Spartan

## John Diggle

*"Barry, I lived a long life here on this Earth. I've been a spy, a vigilante, a soldier. Hell, I've even been the Green Arrow. The most important job I have ever had is as a dad. And there's not a bullet I wouldn't take, there's not a timeline that I wouldn't risk changing if it meant protecting my family. I know that now. Lyla... my kids, they're my heart, man. My soul. My entire world. How far would I go for them? As far as it takes. Everything else be damned. Don't be afraid to do the same."*
―John Diggle to Barry Allen[src]
**John Thomas "Dig" Diggle** (born c. 1977) is a former high-ranking agent of A.R.G.U.S., a former bodyguard, a master sergeant in the United States Army and a founding member of Team Arrow. John is the son of a late unnamed man and an unnamed woman, the step-son of Roy Stewart, the older brother of the late Andy Diggle, the best friend/surrogate brother of the late Oliver Queen, the husband of Lyla Michaels, and the father of Sara Diggle and John Diggle, Jr..

As a member of Oliver's team, John was his partner and played a number of roles including field support, decoy, and guidance to Oliver in times of doubt. John was known in the Suicide Squad under the code-name **Freelancer**. Later, he took up a suit and was officially given the designation **Spartan** by Felicity Smoak. Oliver would later temporarily retire from vigilantism and asked John to carry on the mantle of **Green Arrow** and leader of Team Arrow by extension until the F.B.I.'s investigation into his activities ended.

After Oliver discovered the nerve damage that John suffered in Lian Yu, he reclaimed the mantle of Green Arrow until John fully recovered from his injuries. John eventually left the team after losing faith in Oliver's leadership, until he rejoined Team Arrow to help battle Ricardo Diaz. He later returned to working with A.R.G.U.S. full-time after Oliver was arrested.

John worked with A.R.G.U.S. and the F.B.I. to catch Diaz after he went off the grid. After Diaz attacked Felicity, Team Arrow reunited to stop him and the Longbow Hunters within the law. Following Diaz's imprisonment and Oliver's release, John and Lyla started investigating Dante and the Ninth Circle, creating the Ghost Initiative to combat him. Team Arrow was later deputized by the Star City Police Department and John resigned from A.R.G.U.S. to work with them, as well as protect Lyla and her job as director. After the Ninth Circle's defeat and Emiko Adachi's death, John and Lyla helped Oliver and Felicity go into hiding. He later joined Oliver in fighting to save the multiverse during the Anti-Monitor Crisis.

John was killed aboard the alternate *Waverider* in the destruction of Earth-1 when the Anti-Monitor led the antimatter wave towards the ship on December 10, 2019. However, he was brought back with new memories on Earth-Prime until J'onn J'onzz restored his Earth-1 memories shortly after to help stop Mobius. John later attended Oliver's funeral, giving a speech to honor his best friend. He made the choice to disband Team Arrow and moved to Metropolis with his family. On his way to Metropolis, a mysterious green object crashed right in front of him.

John would travel to cities where his heroic friends worked to help them on behalf of A.R.G.U.S. and understand the headaches he suffered from the green object. Two years later, John ironically discovered the answers he was searching for from Eobard Thawne, who helped him open the mysterious box. While enticed by its power, he ultimately rejected this higher calling, as it had taken a toll on his personal life.

1. ↑ "**Script error: No such module "IdentifySeries".**"
2. ↑ *Arrow - Arrow - Character Bios* - Facebook
3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Lost Souls`
4. ↑ @Smoak & Arrow: (I)s "Spartan" officially Diggle's codename now? / Marc Guggenheim: Yes. - Twitter