ARROW/FLASH Spinoff Casts Hawkgirl and Rip Hunter

The only question remains, which one's The Brave and which one's The Bold?

Deadline reported yesterday that the upcoming, still-untitled CW superteam series spinning off from Arrow and The Flash has cast Ciara Renée as Kendra Saunders, better known as DC Comics superhero Hawkgirl.  

The article describes Kendra as "a young woman who is just beginning to learn that she has been repeatedly reincarnated over the centuries.  When provoked, her ancient warrior persona manifests itself, along with wings that grow out of her back, earning her the moniker Hawkgirl."

Created in 1940 by Gardner Fox, Dennis Neville and Sheldon Moldoff, Hawkgirl first appeared in Flash Comics #1 as Shiera Sanders, a reincarnation of an Egyptian princess named Chay-Ara who fell in love with Prince Khufu, later reincarnated as archaeologist Carter Hall, the Golden Age superhero Hawkman.  Shiera later became his crimefighting partner Hawkgirl in All-Star Comics (vol.1) #5.

In 1999's JSA Secret Files #1, James Robinson, David Goyer and Geoff Johns reimagined the character as Kendra Saunders, the granddaughter of the Golden Age Hawkgirl's cousin, Speed Saunders.  Kendra committed suicide, which allowed Shiera Hall's soul to enter her body while still believing herself to be Kendra.  She debuted as Hawkgirl using the original Hawkgirl's equipment, which led to her meeting and joining the Justice Society of America.

In the current New 52 continuity, Hawkgirl is Kendra Munoz-Saunders, a professional treasure hunter on the alternate world known as Earth 2 that was hired by the World Army before an event in an Egyptian tomb grafted wings onto Kendra's back.

Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter has word that English actor Arthur Darvill has been cast as DC Comics' time master Rip Hunter, also known as The Traveler in the upcoming series.  Darvill, of course, is best known as companion Rory Williams on the BBC series Doctor Who, and as Revered Paul Coates on Broadchurch.

Rip is described as "a roguish time traveler who hides the strains of being responsible for history itself behind a facade of charm and wit."

Created in 1959 by Jack Miller and Ruben Moreira, Rip Hunter first appeared in Showcase #20 as an ordinary man who uses his invention, the Time Sphere, to travel through time in various adventures with his friend Jeff Smith, girlfriend Bonnie Baxter, and Bonnie's kid brother Corky.

In 2004, Rip was reinvented by Geoff Johns as a time traveler that assists the Justice Society in a battle with time-travelling supervillain Per Degaton.  The name "Rip Hunter" was revealed to be a mysterious alias, designed to hide the details of his history so that his enemies couldn't travel back in time and kill him as a helpless child.

Years later, Rip was revealed to be the future son of time-traveling superhero Booster Gold, and assisted his father in various exploits.  To protect himself and his own history, Rip forces Booster to turn down membership in the recently reformed Justice League and to continue to act like a self-absorbed gloryhound in order to make sure that his father's legacy is one of failure and is ultimately forgotten by history  This is done to ensure rogue time travelers cannot kill Booster in the past, erasing Rip in the process and the various works he and Booster will engage in to protect the timestream.

In the current New 52 continuity, Rip attempted to prevent his father from warning himself that the romance between Wonder Woman and Superman will erase the past of his future from existence.