'Arrow' hits its mark

   What would you do if you could avenge a family member’s death and correct their wrongs?  Well, that is the base of the CW’s new action series, “Arrow”.  Based off the famous Green Arrow comic book, it stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, the titular hero of the series.  This is Amell’s first leading role, having only been a guest on numerous TV shows. With a supporting cast including Katie Cassidy, Willa Holland, and David Ramsey, “Arrow” has a star studded cast that anyone should enjoy.

   “Arrow” begins when Oliver Queen is rescued from the island Lian Yu (Mandarin for “Purgatory”) after being shipwrecked for five years and believed dead.  It is revealed that before his father, Robert, died he gave him a list of businessman who have corrupted Star City from the ground up. After returning to his hometown, Queen takes it upon himself to hunt these criminals down with his bow, a weapon he trained with while on the island, and give them a choice: repent for their actions or die.  Queen also tries to reconnect with those around him such as Thea “Speedy” Queen, his sister, Tommy Merlyn, his best friend, Dinah “Laurel” Lance, his ex-girlfriend, and Moira Queen, Oliver’s mother who may have had a hand in the shipwreck that left Oliver stranded on the island.   Throughout each episode, there will be flashbacks of the events Queen experienced on the island such as meeting Deathstroke, a famous villain from DC Comics, and being saved from a trap by the mysterious archer Yao Fei.  Lastly, the show tracks Oliver’s progress from an urban avenger to a hero as he tries to help the citizens of Star City through any way possible.

   With an interesting plot and fast action sequences, “Arrow” is an interesting turn for the CW.  The series is described as a fast paced and suspenseful with it filling in the space left by “Smallville”, a show about Superman’s origins that ran for 10 seasons.  The show has had a large amount of time and effort put into it as the scenes are polished and the actors appear anything but wooden.   Meanwhile, the show takes liberties with its source material, such as “Speedy” being Green Arrow’s male sidekick in the comics, but still stays true to the Green Arrow’s character and strengths.  The show also does a fine job of showcasing its characters’ weaknesses as Arrow tries reuniting with Laurel and Thea turns to using drugs.

   “Arrow” began on October 10 at 8:00 on the CW.  The show currently has an 8.6 on IMDb.com and has gained a large fan following.  The show itself takes numerous cues from Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy with its dark yet dazzling city and characters rooted deeply in reality.  Even without following the classic storyline of the comics, “Arrow” takes a modern approach that simply branches off from the original series.  Overall, “Arrow” is a fantastic show that presents fast action scenes and shows viewers that you don’t need powers to be a hero. With “Arrow” picked up for a whole season, it will be interesting to see how it changes and improves the original story.