Early into the first season of The CW's Arrow, Oliver Queen might want to rethink this whole vigilante thing. Following the premiere on October 10th, the hooded crime-fighter will have his hands full facing villains straight out of the pages of DC comics.

WARNING - THE FOLLOWING COULD BE CONSIDERED MINOR SPOILERS!!!

First up, it was confirmed that Arrow (Stephen Amell) will be taking on the South Pacific drug cartel leader known as China White, played by X2 and The Scorpion King actress Kelly Hu. It is revealed that White, also known as Chien Na Wei, may have already had a run-in with Oliver Queen, while he was marooned on a remote island for five years. Though she's only scheduled for one episode, the question of her ties to the unfolding mystery of Queen's lost years could mean a larger role for Hu in the future.

Kelly Hu X Men 2

For those unfamiliar with the character, China White is a relative newcomer to the DCU; she first appeared in Andy Diggle's 2007 miniseries, Green Arrow: Year One, on which Arrow is reportedly based.

Moving on, executive producer Marc Guggenheim recently spoke about the appearance of DC's master assassin, Deadshot, after Amell mentioned the two would be facing off in the series' third episode: 'The Lone Gunman.'

Guggenheim had this to say regarding the appearance of Deadshot:

“The episode – I think it’s pretty amazing, especially as a third episode, because it already takes the existing paradigm and plays with it. And also, just the nature of a character like Deadshot, who is Oliver’s equal in every, way, shape or form, and maybe even his superior in certain ways… it just creates the opportunity for amazing action very, very early on in the series.”

Deadshot is likely the more well known of the two villains, as he's been around since 1950, and has popped up in episodes of Justice League, Justice League Unlimited and Batman: Brave and the Bold. Deadshot even made an appearance in the Batman: Arkham City video game as well as the final season of Smallville – though both versions were departures from the character's signature look.

Deadshot vs. Green Arrow

It was recently announced that Canadian actor Michael Rowe would be taking on the role of the unparalleled marksman. So, with casting out of the way, the concern can get down to just what Deadshot is going to look like.

Co-executive producer Andrew Kreisberg stated:

“I think that there are going to be nods to the comic book character. If you’re a fan of the comic book, you will definitely recognize Deadshot in what we are doing. In the same way that the pilot is a more grounded and realistic take on the material, our Deadshot is a more grounded and realistic take on the character than the fully costumed and masked super-villain that you see in the comics.”

“You’ll definitely see the red eye piece, which is the most distinctive, iconic feature of that character, and I will say that with no slam to Smallville intended, it’s a much more faithful version of Deadshot than the Deadshot that was in Smallville.“

If the glimpse of Deathstroke's tattered mask in the extended trailer for the series was any clue, Arrow isn't going to shy away from throwing DC characters into the fray right off the bat. Stay tuned to see which other characters are primed to make an appearance on the show.

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Arrow premieres Wednesday, October 10 @8pm on The CW.

Source: TV Guide, KsiteTV

Green Arrow Comic Art via Comic Vine Forums