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1. An Intelligent Villain
Anyone who’s watched even the first few episodes of HBO’s The Wire knows Stringer Bell is a different class of criminal. He’s a businessman first and a drug distributor second, which is a highly valued aspect of his character. In an effort to better excel, he took business classes — a tactical strategy that benefited him greatly. Afterwards, buying and running legitimate businesses became a focus for him, as well. It was a nearly full proof money laundering scheme.
When casting details for Arrow Season 5 listed String as a prototype for the show’s next villain, many fans grew ecstatic. The character, Tobias Church, will be played by The Wire and The Walking Dead alum Chad Coleman. According to IGN, Church is “an imposing gangster looking to unite the various criminal enterprises in Star City under his own singular command.” He’ll debut in the premiere, entitled Legacy, meaning the show won’t waste any time introducing one of the season’s biggest threats.
Church and his motivations will certainly ground the show again in street level crime, giving Team Arrow potential detective work that’s been absent since Season 2’s conclusion. Now the question is if Church will remain a mystery for a time; a name with no connections, similar to The Wire’s Avon Barksdale — Stringer Bell’s boss. Or will his similarities to Stringer Bell also result in his being a known, but untouchable entity? Either way, the casting and the character seem almost too perfect. If nailed properly, Season 5 will be more than worth the watching.
Note: There’s still no official word on which character will hold the title of big bad; however, many are assuming Tobias Church is our guy. Speculation also suggests Batman villain Black Mask will factor in, leaving Church as the crime lord’s second-in-command. If true (please be true), it may play out similarly to the reveal of Deathstroke in Season 2. The first half of the sophomore effort led viewers to believe Sebastian Blood was the big man in charge. But a slow and fantastically paced reveal of Slade Wilson proved otherwise.
