- "My father died so that I could live. Live and make a difference by fixing the city that he and the people in this book ruined. Every name that I cross off this list honors that sacrifice."
- —Oliver Queen to John Diggle[src]
"The List" is a notebook obtained by Oliver Queen from his father, Robert Queen. The book was a compilation by Robert of the corrupt individuals, who had ruined Starling City, later known as Star City. "The List" doesn't just target one-percenters, it can target others like Ted Gaynor as proven in "Trust but Verify". "The List" was known by others, notably Moira Queen and Malcolm Merlyn, and other leading members of Tempest. The book, on its first pages, had a picture of the subway tracks underneath the Glades, referring to the overall plan to level the area in the Undertaking. It is heavily implied there are were more copies of the List in the possession of others besides Robert, due to the fact that Adrian Chase knew of its existence, and some of the names on it.
History
Original multiverse
- "You failed this city!"
- —Oliver, to a target on the List
The List was written in ghost ink, a method of communication also used by the League of Assassins.
Adam Hunt's name crossed off The List.
At first, it was believed The List contains the names of individuals who are damaging Starling City through various means, usually financial. It was later revealed the names on The List are actually corrupt benefactors that were leverage to contributing to The Undertaking or risk their illegal activities being known to the public. After the Undertaking, The List lost all its usage.
Oliver stopped using the book to target individuals following the death of his best friend, Tommy Merlyn, in the Undertaking, deciding not to kill unless it was absolutely necessary.[1]
Four years after the Undertaking, Prometheus began killing Star City citizens whose names were anagrams of those on the List as part of his crusade against Oliver.[2]
New multiverse
After Oliver killed Jimmy Tarillo, he went to the list and decided that John Byrne was next. John Diggle could not believe how long the list was.[3]
Known individuals on "The List"
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Names only
The names below have only been seen on "The List", and their respective characters have not appeared on screen.
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Appearances
Arrow
Season 1
Season 2
Season 5
Season 8
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The Flash
Season 9
- "It's My Party and I'll Die If I Want To" (mentioned)
Trivia
- Oliver's list was incomplete, since it was shown in a flashback that he tore out several pages from the notebook to fuel a fire while on the island before discovering the names in it.[4] However, it's possible he acquired the full list from his mother's copy, which was in much better condition than his when Felicity gave it to him.[5]
- James Holder, Wes Anselm, Ken Shane, and Yasemin Soze were featured on both the List and Floyd Lawton's body as tattoos, indicating that the latter three were most likely killed by him, as was the case with Holder.
- Hideo Yamane was the first name that Oliver crossed off the List.[6]
Behind the scenes
- Stephen Amell, in an interview, has referred to The List as being like the Swan Hatch from Lost. He claims that you expect it to be a big thing, but the relevance of it continuously decreases.