The name of the DC Comics supervillain Captain Boomerang may seem pretty silly, but it doesn't sound like audiences will be laughing when they see him invade Starling City in the upcoming season of Arrow. New reports have confirmed not only the character will be showing up in Season 3, but also who will be playing him.
Nick Tarabay, best known for his role on the Starz series Spartacus, has become the latest comic book addition to the next season of Arrow playing Digger Harkness a.k.a. Captain Boomerang - joining a large number of other new recurring and guest stars. In the source material, the villain is known for being extremely deadly with a set of specialized boomerangs that he can throw with near superhuman precision. On the show, according to Entertainment Weekly, he will be adapted as a "former A.R.G.U.S operative, highly skilled in martial arts and espionage, with a deadly thirst for vengeance against his former employers." For reference, here's a shot of him from the comics:
In Spartacus, Tarabay played Ashur, one of the gladiators in Batiatus' Ludus. On the morality scale, Ashur fell somewhere in between being a hero and a villain, which is what made him such a fun character to watch. Ashur was cunning and resourceful, and kept audiences guessing right to the bitter end. Even if he is playing more of an antagonistic role on Arrow, that doesn't mean that experience won't be helpful. I can imagine that Spartacus fans will be pleased to see him appear in the DC Comics show.
Interestingly, Tarabay is now the fourth Spartacus actor to find a role in the world of Arrow. Katrina Law - Mira on the sword and sandal show - played Nyssa al Ghul in two episodes of the last season, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson a.k.a. Naevia has a recurring role as Amanda Walle, the head of A.R.G.U.S. (which means that she will probably get some facetime with Tarabay). Perhaps the biggest connection between the two shows, however, is Manu Bennett, who starred as Crixus on 33 episodes of Spartacus and as Slade Wilson in 33 episodes of Arrow (eerie!)
The third season of Arrow will be starting up on Wednesday, October 8th, and we fully expect a number of surprises this year - most thanks to the looming presence of Matt Nable's Ra's al Ghul. We're counting down the days until the new episodes start rolling in, but in the meantime keep checking back for more updates about new characters set to appear!
