Last night marked the return of Arrow, the smash-hit CW television series focusing on the Emerald Archer and starring Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, Willa Holland, and a whole lot of abs.

Season 1 rocked our faces off with a compelling tale, awesome action, and a super badass villain in the form of Malcolm Merlyn (dude caught an arrow one-handed like it was no big deal)—not to mention majorly changing the status quo at the end by killing off a main character and destroying half the Glades.

Season 2 kicked off last fall with nine episodes full of greatness. From great action to great guest stars, there's a lot to love about what we've seen so far, and to celebrate Oliver and Company's return, we're giving you 5.2 Reasons Arrow’s Second Season Has Amazed Us!

1. Black Canary

In the comic book world, it's hard to think of Green Arrow without thinking of Black Canary. So, when she appeared at the end of Season 2's first episode, we gave a Canary Cry of joy. Actress Caity Lotz perfectly portrays the badassery of the character, especially during her fight with the League of Assassins. We can't wait for the character to return in the present day, but we're thrilled to see her backstory in the flashbacks.

2. Ra's al Ghul

Remember when we just mentioned the League of Assassins? Yeah, they're in this season and it's freakin' awesome. In Season 1, Malcolm Merlyn mentioned going to Nanda Parbat and meeting someone there. The fanboy in us desperately wanted to believe he meant Ra's al Ghul, but we thought it was a long shot. Boy, were we glad to be wrong. Although he hasn't appeared, Ra's al Ghul's shadow is all over the show, having been directly tied to the backstory of not only Malcolm but also Black Canary.

3. The Villains

Of course, Ra's and his crew aren't the only villains. A ton of villains directly from the comics have already made an appearance, including Bronze Tiger, the Dollmaker, Brother Blood, Professor Ivo (captaining a ship named the Amazo, no less), and Cyrus Gold, a.k.a Solomon Grundy. Speaking of...

4. Introduction of Super Powers

Previously on Arrow, when it came to powers, the show found really cool and interesting technological ways to address a characters m.o. Even with Black Canary, her famous Canary Cry stems from a device she has that emits high frequency sound waves, which is pretty dang clever. However, Solomon Grundy is the first character to possess what is essentially a superpower: super strength. The fight between him and Arrow shows how much of a really cool game changer this is, and we can't wait to see Ollie take on tougher, even more powerful bad guys.

5. References

Season 1 was ripe with references to the greater DC Universe and each week we tried to keep our ears open for more. Season 2 has not disappointed so far, with references like the aforementioned Amazo and an appearance by attorney Jean Loring, the Atom Ray Palmer's wife. However, our favorite bit came from when Black Canary warns Al-Owal that he should be mindful of his surroundings.

5.1 Malcolm. Merlyn.

He's back and we couldn't be happier.

5.2 The Flash

Grant Gustin was simply amazing as Barry Allen. We cannot wait to see him again, hopefully as the lead in a full-on Flash television series.

There's a lot more about Season 2 we love, but what has been your favorite parts so far? Let us know in the comments and be sure to continue to check out new episodes of Arrow Wednesdays on The CW!