Spoiler alert for the Season Four finale of Arrow.
Diggle and Thea quit the team. Laurel died. Thus leaving the internet’s favorite power couple as the only remaining members left to Team Arrow. Echo Kellum, who plays Curtis Holt, will be upgraded to series regular, surely adding his Mr. Terrific persona to the team. And a few weeks ago, we reported that a new vigilante will move to Star City.
Today, we learn who that new vigilante is. No it’s not Green Lantern. And it’s not Flashpoint Batman.
Entertainment Weekly reports that:
“Rick Gonzalez has been tapped to play DC Comics character Wild Dog in the upcoming fifth season of Arrow.
On the show, Wild Dog is a new vigilante in Star City whose reckless and cocksure nature prompts Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) to take him under his wing.”
Wild Dog
via The DC Encyclopedia
First Appearance: Wild Dog #1 (September 1987)
Powers: “An exceptional soldier, excellent with firearms. As Wild Dog, his gloves emit an electric shock, similar to a taser.”
“Star athlete Jack Wheeler went to college on a football scholarship. After an injury forced him off the team, he dropped out, unable to afford tuition . He opted instead for a tour of duty with the US Marines, which ended in a tragedy when most of his comrades were killed by a terrorist bomb. Disheartened, Wheeler left the army and returned to Quad Cities, Iowa taking night classes at State University. He also fell in love with Claire Smith–only to see her struck down by a gunman. The police investigation revealed that her last name was really Carmonti and that she was the daughter of a recently killed Chicago mob boss. She was not a random victim, but a target. Something inside Wheeler snapped. Donning a hockey mask, khakis, and a State U T-Shirt, he became the crime fighter Wild Dog. He was soon a local hero, even though wanted by the police for his ruthless vigilantism. Wheeler spends his days as an auto mechanic and his nights as a protector of the innocent.”
Sounds an awful lot like the Ninja Turtles’ friend, Casey Jones. Which coincidence would have it that Amell just played him in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
The actor playing this relatively unknown character, Rick Gonzalez, is equally unknown. EW says that his “credits include Mr. Robot, Rush, and Rosewood.” You may have also caught the guy from his younger days in Coach Carter and War of the Worlds.
Arrow will return with new episodes this fall on the CW, inside an even larger Arrowverse. Gonzalez’s Wild Dog will be featured in the Season Five premiere and onto further episodes.
Source: Entertainment Weekly