DC TV Watch: Breaking Down All the Comic-Con News

Welcome to The Hollywood Reporter‘s weekly DC TV Watch, a rundown of all things DC Comics on TV. Every Friday, we round up the major twists, epic fights, new mysteries and anything else that goes down on The CW’s Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl and Black Lightning, and Fox’s Gotham. Note: Gotham, Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow are on hiatus until the new seasons return in the fall, and Black Lightning will premiere midseason. This week, we’re breaking down all the news that came out of Comic-Con and what it all means.

Gotham 

Prodigal daughter returns | Teen Wolf alum Crystal Reed joins season four as Don Falcone’s (John Doman) daughter Sofia Falcone, who has been running the mob family business in the south for the past decade. Described as strong, intelligent and calculating, she’s brought back to Gotham to help Gordon (Ben McKenzie) take down Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor). 

Arrival of the real Scarecrow | The trailer released during Comic-Con revealed the arrival of DC Comics villain Scarecrow with the tagline, “Gotham will know fear.” Viewers remember that the Scarecrow’s father Gerald Crane (Julian Sands) was introduced on the show back in season one with his teenage son Jonathan (who comic book fans know is the real Scarecrow), but there’s no word on who is underneath the hood just yet. Will the true Scarecrow finally debut, or is this another red herring?

Babs‘ resurrection | As we predicted, Babs (Erin Richards) did not die in the season three finale. Or, she did die, but will come back in season four … as someone different. Her hardcore, subdued new look in the trailer teases a kind of transformation for the formerly maniacal villain. Does this mean she isn’t the proto-Harley Quinn she was rumored to be last season?

Check out the sizzle reel from last season, including about one minute of new footage for season four, below:

Supergirl

A new suit | Adrian Pasdar’s casting got the biggest cheers during the Comic-Con panel, and he’ll be playing villain Morgan Edge, a “ruthless real estate developer.” Comic book fans know Edge as the owner of a media corporation with holdings like the Daily Planet, where he often comes into contact with Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin). Now that The CW has changed Edge’s backstory, how will he interact with Kara (Melissa Benoist)? Will he just serve as an antagonist to Supergirl, or will he somehow come into Kara’s orbit as well? It’s also interesting to note that one version of Edge in the comics is African-American, but Supergirl did not go that route onscreen.

Potential new crossover | Psi’s (Yael Grogblas) debut on Supergirl presents an interesting potential for crossovers with another Arrow-verse series, as the DC Comics villain shared some time with The Thinker (aka The Flash‘s new villain) on the Suicide Squad. It’s more likely that Supergirl will just tell the story of Psi believing that Supergirl is the villain “Decay,” before realizing she’s the villain herself, and has been listening to her own fears all along.

Relationship updates | While it was established in the season three trailer that Kara will be focusing on herself and not getting a new love interest, the fact that Chris Wood, who plays Mon-El, was on the panel means her Daxamite boyfriend will be back at some point. Will Kara be able to open her heart again when he returns, or will she go full dark by then? As for “Sanvers,” it was heartening to hear new showrunners Jessica Queller and Robert Rovner promise that although Floriana Lima has a diminished role this season, Maggie and Alex (Chyler Leigh) “have an amazing beautiful story to tell that really honors the love between these two women.” Many were worried that Lima’s demotion from series regular to recurring meant their relationship was doomed, but given that this is one of the few LGBTQ relationships told responsibly onscreen, it would be a mistake for the series to break them up. And James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) will be getting a new love interest, the first since he and Kara broke up in the season two premiere.

The Flash

Heartbreak ahead | Casting news spells trouble for both Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) and Cisco (Carlos Valdes). Tom Felton, who plays Caitlin’s love interest Julian, will not be back as a series regular in season four. The Harry Potter alum did not attend Comic-Con with the cast, has not booked a return to the show and isn’t seen at all in the trailer for the new season, so it’s unclear whether or not he’ll be back at all. EW first reported this news. As for Cisco’s love interest Gypsy (Jessica Camacho), despite her father Breacher (played by Danny Trejo) debuting this season, Camacho has just joined NBC’s Taken as a series regular in season two, meaning her time on The CW series is limited. TVLine first reported this news. 

Caitllin … Frost? | Getting a big cheers during the panel, the appearance of Killer Frost in the trailer was a huge hit. But Panabaker revealed that she’s playing a combination of Caitlin Snow and Killer Frost this season, the metahuman version of herself who isn’t a villain. She’ll be a part of Team Flash, but there’s no telling how she’ll get along with (or fight) her former friends moving forward. It’s a relief to finally see the series address the narrative plot hole of why other metahumans like Barry (Grant Gustin) are still the same person they were before the particle accelerator explosion, unlike Caitlin who turned into a murderer immediately.

Running as fast as she can | But it was Iris (Candice Patton) who got the biggest cheers during the trailer debut, as it was revealed that she is taking to heart Barry’s request to keep running without him there. She’s now the de facto leader of Team Flash, and while she misses her fiance, she’s looking forward. She isn’t wallowing on the couch; she’s fighting crime. She’s truly the strongest person on the team and keeping everyone afloat during Barry’s absence. This is the Iris we deserve.

Arrow

Fallout from Lian Yu | Thanks to the season six trailer, some spoilers about who survived and who didn’t survive the Lian Yu explosion have been revealed. It looks like William (Jack Moore) will move in with Oliver (Stephen Amell) after what happens on the island, so it’s likely his mother Samantha (Anna Hopkins) is one of the casualties of Prometheus’ (Josh Segarra) final plan. Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke (Manu Bennett) will also be back for a two-episode arc exploring his origin story, meaning he survived the island explosion. Other possible survivors: Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and Diggle (David Ramsey), who are seen running away from the explosion, potentially to safety.

Mystery villain | Michael Emerson’s casting was met with a ton of enthusiasm during the Comic-Con panel, but the Arrow showrunners didn’t reveal who he’s playing, other than that he’s part of a “villainous cabal,” a found family of baddies. That sounds a lot like hacker group Helix, which was reunited with its leader Cayden James last season without ever showing the man’s face. The showrunners also revealed that DC Comics character Richard Dragon will show up, which is interesting because in the comics, he used to be a good guy, training many students in martial arts before The New 52 relaunch re-created him as a villain. 

Legends of Tomorrow

Surprising crossover | One of the villains for this season of Legends comes from CW Seed’s animated series Vixen. Kuasa (Quantico‘s Tracy Ifeachor) is Mari McCabe’s (Megalyn E.K.) older sister who wants her Tantu Totem, the mystical object that gives her the power of animals. She’ll be making the jump from animated to live action, and will come into conflict with her grandmother Amaya (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) this season. 

More meta commentary | After all the hilarious winks and nods to Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller’s time on Prison Break, Legends is getting even more obviously meta with Martin Stein (Victor Garber). In the trailer alone, he makes a comment about never stepping foot on the Titanic, because “whoever built that ship ought to be shot.” In Titanic, Garber’s character built the ship. Amazing.

Black Lightning

More comic additions | The CW’s latest superhero offering doesn’t premiere until 2018 and hasn’t even shot a full pilot, but it still had its own panel at Comic-Con. Not much was announced that fans didn’t already know, but the showrunners did reveal two characters from the comic books would show up on the series. James Remar joins as a series regular, playing Peter Gambi, the oldest friend of Jefferson Pierce (series star Cress Williams). Gambi is Jefferson’s father figure, mentor and “tailor.” His history with Jefferson goes back further and deeper than anyone knows, and Gambi’s role in Jefferson’s life will become a painful window into the past that will affect the future of their relationship forever. Series regular Damon Gupton will play Inspector Henderson, a veteran officer of the law who is now the highest-ranking detective on the force. His role in the community puts him at odds with Black Lightning but they soon become unlikely allies.

What do you think of all the shocking twists and reveals from the DC Comics series? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Gotham returns for season four on Fox in the fall; Supergirl will return for season three on The CW in the fall; The Flash will return for season four on The CW in the fall; Arrow will return for season six on The CW in the fall; Legends of Tomorrow will return for season three on The CW in the fall; and Black Lightning will premiere midseason on The CW.