1st Look at Arrow Season 5's New Heroes

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As Arrow barrels towards both us and what might well be its final season, the pressure is mounting for CW’s original superhero show to deliver something truly new and dynamic for its fifth season.  That pressure has been there for Arrow pretty much ever since its spin-off The Flash started pulling in a larger audience and revamped the entire superhero television tone in late 2014 but Arrow is really feeling the burn this year.  

After a magic-centric 4^th season didn’t really shake loose any new viewers, this new season features Green Arrow putting together a new team of vigilantes inspired by his deeds to protect Star City.  We’ve been getting the casting news all summer but now, thanks to some behind the scenes pics and a new trailer, we have our first new look at team Arrow 2.0. 

Joe Dinicol Cast as Ragman in Arrow S5

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As we move into the 4^th year of CW’s superhero dominance a bizarre question has begun to emerge: how do you solve a problem like Arrow?  The Green Arrow show was the first of CW’s new crop of comic book adaptations, premiering in 2012 and setting the tone for 3 years of superhero television and impacting sister shows like Gotham and even Agents of SHIELD.  However, the 2012 was a long time ago and the superhero television landscape has definitely shifted under Arrow’s feet, with the drab and stripped down aesthetic of the first 3 seasons left in the dust by the likes of The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. 

Arrow has just become a lot less relevant to CW’s expansive universe of shows and season 4’s increased focus on magic didn’t really help things.  As such, season 5 has opted to double down on the one thing that worked for season 4: introducing new heroes, with a crop of new characters coming to the upcoming premiere.  I’ve already covered Wild Dog, Vigilante, and Human Target, now meet Ragman, the Tatterdemalion of Justice, played by Joe Dinicol. 

Josh Segarra Cast as Vigilante in Arrow S5

Edited by Robert Beach 

Yesterday, I talked about how CW is approaching the question of what to do with Arrow now that it’s been more or less eclipsed by its adjacent series. My suggestion was that CW is modeling Arrow after Daredevil, bringing in 2^nd rate villains of more popular heroes like Ras Al Ghul and now introducing violent vigilantes ala Punisher in the form of Wild Dog.  

Well, CW seems to be doubling down on this approach by adding a second violent, street-level vigilante to the mix in the form of Adrian Chase, played by Josh Segarra. Much like Wild Dog, Chase is a low-rent Punisher knock-off from the ‘80s with possibly the most uninspired superhero name and gimmick of all time. He’s a hero so lame and non-descript his name is just a synonym for crime buster for he is…the Vigilante. 

Arrow Adds Rick Gonzalez as Wild Dog

Edited by Robert Beach 

How do you solve a problem like Arrow?  That might seem disingenuous given Arrow is the show that kicked off the CW-verse, a vast miasma of interconnected television shows that spans 4 series and a huge amount of characters; the likes we haven’t seen since the Star Trek triple threat of Next Generation, Deep Space 9, and Voyager in the late ‘90s, but hear me out.  As important as Arrow was to the origins of the CW-verse, there’s no denying at this point the show’s been outpaced by its own spin-offs. 

The Flash rushed ahead to become a massive favorite; Legends of Tomorrow brought superhero team action to life in a way never thought possible, and Supergirl is the best live-action adaptation of the Superman mythos since Superman 2. Arrow has little to do now, especially now that Ras Al Ghul has receded from the series’ emphasis. So how do you keep a show like Arrow relevant and interesting without just trying to rip-off Batman (like in seasons 1 and 2)? Well, obviously you do what worked in season 3, Arrow’s best season; you rip-off Daredevil.

Static Thoughts - 10 Possible Villains for Arrow Season 5

Edited by Robert Beach 

If there is one worthwhile name in DC comic adaptations in the 2010s, it’s the CW. By this point, they’ve created 2 incredibly great shows with The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow that perfectly adapt their respective source materials and are now taking on the responsibility of a 3^rd great show with Supergirl. Unfortunately, all that excellence raises the question of what happens to CW’s original superhero show Arrow.  

Love it or hate it, Arrow is just treading water, an adjunct to a universe that no longer needs it. So far, the only thing that really made Arrow stand out was the inclusion of Ras Al Ghul as a new bad guy, following the Daredevil school of villain appropriation. Given that, it makes sense Arrow season 5 will keep ripping off Daredevil; this time trying to crib Daredevil season 2’s Punisher plot with a killer vigilante story of its own. Well, I’m not one to shy away from speculation. So here are 10 vigilantes we might see as the big bad of Arrow season 5. 

Static Thoughts - Top 12 Next CW Heroes

Edited by Robert Beach

as the new seasons of CW’s blockbuster superhero shows Arrow and Flash slowly rumble towards us, there have been a lot of casting announcement for new superheroes appearing on both shows.  Arrow will be featuring Mr. Terrific and Anarky in the upcoming season while Flash is being blessed with both Atom Smasher and the original Flash: Jay Garrick. Between all these announcements and the looming Legends of Tomorrow crossover show, it seems a good time to speculate other heroes that could stand to be added to the CW-verse.  With that in mind, here is the top 12.