Viewer Log: Arrow ep 4

When we last left Mr. Queen, he was frantically saving the life of his unlucky bodyguard, John Diggle. Diggle had taken a few GSW’s to the chest, with bullets that were laced with curare. So he’s doubly screwed. Or would be, if Oliver hadn’t gotten him to his lair in time. When Diggle awakens, he learns that his employer is actually the mysterious Hood that’s been running around town. I feel like this was an “Ohhh!” moment for Diggle. Oliver asks Diggle to help him with his crusade against the corrupt elite of Starling City, but Diggle is a little uncomfortable with the offer. He leaves in a huff.

Oliver comes home, gets chastised for apparently abandoning his family by Laurel, you know, the usual hero clichés. The next day, Oliver finds out Diggle quit, and he already has a replacement Bodyguard. I didn’t bother learning his name, he’s not that important. He also hears about a news story from when he went missing, of a man named Peter Declan murdering his wife Camille. The part that interests him, Camille had worked for a fellow named Jason Brodeur. Who is on the list. Dun-dun duuuunnnn. And just to make sure we get that Brodeur is a bad guy, we see him meeting with his head of security, who confirmed that he did indeed kill Camille. Way to make us work for it, Arrow Writers. Oliver, in his Hood costume, gets Laurel to look into the case, and we learn from Declan that his wife was going to report Brodeur for illegal dumping.

Say what you like about Laurel, but she's an effective attorney.

Back with Diggle, he’s spending time with his sister-in-law, Carlee. She generally approves of Diggle quitting, and that Oliver is an @%$, just for Oliver to show up. He descretely tries to convince Diggle to join him again, even showing him the book and the list, and telling Diggle how his father died. While a little more intrigued than last time, Diggle still says no. Oliver then gets in costume and “talks” with Camille’s supervisor. By now, you should get that when I say “talk” it involves torture. This time, he uses a train. Oliver is a sucker for the classics. He learns that Camille gave the supervisor a file with all the info. He gives the file to Laurel, who gives it to a judge, but it’s not enough for the judge to stay Declan’s execution.

Diggle talks with Carlee again, this time, it sounds like both think that working with Oliver is the “right” thing. Oliver goes after Brodeur, who after being shot through the hand, tells Oliver that Declan and Laurel are good as dead. Oliver rushes to Iron Heights Prison, and arrives just in time to save the two. The security guy Declan met in the beginning staged a prison break to cover up the hit. Oliver saves the day, and Declan is reunited with his daughter. Everybody wins. Oliver’s mother, Moira, meets with a mysterious man. Said guy points out that all the Hood’s targets are part of their secret little cabal. The plot thickens. Diggle meets Oliver at the lair, and agrees, though he refuses to be a side kick. When they go back to the Queen mansion, Oliver is arrested. Oh, forgot to mention that subplot. Detective Lance got some video footage of Oliver grabbing his gear in the previous episode, and sets out to stop the Hood.  

The Island subplot, Oliver is barely surviving. The Archer gives him a bird. He says something in Chinese, that Oliver doesn’t get. I understood based on the context right away, Kill the Bird if you want to eat. Once Oliver finally get it and kills the bird, the Archer, in English, tells Oliver what he was saying means “survive.” He urges Oliver to stop looking at his picture of Laurel and survive the island. There’s also a subplot of Walter Steele looking into an accounting irregularity. 2 million dollars missing, pretty big irregularity. He gets Felicity to look into it, and learns Moira invested it in something called Tempest Industries. They just have bought a warehouse. Walter goes to the warehouse, and discovers the wreckage of the Queen’s Gambit. This plot is pudding thick.

This episode was solid, but not fantastic. Pretty standard, Oliver finds a local injustice and solves it. Him trying to convince Diggle to help him stop the people on his list is an interesting little plot. When Diggle does agree, he does give one of the better speeches in the show about why he’s going to help. Don’t want to ruin it, just watch the episode and enjoy. Next time-

We need to have a chat.

Deadpool? What are you doing here?

What opens this week?

Y-your movie?

Yeah, MY movie. So where the heck is my Theme Week? Shnk Think carefully before answering, and I might not stick this katana into you.

Ah…. Next time, Deadpool review. Goodnight everybody. Gotta run!

Get back here, you nerd!

Viewer Log: Arrow ep 3

Episode Three opens to Oliver Queen pumping iron and monologuing. He does a lot of both of these things throughout the series. I can sum up 90% of the monologues from season 1, “(Insert Name) has failed this City. I’m going after him/her.” This particular robber baron, James Holden, owns a company that installed substandard fire alarms in The Glades, Starling City’s low income district. Oliver implies that there’ve been dozens of deaths. Messy. Holden had just won the lawsuit that would have required him to pay damages to the survivors and their next of kin. Oliver decided to “converse” with Holden and strongly suggest he reconsider paying. He goes to Holden’s penthouse, takes out his guards, and confronts Holden. Before they can get into the meat of their conversation, Holden is shot and killed, and Oliver takes a bullet or two dodging the gunman.

Back at his hideout, Oliver does his best to do some forensic investigating on his new opponent. Which is interrupted when he realizes that the bullet he was hit with was poisoned. He takes some sort of anti-toxin before passing out. Flashback to the island, but I’ll get to that in a minute. He wakes up hours later, returns home, and sees his sister being brought in for breaking and entering. Thea Queen has continued the family tradition of being a problem child, much to Oliver’s dismay. While the cops start investigating Holden’s murder, all but Detective Lance convinced that “The Hood” did it, Oliver is a couple of steps ahead. Bullet’s laced with curare, a deadly poison, and making incredibly difficult shots are the signature of an assassin that various intelligence agencies have labeled Deadshot.

Kind of amazing that a guy with a bow and arrow could beat him
Just sayin'.

Oliver takes a quick break from investigating to show Tommy, and to a lesser extent Diggle, his factory. Not the cool stuff he set up in the basement, but the ground floor. His plan is to turn it into a nightclub. Why? To Tommy, Diggle, and everyone else, because he’s a bored trust fund baby. Really? To cover his…unusual hobby. Hey, I’ve heard worse ideas. Rather shockingly, we learn that Oliver has connections to the Russian Mob. Yeah, they don’t go into detail about that one for a while. He’s able to get info on Deadshot, whom the Mob have used before. He learns that Deadshot is Floyd Lawton, and where his usual hideouts are. He confronts Lawton at his hideout, but Deadshot is a rather tough opponent and escapes. Oliver gets his hands on a laptop, which he brings to Queen Consolidated’s IT expert, Felicity Smoak. Felicity, who is awkward but adorable, is able to get some info from the laptop.

Apparently, there’s a company up for auction, and one of the perspective buyers hired Lawton to…lessen the competition. Oliver looks into the site that the auction is going to take place in, and it’s pretty much a perfect killing site for someone of Lawton’s skills. Oliver, as the Hood, goes to Det. Lance and lets the Detective know what’s going to go down. Lance sets up a security detail, and Oliver prepares for the fight. Deadshot starts shooting, and Lance just barely save’s Oliver’s step-father Walter. Oliver gets Diggle to watch out for his mom and sister, and sets out to stop Deadshot. Oliver and Deadshot duke it out, while having a morality debate. You know how it goes, “you’re a killer” “so are you” “Shut up, I’m different.” Oliver is just barely able to stop Deadshot, after the assassin’s wrist mounted machine gun runs out of ammo. Arrow through his funky telescopic lens, and into his eye. The euphoria of victory quickly fades when Oliver turns around, and sees Diggle. Diggle had followed Oliver, you know, because he’s a bodyguard, and took several bullets. Oliver rushes to his lair, and treats him for GSW’s and poisoning. The episode ends with Diggle seeing Oliver in gear.

The flashback story is pretty simple. The mysterious Archer pulls the arrow he hit Oliver with from his shoulder. After recovering, Oliver attempts to escape, is caught in a net, and then rescued again by the Archer. He’s really sticking his neck out for a spoiled rich boy. Just saying.

Overall, a solid episode. It is the firsts time that Oliver goes beyond his personal quest and starts fighting a villain that isn’t related to his list. We also get some odd little inconsistencies with his past. If he was stuck on the Island for five years, how the heck did he get connections with the Russian Mob? And where did he get training in forensics? Get set up for the long haul, cause those questions won’t be answered for a while, just a heads up. Deadshot is a decent villain for Arrow, as his skill set is close enough to be a real threat to Mr. Queen. There’s some continued exploration of Thea’s bad habits, as she’s 17, getting drunk, breaking and entering, and just overall being a problem child. The whole dad and bro being dead thing really messed with her, apparently. This episode also introduced the breakout character of the series, Felicity Smoak. Ms. Smoak was originally supposed to be a one-off character, name dropped, does her thing, and then fade back into the background. But, actress Emily Bett Richards’s portrayal of the socially awkward, but still adorable tech geek, and her chemistry with Stephen Amell turned her into a recurring character for season 1, and then a major cast member for the rest of the series. While I’m not crazy about the “Olicity” fandom, look it up some of those folks are just plain nuts, I do enjoy Felicity and her quirky quirkiness. We also get some exploration of Diggle, as they introduce his sister-in-law, Carlee, and learn that he’s got a dead brother. Minor things for now, but they’ll get more important as the series goes on. So yeah, good episode. Next time, number 4 of Arrow. 

Villain Profile: Deadshot

Other than the scope-eye placement, great
costume.

What do you get when you combine killer accuracy with an amoral personality? You get Deathstroke. Or Bullseye. Or the Punisher. Or even Hawkeye in some iterations. I’m getting off track here, we’re talking about Deadshot today. I just used that little intro to point out that there are a few characters that boast skills on or above Deadshot’s own. Just keep that in mind. Let’s get to it.

Deadshot began life as Floyd Lawton. Oh my, that’s right up there with Leonard Snart on the list of worst real names ever. Lawton’s father was an abusive SOB that regularly beat Lawton and his beloved older brother. During one of his father’s outbursts, where he beat the older son, Lawton decided to take matters into his own hands. He grabbed his father’s hunting rifle, climbed a tree, and took aim at his hated sire. But, when Lawton pulled the trigger, the branch he sat on snapped, and he plummeted to the ground. This also caused his shot to arc wildly, and strike his brother instead. While it hasn’t been stated outright, its believed by many that it was the death of his brother that caused Lawton to perfect his marksmanship and why he seems to have no regard for his own life. Killing a relative will have that effect on a boy.

Years later, Floyd Lawton somehow amassed a sizeable fortune, and set up shop in Gotham City. When Batman and Robin were out of the city on vacation, it was the 50s Batman did a lot of goofy stuff back then, Lawton decided to make his move. He dressed up in a tailored suit, top hat, and little domino mask, stopped a robbery with his trick shooting skills, and introduced himself to the police and mayor as Deadshot. Despite the incredibly aggressive moniker, the Mayor chose to trust Deadshot, and even went so far as to replace the Bat-Signal with a Shot-Signal. Bullseye Signal? Target Signal? Whatever, Deadshot became a bigtime hero in Batman’s absence. When the Dark Knight returned, he was very suspicious of the new “vigilante superhero.” His suspicions panned out when, after tracking Lawton to his home, he discovered that Lawton was planning on killing Batman and becoming the criminal overlord of Gotham. Batman was able publicly expose Lawton, and saw him sent to prison.

People took him seriously in this?
Really?

This turned out to be a pretty bad idea. While in prison, Lawton trained constantly to improve his strength and fighting skills for his next confrontation with Batman. He was able to escape prison with the unwilling help of the Penguin. Lawton stole a special, laser firing monocle that the Penguin had smuggled into prison to facilitate his escape. My question, what idiot let the Penguin keep a monocle in his cell? Do prisoners get to keep specialized eye-wear like that? Anyway, Lawton fashioned a new red costume, complete with a creepy one eyed mask, and set his scope on Batman once again. The two battled across Gotham City, and Batman came out on top. This time, when he was sent to prison, he was intercepted by a few government officials. Seeing his skills as a marksman, and his complete disregard for human life, someone in the upper echelon of shady government deals decided to offer him a deal. Deadshot would have to perform a suicide mission, in exchange for a reduced sentence. Lawton agreed, and became a member of the Suicide Squad. Deadshot excels as a member of the Suicide Squad, and becomes a regular on the roster. Not sure if he’s happy with that or not, as part of the reason he joined was to die. Apparently he’d developed some kind of “Hate life” complex, and, while he didn’t want to commit suicide, he didn’t care whether he lived or died. He almost got his wish, however, with one mission.

There was a powerful Senator that had threatened to expose the Suicide Squad to the general public. Lawton’s immediate Superior, Rick Flag, didn’t take this kind of threat too kindly, and set out to kill the Senator. Lawton was ordered to stop Flag, by any means. His means? Kill the Senator himself. When questioned later, he stated that his mission was “Stop Flag from Killing the Senator. Exact Words.” That’s some crazy, Terminator/I, Robot movie rule bending right there. Lawton was gunned down at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial by police, but survived his wounds and continued working for the Suicide Squad.

It's raining Lead, Hallelujah,
It's raining Lead. 

The last thing I’ll mention is Deadshot’s daughter. Apparently he’d had a fling with a woman years ago, that resulted in his daughter, Zoe. I imagine his reaction went something like this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGSIzFEFK6Y. Just replace Son with Daughter. But, he was not so happy to learn that he lived in one of the more…scummy districts of Star City. Deadshot decided to clean up the neighborhood. After killing a few thugs, getting the attention of Green Arrow, and then faking his death, yet again, Deadshot slipped back into the woodwork. Knowing that Green Arrow would patrol the area more often seemed to relieve Lawton’s consciences. So he could kill more people. Priorities.

Deadshot is an expert assassin and marksman. While he has a number of deadly firearms, he’s best known for his high powered sniper rifle, and a pair of machine guns mounted to his wrists. He once pulled a William Tell, shooting an apple off of someone’s head, but while also being blindfolded. After his first appearance, he’s trained in hand-to-hand combat, and is now more or less on par with Batman.

Deadshot has made a number of appearances outside of the comics. Interestingly, I don’t think there’s been a single version that has had a particular history or grudge with Batman. Much like Deathstroke, he’s kind of evolved past his initial concept. He has fought Batman on several occasions, but I’ve just never noticed the intensity that his history implies.

He appeared as a character in Justice League: Unlimited. In his first episode, “The Enemy Below” he was hired to assassinate Aquaman. After the second or third attempt, he’s chased down by the Justice League and is forced to reveal who hired him. He later appeared as a background villain in “Hereafter.” He’s one of many baddies celebrating the supposed death of Superman by rioting in Metropolis. Personally, with guys like the Flash, Batman, and Green Lantern running around, I’d have held off on the celebrating. In “Task Force X” he’s recruited by Colonel Rick Flag, Jr. as a part of said Task Force. He’s pretty much forced to go along when he learns that his last meal was laced with nano-explosives. The Mission of the Task Force is to steal The Annihilator, a magical war machine that the Justice League had stashed away in the Watchtower. They break into the JL’s floating fortress, and steal the suit. He’s rather “annoyed” to learn that he’ll need to work for five years before getting his sentence suspended. But, he seems to have escaped capture after Task Force X’s backer, Project Cadmus, dissolved.

Lawton is a minor villain in the final season of Smallville. In his first episode “Shield” he’s got his sights set on reporters Clark Kent, and Cat Grant. Imagine his surprise when Clark turns out to be Bulletproof. He’s a background character after that, working alongside Rick Flag and the Suicide Squad.  

Green Arrow needs to watch his back.

I’d say his biggest appearance to date is in Arrow. He’s the second major villain that Oliver Queen encounters after dawning his mysterious Green Hood. They battle across Starling City, and the fight ends with Deadshot apparently killed. He returns in “Dead to Rights” where it’s revealed that Oliver just seemed to have left him blind in his right eye. He’s given a new targeting device in the form of a red cybernetic eye. He’s hired to assassinate billionaire Malcolm Merlyn, but is once again foiled by Oliver. He later joins the Suicide Squad. This series also introduced a sort of rivalry between him and original character John Diggle. Apparently, Diggle’s brother had been killed by Deadshot years ago, and after discovering it was Deadshot that had done the deed, swears vengeance. Things get more complicated when they’re forced to work together on the Suicide Squad.

He was the “main” character in Batman: Assault on Arkham. He’s put on a team with Harley Quinn, Killer Frost, King Shark, Captain Boomerang, and Black Spider. He’s apparently worked with the Squad before, as he’s unsurprised when he’s captured for the team. He’s tasked with stealing the Riddler’s Cane from Arkham Assylum, which has a flashdrive on it containing sensitive information about the Suicide Squad. He’s the de facto leader of the group, which does accomplish its mission, despite a few hiccups.

A Suicide Squad movie is set to release in August of this year. This version of Floyd Lawton is going to be played by Hollywood Heavyweight Will Smith. Did I just make that reference because he also played Muhammad Ali? You bet I did. There’s just one small thing about the movie promos thus far that makes me nervous. It’s a silly little thing, completely pointless really, but… his scope eye is on the wrong side. I know, minor nitpick, but in my experience, it’s little changes like that that hint at much, much bigger problems. Like making Pa Kent “Okay” with Clark letting people die, which leads to unconvincing Dark Superman. Just saying.

Honestly, not the biggest fan of Deadshot. I feel that his skill set, while impressive, is handled better by guys like Deathstroke and even Hawkeye. As I said in the opening, there are a lot of characters with killer accuracy, it’s really not that new of an idea. I am also not the biggest fan of how a lot of series bring up his daughter. Not sure how most people respond to it, but for me, it’s like seeing Sandman’s daughter in Spider-Man 3. A transparent attempt to make me believe that an otherwise awful human being “isn’t all that bad” and sympathize with him. If’s he’s a stonecold killer, go with it, if he’s a loving father using the only skill he has to provide for his child, go with it, I’m just not a fan of this mix and mash stuff. That being said, it should be interesting to see how Will Smith’s character holds up against the other versions. Provided he has enough screen time to be fleshed out. What? He’s sharing the screen with the Joker and Harley, if those two aren’t trying to steal the show in every scene, they’re doing something wrong. He’s the master marksman, the cold contract killer, the impeccable Deadshot. Next time, Batman’s avian themed baddie, The Penguin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadshot#/media/File:Deadshot_will_smith.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/68/Original_Deadshot.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadshot#/media/File:A_prime_pic_of_Deadshot.png

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4f/Deadshot_in_arrow.jpg

Viewer Log: Arrow ep 2

This episode of Arrow opens with a brief summary narration provided by Oliver Queen. He covers the major plot points established last episode, Name is Oliver Queen, five years in hell, must be someone else, etc. Oliver as “The Hood” forces another person on his father’s list to admit their wrong doings and be punished legally. The next day, his family learns about “The Hoods” antics on the morning news, and then the Queens plus Tommy go to court to have Oliver resurrect. Legally speaking. After that, Oliver has another awkward run in with Laurel, and locks onto his next target, Martin Summers. Summers is the CEO of the local docks, and uses this control to ship drugs into Starling City for the Triade.

The eventual Arrow Crew.

Oliver ditches Diggle, attacks Summers, and gives him a day to confess to murdering a dock worker that had threatened to reveal the drug trade to the Starling City Police. Back with the Queens, Diggle is chastised for losing Oliver for like the fifth time. Oliver comes in, and takes some of the heat off Diggle by claiming he was seeing a “lady friend.” Nice save, Ollie. Detective Lance interrogates Summers, but he remains tight lipped about being attacked by the Hood, and explicitly threatens Lance and his lawyer daughter, Laurel.

Back with the Queens, Moira tells Oliver that she wants to give him a leadership position with Queen Consolidated. Oliver is less than thrilled, as board meetings and charity events would cut into his criminal threatening time. Diggle gives him some pretty unique insight. Diggle is a former soldier, having served three tours in Iraq. He claims that being away is easy, that “Home is a battlefield.” Summers calls in a favor with the Triad, and then send a representative. They don’t mention her name here, but she is Chien Na Wei, aka China White. Wei is a top level assassin, and her job this time around is to take out Laurel Lance.

Oliver visits Laurel, on advice from his sister. While they bond over ice cream, Oliver’s…Arrow Senses tingles and uses his own ninja skills to keep Laurel alive. Wei and her goons nearly get them, but Diggle steps in and shows he can kick tons of ass. Oliver saves Diggle, by flinging a butter knife across a room and knocking Wei’s weapon away. Afterwards, Diggle makes it clear that he knows that Oliver is more than he appears.

Oliver goes after Summers again. Oliver gets Summers to confess, by shooting tons of arrows at him. Chien shows up, and she and Oliver have a Kung Fu fight. They’re interrupted by Detective Lance and the cops showing up. Lance almost captures Oliver, but he escapes and gives Lance an arrow with a voice recording of Summers confession. Oliver decides it’s best to pull a Batman, and play up his drunken billionaire side, to ensure that he’ll be free to continue his vigilante activities. We learn that his ploy works really well, enough to convince his mother and her shadowy companion that Oliver has no idea about Robert’s secrets. The plot thickens.  

Arrow uses a lot of flashbacks. Each episode is essentially a “Now” plot, and a “Then” plot. The “Then” plot for this one is rather short, just showing Oliver landing on Lian Yu and his first few days there. He makes a little burial mound for his dad, discovers his father’s secret book, and then is promptly shot several times by a hooded archer. The other plot thickens.

Another solid episode. It expands Oliver’s crusade, and helps show what exactly Oliver is going through. While he’s committed to his mission, we’re clearly seeing the weight that his vigilante activities put on him, and how its effecting his personal life. Diggle’s role is expanded, and we see what a crazy badass veteran he is. He personally takes on several assassins, and only needs an assist when Wei gets the upper hand.  I’m not a huge of Thea Queen or Laurel Lance in this episode, as both characters come across as whiners. But maybe that’s just me. The most intriguing character is Moira Queen. She’s pulling double duty as the caring mother trying to help her son re-acclimate to his life, and yet on the other hand is clearly up to something sinister. So yeah, a good continuation. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Arrow_characters#/media/File:Arrow_(cast).jpg

Viewer Log: Arrow ep 1

This Viewer Log is going to be slightly different than the Jessica Jones one. I’ll be doing this one periodically, given that Arrow already has a pretty well established fan base, and there are just so many more episodes. For those who somehow haven’t heard of it, Arrow is a TV series on the CW Network. It tells the story of Oliver Queen, as we see him progress from Playboy millionaire to vigilante superhero. This is the CW’s second DC franchise, after the long running Smallville. Let’s get to it.

Technically, wouldn't his name make more sense if he was
the Green Bow? 

The episode opens with a shabby looking fellow performing parkour on an island. Shabby sees a fishing boat, and then skillfully launches a flaming arrow into a signal fire set up some distance away. In a narration, we learn that his guy is Oliver Queen, and he’s been stuck on the island of Lian Yu in the North China Sea for about five years. A news report fills in more of the gaps. The News Anchor tells us that Oliver was a well-known partier in Starling City, who disappeared with his father and several others when the family Yacht, The Queen’s Gambit, sank. Back with Oliver, a doctor makes the assessment that Oliver was pretty screwed up, physically speaking. Scar tissue over 20% of his body, several mended bones, and a bunch of new tattoos that one seems to question. His mother, happy to see him, takes him home. He brings a mysterious case with him, that he doesn’t let anyone touch. At home, he meets Walter Steele, the CFO of Queen Consolidated, and his sister, Thea. Smiles all around.

We jump to Dinah Laurel Lance, a lawyer and Oliver’s old girlfriend. She’s doing lawyer stuff when she finds out that Oliver is alive, and that her sister, who was on the ship, is for sure dead. There’s a short flashback, which shows Oliver’s father, Robert Queen, on the Gambit. The storm is getting rough, and the captain is worried. We also see a younger Oliver, and Sara Lance… in a robe. Did I mention that Oliver is a notorious booty hound? Robert tells his son that “romancing” sister’s is a bad idea. Back with the Queens, the family has dinner, along with Oliver’s best friend Tommy Merlyn and Steele. Oliver learns that his mother, Moira, and Steele are married. He’s happy for them, but clearly uncomfortable.

Another flashback to the ship. Sara is “conflicted” with their relationship, but still enjoys Oliver’s attention. The storm then sinks The Gambit, Sara is swept out to sea, but Oliver is saved by his father and the captain. They had a lifeboat. This flashback turned out to be a dream, Moira attempted to wake Oliver, who promptly takes her down. Apparently Moira is willing to believe that a side effect of island survival is ninja fighting skills. Huh. Once alone again, Oliver opens the case; it’s filled with various items from the Island. He gives his sister a stone from the island, and sees that she’s experimenting with drugs. Not so great.

Oliver goes a little nuts with the eye shadow.
Doesn't really seem to help hide his identity.

Oliver goes out with Tommy. Starling City has a pretty severe homeless/unemployment problem. Oliver stakes out an old Queen Consolidated steel mill, and then asks to see Laurel. Obviously, Miss Lance isn’t all that happy to see Oliver. Diddling your girlfriend’s sister will do that. Oliver still tries to ask for forgiveness, but she blows him off. After that, Tommy and Oliver are kidnapped by some goons. Flashback, there are a lot of these, to the lifeboat. Robert basically begs his son for forgiveness, for the situation, and his hand in whatever economic ruin that Starling City is going through. In the present, the goons try to interrogate Oliver about his father’s fate, and what he may have learned from the late Queen. Oliver takes the torture for a few minutes, breaks free, and beats the snot out of them. In the end, he captures the last surviving goon and snaps his neck, swearing that no one can ever learn his secret.

After the encounter, Oliver is interviewed by Detective Quentin Lance. Oliver feeds Lance a story about a man in a green hood saving them, and Tommy was too disorientated to say anything else. If the name didn’t tip you off, Lance is the father of Laurel and Sara, and is also pissed at Oliver for his hand in Sara’s death. So…a pretty C- day. Oliver starts looking into Adam Hunt, a wealthy business man that screwed a bunch of folks out of millions of dollars. Hunt’s name appears in a ratty old book Oliver is carrying, and is the other party in a case Laurel is working on. Oliver is introduced to John Diggle, his new bodyguard. Oliver quickly ditches Diggle, and returns to the steel mill. He starts setting up shop in the steel mill, smashing some stuff, and setting up a rudimentary computer system. He does some training really quick, and then goes after Hunt. Oliver takes out Hunt’s guards, and then threatens Hunt. He has until 10 pm the next night to transfer all the money he stole. The next day, Hunt gets the cops to help him set up a security perimeter around his tower.

Oliver goes to his welcome home party, and despite some set back, slips away when Hunt doesn’t pay up. He singlehandedly takes out Hunt’s forces, and only misses one shot. Oliver escapes just before being caught by the cops, and flees back to his party across the street. The craziness of the party give’s Oliver a decent enough alibi, but both Lance and Tommy are clearly suspicious of Oliver and the Hood. We then learn that Oliver’s one missed shot was anything but. The arrow was a trick arrow that hacked Hunt’s system, and wirelessly downloaded the entire 40 million dollars that Hunt stole. Oliver crosses Hunts name off the list. In the last flashback, we see Robert kill himself and the captain to increase Oliver’s odds of survival. And in the last few seconds, we learn that Moira was the one that arranged the kidnapping.

Overall, this was a solid opening for Arrow. It covers the major plot points, billionaire shipwrecked and then returns a master archer, goes out to be a modern Robin Hood. Steven Amell is amazing as Oliver Queen. He can both be the happy go lucky playboy he pretends to be, and the more brooding vigilante that he has become. For some reason they changed Arrow’s home town’s name from Star City to Starling City for some reason. That’s a minor change, though. There were some pretty major changes too, such as his mother being alive, and the addition of John Diggle and Thea Queen. All three characters are decently portrayed in this first episode. The weakest link is Laurel. I’m not sure if it’s the writing, or actress Katie Cassidy’s portrayal, but there’s something about this version of Laurel that rubbed me the wrong way. But she far from ruins the show. Arrow only goes up from here. Next time, Arrow episode 2.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6f/Arrow_TV_series_logo.jpg

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/arrow/images/f/f4/The_Arrow_season_3_promotional_image.png/revision/latest?cb=20140731123609

Villain Profile: Count Vertigo

           Speaking from personal experience, being nauseous sucks. Stomach hurts, feeling dizzy, and headaches make for a rough night. Don't believe me? Wait until your twenty-first birthday. Now, imagine a supervillain had the ability to make you feel sick. All he needs to do is think about it, and you'll feel like puking your guts out. And he also makes it hard to tell up from down, left from right, and so on. It'd suck. But then, Green Arrow has had to deal with a guy like that for a number of years. The villain's name is Count Vertigo. Let's get to it.

Werner Vertigo (later renamed Werner Zytle) began life as a royal in exile. His family was the royal family of fictional Eastern European country 23c, Vlatava. Sounds less like a country and more like a European guy’s last name, but we’ll roll with it. The Vertigo’s ruled Vlatava for ages, until the Cold War sprung up. Vlatava fell behind the Iron Curtain, and the surviving Vertigo’s fled to England to survive. Furthermore, young Werner was diagnosed with an inner ear defect, said defect gives him constant vertigo.  Oh, and it makes him partially deaf. Super. His various hearing and balance issues were fixed by giving him a specialized cochlear style implant. He tinkered with the device (Disclaimer, do not mess with medical devices in an attempt to get superpower) and discovered that he could induce the vertigo effect in others. He then threw together a costume and became a supervillain, as you do.  His first caper was an attempt to steal the family crown jewels back. His folks had sold said jewels as they made their escape to England. The jewels were being kept in Star City. So, yeah, he crossed paths with Green Arrow and Black Canary. Despite his powers giving him a distinct advantage over his foes, things didn’t end well for Werner. Prison is no picnic, especially for a dude with a serious superiority complex.

Props for including the hearing aid.

A short while later he was approached by Amanda Waller to join the Suicide Squad in exchange for a reduced sentence. Werner did well with the Suicide Squad, but it was discovered that Vertigo suffered from bipolar disorder. So yeah, he’s fallen royalty, partially deaf, suffers from constant dizziness and nausea, and also bipolar. Middle finger from the universe. Anyway, things fall apart after the Suicide Squad is disbanded. While in Europe, Vertigo was kidnapped by a group of Vlatavan rebels. Said rebels planned on using Vertigo’s powers to help them defeat the current Vlatavan government, and most likely planned to place him as a puppet king. What? Not all rebels are good guys. Said rebels used a combinations of drugs that exacerbated Vertigo’s mental health issues. They made him believe that he was an Angel of Vengeance, sent to destroy the current rulers. Vertigo believed himself to be in control, but his mood was controlled by his captors.

Things finally came to head when the new Suicide Squad stepped in. Poison Ivy used her ability to control pheromones to enthrall Vertigo and keep him as a slave while the rest of the Suicide Squad took out Vlatava’s ruler. Vertigo was Poison Ivy’s slave for a number of years. During his more lucid moments he threatened to kill her when he was finally free from her control. He was finally freed by Amanda Waller when she had need of his powers. He needed to stop a few missiles, and the psychos launching them, from hitting the Dome of the Rock in the Jerusalem. Vertigo succeeded and for his efforts was enrolled in a drug rehab center. To help him recover not only from the drugs the Vlatavan rebels filled him with, but also from Ivy’s toxins. Over the next few years Vertigo suffered from some pretty serious depression. He even tried to get Deadshot to kill him, but the assassin warned him to seriously consider the whole murder thing, as Deadshot would not miss nor hesitate. In the end, Vertigo decided to keep on living and eventually returned to Vlatava to reclaim his throne.

I'm feeling sick already. It might just be the stupid
costume design.

Vertigo gathered an army and tried to reclaim Vlatava from the Vlatava’s President and the current government. While the two armies fought, the Specter appeared. The Specter is an immensely powerful and nigh omnipotent spirit of vengeance. He uses his godlike powers to dole out justice/vengeance Now, Specter was unstable at this point in history. After watching Vlatava for centuries, seeing the nation constantly at war, performing ethnic cleansings and other morally questionable activities, he judge the entire nation as guilty. He destroyed the entire nation, killing every citizen, save Count Vertigo and the Vlatavan President. Count Vertigo was obviously heartbroken and more than slightly emotionally scarred by the whole incident, but unfortunately the death of all of his citizens didn’t convince Vertigo to mend his ways. He continued to work for the Suicide Squad and against his longtime nemesis Green Arrow. Cheetah’s don’t change their spots and all that.

Werner Vertigo/Zytle is a pretty traditional royal. He’s trained in boxing, fencing, and classic martial arts. He’s gained more specialized combat training as time went on. The Count is also able to use his “Vertigo Effect” to cause anyone within a certain distance of him to feel vertigo. The dizziness and nausea last for as long as Vertigo is concentrating. His Vertigo Effect can also disrupt the guidance systems on most forms of long range weaponry, as well as the detection systems of just about any security system. He originally relied on the specialized cortical implant to get this effect, but he doesn’t need it anymore. No, they haven’t explained why. He also uses magnetic boots to walk on metal walls or ceilings. He can now also fly now… because.

Count Vertigo has appeared in a number of series over the years, not always against his longtime nemesis Green Arrow.

A very creepy Count. Too bad he couldn't get his powers.

He appeared in Batman: The Animated Series. Known only as Vertigo, he used an enhanced eyepatch to give off his Vertigo Effect. He stole a sonic drill from Waynetech to use as a WMD. Despite getting the best of Batman in an earlier encounter, he’s later defeated by a team up of Batman and Talia al Ghul.

Young Justice’s Vertigo had a slightly different background. In the episode “Revelations” he led the Injustice League as the group of psychos attacked various parts of the world with mutated super plants. Vertigo and the Injustice League are defeated, but it’s later revealed their group is just the proxy of The Light, the actual evil Justice League. Vertigo got out of prison time because he has diplomatic immunity. Which is a plot that I never understood. If you knew one of your diplomats is a well-known supervillain, why the heck wouldn’t you wave said immunity? He returns in “Coldhearted.” In this episode, much to his dismay, Kid Flash is required to run a heart across country while the rest of the team battle giant floating fortresses spread ice and snow across the continental US. He’s opposed by Vandal Savage and later the Count and his forces. Vertigo reveals that Savage’s interference, and it’s kind of implied the Ice Fortresses are involved, were part of a ploy to stop the heart’s delivery. The heart was meant for his niece, Queen Perdita of Vlatava. If she dies, Vertigo was next in line for his kingdom’s throne. Kid Flash escapes, but just barely. The queen was reported to have died on the table during the operation, and Vertigo visits Kid Flash in his own hospital room (he’d been hurt in the fight again Savage and later Vertigo) to gloat. Just as the self-styled King Werner Vertigo gloats and specified that he’d committed Regicide, Kid Flash pulls the curtain to reveal none other than Queen Perdita. They faked the story to get a confession. I don’t know diplomacy that well, but I think a Queen can give and take Diplomatic Immunity as she likes, just saying. But anyway, Vertigo is overpowered by the Queen’s bodyguards and he’s sent to prison. Just goes to show, if you’re going to kill your relative to usurp a throne, don’t gloat about it until you see the body. Or just not do it, also an option.

So even after the Flash's particle accelerator explosion made
superpowers possible, we still don't have a powered Count?
Lame.

The CW’s hit Arrow takes a few more liberties with the Count and his background. In this series, a character known only as The Count is introduced. He’s the drug kingpin of the synthetic drug Vertigo, a drug that gives people a “floating” sensation. The Count got his name since that his preferred weapon is a dual syringe that he tends to inject into a victim’s neck. Get it, he’s like a Vampire. He earns the Arrow’s ire when Oliver’s sister Thea crashes her car while high on Vertigo. They battle, but the Count gets the upper hand when he injects Oliver with Vertigo. Oliver was ODing, but his team whip up a cure for Vertigo. They duke it out again, and Oliver gets some payback when Oliver gives the Count a taste of his own medicine. He briefly appears in “Unfinished Business” when Oliver believes the Count is behind a new string of Vertigo. It’s revealed he’s still high out of his mind, and that his doc is behind the new Vertigo. He recovers in “State v. Queen” and escaped during the season one finale. He’s officially going by Count Vertigo at this point. He teams with Sebastian Blood and poisons most of the citizens using a faux flu vaccine. He and Green Arrow fight again, and is ultimately shot via arrows and defenestrated.

A new Vertigo is introduce in the third season. This version is Werner Zytle, a minor drug dealer that initiates a hostile takeover of the drug underworld. He had improved Vertigo, so that the drug now makes people hallucinate and see their greatest fears. So, yeah, Vertigo is now Scarecrow. He’s defeated by Arrow and the Canary. A few months later he escapes prison after forcing a journalist to dose the guards with Vertigo. He incapacitates Green Arrow and Arsenal, and later battles Black Canary. He bests her at first using his Fear-tigo, but is beaten in their second encounter.

Count Werner Vertigo/Zytle is not a character I know very well, but I find him interesting just because of his powers. He can incapacitate untold numbers with vertigo in a matter of seconds. Granted, there are a lot of telepathic characters that can do something similar, but he’s the only supervillain that I can think of that has effectively weaponized nausea. For a character like Green Arrow, who needs a lot of concentration to use his weapon effectively, this makes Vertigo a particular dangerous villain. He’s the nauseating, dizzying, and all around discomfort causing Count Vertigo. Next time, it’s a surprise. Dun dun, dun dun, dun dun dun dun dun. 

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Villain Profile: Ra's al Ghul

Let’s play a little game. What have I said about the groaning? Imagine there was a magic pool of water. Much like the legendary Fountain of Youth, bathing in this water could restore your health, youth and vigor. But, there is a catch. Each time you bathe in the water it chips away at your sanity. Would you take the risk, lengthening your life by years, centuries even, but knowing each time could snap your mind and drive you insane? For Ra’s al Ghul, the choice was an easy one. Let’s get to it.

He will have Batman, or see him destroyed.

He was born centuries ago, sometime in the 1400s. His birth name is never revealed, but I’ll call him Ra’s for simplicities sake. Ra’s was part of a nomadic tribe somewhere in the Arabian Desert. He was a brilliant young man and developed an interest in science at a young age. Given the era of human history that he lived in, this was somewhat frowned upon. Rather than be forced to live the life of a nomad, travels to the closest city and pursued his desire to be a researcher. This is in Asia, by the by, in case you are wondering why he wasn’t stoned for scientific pursuits. Ra’s became a physician and married a woman named Sora. Ra’s became well known in his city for his medical skill and was contracted by the sultan of his area to heal the sultan’s dying son.

This is when Ra’s made the discovery that would change his life. In the desert he uncovered a pool of water bubbling up from beneath the surface. He did some experimenting with it, and discovered its healing properties. On his urgings, they lowered the prince into the Pits. The mystic waters healed the prince, but had some unsavory side effects to his psyche. The prince was sadistic before this point, torturing servants and the like, but the Pits pushed him into full psycho territory. He sought out Ra’s wife and strangled her when she spurred his advances. The sultan, while grateful to Ra’s for saving his son, refused to believe his son had anything to do with Sora’s death. He declared Ra’s guilty and decided to put Ra’s through double torture death by imprisoning Ra’s in a cage with the slowly rotting corpse of his wife. Starting to think that the Pits weren’t the thing that drove Ra’s insane. He was saved by the son of a woman he’d treated earlier. The boy felt he owed a debt to Ra’s for easing his mother’s suffering and helped him escape. Ra’s and the boy fled to the desert, and tracked down Ra’s tribe. Using his natural charisma Ra’s convinced the tribe’s leader, his uncle, to get revenge on the sultan. His uncle jumped at the chance of destroying the sultan. Ra’s had some idea about germ theory a couple hundred years before anyone else. He infected several fabrics with an unspecified disease and sent them to the prince. The prince grew sick again, and the sultan sought Ra’s out to heal him again. Ra’s takes the opportunity to murder both the prince and the sultan, and then lead the attack on the city. They burned the city to the ground, killing all of the inhabitance. It’s around this point that our nameless doctor took on the moniker Ra’s al Ghul, “Demon’s Head” or “Head of the Demon” depending on who you ask.

Care to take a dip? It'll make you feel young
again.

Ra’s returned to the Pits and used the mystic water to live for centuries. A long running joke with Ra’s is that he’s lost track of how old he is, at times he states that he’s about 500, other times he’s closer to 450, sometime 485, either way, he’s lived for the better part of a millennium. Apparently he lost track during the Black Death. He fought in both the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. When mankind hit the Industrial Revolution he grew to despise the human race for destroying the natural beauty of the world. I’m guessing he got along well with the Romantic Poets. Ra’s shared his Lazarus Pit with his Uncle and the boy that saved him, Huwe. This arraignment ended when Ra’s caught Huwe recording his memoirs in their original language. Ra’s had forbidden any records, and killed Huwe for disobeying him. When he returned to their home in London, he discovered that his Uncle had disappeared with Huwe’s historical record. Around this time Ra’s had begun forming The Demon, an enormous international organization created to do his bidding. It has many separate parts, such as the League of Assassins, which serves as Ra’s enforcement squad.

He first comes into contact with Batman in the modern era when Batman saves his youngest daughter Talia from Dr. Darrk, leader of the League of Assassins. Batman eventually learns that Dr. Darrk and the League both originally served Ra’s al Ghul, but turned against him after Darrk failed a mission. Batman and Talia work together and kill Dr. Darrk. Ra’s considers Batman a prime candidate for successor, which does seem odd when you consider the ancient man has at least three children to pick from. Granted two of them were only “revealed” in the last decade or so, but come on Ra’s, why couldn’t the ever loyal Talia succeed you? Silence, how surprising. He later orchestrates the kidnapping of Robin and the fake kidnapping of Talia to test Batman’s skill. Batman passes with flying colors, but refused to serve as Ra’s’ successor.

He’s spent years trying to convince Batman to join him, and to destroy the greater part of the human race. The biggest of these plans, or at least the closest he comes to success, is when he releases a strain of Ebola that he dubs The Clench in Gotham City. While Batman’s resources and skills were put to the limit, he was able to stop the virus and Ra’s. Despite Batman’s attempts to stop Ra’s, he’s actually defeated by his own family. In the storyline Death and the Maidens, we’re introduced to Ra’s older daughter Nyssa Raatko. She was born in the 18^th century, and was later abandoned in a Nazi concentration camp during WWII. She wishes to see her father suffer. Not going to lie, kind of with Nyssa on this one. Ra’s is mortally wounded in the confrontation with his daughter, and as he dies reveals to Batman that things had proceeded as he’d hoped. Apparently this was all part of an incredibly complex plan to turn his daughters to his way of thinking. Which worked, which is kind of the messed up part. Batman sees that Ra’s corpse is cremated, to ensure that no one could dunk it into a Lazarus Pit and bring him back.

He's probably older than the sword techniques he
uses.

Unfortunately for Batman, Ra’s had figured another way back. Talia was convinced by a man named the White Ghost to read the history of Ra’s al Ghul to her and Batman’s son, Damian. This was part of a plot by White Ghost to resurrect Ra’s. Apparently knowing Granddad’s past made Damian a prime vessel for Ra’s spirit. Talia realizes the plan, and escapes with Damian before the ritual could be complete. Batman and White Ghost fight it out in front of a Lazarus pit. During their fight it’s revealed that WG is in fact Dusan al Ghul, Ra’s oldest son. Dusan falls into the pit, which while killing Dusan, ensures that Ra’s soul remain in this plane. After body jumping a few times, Ra’s found a new body, and returned to menace his former son-in-law, Batman. Side note, Dusan was never considered to be a candidate for heir to Ra’s because he’s an albino. Why that disbars him, despite the loyalty for his father that even surpasses baby sister Talia, I’ll never know.

Ra’s al Ghul has nearly a thousand years’ worth of knowledge and insight that makes him one of the most intelligent men on the planet. He’s skilled in just about every field that one can think of. He’s a master in martial arts, specializing in fencing and various ninja skills. He’s also absurdly rich, again, see the five hundred+ years of life. Ra’s al Ghul’s incredible life span is connected to the Lazarus Pits, a chemical pool he’s discovered. The pool’s waters heal the body and can even revive the recently deceased. And, while it can restore ones youth, there are limits. Ra’s has gradually grown older despite regular bathing in the Pits. We can most likely assume he was in his late twenties to early thirties when he began using the pits. Five hundred years later and he looks like a man in his late fifties. While that suggests that he’ll still have another century or two, it does mean that there will come a time when the pits can’t heal him anymore. The Pits also slowly chip away at his mind and sanity, so at his current age he’s pretty much certifiably insane.

Ra’s has appeared in a number of Batman series, and most recently in the third season of Arrow. Given how Green Arrow, for years, was used to sub in for Batman, it does seem only fair that they share a nemesis or two.

I'd follow him.

He was a recurring antagonist in Batman: The Animated Series. This series followed a few storylines very closely, even going over the Robin kidnap story. In the episode “Showdown,” Ra’s kidnaps an elderly man from a retirement community. He leaves a tape for Batman and Robin relating a story of how he and a son of his named Arkady once battled the western hero Jonah Hex. They were trying to stop the construction of the transcontinental railroad. During the battle Hex defeats Arkady, and Ra’s is forced to flee. Batman and Robin catch up with Ra’s, whom reveals that the old man he kidnapped was Arkady. Arkady had recently been released from prison after completing his fifty year sentence. Unfortunately, Arkady had grown too old for his mind and body to survive a dip in the Lazarus Pits. Batman leaves Ra’s with his son, so that he can spend some time with Arkady before he dies.

Ra’s appears in one episode of Batman Beyond. In the episode “Out of the Past,” Talia al Ghul visits Bruce Wayne for the first time in ages. She offers Bruce a chance at using the Lazarus Pits to reclaim his youth. Bruce, who was really feeling his age, agrees. While Bruce is at first happy with the results, he realizes that it’s a cheat and plans on returning to Gotham. When going to inform Talia of his decision, he hears Ra’s’ voice and confronts her about it. Talia then reveals that she is in fact Ra’s. Ra’s explains that after their last battle his body was broken beyond the Pit’s healing effects. So, he uses an experimental machine to transfer his mind to Talia’s body. Which is SO messed up when you think about it. He explains his plan, to use an upgraded form of his machine to transfer his mind to Bruce’s body, and then use the Pits to regenerate Bruce’s body to the appropriate age. He’d then return to Gotham with the genetic and legal “evidence” that he’s the long lost son of Bruce and Talia. He'd then resume his plans to destroy Gotham and Humanity at large, using Bruce's body and influence to do it. Not going to lie, it's a pretty solid plan. Insane as hell, but solid. Bruce tells Ra’s that he “[Doesn’t] cheat death, [he] trembles in fear of it.” Bruce is saved by his successor, Terry McGinnis, and Ra’s is assumedly killed in the explosion that destroys the Pits. A rather pathetic ending for an otherwise great villain.

Arrow's take. And they include the Lazarus Pits. Bonus points.

Young Justice also has a version of Ra’s al Ghul. He’s one of the members of the Light, an anti-Justice League group. He uses his network of assassins to cause as much trouble around the world as possible. He’s the immediate superior of Cheshire and Sportsmaster, the sister and father respectively of YJ member Artemis. He has a rather small presence for most of the series. In the second to last episode he is among the members of the Light present at a meeting with the Light and the Reach, an alien group invading Earth. During the battle between the Reach, the Light and the Young Justice Team breaks out, Ra’s is stabbed through the heart and killed. His minion Ubu flees with Ra’s body, vowing to keep him safe until Ubu can revive him in a Lazarus Pit.

In the movie Batman Begins, Ra’s al Ghul is portrayed by Liam Neeson. He initially introduces himself as Henri Ducard, and claims a servant portrayed by Ken Watanabe as Ra’s. He frees Bruce Wayne from Prison and trains him as a ninja. When Bruce choses to save Gotham rather than destroy it as Ra’s planned, he kills the fake Ra’s and saves the real Ra’s as the stronghold burns. Ra’s reveals himself at this films climax at Bruce’s home. He and the League destroy Bruce’s mansion and leave Bruce for dead. The evil plan to destroy Gotham is revealed to use a fear inducing toxin, laced in Gotham’s water supply, to drive the people insane. They use a microwave emitter created by Wayne Enterprises to vaporize the water, releasing the toxin, and dive the people insane. Batman defeats Ra’s and leaves him to die in a train crash. No mention is made of the Lazarus Pits or Ra’s’ advanced age.

Ra's in Talia's body. I couldn't do something like that.
1. I could never hurt a child of mine. 2. It'd be too weird
having servants and lackey's stare at my bum. Shudder.

Ra’s appeared in Batman: Under the Red Hood. In it, he hires the Joker to distract Batman while he ruins Europe’s economy. He’s disgusted when he finds out that Joker kidnapped and tortured Robin (Jason Todd) before killing him. He vowed to never battle Batman again, and resolved to revive Jason. He swapped Jason’s body for a convincing enough fake, (Convincing for the grief stricken Batman) and bathed Jason in the Lazarus Pits. Jason is revived and immediately goes on a murderous rampage, killing several of Ra’s servants as he escapes. He apologizes for his hand in Jason’s death and subsequent rampage. Batman leaves in a huff.

In Batman: Arkham City he’s one of the three main villains, alongside Dr. Hugo Strange and the Joker. He and the League are the power behind Hugo’s open air prison, Arkham City. He considered Hugo to be a replacement successor for Batman. When Hugo Strange fails to stop Batman, Ra’s kills him. Hugo activated his Protocol 11 which destroys his base of operations, the Wonder Tower. Ra’s impales himself on a spike rather than risk capture. His body is recovered, however, and he was most likely revived a short time later.

A version of Ra’s al Ghul appeared in the third season of the Arrow. I haven’t seen it, but it’s my understanding that Ra’s wants Oliver Queen as his successor in much the same way that he wanted Bruce in the comics. And, in a universe where Batman either isn’t a thing or just not a thing yet, I can’t say I fault the choice. He was mentioned earlier as the trainer of season one baddie Malcom Merlyn, and was the only man that Malcom feared. Can’t really comment on it in depth as I haven’t watched season three yet, but I’ll do an update when I do.

Ra’s al Ghul is one of Batman’s most…torn villains. Second perhaps to his own daughter Talia. While he very much wants Batman to serve as his successor and heir, he is still more focused on the whole destroy humanity front. While the Eco-terrorism thing has been done before, he's pretty much the polar opposite of characters like Poison Ivy or the save the rainforest hippies. You'd never accuse Ra's of not truly believing in his cause. His method of immortality is rather unique, since it could be argued that it’s destroying him even while it prolongs his life. He’s definitely one of Batman’s most successful enemies, being one of the handful that discovered Batman’s secret identity. Remember, Batman's secret ID is the crown jewel of secrets in the DC Universe. He also has a very tight hold on one of the loves of Batman’s life, Talia, and their son Damian. His influence on the both of them has kept Bruce Wayne from the happiness that has eluded him since that horrid night at the opera. He’s the long lived, evil environmentalist, the nefarious ninja, Ra’s al Ghul. Next time, The fallen Green Lantern, Sinestro.

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