This New 'Arrow' Bad Guy Might Make You Dizzy

A new but familiar character is stopping by Arrow season 3. We saw a version of him last season in both human and drug form. That's right, as reported by TV Guide, Vertigo is returning to Arrow, and this time he has a new agenda in mind. Last season didn't really cover much of anything regarding this villain's back story — he was also only know as "The Count," who happened to sell Vertigo. He was portrayed by Seth Gabel, and was nothing more than a drug lord who crossed Oliver at just the wrong time. Now, recast as a brand new villain, Peter Stormare is taking up the character, and this new Vertigo appears to align with the comics.

Last we saw Vertigo, he was dead. Oliver killed him after he threatened Felicity (attaboy). There are actually two different versions of Vertigo in the comics as well. One goes by the name Werner Vertigoand comes from an aristocratic Eastern European family who has lost all of their wealth, and his family has just fled the tiny country of Vlatava. In the second incarnation, named Werner Zytle, he is still without any wealth, but now he's the ruler of Vlatava. Judging from what ScreenRant has to say, this new Vertigo will closely follow the second version of the character. So he will have lost his riches, but slowly risen to power through organized crime, like basically every other bad guy in Starling City. As first reported by TV Guide, Peter Stormate has been cast in this new role, and the character will also go by Werner Zytle.

Vertigo has long been a villain for Green Arrow and Black Canary, so it was no surprise when he popped up last season. It was surprising when he met such a quick end, though. But just like in the comics, he has a new second life, and it looks like he's going to cause more trouble for Team Arrow.

What gives Vertigo his name? He suffers from the condition. He's got an inner ear imbalance, and he actually had a device implanted to help correct the problem. After he fiddled with it one day, he learned that he could also tinker with the balance of others around him. This gave him the ability to literally cause others to fall over and leave them unable to tell up from down.

It remains to be seen if this meta-human power (Sorry, I borrowed that word from The Flash, but it makes perfect sense) will manifest itself in this new bad guy. For the most part, Arrow has tended to shy away from any sort of actual super-human power, so it might be a little startling if suddenly Oliver is fighting forces greater than nature. Besides, this imbalance is what the drug, Vertigo, does to people, like Thea learned the hard way last season. In lieu of any sort of strange powers, I'm guessing this guy will stick to his drugs — and his greater goal of getting it back on the streets of Starling City.

Images: Cate Cameron/The CW; thebluths/tumblr