Though Arrow is ostensibly an adaptation of the Green Arrow character and his cast of friends and allies, the series has wasted no time in drawing in various other heroes and villains from the DC Universe. Already in Season 1 we've seen Deathstroke, the Royal Flush Gang, and Deadshot make guest appearances alongside more traditional Green Arrow characters like Dinah Laurel Lance and Tommy Merlyn.
Those guest appearances won't be slowing down as the season contineus to pick up steam. This week's episode, "Muse of Fire," marks the debut of Jessica De Gouw as Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress. This two-episode arc sees Oliver Queen team up with this costumed vigilante to take down her mob boss father. We had a chance to chat with Arrow showrunner Andrew Kreisberg about Huntress' role in the series, as well as other upcoming appearances by villains like Count Vertigo and Deathstroke.
IGN TV: Huntress is the latest in an already long line of DC characters you've brought into the show. Can you talk about how she fits into this world and how she compares to the different versions fans know from the comics?
Andrew Kreisberg: The version that we've gone with is the Helena Bertinelli persona. She's the daughter of a mob boss, and over the course of these episodes we're going to find out that her father had her fiance murdered. The pitch for us was "What would Meadow Soprano do if Tony killed her fiance?" and watching Meadow take down the Soprano family from within. That's going to put her in direct conflict with the Arrow, who is also targeting the mob.
Jessica De Gouw as The Huntress in Arrow.
That's the plot. For us, what's really great emotionally is that this is the first character Oliver has encountered who is kind of like him. She too is on a mission of vengeance. She too has gone through a dark trial and has come out the other side. This is how she's coping. It's interesting for Oliver to be faced with a “villain” who is actually doing a lot of the same things he is, which makes him question the validity of his mission.
It also makes him recognize that he's lonely. He's had to push Laurel away to protect his secret, and while he does have Dig to speak to, it's not exactly having someone to share his life with. Against his better judgment, he starts to pursue a relationship with this woman, and that leads to disastrous consequences.
IGN: Despite the fact that her father did this horrible thing to her, is there any remaining sense of loyalty in Helena? Will there be any sort of conflict in that regard as they both pursue this same target?
Kreisberg: I think the conflict is more about the ideology of the Huntress versus the ideology of the Arrow. For him, part of the reason he uses a bow and arrow is because it's clean. It's precise. It's surgical. It requires skill. He compares her to a gun because she's a bit manic and unreliable and not always conscious of where, when she sends a bullet into the world, it's going to land. Oliver's going to try to show her a better way to get her revenge. But over the course of the episodes, he's going to learn that some wild horses cant be tamed.
Jessica De Gouw Discusses Playing The Huntress
IGN: One of the more controversial aspects of the show is that Ollie sometimes relies on lethal force when he's carrying out his missions. Meeting the Huntress, does that cause him to question his methods at all?
Kreisberg: Yeah. The line between Huntress and Batman in the comics is very clean. She's willing to kill and he isn't. For Oliver, it's a little bit more messy because he is willing to kill. For him, as he says in the episode, it's not his opening move. He'll do it if it's completely necessary as a last resort. For her, she's a little bit more wild and a little bit less concerned with collateral damage. That's really where the source of their conflict comes from.
IGN: Two of the other big announcements in the last couple weeks have been that you're bringing in Ted Gaynor and a character based on Count Vertigo. What can you reveal about those characters right now?
Kreisberg: Ted Gaynor is one of the Blackhawks in the DC Universe. He's going to be played by Ben Browder from Farscape, which I'm extremely excited about. He was Dig's commanding officer in Afghanistan, which is going to lead to a great conflict between Dig and Oliver when Dig discovers that Gaynor's name is on Oliver's list. And it's going to make Dig question the validity of Oliver's list. It puts all the characters in a great conflict.
And Count Vertigo is played by Seth Gable, who is just absolutely phenomenal. It's the first time in the series that the Arrow is going to be responsible for the creation of a “supervillain.” Oliver set out to have a positive influence on the city, and this is the first time his actions as the Arrow are going to perhaps cause greater problems than the ones he was trying to solve. An enigmatic street dealer, because of his confrontation with the Arrow, is elevated and causes more destruction for the city.
IGN: So he's kind of like the Joker to Ollie's Batman in a sense?
Kreisberg: A little bit. Hopefully in the sense that he's very different from the Arrow. He's got a little style and panache where the Arrow is very stoic. It was really our attempt to create a fully fleshed, exciting new villain for the Arrow to take down.
IGN: Probably the most high profile guest character you've introduced so far has been Deathstroke. Will we be seeing him again this season?
Kreisberg: Yes, you'll be seeing Deathstroke throughout the season. He comes up again in episode 9. I think the audience, especially the people familiar with the DC Comics character and his origin, are going to be surprised by the story. I think we've got a really fun and unique twist on the character. We're actually filming those episodes right now. We're really excited for the audience to experience them.
IGN Comics: I assume he won't always be a silent character on the show?
Kreisberg: You assume correctly. [laughs] I'm also really excited because some of the upcoming episodes deal with John Barrowman's character [currently referred to as “The Well-Dressed Man”]. That really puts the back half of the season in sharper relief for the audience.
IGN Comics: Before we end off, I wanted to ask about another show you've been working on. Back during SDCC you revealed that you were preparing to submit your first script for the Booster Gold series you're developing for SyFy. Is there any update on that show right now?
Kreisberg: [laughs] I got a little waylaid by Arrow. Booster Gold is going in in the next couple weeks before Christmas. We'll see what happens from there. It's such a different project even though they're both DC Comics properties. Booster is much more candy and popcorn, being about time travel and changing the future and being a superhero who can fly. But they're both super-fun projects. As a lifelong DC Comics fan, I am beyond blessed to be working on these projects with all these amazing characters.
Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
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