27. Spartan
It’s hard to imagine where both Arrow and Oliver Queen would be without John Diggle. Originally starting things off as Mr. Queen’s hired bodyguard, the former soldier was the first to uncover the truth about his new boss’ late-night activities. And, despite his initial shock, this was ultimately the beginning of a long-running partnership.
As Oliver’s right-hand man, Diggle has always had his best friend’s back throughout the course of the series. While still playing the role of his bodyguard in public, he soon began accompanying The Arrow on his missions, continuing to provide backup whenever necessary. In fact, he became so effective in the field that he was eventually given a fancy helmet and the codename “Spartan.”
Though he’ll always be Diggle to us, Spartan is a perfect nickname, to sum up just how imposing he is when fighting crime. Moreover, Oliver trusted him so much that Diggle often filled in as the Green Arrow whenever he wasn’t able to fulfill the role. And nothing says “I trust you” quite like take my place as Star City’s primary hero.
Unlike some of the other characters on this list, Diggle’s shortcomings don’t lie in the fact that we didn’t get to see enough of him, it’s that we simply saw too much of him. The character’s loyalty to Oliver and actor David Ramsey’s loyalty to Arrow meant that Diggle has stuck around far too long and, unfortunately, it has led to quite a lot of repetitive storylines for him which have only diluted his character. Though he is once again on an upwards trajectory in Season 7, we’ll always regard those first few years of Diggle’s pre-Spartan adventures as his best.