Hypable attended the Arrow panel today and learned more about the CW show’s second season and new surprises to come. Beware of spoilers going forward.

Arrow showed a sizzle reel before the panel and featured new guest star Summer Glau, Roy’s (Colton Haynes) journey, and a new name for the Hood. It also showed Laurel (Katie Cassidy) determined to find the Hood and Felicity standing up to Oliver (Stephen Amell).

The panel featured executive producers Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti, Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, and Colton Haynes.

Amell detailed how much has changed in a year with his Comic-Con experience while Kreisberg detailed how the season’s theme is City of Heroes with Oliver transforming into a hero along with some help. Kreisberg said it might be difficult for a happy dinner for the Queens, but it will be Moira Queen’s (Susanna Thompson) season of redemption. Oliver will now be more involved with Queen Consolidated while Thea (Willa Holland) will be running Verdant, Oliver’s nightclub.

The season will pick up five months after the events of the first season’s finale with Starling City still suffering. Kreisberg explained Oliver’s shift this season, saying, “This season is really about him seeing that the city needs a hero, that it needs a symbol of hope.”

Detective Lance (Paul Blackthorne) will be back to being a beat cop having had some issues with his superiors at the Police Department last season. While Colin Donnell (Tommy) is no longer on the show, Amell said he was still vital to the story. “Everything that happens…is meant to honor Colin Donnell’s character. Every decision that Oliver makes in regards to every area of his life is inspired by Tommy going forward.”

Cassidy says that Laurel has done her mourning in the five months and that Tommy’s death will stay with her forever. Cassidy is unsure how that will affect her relationship with Oliver.

Kreisberg said they are telling the story of Black Canary this season; however, he warns that the first Green Arrow, Merlyn, and Deathstroke were not who they are now.

Ramsey said that Diggle has undergone a transformation, and he is still a moral compass. The issue of capital punishment and murder will be important philosophical questions for Diggle this season. The character of John Diggle will now start to appear in the Green Arrow comic book series.

Rickards responded to her rise in fame saying, “She was never a small character to me. She was always a big character to me.” She thought that Diggle and Felicity have an “old soul connection” and pretended that she had not heard the fan’s cries for her and Oliver to get together. Cassidy said that she thought Felicity and Laurel could be friends, despite possibly having “to fight a few times”.

Haynes credited the Arrow team for welcoming him warmly and still keeps up with his former Teen Wolf castmembers. Haynes previewed Roy’s journey this season. “In a way season two could almost be like an island to Roy like it was to Oliver. Roy is going to have to go through the gambit of things, he’s going to have to be knocked down a few times…” Arrow fans will see the development of acceptance and tolerance between Oliver and Roy this season.

John Barrowman was a surprise guest on the panel and fans cheered wildly when they saw him. Barrowman said he loved being a part of Arrow and loved being a part of another iconic show without the weight on his shoulders. Barrowman said he loved seeing Amell become a leader calling him “the true hero of Arrow”. Barrowman said he “would be more than happy to come back into the family.” Barrowman teased that he might come back in flashbacks and Amell joked that “it’s pretty much impossible to kill” Barrowman.

Quite a few DC Comics characters will join Arrow this season with Sebastian Blood from Teen Titans played by Kevin Alejandro, Deadshot (Michael Rowe) and Bronze Tiger (Michael Jai White), and hopefully some more!

The cast described the season premiere as “epic, unexpected, trees, daring, me.” Amell said that once you see the first episode, his word of trees will make a lot of sense.

Amell said that his journey from vigilante to hero will begin with honoring Tommy’s memory and will continue on from there. Amell said that the physical preparation takes a while including the physical exercise of it all. The opening moments of season two will give fans a heads up on whether Deathstroke will be a villain or an anti-hero and that fans will see the transition this season.

Arrow stars Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, and Colton Haynes.

Are you excited for season two of Arrow?