He’s crashing through your windows. He’s snatching bad people up. Hide ya gun, hide ya knife, Oliver Queen is returning to Starling City.
For the last three seasons of Arrow we’ve watched Oliver go from being called The Hood, to The Arrow, to a name that’s, sadly, probably on a no-fly list. Now with the fourth season of the popular super hero soap fast approaching our titular hero will finally get a little color, so to speak. Though he’s been in the crime fighting business for a while now, season four Arrow will now be ‘Green,” at long last adopting his full alias from the comics.
Though season three ended with Oliver returning from Nanda Parabat to defeat Ras al Guhl, we know that the sunset ‘Ollicity’ rode off into only means Darhk is fast approaching- Damien Darhk, that is: Oliver’s big bad this coming year. Darhk (Neal Mcdonough; Star Strek: First Contact, Captain America: the First Avenger) was mentioned in season three as not only the leader of mystery org H.I.V.E., but also as a former “heir to the demon,” so he’s clearly not one to mess with. Not like that’s going to stop Oli from defending his city against whatever Darhk is up to. In DC Comics Damien was a genius level intellect who also had ties to H.I.V.E., an organization that trained mercenaries and assassins, sort of like the League of Shadows (which is now under the watchful eye of one Malcolm Merlyn).
And to add chaos to all the organization, creators are also introducing Alexander Calvert to the show as Anarky, a tech prodigy who uses his gadgets to undermine the government and help the people. There’s not much info on the Arrow version but it sounds very V for Vendetta, and something tells me his actions will run him afoul of Green Arrow after Ollie returns to Starling City.
Another new character I”m really looking forward to seeing is Curtis Holt, who’ll be portrayed by Echo Kellum. More recently well known in the comics as Michael Holt, Arrow’s iteration goes by Steve, but will possess many of the same characteristics that make him “Mr. Terrific,” his super-hero alias. Though it’s unknown, but unlikely, we’ll see this super version of the character this season, his comic counterpart as early on as 1997 has been a young, black, genius with a photographic memory and insane physicality. Arrow will honor all of that, but will also bring its own twist on the character by making him gay. They are filling all sorts of representational boxes with this one and as a young, black, queer genius myself, I for one am excited.
Of course it remains to be seen just how his sexuality will be handled on the show, but judging from how The Flash has handled sexual diversity on its show, I’m optimistic. By not simply throwing a villain of the week with a same sex attraction in that show but also including a gay police captain on the show, Flash managed to reach this mark a little faster than its parent show.
Now, while I’m excited to see some new faces, I’m really interested in the buzz surrounding an old one; John Diggle’s in particular. Rumor has it that we may see a little less of it this season, but only because it will be covered with a mask. Though tight lipped about the details, at some point this season Oliver Queen’s one time body guard will be donning his own crime fighting gear as he continues to ride or die for Ollie and his cause.
The juiciest aspect of this is the possibility that he could be stepping into the boots of another famous DCU John, John Stewart, one of the members of the Green Lantern Corps. The cosmic character shared down to earth roots just like our John, and the costume that’s been teased reminds me of the helmet Stewart wears in some versions of the comic. With producers revealing this season will have much more magic and mysticism, from the inclusion of exorcist John Constantine to the inevitable resurrection of Sarah Lance, a ring of power that gives Diggle superhuman abilities is hardly a stretch. Especially considering the long and storied friendship between the ring bearer and the verdant vigilante.
Are you seeing green this fall? Reply below with what you’re most excited to see when Arrow returns this October.
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BC
i thought guggenheim said that diggle will get a new identity, i.e., not one in the DC comicverse. and, perhaps, the comics will do so in kind (as they brought diggle in, as well). so, as much as i wanted so badly for diggle to be green lantern, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. but maybe that’s better; i think it’s awesome that a POC character created on the show has garnered enough fans that DC will add him as a new superhero to their comics. go david ramsey!