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Arrow's newest episode was an eventful one. Not only did Season 7's overarching storyline take some major leaps forward, "Spartan" also dropped some pretty great cameos for hardcore DC fans. This episode teased the prospect of seeing both Green Lantern John Stewart and the Metal Men one day join the Arrowverse.

Maybe these cameos will never amount to anything. But we can dream, right? Here's a closer look at the significance of these teases and what it could mean for the Arrowverse after Arrow wraps up at the end of the year.

Green Lantern John Stewart

In the traditional DC Universe, John Stewart is one of several Earthlings to wear a Green Lantern ring. An ex-military man and current architect, John is among the most disciplined members of the Green Lantern Corps. He's also among the most popular Green Lanterns of them all, thanks in no small part to his starring role in the Justice League animated series.

So what does that have to do with Arrow? Tonight's episode introduces John's stepfather, General Stewart (played by Ernie Hudson). While the two men have been estranged for years, by the end of the episode John reconciles with his stepfather. He comes to appreciate the terrible sacrifice the general made years before, accepting undeserved blame for a mission gone wrong so that Diggle's biological father could die with an unblemished reputation.

There's been a long-running and very popular fan theory that Diggle's full name is actually John Diggle Stewart, and that one day he'll trade in the Spartan mantle for a Green Lantern ring instead. That's never been predicated on anything more than the fact that Diggle is also a black man named John who served in the military, though actor David Ramsey revealed that the possibility has been floated about by Arrow's producers as far back as 2015.

Lately, Arrow has been adding fuel to that particular fire. The recent "Elseworlds" crossover already hinted that the John Diggle of Earth-90 (home of John Wesley Shipp's Barry Allen) is a Green Lantern. And now "Spartan" offers an explanation for why John might change his last name to Stewart (assuming he didn't already take the Stewart surname as a boy). It would be a way of showing that he's finally embraced his stepfather and wants to acknowledge the general's sacrifice. And once John Diggle becomes John Diggle Stewart, the hope is that a Green Lantern ring will follow.

The Metal Men

The other big DC cameo in "Spartan" involves Felciity's pet project, Archer. Her hacker friend (and now employee) Alena reveals that industrialist and inventor Dr. Will Magnus wants to buy Archer. Magnus hopes to use the program to further an AI project he's been working on. The implication is that Archer could be instrumental in the creation of the Metal Men.

In the comics, the Metal Men are a team of intelligent robots who moonlight as superheroes. Each member is brought to life by attaching a device called a responsometer to a particular metal. Their powers and personalities are determined by their corresponding metal. For instance, Gold is the bright, shining team leader, Lead is dull and dim-witted and Mercury is the hot-headed loner.

It remains to be seen if anything will actually come from this major name-drop, but it's possible we could see the Metal Men join the Arrowverse down the road. If so, that may be due to Felicity as much as Dr. Magnus.

Filling Arrow's Void

It's worth noting that both of these cameos come at the tail end of Arrow's life cycle. We know the series is ending in late 2019 after a shortened eighth season. That leaves the question of what The CW has planned to fill that void. The upcoming Batwoman series will probably fill the spot left by Arrow, but could the writers be laying the groundwork for other spinoff shows?

It's certainly possible. With Emily Bett Rickards leaving Arrow this season, there's nothing stopping her from jumping over to a Metal Men spinoff series. Those quirky, relatively obscure characters might not be the best option for a dedicated Arrowverse series, but we doubt the network would have to try very hard to sell viewers on a Green Lantern spinoff. The only thing standing in the way of a David Ramsey-led Green Lantern series is the challenge of bringing such an effects-heavy character to life on the small screen.

To date, every Arrowverse series (those set on Earth-1, at least), has been a direct spinoff of another. Grant Gustin's Barry Allen debuted in Arrow before spinning out into his own series. Legends of Tomorrow built directly on the foundations established by Arrow and Flash for its ensemble cast. And the second chapter of the "Elseworlds" crossover was essentially a backdoor pilot for Batwoman. We may well be seeing that process repeat here. If The CW does end up launching new shows for Green Lantern or the Metal Men, fans will have Arrow to thank.

Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.