by Eric Levy:
Has Oliver Queen ever been this badass? Depending on who you ask, that could be up for debate. But one thing is certain… at times he makes Batman look tame.
The CW has done a stellar job in bringing Starling City’s (Star City in the comics) billionaire playboy by day/vigilante by night to the small screen in Arrow.
The character, played by Stephen Amell, is based off of DC’s Green Arrow, and after a four week hiatus, the show will return on Wednesday, January 16th.
For those of you who have not seen the show up until the point, I’ll give a general overview of what has happened so far.
After a shipwreck, Oliver Queen is missing and thought to be dead. His father, Robert Queen, was killed in the same shipwreck. After five years on an island, he returns home to Starling City. Upon his return, Oliver tries to reconcile with his ex-girlfriend, Laurel Lance, and reconnect with family.
Speaking of family, we find out that some members have an agenda of their own—especially Moira Queen, Oliver’s Mother.
Once the welcome home party is over we are introduced to his mission: wiping out the scum of his city, a task his father asked of him right before his death. Oliver is however met with some opposition in the form of Detective Quentin Lance, Laurel’s father. Detective Lance is hell-bent on arresting the vigilante.
In the fourth episode entitled “An Innocent Man,” Lance actually arrests Oliver on suspicion of being Arrow, or as the police call him, “The Hood.”
Oliver isn’t alone in his quest. He gets some help from John Diggle. When we are introduced to Diggle, he is hired to be Oliver’s bodyguard. Oliver doesn’t like this very much and finds ways to sneak away from Diggle’s watch. This goes on for a little bit until Oliver offers Diggle an opportunity to fight alongside him. At first, Diggle declines, but later accepts. We even get to see him in an Arrow costume at one point.
In most of the earlier episodes of the season, we see flashbacks as to what Oliver’s life on the island was like. Trust me, it doesn’t look like fun. In these flashbacks we get to meet some characters including another well known name in the DC Universe, Slade Wilson, A.K.A. Deathstroke.
Deathstroke isn’t the only other comic book character to appear in the show. We’ve also seen Deadshot and more recently, The Huntress.
In the episode “Muse of Fire,” The Huntress, or Helena as she is known in the show, is seen racing down a street on a motorcycle, opening fire on an associate of her father—who just so happens to be a mob boss. Moira is injured during Helena’s assassination attempt. Oliver sees it all, as he was on his way to meet his mom. Oliver chases Helena—at this point he doesn’t know it’s her—but loses her.
Later in the episode, Oliver and Helena go on a date. After the date, craziness ensues and the two learn of each others’ secret identities.
In the final two episodes before the show’s break, we see Helena’s true colors, a new romance between Laurel and Oliver’s best friend, Tommy, and the introduction of a new archer, who injures Oliver.
So there you have it… the first nine episodes in nutshell. Be sure to tune into The CW next Wednesday, January 16th at 8 p.m. to catch “Burned,” the newest episode of Arrow.
See you next time, Arrow Heads.
Eric Levy covers the hit CW TV show Arrow for DarkMedia. He is a comic book enthusiast who loves to read, watch, and write about his favorite characters. You can follow Eric on Twitter at @LifeinStrips. You can also check out his blog at lifeinstrips.blogspot.com
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