If DC Comics have learnt one thing from The Dark Knight trilogy, it's that "dark" works. As they struggle to keep up arch rivals Marvel's rate of knocking out hit movies, it seems they have learned to follow the trend.
Therefore, Arrow, a new take on one of their more peripheral characters, the Green Arrow. In comic book lore, he's always been something of a Batman expy: a rich kid forged by circumstance into a crime fighter while maintaining an illusion of a playboy billionaire by day. His defining characteristics where his choice of weapons (bow and arrow, natch) and his somewhat left-wing (by American standards) politics. When written by Denny O'Neil in a series alongside Green Lantern, the character was superb, and it was good to see him make a brilliant cameo in O'Neil's essential run with the Question in the late 80s.
Green Arrow was also one of the strongest (for me) characters in the excellent Justice League Unlimited cartoon series, delivering a nice smackdown to his super-powered colleagues when needed. He also played a role in Smallville. I'm not sure if these played a part in the character getting a TV series of his own, but happened it did, and ten episodes in (I'm watching repeats) I have to admit I'm somewhat drawn in.
As stated at the top, he's been made more "dark" to fit in with the current mood. Oliver Queen, like his comic book counterpart, is indeed a carefree playboy with a tendency to shag any willing young lady before an accident sees him marooned on a desert island. This happens around the same time as his lady-of-choice drowns and his dear pop shoots himself (and some other poor sod) in order to conserve life-boat supplies for dear Ollie.
Five years on, our man is rescued and, naturally, he's a changed man. In short, he's become a huge fucking badarse who can kebab you from 500 yards, covered in scars and with a new found desire to clean up his hometown of Starling City.
A lot of Arrow is cliché city, but it remains enjoyable for reasons a little bit beyond my ken. Oliver has loved ones to keep his secret from (at least, unlike Batman, his mother is still alive, and he has a sister) and his own "Alfred" figure in Diggle, employed as a bodyguard for "Oliver" who becomes a close ally of his alter-ego. In a nice little touch, when the vigilante figure is nicknamed "The Hood" Oliver discusses that he needs a better name at a dinner party. When someone suggests "Green Arrow", it is meet with a "lame!" response. The man who suggests that? None other than John Barrowman, who manages to be pretty sinister in his role as (as far as I've seen) the Big Bad.
There's plenty of tickle the comic book geeks (characters with surnames with 'Lance' are enough to make me chuckle knowingly) and from the first episode they try to distinguish the Arrow from the Batman when he snaps some poor mook's neck in half to protect his "secret". None of this "no killing" stance that the Bat takes up for our man.
Arrow isn't another original or mega-exciting, but it does somehow manage to capture my imagination. The cast are nothing special, but then all do their jobs well - Barrowman is the exception and he comes across as both ultra-charming and outright threatening. So far, they've managed to throw in characters such as the Huntress and Deadshot, with hints at others from the DC canon, and I look forward to more.
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