(CBR) Since its debut, The CW’s superhero drama “Arrow” has made inventive use of the deep bench of DC Comics characters at its disposal. And that approach is one the show will continue to utilize as it enters its sophomore season.
The returning series has cast “Heroes” alum Jimmy Jean-Louis as a mysterious character called “The Captain” for a multi-episode arc. The news follows recent word of actor Dylan Neal debuting in the second season’s fifth episode as classic DC Comics villain Dr. Anthony Ivo.
“The Captain is a mysterious and deadly associate of Anthony Ivo,” the “Arrow” production team detailed, “and has a connection to a mystery of Season 2 called the ‘Amazo’ — which will be a familiar name to DC Comics fans.”
Of course, comic readers know Amazo as the name of the villainous android created by Professor Ivo who can mimic the super powers of the original Justice League — including Superman, Green Lantern and the soon-to-arrive “Arrow” character The Flash. Since his debut in 1960’s “The Brave and the Bold” #30, the Gardner Fox/Murphy Anderson creation has been a constant thorn in the side of the Justice League and the heroes of the DC Universe in general.
But will Jean-Louis — who “Heroes” watchers will remember as “The Haitian” — undergo a transformation from The Captain into Amazo on “Arrow?”
Over its first season, the drama proved that even the most recognizable DC Comics characters are often up for gritty realistic twists in the world of Oliver Queen. As executive producer Andrew Kreisberg explained at this year’s Comic-Con International: “I think our best episodes always start with a strong story idea, and then we ‘Arrowfy’ it — which is actually a verb we use — after the fact. That keeps the show grounded in the realistic as opposed to starting with some hyper giant comic villain and trying to wrestle him or her into our world.”
Whatever his final form, The Captain joins DCU characters like Bronze Tiger, Amanda Waller and Brother Blood and others as they make the leap from the printed page to the world of live-action television.
The second season of “Arrow” kicks off Wednesday, October 9 at 8:00 Eastern and Pacific on The CW.