Season 5 of ARROW premieres tonight, and Oliver Queen is in over his head. There will be big changes in the upcoming weeks to please comic book fans and TV viewers alike. Here are some of the highlights of the premiere and what is coming down the pipeline.
Last season, it looked like Green Arrow had dispatched Damien Dahrk and avenged Laurel’s death, but Dahrk is not gone. He will be joining Black Siren (Katie Cassidy back as her Earth-2 doppelganger), Malcolm Merlyn/Dark Archer (John Barrowman), Reverse-Flash (Matt Letscher) and Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) in the Legion of Doom that terrorizes the Arrowverse later this season.
But before the Legion arrives in town, Green Arrow must face this season’s Big Bad, Prometheus. This Prometheus is not the one from the graphic novels, nor the Titan from Greek mythology. He is a new character created specifically for ARROW. Are we in for a surprise as to who Prometheus might be?
The future of this onslaught of evil begins with tonight’s episode, “Legacy,” with Tobias Church (guest star Chad L. Coleman). Church brings his own special brand of chaos to the city, and Oliver is spread thin between his vigilante and mayoral responsibilities.
To that end, Team Arrow will be forced to add new members this season, despite Ollie’s reticence to do so.
Though inexperienced, new recruits Rene Ramirez aka “Wild Dog” and D.A. Adrian Chase aka “Vigilante” (new cast members Rick Gonzalez and Josh Segaro, respectively) will join the team, and expect Wild Dog to live up to his codename. (Madison McLaughlin returns next week as Canary wannabe, Evelyn Sharp, newly-minted as “Artemis.”)
Also watch for Curtis to get out of the bunker and evolve into his alter-ego, “Mister Terrific” as the season progresses. Tyler Ritter will be on the canvas as SCPD Detective Malone. Joe Dinicol will recur as Rory Regan as the vigilante, Ragman, and former WWE star Cody Rhodes also is on the slate.
For non-comic book readers, artwork from DC Comics leads the above slideshow showing, in order, Mister Terrific, Wild Dog, Vigilante and Ragman. The fifth image is not the Greek goddess Artemis, but the DC version of Artemis from YOUNG JUSTICE who was in love with Wally West/Kid Flash (crossover, anyone?)
As the newbies are introduced to the team, Oliver’s high standards are likely to make them wonder if crimefighting is their best career choice, especially when Ollie puts killing back on the table as an option.
Flashbacks this season (reportedly the last season for flashbacks) find Oliver in Russia, keeping his promise to Tatiana. He becomes involved with an organization called the Bratva and runs into ROCKY IV’s Dolph Lundgren and old buddy/enemy Anatoly Knyazev (guest star David Nykl).
Look for another big change that could affect Star City. The Flashpoint reset on THE FLASH has the potential to spill throughout the Arrowverse.
At least one character from the past is rumored to reappear with speculation ranging from Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett) to Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell who currently is on CHICAGO MED) to The Huntress (Jessica de Gouw). Stay tuned to see how Barry’s time-tripping will affect ARROW, THE FLASH, LEGENDS OF TOMORROW and CW new transplant, SUPERGIRL. Also look for the possibility of a new man in Felicity’s life.
Guest starring on tonight’s are Kory Grim, Jay Hindle, Aaron Pearl, Nisreen Slim and Ryan S Williams. James Bamford directed “Legacy” with story by Greg Berlanti and teleplay by Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle.
Check out these fun clips with David Ramsey’s take on the new season, comic book fan, Echo Kellum’s thoughts and a fun photo shoot.
ARROW airs tonight (October 5) at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on The CW in the U.S. and on CTV Two in Canada.