ARROW Casts Rick Gonzalez as Wild Dog

Gee, do you think the Arrow showrunners were watching Daredevil Season 2?

Entertainment Weekly has revealed that the CW series Arrow has cast Rick Gonzalez as Jack Wheeler, better known to DC Comics fans as the vigilante Wild Dog.  The character will appear in multiple episodes starting with the Season 5 premiere.

The article describes the character as "a new vigilante in Star City, whose reckless and cocksure nature prompts Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) to take him under his wing."

Gonzalez, 36, is probably best known as Isaac Vera on the USA series Mr. Robot, and as Ben Gonzalez on the CW series Reaper.  He's appeared in the films War of the Worlds (2005), Old School, The Guilt Trip, and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles.  In addition, he's appeared in a number of TV series, including Rush, NCIS, Bones, Castle, Lie to Me, Cold Case, Medium, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Shield, ER, and Boston Public.

Created in 1987 by Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty, Wild Dog first appeared in Wild Dog #1 as Jack Wheeler, a college student on a football scholarship who dropped out due to an injury and spent some time in the Marines.  He quit after most of his squad was killed by a terrorist bomb, then returned to the Quad Cities and began taking night classes.  His new girlfriend was targeted and slain by hitmen, as she was secretly the daughter of a Chicago crime boss.

Wheeler armed himself with a Jatimatic GG-95 PDW, a pair of electrified "shock gloves," a costume consisting of camouflage pants, combat boots, a local college football jersey emblazoned with a snarling red dog (hiding his protective body armor), and a hockey mask to conceal his identity.

In his first outing, Wheeler barged in on a hostage situation and killed all the criminals.  He successfully rescued an endangered reporter and was named "Wild Dog" after the SWAT captain ordered his men to shoot the vigilante "like a wild dog in the street."  His actions in the were mainly directed against domestic American terrorists led by the "Committee for Social Change."  He faced other threats, including a social group, the National Legion for Morality, who were willing to use arson to destroy pornographic material.

Arrow will return to The CW for Season 5 sometime this fall.