You can't ever say that superhero shows Arrow and The Flash don't know how to share. Characters flit back and forth between Central and Starling cities; any feat of hacking prowess that Cisco sees, he immediately associates with Felicity; and now, metahumans are making the trip from the home of S.T.A.R. Labs over to Team Arrow's territory. Wednesday's episode of Arrow introduces Deathbolt, aka Jeff Simmons, a new foe who will unite Ray and Oliver — at least for now.
Simmons is played by Doug Jones, a chameleon-like actor who you may not recognize without some Oscar-winning prosthetics. His creature credits include Pan's Labyrinth, both Hellboy movies, and Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. But as you can see in the promo image above, it's unlikely that he'll be rocking any type of heavy makeup for this villainous role.
Deathbolt is a DC Comics character, though the Arrow writers tweaked his powers to suit this universe. Jeff Simmons made his first appearance in 1983 as a convicted murderer who barely survives a plane crash. Supervillain the Ultra-Humanite saves Simmons, while also setting him up with some useful powers by essentially turning his body into a giant battery. Comic book Deathbolt can wield and control electromagnetic energy, which means he never has to deal with a smoke detector that won't stop BEEPING.
But Arrow has raised the stakes with its Deathbolt. IGN reports that the version of Simmons we'll see in "Broken Arrow" has the "ability to harness and weaponize plasma energy." For those of you who completely blocked out high school physics, plasma is one of the four forms of matter and the most abundant. Lightning and fire are two of plasma's greatest hits, and per this description of him, will bend to Deathbolt's will. This is not great news for Team Arrow, since they need at least one week off from protecting Starling City just to deal with their interpersonal problems.
Plus, metahumans are really more in The Flash's wheelhouse. Arrow's heroes are used to dealing with adversaries whose only superpowers are a) being insanely dedicated to a training regimen that would make even the P90X guy cry; or b) being high on mirakuru. That's not to say that they aren't aware of the possibilities. They know Barry, obviously, and understand what Central City is dealing with. And then there was that time Oliver was mystically brought back from the dead. So all assumptions about the limits of humanity are out the window, by this point.
Anyway, it seems that Simmons' real superpower is in getting Oliver Queen to accept help from romantic rival Ray Palmer. "Broken Arrow" will find the Arrow and the Atom joining forces. Even Ollie has to agree that a flying suit might be useful against this particular baddie.
One thing's for sure: Deathbolt won't be vanquished tonight. He's already booked for a Flash appearance later this season. Another metahuman with a bone to pick with the man we know as Harrison Wells, I suppose. Then what or who does he need from Starling City? It looks like the events of Wednesday's Arrow will just be the beginning of whatever Simmons is planning.
Images: Cate Cameron/The CW; Giphy (2)
