The CW’s Arrow no longer tells the story of just one hero's journey. Although Oliver Queen remains the star of the series, Arrow has gone on to introduce numerous other DC heroes and give them a chance to shine in the spotlight. After almost four full seasons on the air, you would think that the show might start to run out of new and interesting DC stars to bring into the fold; you would be wrong. A new promo for this week’s episode of Arrow has hit the web, and it showcases the upcoming live-action debut of Vixen. Check it out below.
As you can see from the promo above, Damien Darhk takes his attacks on Oliver and Team Arrow to the next level by kidnapping his son William. The team – seemingly without any other options – needs to call in for reinforcements, and as a result they enlist the help of Vixen, a female vigilante from Detroit. The character’s arrival is one of the most highly anticipated moments of this season and actress Megalyn Echikunwoke will portray her.
A more obscure superhero, Vixen has the ability to call on the abilities of various animals, and incorporate them into her crime fighting style. By focusing on a particular creature, she can enhance her own abilities, which in turn gives her an advantage in combat. The character technically already exists in the Arrow continuity – having appeared in a tie-in web series – but this episode of Arrow will mark her first ever live-action appearance.
One of the more interesting aspects of Vixen’s introduction is that it will skip the origin story and make her a fully-fledged hero by the time she arrives in Star City. This is an awesome element to add to the series because it gives the Arrow-verse a deeper sense of mythology – a feeling that there’s more out there than we know about. The show already did this with characters like Ted Grant, and we think it opens up possibilities that we may one day still get a chance to see people like an established Dick Grayson flip and kick their way into Star City.
Another reason Vixen’s arrival has us excited is because she further adds to the series long line of badass women. Between Nyssa al Ghul, Sara Lance, Helena Bertinelli, and so many others, Arrow has become a beacon for equal representation in the world of vigilantism and super heroics. Honestly, at this point it genuinely feels like the number of ass kicking women in Oliver Queen’s world far outweighs the number of badass men – and we absolutely love that.
Beyond the arrival of Vixen, this week will also see a massive shift for Oliver and Felicity’s relationship. Darhk’s dastardly plot is to kidnap William will bring the young boy’s existence to light, and as a result nothing will ever be the same for the series. In all honesty, we’re glad it’s finally coming out, because watching Oliver ignore Barry Allen’s advice and keep this secret week after week was really starting to get on all of our nerves.
All things considered, I think it’s safe to say that we are beyond excited to see what Vixen brings to the world of Arrow. The character will make her debut on the series this Wednesday when Arrow airs on The CW.
