The CW has been bringing the fantasies of comic book fans to life for some time now and they look to continue that trend in 2016 with the latest addition to the “Arrow-verse,” Legends of Tomorrow. The new series will feature characters such as Rip Hunter, White Canary, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Firestorm, The Atom, Captain Cold and Heat Wave on a regular basis. Like any other CW superhero show, various heroes and villains will make guest appearances.
Not long ago, TV Line broke news that Legends of Tomorrow was looking to cast “an African-American or biracial male who ‘decides to put on the uniform of a missing hero who once stood for justice and hope.’” More recently, Comicbook.com was able to get confirmation from Warner Brothers that Connor Hawke is indeed the hero described above.
While the character has not been cast, WB did say this iteration will not be the son of Oliver Queen and Sandra Hawke. Arrow has already established that Oliver, unbeknownst to him, sired a child out of wedlock. Perhaps the producers wish to pay off that thread on that particular show instead of on a spinoff.
For those unfamiliar, Connor Hawke first appeared in 1994’s Green Arrow #0 and became THE Green Arrow in the comic book medium upon the death of his father, Oliver Queen. He had a good run and even got to join the ranks of DC’s premier superhero team when he appeared in the pages of JLA.
In The New 52, he appeared in The Earth 2 series as that particular universe’s Red Arrow and was a member of The World Army, which included the Al Pratt version of The Atom. Although Ray Palmer is this show’s version of The Atom, it’s possible the comics could still inspire some interactions between the characters.
Given that Legends of Tomorrow is a time travelling show, it seems much more likely that they will go with Connor being a future version of Green Arrow, given that the character has already been described as filling the shoes of a predecessor. But with Earth 2 having been established on The Flash, you never really know.
Legends of Tomorrow premieres in early 2016 on The CW.