At San Diego Comic 2014 we learned a lot of new things and it all began with a teaser of what to expect in season 3.

In the teaser we see Brandon Routh’s Ray Palmer introducing himself to Oliver and Felicity. We also see the return of Sara in her Black Canary guise kicking some ass. We get a shot of Lance in a Captain’s uniform and see Roy in his Arsenal suit. We get a scene of Oliver and Laurel walking and talking and the teaser also showed Diggle and Oliver having an argument in the Arrow Cave. We get our first glimpse of the Hong Kong Flashbacks as we see Karl Yune as Maseo Yamashiro and Oliver have a confrontation with Amanda Waller. And the scene everyone looked forward to is Oliver asking Felicity out on a date and we see said date. The teaser ends as we see a bloody Felicity lying on a slab in the Arrow Cave wearing the dress from her date with Oliver.

Here is what we saw in Ballroom 20:

What we learned during the panel:

• The big bad for season 3 will be Ra’s A Ghul. But no announcement on who will be playing him
• Ted Grant aka Wildcat will be on the show and will interact with Laurel
• Andrew Kriesberg said it was always the plan to make John Barrowman a series regular in season 3
• Diggle’s impending fatherhood could mean less time in the front lines and not by his choice
• Ivo is not Felicity’s father
• We will get a flashback episode that deals with Felicity’s time at MIT and that episode will be called “Oracle”
• Olicity. On their date they go to Italian. Greg Berlanti says this isn’t a fake out and the show will deal with their genuine feelings for each other. Their dynamics will shift. Stephen Amell adds that the date goes horribly
• Since Lance is now a captain with the Starling PD, we can expect him to deal with the Central City police force and in fact episode 8 of The Flash and Arrow will be a two-hour crossover event where everyone will crossover
• Felicity will appear in episode 4 of The Flash
• People knowing Oliver’s secret makes it easier for the writers
• Laurel and Oliver relationship and her journey is more interesting with her knowing the secret
• Roy is now a full sidekick and Stephen is jealous of Roy’s Arsenal suit. Being a mentor to Roy will bring out Oliver’s humor that exists in the comics. But Roy has some unresolved issues to deal with and will get bad fast.
• Willa Holland says she had been hitting the gym to prep for her arc this season. The Thea in the first two seasons is not the same you will see in seasons 3.
• Malcolm hopes to control Thea
• People think that Thea has been backpacking in Europe but can’t reveal what she really is doing or whether or not she shares scenes with Roy or if she has met a new friend.
• We will also flashback to the moment when Thea gets into Malcolm’s limo and we see that conversation play out.
• Tommy (Colin Donnell) will return in the Hong Kong flashbacks
• We learn more about Oliver’s relationship with Amanda Waller
• We won’t be seeing the island this season (which Stephen is grateful as that area of Vancouver is cold)
• We will meet Katana and Maseo Yamashiro in the Hong Kong flashbacks and see more of Oliver’s relationship with Amanda Waller

Here is the last 15 minutes of the panel but more will be coming: