Opening Remarks
Woo! The first season 7 footage debuted at Comic-Con a couple weeks ago, and it was sick! The trailer focused heavily on Oliver's prison life, which is looking to be about as awful as you'd expect. The Slab is positively teeming with criminals out for revenge against the Green Arrow.
Three returning characters in particular were shown in the trailer, but that doesn't necessarily mean there won't be more. Then again, even though Stephen Amell claims Oliver's prison stint will last longer than the fans are expecting, I'm not really expecting more than just the three returning villains. If Oliver is truly in prison for 4+ episodes, there's gonna need to be more variety in the episodes than just Oliver dodging shivs from old foes.
Anyways, here are my thoughts on the possibilities for Oliver's fellow inmates.
Confirmed
Ben Turner / Bronze Tiger
Yes! This was totally the best reveal in the SDCC trailer. After an almost five year absence, the Bronze Tiger returns to Arrow! Ben Turner was unceremoniously killed off-screen in a tie-in comic, and bringing him back now is a retcon I can definitely get behind. Or is it a retcon, technically speaking? Flashpoint, anyone? Yeah, let's go with that.
Anyways, Bronze Tiger definitely seemed redeemable in his season 2 appearances. He displayed a sort of thieves' honor and worked well on the Suicide Squad, even saving Lyla's life! I wouldn't necessarily expect him to hold a grudge against Oliver--in fact, he seemed to almost respect the Arrow in their two past encounters. Perhaps he could be an unexpected ally for Oliver in the Slab?
Turner's presence also raises some interesting questions about A.R.G.U.S. and the Suicide Squad. After recruiting Turner out of Iron Heights, why would A.R.G.U.S. send him back to prison? And why Slabside--a federal prison--instead of back to Iron Heights? Perhaps he double-crossed A.R.G.U.S. and committed some crime(s) that justified his re-imprisonment? Or perhaps A.R.G.U.S. double-crossed him, sending him to the Slab because he knew too much / found out something he wasn't supposed to? In any case, I would expect some kind of story in connection with Turner and the Squad, especially since David Ramsey says that A.R.G.U.S. is going to be a major player in season 7. Also because I'm predicting that Oliver could make a stop in Task Force X on his path to freedom.
Update on 9/28/18:
Hang on, hang on! I just remembered something else that could very possibly be relevant. In the comics, Bronze Tiger begins as a friend/colleague of Richard Dragon, before branching off into Suicide Squad and League of Assassins storylines. Is it possible that Arrow's Ben Turner has some connection to Ricardo Diaz? We don't know much about either man's past, so it's entirely possible that they have some history (like training in martial arts together). I'm not sure how that would play into the story exactly, but, you know.... Theories!
Danny Brickwell / Brick
Brick was the single first character that came to mind as a potential Slab inmate after watching the season 6 finale. Vinnie Jones was born to play ruthless criminals, and prison is all too natural an environment for him and his character. His appearance in season 4 as a H.I.V.E. underling was amusing, but Brick shouldn't be anyone's henchman, not even Damien Darkh's.
In season 7, I expect a return to form for Brick as the most powerful crime boss of Slabside Penitentiary. As an aside, he was previously incarcerated in Iron Heights, which I have been assuming is a state, not federal, prison. I guess he's been convicted of some federal crime since then? Yeah, I guess helping someone steal nuclear launch codes will do that.
Derek Sampson
Another excellent choice. Sampson was a cool villain in season 5, and Cody Rhodes (Runnels?) has the right screen-presence for some prison action. And action is precisely what I expect. Not much storyline, or dialogue, or personality. Just brutal, action-packed prison fights that will surely make creative use of Sampson's Stardust-fueled superpowers.
Like the previous entries on this list, Sampson is known to have served time in Iron Heights Prison. Of course, that was before he conspired with Prometheus to release a tuberculosis bioweapon in Star City. I guess that's probably some kind of federal crime. Also, he may have been sent to the Slab due to his superpowers. Could we see other metas, etc. in prison with Oliver, I wonder? Does the Slab have a meta wing ala Iron Heights?
Prospective
In order of first appearance.
Anatoly Knyazev
Seems likely that Anatoly will be sent with Oliver to the Slab after turning himself in to the FBI. After some uncharacteristically evil behavior in the first half of the last season, Anatoly got the beginnings of a redemptive arc as he reconnected with the honor that originally governed his criminality. Hopefully a continuation of that story is in order for season 7. Anatoly is one of my favorite characters, and he deserves a better arc that season 6 gave him.
Werner Zytle / Vertigo
Veritgo would be a very fun character to see behind bars for several reasons, not least of which is actor Peter Stomare's history on Prison Break. I'd love to see Zytle go toe to toe with Oliver, Brick, et al. as they live out their prison sentences.
Though Zytle hasn't been seen since season 3, he was mentioned in the flashback scenes of season 5's "Underneath." That episode established that Zytle escaped from prison in the time between seasons 4 and 5, but was recaptured (aboard a yacht!) by the Green Arrow. Maybe he was sent to the Slab following that? I hope so.
Lonnie Machin / Anarky
I'm not gonna claim Anarky was a great villain, but--as I posited in my ranked list of Arrow villains--Anarky was, in my opinion, a victim of season 4's lameness, not one of its causes. A guest appearance in the Slab could, in a small way, make good on some of the character's untapped potential. Furthermore, if Arrow's prison time is gonna serve as a retrospective of Arrow villains, then I'd like to see season 4 get some representation. The season wasn't good, but denying its existence is cheap and pointless.
Alex Faust
Weird character, right? He had this totally bizarre personality, he shot a freakin' missile at Star City, then he turned out to be a nothing character. He fizzled out. I think he had something to do with a tie-in novel set between seasons 5 and 6, so that may be why he came off so strange to the TV-only audience (which has gotta be, you know, like 99.9% of the audience).
In case you can't tell, out of all the characters on this list, this is the one possibility I'm least excited by. Still, I like the idea of a villain retrospective, so I figure I oughta come up with one season 6 baddie for good measure. Of course, season 1 also isn't represented, but that's because the Dodger was the best candidate I could muster. That ain't gonna fly.
Closing Remarks
So there you have it. A short but fun little post examining some wild predictions for Oliver's prison life. Chances are, we won't be seeing any of my prospective characters (except Anatoly, who I do expect), but it is still fun to imagine the possibilities. It's a little surprising that after all these years there are so few villains who would really fit the bill (alive, male, incarcerated, federal-crimes).
So who have I forgotten? Any other characters you want to see in the Slab? And how will Ollie be getting out? I'm sticking to my presidential pardon theory (maybe with a small dose of Suicide Squad).
And in other news--what the hell is Roy going to be doing this year? Colton Haynes and Stephen Amell were saying in their SDCC interviews that Roy has some totally bat-shit crazy storyline that no one could possibly predict... so I have no idea what to expect there. Which is a good thing!
Anyways, hope you enjoyed.
Phillip
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