10 Important Comic Book Characters Coming To The Arrowverse Next Season

DC might still be in the early stages of building a cohesive universe on the big screen, but their TV counterparts are way ahead of them - with a fully-operational comic book multiverse that just keeps getting bigger every year. Now that Supergirl has moved to The CW, the network will have four shows – the others are Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, in case you’ve forgotten – with which to bring decades of DC comics history to the small screen. They're certainly wasting no time with that, either, as the next season of each show will feature a truck load of new characters from the source material. Snapper Carr will turn up on Supergirl, Mirror Master will make his long-awaited debut on The Flash, 80s action star Dolph Lundgren will appear on Arrow as a version of Russian superhero Red Star, and the list goes on. With so many new characters set to make their debuts in the Arrowverse this year, we've put together a handy guide of the 10 most important. And these are just the ones that have already been announced - who knows what other surprises DC has up their sleeve… 10) The Ray The Arrowverse is so sprawling that it’s even spread over into a different medium. Back in 2015, the Vixen animated series aired on online platform CW Seed. Now, alongside Vixen’s second season, a new Arrowverse animated show is on the way. This one is titled Freedom Fighters: The Ray and will star fairly obscure comics character Ray ‘The Ray’ Terrill, a superhero with light powers. The show will make waves by starring the first ever gay superhero TV lead and like Vixen, The Ray is expected to make the jump from animation to live-action at some point in the future. No casting details have currently been announced just yet, but we're definitely eager to hear more. The Freedom Fighters part of the title is also quite interesting, as it suggests that other animated shows might be on the way, perhaps leading up to a version of the classic comics team of the same name. 9) Maggie Sawyer A new regular character in Supergirl’s second season will be Maggie Sawyer, as played by Floriana Lima. A gay police officer interested in solving the metahuman and alien problem in National City, it looks like the character will become an ally to Kara – just as she is to her cousin in the comics. Maggie is actually a very significant addition to Supergirl, as she's not only connected to Superman but is also linked with Batman by association. She is in fact the long-term lover of Kathy Kane AKA Batwoman in the comics. As such, her appearance in the show is getting many fans excited that certain Gotham-based characters will be integrated into the series over time. 8) Lena Luthor Another new face in Supergirl’s sophomore run is Lena Luthor, the sister of Superman’s arch-nemesis Lex. While this could mean we will be seeing the bald baddie at some point, it's not too likely - as he looks to be otherwise engaged. Supergirl’s version will see Lena take over LuthorCorp after her brother is sent to jail. Apparently, she will attempt to do some good with the company and befriend Supergirl – but Kara will have a hard time deciding whether to trust her or not. This will rings bells for anyone familiar with Smallville, but the frenemy relationship between Clark and Lex worked very well on that show, so there’s no reason it won’t be just as interesting here with their female counterparts. 7) Team Arrow’s New Recruits In Arrow’s fifth season, the Emerald Archer will train up a new team of masked heroes to protect Star City alongside him. These vigilantes include, um, Vigilante (Josh Segarra) and Wild Dog (Rick Gonzalez) as well as a couple of familiar faces in new guises. After recurring throughout season four, Echo Kellum is now a regular as Curtis Holt, who will take on the identity of Mister Terrific. Likewise, season four guest star Madison McLaughlin will reprise her role of Evelyn Sharp and become Artemis, most known to TV viewers from the Young Justice animated show. And let’s not forget mystical hero Ragman, as played by Joe Dinocol. The Arrow Cave is going to be getting pretty cramped next season, but hopefully the new recruits will inject some fresh energy into the show. 6) Miss Martian One of the best moments of Supergirl season one was the shocking reveal that Hank Henshaw wasn’t a villain at all but really J’onn J’onzz, aka Martian Manhunter, one of the original founders of the Justice League. Introducing him into the series meant that a whole new pool of material was there for the show to mine. Season two looks to do just that, as it will see the introduction of Miss Martian, aka M’Gann M’orzz (as played by Sharon Leal). In the comics, M’Gann was a rare kind member of the White Martian species, who wiped out the Green Martians (apart from J’onn). Alternatively, Young Justice presented her as a Green Martian and the niece of J’onn. Either of these would be interesting avenues to explore on Supergirl, and we're very excited to see which one the show takes. 5) The Flash’s Big Bads The Flash season three will take a different tack to previous runs and have two big bads running around. One of these is Savitar – yes, another evil speedster. In the comics, Savitar has delusions of godhood, taking his name from the Hindu god of motion and leading a cult of fanatic followers. The second major villain is Doctor Alchemy, who could be a more mystical threat than we're used to. Created in 1958, Albert Desmond suffers from split personality – while sometimes a law-abiding scientist, other times he’s a supervillain in possession of the mythical Philosopher’s Stone (yes, the one from Harry Potter). He'll be voiced by Saw star Tobin Bell, but we don’t yet know who's underneath the hood. What’s the betting it’s another member of Barry’s team gone bad? 4) Mon-El The big cliffhanger of Supergirl’s debut season was the mysterious matter of who was in the Kryptonian pod that crashed into National City. We were left in suspense for a bit, but we now know exactly who that surprise arrival was. It’s Mon-El, as played by Chris Wood. In the comics, Mon crashes into Smallville and is found by Clark Kent. Because he displays similar powers to a Kryptonian on Earth, Clark gives the amnesiac Mon the family name El. However, he's actually from the planet Daxam We assume this storyline will play out much the same way on TV. In addition, Mon-El is most known as a member of futuristic team the Legion of Super-Heroes in the comics. Could we be about to see them on Supergirl, too? 3) The Justice Society Of America As you'll know if you saw season one’s finale, Legends of Tomorrow will be introducing Golden Age superhero team the Justice Society of America to the Arrowverse when it returns. Hailing from World War II, we already know a bunch of heroes who will be showing up as part of the group. Apart from Patrick J. Adams as Hourman (who turned up last season), there's Citizen Steel (Nick Zano), Obsidian (Aliens’ Lance Henriksen), Star Girl (Sarah Grey) and Dr. Mid-Nite (currently uncast). We also wouldn’t be surprised to see John Wesley Shipp cross over from The Flash as Jay Garrick. The addition of the JSA is a potentially big move for the show and this universe as a whole as, who knows, it could be sowing the seeds for the formation of the Justice League later down the line. 2) Kid Flash Ever since Wally West turned up halfway through The Flash season 2, it was a given that at some point actor Keiynan Lonsdale would get to suit up as Kid Flash. Many were expecting this to happen at the tail end of last season, after Wally was hit by the particle accelerator. Instead, season three will hit the ground running by introducing his alter ego right away. While this Kid Flash comes from the Flashpoint alternate reality, it's surely a given that Wally will take up the superhero game once the original timeline is reinstated a few episodes in. With Kid Flash, Jay Garrick and potentially Jesse Quick (if she comes back from Earth-2), we could be about to see Barry have his own team of speedsters on the show very soon. 1) Superman And here’s the big one. Due to the tight hold DC’s film division seem to keep on the characters they're using (for instance, how the Suicide Squad had to be removed from Arrow), we never thought we would get to see their signature hero on the small screen any time soon. And yet, Supergirl’s season two will indeed introduce the Man of Steel himself, Superman. As played by Teen Wolf’s Tyler Hoechlin, Kara’s cousin will appear in at least the opening two episodes of the show’s second season, and could well – and probably will – turn up later on as well. If we're really lucky, he could even feature in the mega four-way crossover that will unite Green Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and the Waverider crew against a common enemy. Superman’s presence in Supergirl could have massive repercussions for the Arrowverse, as just about any DC hero is now up for grabs.