‘Arrow’ Adds Count Vertigo As Green Arrow Nemesis

7 months ago by Scott Stoute

The CW’s hit superhero drama Arrow has its sights set on yet another one of DC Comic’s well-known villains by confirming the arrival of Count Vertigo; although he may be appearing under a different name. Instead, the moniker of ‘Vertigo’ will go to the deadly new designer drug sweeping the streets of Starling City and will most likely become personal for Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), due to his pill-popping, party-girl little sister, Thea (Willa Holland).

Making his debut in an early 2013 episode titled ‘Vertigo,’ it remains to be seen if Arrow’s modern adaptation of Count Vertigo will retain his mind-warping abilities, but the series is expected to take the character to a much darker level with a show insider describing him as “Oliver’s deadliest adversary to date… He will be truly scary and nightmarish.”

For those unfamiliar with the character: first introduced in 1978’s ‘World’s Finest Comics #251’, Count Werner Vertigo is the last descendant of a royal family that governed the small eastern European country of Vlatava. He would first arrive in Star City when he attempted to steal back the family jewels his parents had sold when they escaped to England after the war.

Vertigo possesses a device that destabilizes the inner ear of his victims to debilitating levels by causing them to lose focus and balance. After spending years as a B-List supervillain, Count Vertigo was later reformed, mainly working with the Suicide Squad and later the UN-sponsored organization known as Checkmate, which globally monitors metahuman activity.

Currently there’s no word on casting, but many fans are still speculating that Torchwood star John Barrowman’s mysterious character “The Well-Dressed Man” may still turn out be the series’ take on Vertigo. While that may be a bit unlikely right now, it’s still a strong possibility that Barrowman will end up being another well-know DCU villain, if not Count Vertigo himself.

Count Vertigo (or whatever they end up calling him) is the latest in the long line of DC Comics characters Arrow has introduced throughout season 1, including; Deadshot (Michael Rowe), the Huntress (Jessica De Gouw) the Royal Flush Gang, Firefly (Andrew Dunbar) and Deathstroke the Terminator (Jeffrey C. Robinson). Let’s hope the CW will save some for season 2.