Full ‘Arrow’ Season 3 Trailer Features Ra’s al Ghul

~~SaP~~ · July 27, 2014

Whereas Arrow season 1 was more or less Green Arrow by way of Christopher Nolan’s Batman (with some CW drama mixed in for good measure), season 2 upped the ante considerably by adding Deathstroke the Terminator, superpowered villains, Barry Allen, the Suicide Squad, and more. Plus, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) himself became more of a “superhero” than a vigilante; now he sports a green domino mask like the one he wears in the comics, he goes by “Arrow” instead of “The Hood,” and he no longer kills as he did in the first season.

Good news, Arrow fans – everything we know about season 3 indicates that it’ll up the ante even more. Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) will play Ray Palmer, who becomes The Atom in the comics; Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) will become Arsenal; a new Count Vertigo (Peter Stormare) is in town; Katana will join the festivities; anda major crossover between Arrow and The Flash will take place starting in episode 8.

Last night at Comic-Con 2014, the Warner Bros. TV panel premiered a lot of DC superhero TV show footage, including the world premiere of the Gotham pilot, a (second) screening of The Flash pilot, a trailer for Constantine, and the full Arrow season 3 trailer (above). You’ve probably seen most of the footage from the Arrow trailer – featuring Ray Palmer, Vertigo, Arsenal, and more – as we already wrote about it a couple of days ago. But this new trailer tacked on about 45 seconds of extra footage featuring one of Batman’s greatest villains: Ra’s al Ghul.

This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to Arrow fans, as Ra’s al Ghul was name-dropped several times throughout season 2. Furthermore, the Canary was once a member of his League of Assassins (and again by the end of season 2); Arrowseason 1 big bad Malcolm Merlyn was a member; and al Ghul’s daughter, Nyssa, made two appearances last season, first as an enemy and then as an ally.

What’s particularly interesting about this trailer is that it seems to set up Ra’s al Ghul as the major villain of season 3. “If half of the stories I’ve heard about Ra’s al Ghul are true,” Olliver says, “we will all pay.” While we know that Vertigo and Merlyn will pose a problem to the Arrow gang in the coming season, they both seem like small potatoes coming after Deathstroke and his army of superpowered psychopaths.

Ra’s, on the other hand, is about as big a threat as it gets. The only question I have is – will they reference Batman at all? Of course, we know that neither Batman nor Superman will make an appearance on the show (and that the TV and movie universes will be kept separate), but all I want is one off-hand remark from Ra’s about “the detective” and I’ll be happy.

What say you, Screen Ranters? Are you looking forward to Arrow season 3? Are you glad that Ra’s al Ghul will be making an appearance? Drop us a line in the comments.

Arrow season 3 premieres Wednesday, October 8th, 2014 @8pm on The CW.