John Thomas “Dig” Diggle, Sr. (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 husband of Lyla Michaels, and the father of Sara Diggle and John Diggle, Jr.. As a member of Oliver Queen’s team, John is his partner and plays 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 is over.
After Oliver discovering John’s nerve damage, he took on the mantle once more; until John fully recovers 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 FBI to catch Diaz, but he stayed off the grid for five months. After Diaz attacked Felicity, Team Arrow reunited to find a way to stop Diaz and the Longbow Hunters within the law. After Diaz was imprisoned and Oliver was released, John and Lyla started investigating Dante and interrogated Ricardo Diaz for information. John and Lyla created the Ghost Initiative to find and stop Dante. Team Arrow was later deputized by the SCPD, and John resigned from A.R.G.U.S. to protect Lyla and her job as director. John then started working more closely with the SCPD. Team Arrow fought the Ninth Circle, led by Emiko. After the Ninth Circle’s defeat, John and Lyla helped Oliver and Felicity go into hiding. John later joined Oliver in fighting to save the multiverse from the Crisis.
John was killed when aboard the Waverider after the destruction of Earth-1 when Mobius led the antimatter wave towards the ship on December 10, 2019. However, he was brought back with new memories on Earth-Prime, but soon after J’onn J’onzz restored his Earth-1 memories and helped to stop the Anti-Monitor. John gave a speech at Oliver’s funeral to honor his best friend. John also made the choice to end Team Arrow since there was no longer any crime in the city and moved to Metropolis with his family.
