The CW’s DC Universe is big — and it’s getting bigger all the time.
Thanks to all the New Characters Confirmed For Arrowverse
Just in the last few weeks, as production ramps up on Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, the four series have introduced more than ten new characters — including a number of them who were based on characters from the DC Comics on which the shows are based. So let’s get to know the New Characters Confirmed For Arrowverse!
We know that there are some other names out there circulating that have not yet been confirmed — but here is our rundown of the ten characters we know for sure are coming to the “Arrowverse” with the season that starts this October.
Morgan Edge
Adrian Pasdar (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Heroes) will be joining as long-running Superman enemy Morgan Edge.
Described as a “charismatic capitalist”, Edge is a “ruthless real estate developer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants (and what he feels he deserves).”
His plans are set to create quite a few enemies, particularly Kara, as well as Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath).
There’s a lot to unpack here, actually, most especially the fact that he is a real estate developer — an avocation that the Richard Donner films that so profoundly influence Supergirl had given to Lex Luthor.
M’yrnn J’onzz
Also joining the cast is Carl Lumbly (Alias, Zoo), who will be playing M’yrnn J’onzz, the father of J’onn J’onnz/Martian Manhunter (David Harewood).
M’yrnn is described as “A pacifist religious leader on Mars” who “pushes his son in unexpected ways.”
This won’t be the first time that Lumbly portrays a member of the J’onnz family, as he voiced J’onn J’onnz on both Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
Psi
The CW favorite Yael Grobglas (Jane the Virgin, Reign, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), will also be appearing in Supergirl’s third season as Psi, a psychic villain who “uses people’s own minds against them.”
The antagonist was first introduced in the pages of DC Comics in 1982’s Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1, and later went on to join the Suicide Squad and the Black Lantern Corps.
On Supergirl, Psi is set to have a similar run-in with Kara, which “will affect the Girl of Steel in surprising ways.”
Reign
Cloverfield and Pure Genius alum Odette Annable has joined the third-season cast of The CW’s Supergirl in the role of Reign.
Warner Bros. Television confirms that “Reign will be the big bad of Season 3, as part of an exciting interpretation of the infamous World Killer storyline from the pages of the DC Comics.”
“Greg [Berlanti] and I have wanted to work with Odette for years,” said executive producer Andre Kreisberg. “We are beyond excited to have her join our cast in the scary, powerful and heartbreaking role of Reign.”
This is one that’s objectively and undoubtedly a Supergirl villain — something that the show has often found in short supply as fans have been treated to shared Superman/Supergirl villains, or even just Superman villains reinvented for the TV show.
Introduced in 2012, Reign is a Worldkiller and her origin is a mystery even to her. All she knows about herself is her name, that she is a Worldkiller, and that Krypton and Earth hold the answers for her questions about her origin.
In the comics, she attempted to find her answers on Krypton, only to arrive and find it already destroyed. She tracked down the remains of Argo City, and ultimately made her way to Earth to face off with Supergirl.
Reign would be a solid character to include because she has very little story to fall back on, so writers could build a life around what’s there and have flexibility without too badly breaking what comics fans expect.
The Thinker
He’s been teased for many episodes, and now we finally know his face. Neil Sandilands (The 100, The Americans) will be bringing the much-anticipated role of Clifford Devoe/The Thinker to life.
The season-long Big Bad is described as “a metahuman with a mega mind who embarks on a season-long battle with The Flash that pits the ‘fastest man alive’ against the ‘fastest mind alive.'”
This is sure to provide a unique challenge for Team Flash, especially considering what’s at stake. The Thinker has reportedly “devised an intricate plan to fix all that he deems wrong with humanity.”
The Mechanic
The Thinker’s sidekick, The Mechanic, will officially be joining the fold as well, and will be portrayed by Kim Engelbrecht (Dominion, Eye in the Sky).
Described as “a highly intelligent engineer who designs devices for Devoe”, she’s “the truest of true believers who’ll stop at nothing to help him implement his plan to fix humanity.”
In the comics, The Mechanic has remained anonymous, his (or her?) true identity never revealed or possibly not relevant. Some fans had assumed prior to Engelbrecht’s casting that the character would turn out to be Anne Dudek’s Tracy, in another “team member goes bad” twist for The Flash.
Breacher
As previously mentioned, Danny Trejo (Machete, Sons of Anarchy) will be making an appearance on The Flash. He will be portraying Breacher, described as “a feared bounty hunter from Earth-19 and the imposing father to inter-dimensional bounty hunter, Gypsy (Jessica Camacho).”
With Gypsy joining the fold on Earth 1 – seemingly permanently – last season, it’s safe to assume that she and her father will not be on the best of terms.
Breacher’s goal will reportedly be “to prevent any inter-dimensional traveler from threatening life on his planet — especially his daughter’s.”
With that in mind, seeing Trejo go up against the members of Team Flash is sure to be a highlight of this season.
Elongated Man
The CW has cast Hartley Sawyer in the role of Ralph Dibny, who will play a recurring role in the upcoming, fourth season of The Flash.
One of the Flash’s most iconic allies, Ralph Dibny — a.k.a. The Elongated Man — is a fast-talking private investigator with investigative skills that rival those of Batman.
Upon discovering he has the power to stretch his body to any shape or form, Dibny uses his new abilities to help Team Flash solve one of Central City’s greatest mysteries.
Sawyer was most recently seen in the CW Seed’s Saving the Human Race along with Anna Akana’s Miss 2059 for go90 (currently shooting season two).
Previous work includes ABC’s Don’t Trust the B in Apt. 23, the TBS comedy Glory Daze and GCB with Kristin Chenoweth on ABC. He also appeared in the critically-acclaimed short “SPiN,” “Caper” from Amy Berg and Felicia Day.
Zari Adriana Tomaz
Tala Ashe (American Odyssey) has been cast in the series regular role of Zari Adrianna Tomaz, a new member of the team aboard the Waverider, for Season 3 of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
Savvy audiences might recognize Adrianna Tomaz as Isis, a member of the Marvel family who is an embodiment of an Egyptian goddess and at times the wife of Black Adam in the comics. Her name, which seems unlikely to appear on TV for political reasons, is Isis.
A Muslim-American woman from the year 2030, Zari lives in a world of contradictions. Technology has brought about incredible change in her future — too bad human nature hasn’t kept pace. Fear, prejudice, and a lack of care for the planet have forced Zari to become a “grey hat hacktivist.” A computer nerd with a wry, combative attitude. A woman living a double life who doesn’t realize that she has secret, latent powers derived from an ancient, mystical source.
“We’re drawing on an established character who is not from the comics,” showrunner Marc Guggenheim said back in March. “Let me be very clear: not original to the show but not from the comics and not from any of the other DC Arrowverse shows.”
This appears to be that character: The DC version of Isis first appeared on TV, although with the Anglicized name of Andrea Thomas. A live-action Saturday morning adventure series, The Secrets of Isis was the first-ever weekly superhero series to star a female lead. The series acted as a companion to Shazam!, with which it crossed over numerous times, and starred Joanna Cameron as Thomas, a high school science teacher who gains the ability to call upon the powers of the goddess Isis after finding an Egyptian amulet during an archeological dig in Egypt.
The Adrianna Tomaz version of the character first appeared in 52, the weekly comic book event series that ran in 2006 and 2007. She was a member of a revolutionary movement in Black Adam’s country of Kahndaq, whose beauty captivated Black Adam and so she was taken prisoner rather than killed. Ultimately she won him over to a more populist way of thinking, and he granted her a portion of his powers — again, as Isis, this time alongside Adam and her younger brother Osiris as a kind of alternate take on Shazam’s “Marvel family.” Her death later in the series would push Adam further over the edge than ever.
Given her importance to Black Adam’s post-Infinite Crisis journey, and the fact that so many of those stories were written by DC chief creative officer Geoff Johns, fans have expected to see Isis show up in the forthcoming Black Adam movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The CW’s superhero shows have often featured characters who would later appear on Gotham or in the movies, though, so Adrianna’s presence on board the Waverider is no guarantee that won’t happen.
Ashe was last seen recurring on the NBC series American Odyssey, opposite Anna Friel and Peter Facinelli and starred in the off-Broadway production of The Who and the What at The Lincoln Center Theatre. Her TV credits include the NBC series Smash, 30 Rock, Law & Order, and Covert Affairs.
KUASA
This one is a bit of a cheat, since she’s already been seen in the Vixen animated series, but Kuasa’s live-action debut will be on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow this season.
Legends will be adding a new antagonist to the mix in Kuasa (Quantico‘s Tracy Ifeachor) – a character with a pretty deep tie to the lore of Amaya Jiwe/Vixen (Maisie Richardson-Sellers).
“We saw the Kuasa, characters that have a personal impact on our guys.” Klemmer revealed. “That Amaya thought she had this destiny to fulfill, this season she’ll learn that her destiny wasn’t just pure, ‘I will have a granddaughter who will become Vixen.’ The idea is always mixed. And the idea that her lineage will also, that there will be a line of evil through her family.”
At the root of it, Klemmer says that the core theme in choosing antagonists for Legends‘ third season is a personal connection to someone in the ensemble.
“You want bad guys who have enriched our characters’ story personally,” Klemmer explained, “as opposed to just two-dimensional ‘I’m a bad guy who wants to rule the world.’ Our show is frothy, and it’s always personal.”
Richard Dragon
Arrow‘s sixth season will soon be upon us. But aside from the fallout of the season five finale’s explosive ending, not much is known about the upcoming season. With the show’s San Diego Comic-Con panel, that has begun to change – with the help of a few significant casting announcement.
During the panel it was revealed that Michael Emerson (Lost, Person of Interest) will be joining the series.
Guggenheim also said to expect an announcement about Richard Dragon, a Green Arrow villain from the comic.
Richard Dragon, one of the last major Green Arrow villains yet to appear on Arrow, is coming in season six — and he will be different from the series’ other big bads, according to series executive producer Marc Guggenheim.
Richard Dragon on Arrow is a man of mystery — he either hasn’t been cast yet, or at least no casting announcement has been made — so we tried to see what we could get out of Guggenheim about the character at Comic Con International in San Diego last weekend.
“You know, what I really like about our interpretation of Richard is, he’s very grounded,” Guggenheim said. “He’s not a flamboyant big bad, he doesn’t wear a costume, he really is a crimelord sort of in the Tobias Church model. For Tobias we only really saw him for about five episodes, so we were excited about th prospect of doing a cool, gritty crime lord, but for a longer period of time. We’ve never really done that on the show before, so it’s different.”
It was also announced at the panel that David Nykl, who portrays Oliver’s former Bratva confidant Anatoly Knyazev, will be making a return appearance in the upcoming sixth season. With Anatoly and Oliver parting on rather unfortunate terms in season five, there are quite a few possibilities as to what significance it will have in the upcoming season.
Arrow will return for its sixth season on a new night and time – Thursday, October 12th, at 9/8c, on The CW.
The Flash‘s fourth season premieres on The CW on Tuesday, October 10th, at 8/7c.
Supergirl season three will premiere on Monday, October 9th, at 8/7c, on The CW.
