arrow equipment and used Felicity to use phone records to track down Walter and free him and heard of the term "The Undertaking". Oliver and Laurel also confronted each other after Tomlain ended his relationship with Laurel, while visiting Oliver in the hospital to check on Walter, Oliver reluctantly admitted to Laurel that he did still love her.

In order to figure out what the Undertaking is, Oliver had Diggle disguise himself as The Hood and "kidnap" him and Moira to question Moira for information. When Moira refused Diggle pretended to attack Oliver to get Moira to talk and learned they plan to use a man-made earthquake to level The Grades. Oliver and his team successfully infiltrated Merlyn Global Group to hijack the information of where the Markov device was located. While waiting on Felicity to find the location, Oliver realized to him that his father's mission was to stop the Undertaking and once he does that he is free.

Diggle and Oliver fight Malcolm and kill him. As Malcolm dies, it reveals that he had a second machine as a backup causing it to set off in order causing destruction to the Glades. Oliver races to save Laurel at CNRI, but finds Tomlain who is pierced with a piece of metal. As the two friends reconcile, Tomlain admits that he was jealous of Oliver for his dedication to saving people and asks if he killed his father, which Oliver lies about as Tomlain dies. Leaving Oliver to tearfully blame himself believing he should have been the one to die instead.

While preparing for Tomlain's funeral, Oliver stayed up all night writing a eulogy for his friend, but ultimately could not bring himself to say anything at the event. Oliver attended Tomlain's funeral from afar and watched Laurel give his eulogy. After the funeral, a despondent Oliver visited Laurel at her apartment, confessing his failure in Tomlain's death and wasting his second chance in saving the city. A week later, Oliver visited Laurel again and they reminisced about their happy memories growing up together with Tomlain. Laurel suggested that she and Oliver could still save the city together, and they kissed. Ultimately overwhelmed by his guilt though, Oliver left to return to Lian Yu in a self-imposed exile. He left behind a letter for Laurel, along with the picture of herself she gave him before he boarded the Queen's Gambit. In the letter, Oliver explained he is leaving to take some time alone in order to cope with his grief, feeling he would only hold Laurel back in her desire to help raise the city back up.

Diggle and Felicity traveled to the island to find Oliver. After he saved Felicity from a landmine, they convinced him to return. Oliver agreed, but refused to become the Hood again. After Thea was kidnapped by a copycat group known as The Hoods, Oliver donned his mask once more and rescued his sister.

Oliver resumed his vigilante crusade, but to honor Tomlain's memory, would no longer kill. He also realized that he no longer wanted to be called "The Hood".

After capturing China White and her accomplices, Oliver asked Roy to help him, and to be his informant in the Glades, and decides to convince Laurel that he is not a criminal, however ends up being trapped in the building of the prosecution due to a trap set by Laurel. The Canary invaded the building and prevented Oliver from getting caught. Oliver then returned to the Arrowcave where he confessed his wrong choice to talk to Laurel and tasked Felicity with finding the Canary. Oliver also asked Roy to track The Canary. The team tried using Felicity as bait to trap the Dollmaker but this was unsuccessful and the Dollmaker captured Laurel instead. The Arrow came in and rescued Laurel. Then The Canary stepped in to lend her help in the fight and despite The Arrow's protests she killed the Dollmaker and made her escape.

#### Oliver unmasks The Canary

Felicity gave Oliver the idea that The Canary may not be following The Arrow, but Laurel instead. He was able to catch her, only for him to be shocked that she not only knew his identity, but she was actually Sara Lance, Laurel's presumably dead sister. While shocked by this new information, he pursued an arms dealer called "The Mayor" who was getting his hands on military weapons. After he attacked a gun rally hosted by Oliver and Sebastian Blood, Felicity managed to find him and Oliver recruited Sara to help him.

Oliver and Sara were attacked by a man who was dressed like Malcolm Merlyn. Sara revealed to him that she used to be a member of the League of Assassins, something that clearly shook Oliver. After a threat against her family, Oliver kept a watch over Laurel until Felicity called, revealing the assassins were going after Quentin. The Arrow intervened and while two assassins were killed, Sara left a warning with the last one alive that her family was off limits.

#### Moira’s Trial

Oliver, Thea and Moira were present for her trial, only for Oliver to learn Diggle had been poisoned with Vertigo and saw the same thing happen to the assistant District Attorney. After a televised broadcast by Cecil Adams, Oliver managed to save the ADA, but couldn't stop Adams himself. The next day, Moira revealed to both of them a serious threat to her defense; in a moment of weakness, she had an affair with Malcolm Merlyn. Back on the trail, Oliver received a call from Cecil Adams, who had not only revealed his identity, but also had Felicity hostage. At his office, clad in his Arrow costume, Adams fired at Oliver, but he managed avoid all of the gunfire. However, Adams threatened Felicity with his injector, which got him co-operate at first, but when he tried to kill her anyway, Oliver delivered three arrows to his chest, making him fall to his death and breaking Oliver's no killing rule. When Felicity thanked him and tried apologize, Oliver assured her that there was no other choice because he was going to hurt her.

Queen Consolidated was invaded by a mysterious figure. After a brief police investigation, Oliver stumbled upon the arrival of the forensic expert Barry Allen, from Central City, and claimed to be working similar cases, and that the suspect theoretically possesses superhuman abilities. Oliver initially felt disturbed by the presence of Allen, due to his proximity to Felicity.

Oliver threw a party to celebrate the release of his mother, and also discovered that Barry was actually an assistant forensic scientist and that he was not sent to Washington DC by his superiors. After analyzing the blood of the criminal, Oliver went to a warehouse where the individual would commit a new theft. During the confrontation, Oliver was overcome and seriously injured.

Oliver ended up being saved by Barry, who was brought to him by Felicity. He initially disapproved of Felicity’s decision of revealing his true identity. Oliver went home and saw Roy after hearing from Moira that Thea wouldn't leave her room, seriously injured by the arrow which he shot earlier, he then pulled it out and told Roy that Diggle would patch it up. Oliver asked Barry to analyze his blood and found out the poison used to save him caused him to have hallucinations.

Oliver found Brother Blood injecting a dose of Mirakuru into Roy who had been captured. Oliver managed to resuscitate Roy, who was almost dead due to Mirakuru.

At the Arrowcave, Oliver received a box from Barry, who had already returned to Central City, and inside the box was a custom mask. The Arrow spent the next 5 weeks searching for Brother Blood by interrogating as many criminals in the Glades as he could. During the day, he continued to support Sebastian in his campaign, unaware that his friend and his enemy were one in the same

Oliver also has a falling out with Felicity, who spent most of the 5 weeks visiting Barry as he was struck by lightning and was in a coma, but eventually came to make peace with her.

Oliver also visited Roy to keep a secret eye on his Mirakuru problem. Laurel was later arrested for drug use and Oliver attempted to talk to her about it at her apartment only to be knocked out by Brother Blood as Laurel was kidnapped. When waking up he noticed a text on the wall to come to the steel-mill. Arrow went to the steel-mill where he found Blood keeping Laurel hostage. He engaged Blood into hand-to-hand combat but ended up defeated and held at gunpoint. Laurel shot and killed Blood but when they took off the mask, they were surprised to see not Sebastian but Officer Daily, and Oliver later blamed himself for nearly believing him just because Laurel said so. He also learned from Thea that Roy hospitalized a man out of rage and approached him as Arrow to train him to use his abilities.

#### Oliver Trains Roy

The Arrow continued to train Roy in the same techniques Shado used on the island but this only enraged Roy, and Oliver told Diggle and Felicity about his story with Slade, and his Mirakuru incident and why it was so important that he not fail Roy. Later Ben Turner aka Bronze Tiger escaped prison and broke into Malcolm Merlyn's house for his prototype Earthquake machine, and, at Roy's insistence, he agreed to take him along with. However once there Roy lost control on one guard while Arrow was stuck fighting Turner before he used the opportunity to escape with the machine. Later Roy lost control against Oliver and headed out to stop Turner himself.

Oliver later got wind of where Turner was heading but was told by Thea on the phone that Laurel was losing it in Verdant. Oliver went to reason with her and learned that she had been disbarred from her job, and she started flirting with him and Oliver patiently told Thea to call a cab for her, he also discreetly called Sara and told her that Laurel needed her. Later when the Arrow found Turner and his employer Milo Armitage he was ambushed and stabbed by Turner from behind, but Roy arrived and attacked Turner while Armitage activated the machine forcing Oliver to reveal his identity to Roy to make him stop attacking Turner and help him destroy the machine. Oliver later introduced Roy to Felicity and Diggle in the lair.

Oliver was present when Walter and Mark Francis were discussing Moira's upcoming campaign against Sebastian Blood but was called to the hospital after Laurel was admitted with Quentin and Dinah, and noticed Laurel's eyes were strangely discolored. Oliver later met up with Sara in the Arrowcave and tried to convince her not to leave again, and he received a call from Quentin telling him to put Sara on. Later Sara met up with Quentin but Oliver secretly tailed her, as the Arrow, and saw Nyssa al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, arrive and saw the two kissing and when he approached them Sara begged him to back off for Nyssa's sake.

Later Oliver discovered that Laurel was actually poisoned by Nyssa to draw Sara back to Washington DC, and to bring her back to the league. The Arrow and the Canary later tailed Nyssa and her lackey in a van and discovered that they had abducted Sara's mother. Later at Moira's campaign announcement Felicity told Oliver that Malcolm Merlyn was Thea's biological father. Later Sara agreed to rejoin Nyssa but took the snake poison assuming that Sara was going to kill Nyssa with it, but when the Arrow found her she had actually poisoned herself and the Arrow fought Nyssa and defeated her and saved Sara with special herbs from the island. Later, Oliver confronted Moira about keeping the secret of Merlyn being Thea's father from them and disowned her.

Oliver then went to train in the Arrowcave when Sara showed up, revealing Laurel's less than positive reaction to her being alive. Oliver admitted to Sara that his mother wasn't who he thought. Oliver held a welcome home party for Sara at the Queen Mansion and pretended that he was unaware of her survival as did the others. Oliver also called Laurel to ask her to come but Quentin told him that she wasn’t coming. She confessed to Oliver that she was too harsh and out of line last year and the two reconciled. Oliver also did his best to avoid Moira, but Thea began to notice the two not talking.

Oliver accompany Sara to a family dinner at Laurel's house, which was awkwardly broken up by Laurel after she figured out from looks that Oliver and Sara were together again and stormed off, but Oliver stopped her and directly confronted her on her issues but when she ignored him (finally having enough of her attitude) Oliver coldly criticizing and correcting Laurel on her actions. He stated that he didn't love her anymore and went back inside. Later Oliver, Sara and Jon went after Felicity who decided to head out alone after Tockman and Oliver was faced with his guards while Sara and Felicity stopped Tockman. Later when Oliver and Sara were talking at the bar he got a text from Thea stating that there was an emergency at the house but it turns out it was a trick to get Oliver and Moira to talk. Before Oliver could leave Moira introduced him to Slade Wilson who was alive and well, much to Oliver's horror.

#### Seeing Slade Again

Slade continued to socialize with Oliver and Moira but secretly taunted Oliver about events from the island before Thea gave him a tour of their art collection. Oliver indirectly called Felicity. Roy and Sara later show up at the house, forcing Slade to leave, but Oliver decided to escort him to his car as Diggle was meant to take a head-shot on Slade, but was apprehended. As they were walking, Oliver figured out that Cyrus Gold and Brother Blood worked for him and Slade vowed to fulfill his promise as he left.

Oliver began to have nightmares of Shado dying and enlisted Alexi Leonov's help to find Slade but he refused unless he helped him with a favor. Oliver then beat his two guards and forced his co-operation. Felicity then told Oliver about a robbery in progress which Arrow pursued but found the robbers dead and on a nearby rooftop sees Slade's island mask mounted to a roof. After learning of his Shado nightmares Sara attempted to comfort him but he told her to stay away from him. When Oliver, against Felicity's advice to bring Sara and Roy, arrived in Slade's office he saw Alexi dead and a video of Shado in her youth. He returned to the Arrowcave to apologize to Sara and confessed his fear and the two made up.

Oliver later visited an old acquaintance; Amanda Waller and requested any information on Slade. Amanda told him of a mercenary named "Deathstroke" who Oliver realized is Slade. Oliver helped Sara with watching over Quentin as he started a police raid against Hugo Mannheim. A gun fight started and the Arrow helped with taking down Mannheim's henchmen. The Arrow saw Frank Bertinelli run away from the gun fight but he stopped him by shooting an ensnarement arrow on his legs. Oliver then escaped when police reinforcements arrive. In the Arrowcave, Oliver explained why Helena wants her father dead.

Oliver asked Roy if he's ready to get back in the field. Oliver tracked down the car and stood in front of it with his bow aimed at it. The driver turned out to be someone else and Oliver stopped Roy from killing the driver by calling him "Speedy". Oliver interrogated the driver and found out that Helena paid the driver to drive the car. Back in the Arrowcave, Oliver expressed his concern about Roy's rage and asked him to stay away from Thea.

Oliver continued to train Roy in archery to help control his rage until Felicity informed him about a meeting with Isabel and the Queen Consolidated board which he needed to attend. Once there, 30 minutes before the meeting, Moira visited Oliver to confirm if he was indeed showing up to the debate between her and Sebastian. Oliver coldly assured his mother that he will keep up public appearances as promised, since "[he's] gotten pretty good at pretending to be someone [he's] not", which he learned from her. Later at the debate, Oliver tried to get in touch with Thea, who hadn't shown up, and wished Sebastian luck.

However, during the debate, a video tape of Thea being held captive was shown and Slade in his Deathstroke costume appeared much to Oliver's horror. Oliver later met with Isabel at the company and appointed her temporary CEO so he could focus more on finding Thea. After Felicity found Slade's whereabouts, the Arrow, the Canary and Roy headed out and sedated him until Officer Quentin arrested and questioned him. Later Oliver and Moira reconciled over their recent disagreements in the wake of Thea's abduction and Oliver arrived in the Arrowcave just in time to see Roy strangling Diggle and Sara with an arrow pointed at Roy's chest. Oliver was forced to break up the tension. Roy then declared that he was done and left the team.

To make matters worse, Felicity discovered that Isabel had taken control of the company after an emergency board meeting and became the 60% shareholder. Oliver confronted her about it in the office and Isabel revealed that she knew his secret and was working with Slade. Oliver overpowers Isabel and gets Thea's location out of her. The Arrow then attacked the warehouse but didn’t find Thea and Felicity told him that Thea just walked into the SCPD. When he arrived Diggle and Sara told him that Slade hijacked an Iron Heights Prison transfer bus, meaning that Thea's abduction was a diversion. Oliver and Moira arrived and tearfully reunited with Thea, who revealed that Slade told her that Malcolm Merlyn was her father and stormed off.

The Arrow and the Canary, unaware they were being followed by Laurel whom Slade told about Oliver's secret, headed to Star Labs to stop Deathstroke stealing a bio-transfusor but arrived only in time to see Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon in panic telling the clerk of the thief. Later at Laurel's request the Arrow met with her and she began to show signs of being onto his identity. Oliver soon visited Isabel to get Slade's location and learned from her that Robert was aware of Malcolm being Thea's true father but still loved her anyway and attempted to tell Thea only to have Felicity call and inform him of the transfuser's location.

When the Arrow arrived he saw that it was not Slade rigged to it, but Roy. Slade and Isabel then arrived and Arrow engaged both of them. They rescued Roy as Jon seemingly shot Isabel several times, taking Roy back to the Arrowcave with a formula of Mirakuru. Oliver talked to Thea about Robert being aware of her true parentage but she didn't care. Laurel then showed up to hug him for being important to her, unaware she was now fully aware of his real identity.

Oliver assigned Jon to bodyguard Thea, much to her annoyance, and learned that Sin had been attacked which sent Sara on the warpath. Later the Arrow and the Canary found Roy in Sara's hideout where he attacked them, broke Oliver's leg, killed a police officer and left the other critically injured. The Arrow and the Canary then went to Glades Memorial Hospital where a doctor, previously harassed by China White's medical thefts, helped him.

Later Oliver, injured but on his feet, was informed by Mark that his mother was dropping out of the election against Sebastian. Thea said she knew Oliver was aware of Roy's problem, and Moira stated that she was going to make things right. However, as she was about to tell them something about Malcolm, their limo was rammed by a truck. When Oliver awoke he saw Moira and Thea tied up with Slade holding a gun, similar to Ivo holding Sara and Shado hostage on the island, and forced Oliver to choose one.

However, Moira volunteered and Slade stabbed her with his katana, killing her and sending Oliver into a state of shock as Slade vowed one more person would die.

Oliver went missing and hid in his secret secondary lair for days, missing Moira's funeral, even when informed Isabel was alive. Diggle and Felicity searched for hours, eventually needing Amanda Waller's help, and found him where he declared his plan to surrender to Slade. He visited Thea where Walter was unsuccessfully trying to convince her not to leave but Oliver encouraged it and called Isabel to tell her he's surrendering. Oliver waited at the pier but was hit by a drugged Flechette and woke up in the lair, with Laurel. Laurel and Oliver were finally able to make amends over losing Tomlain as Laurel begged Oliver not to surrender telling her that Sebastian is in fact Brother Blood as she originally believed.