Oliver returns to Starling City and is greeted by his mother Moira (Susanna Thompson), his sister Thea (Willa Holland), his best friend Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), and ex-girlfriend Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy).

As his vigilante persona, Oliver carries a bow and various types of specialty arrows, and acts as judge, jury, and if necessary executioner to the wealthy that have used their money and power to take advantage and hurt the citizens of Starling City, and in the process embroiled into conflicts with some of the city's criminals including the Triad leader China White (Kelly Hu) and drug lord The Count (Seth Gabel).

[2] In the episodes "Lone Gunmen" and "The Odyssey", Oliver is forced to reveal his identity to his bodyguard John Diggle (David Ramsey) and Queen Consolidated IT specialist Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards).

[7][8][9] In season two, Oliver is initially found back on the island, having returned as penance for what he views a personal responsibility for the successful destruction of the Glades and the loss of his best friend.

Oliver and his friends—which now includes trained assassin Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), an aspiring vigilante named Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), and members of the League of Assassins—are able to stop the army and Slade.

[12][13] Season two flashbacks focused on the deteriorating relationship between Oliver and Slade, the discovery of a formula that can create super strength and near invulnerability called the Mirakuru, and a group of prisoners being experimented upon just off the coast of the island.

To protect his sister, who had been drugged and coerced into killing Sara by Malcolm, Oliver claims responsibility for the murder and engages Ra's in a trial by combat.

[19] The season three finale features Oliver killing Ra's, and subsequently giving up being a hero for Starling City and leaving to have a new life with Felicity.

In season four, after retiring from vigilantism, Oliver has live a happy life with Felicity Smoak at Ivy Town, until Thea and Laurel approach him, telling that they need him back at the newly rechristened Star City, which has been taken over by "Ghosts".

Season four flashbacks focus on Oliver returning to Lian Yu on Amanda Waller's orders to infiltrate the mysterious Shadowspire organization.

In season five, Oliver recruits a team of vigilantes to help balance his double life as Green Arrow and Star City's mayor.

Oliver is also facing with the possibility that his life might have been inadvertently affected by his friend and ally Barry Allen's (Grant Gustin) time-travelling actions.

By the end of the season, Oliver is forced to turn himself in to the FBI in exchange of their aids against Diaz, reveals to the world that he is Green Arrow in the process.

In season seven, Oliver tries to get his sentence reduced for Good Behavior, in hopes to return to his family, but is complicated by some of his old enemies who are imprisoned with him and in addition some inmates who work for Diaz.

Unbeknownst to Oliver, the vigilante is actually his unknown paternal half-sister Emiko (Sea Shimooka), who was conceived from his father's extramarital affair with a woman named Kazumi Adachi.

Having contacted the surviving seven Paragons of the multiverse (Barry, Sara, Kara, J'onn J'onzz, Kate Kane/Batwoman, Ryan Choi, and Lex Luthor), Oliver is able to lead them into a position where they can confront the Anti-Monitor's forces while he faces the villain himself and triggers the reconstruction of the universe at the cost of his own life.

In the 2014–15 television season, he made his first crossover appearance as Oliver's vigilante persona in the pilot episode of The Flash, giving Barry Allen advice on becoming a hero.

[24] Oliver also appeared in the 22nd episode of The Flash, "Rogue Air", helping Barry and Firestorm, Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell) and Martin Stein (Victor Garber), defeat the Reverse-Flash (Tom Cavanagh).

He briefly appears in the pilot episode of Legends of Tomorrow, advising Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) on joining Rip Hunter's (Arthur Darvill) time-travelling mission.

Oliver also appears in the second-season premiere of Legends of Tomorrow, in which he assists Nate Heywood (Nick Zano) in tracking down the Waverider, where they discover Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell) in stasis after a showdown with Damien Dahrk in the year 1942, which resulted in Rip Hunter and the Legends being separated, with the exception of Rory, who fills in Oliver and Nate on what happened.

[33] In this episode, Oliver returns to assist Barry in defeating Ramsey Rosso / Bloodwork, who plans to spread his dark matter infection throughout the newly recreated multiverse.

[50] Producer Marc Guggenheim expressed that the creative team wanted to "chart [their] own course, [their] own destiny", and avoid any direct connections to Smallville, which featured its own Oliver Queen / Green Arrow (Justin Hartley), opting to cast a new actor in the role.

Pilot episode director David Nutter believes that, following the time on the island, Oliver returns to Starling City with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and this contributes to his willingness to kill.

[59] Showrunner and executive producer Wendy Mericle described the emotional journey Oliver goes through during the 2017 Arrowverse crossover, in which he and Felicity marry, as one where he "explores the question of true love".

After input from producer Greg Berlanti and Amell, Mani redesigned the costume to show off the character's biceps, and be more reflective of the comic book counterpart.

"[64] Andy Greenwald of Grantland wrote that Amell deserves a "great deal of the credit" for Arrow's success, as he brings a subtle humor hidden beneath his "Hollister veneer".

"[66] Neil Genzlinger wrote in The New York Times that Amell was "just inscrutable enough to pull off the transition from the playboy he was before the shipwreck to the avenging, bow-wielding Green Arrow he becomes on his return to civilization".

[67] The San Francisco Chronicle's David Wiegand came to a similar conclusion, stating Amell has the "acting skill that enables him to be convincing both as rescued rich kid Oliver Queen and as his green-hooded alter ego, Arrow".

[68] In contrast, The Guardian's Stephen Kelly found Amell more "uncomfortable and awkward" in the role, which made it difficult to like his character as a "traumatised badass".

The 2013 game Injustice: Gods Among Us contains downloadable content that features an optional costume for Green Arrow based on Queen's appearance in the first season.