ARROW Casts Nick Tarabay as Captain Boomerang

Wait...Shouldn't that headline read "THE FLASH Casts..."?

Entertainment Weekly revealed yesterday that the CW series Arrow has cast Nick Tarabay in the role of George "Digger" Harkness, better known to DC Comics fans as the supervillain Captain Boomerang.

According to the article, Harkness will be "a former A.R.G.U.S operative, highly skilled in martial arts and espionage, with a deadly thirst for vengeance against his former employers."  The character first appears in the seventh episode of Season 3, then continues into the eighth episode, which is Arrow's crossover episode with spinoff series The Flash.

Tarabay is a Lebanese actor best known as Ashur on the TV series Spartacus, and has also had roles as a Klingon in the film Star Trek Into Darkness, and on the television series The Sopranos, CSI: Miami, Crash, Burn Notice, and Believe.

Considering the characters' prior history with the Suicide Squad, it seems more than likely that Harkness will be added to the team's roster on Arrow.  And as one of the Flash's gallery of Rogues, there's a good chance we'll see him turn up now and again on The Flash.

Created in 1960 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, Captain Boomerang first appeared in The Flash (vol.1) #117 as a mascot for a toy company that was ridiculed by audiences, so he decided to use his advanced skills of making and throwing boomerangs for crime.  He became as recurring enemy for The Flash and a prominent member of the Rogues, a supervillain group consisting of The Flash's enemies. 

As time passed, Captain Boomerang became a member of the Suicide Squad in exchange for being pardoned for his crimes, but his grating personality often caused conflict within the team.  Eventually, he was killed by Jack Drake, father of Tim Drake, the third Robin, after being set up by Jean Loring.  However, he was brought back to life during the events of the event miniseries Blackest Night.

In the current DC Comics continuity known as The New 52, Boomerang joined the Suicide Squad, telling the team that he was the new field commander under the orders of Amanda Waller.  Later on, it was revealed that he was working for Basilisk, a metahuman terrorist cell.

This will be Captain Boomerang's first depiction in live-action, although the character has appeared in a number of animated projects including Justice League Unlimited (voiced by Donal Gibson), Batman: The Brave and the Bold (voiced by Futurama's John DiMaggio), Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (voiced by James Patrick Stuart), and Batman: Assault on Arkham (voiced by Greg Ellis).

Arrow returns for Season 3 on Wednesday, October 8th at 8:00 p.m. EST.