“Hawkgirl” & “The Traveler” have been cast!

My people! We’re going to try something a little different today with the news. You’ll still get the GNOD you’ve come to know and love, but since it comes later in the day we’ll get you what’s out then and reference these items as we go! Our goal here at The Desk get you the Notizie Geek del giorno (translation: GNOD) as soon as it hits that way you can know as soon as we know. So, today, for testing purpose, let’s give that ol’ college try, yeah? BULLY!

A while ago, we got word of a casting call for 3 characters entering the D.C. Television Universe that produce spinoffs off Arrow and Flash. The original casting calls were described as this (via Comicbook.com):

“THE TRAVELER” | A Han Solo-esque rogue who gets by with his charm, this hero hails from the future, and has journeyed back in time on a secret mission. His razor-sharp wit hides the pain of a man who has lived through serious conflict. He also harbors many secrets, always leaving both his teammates and the audience unsure of his true allegiances.

“FEMALE WARRIOR” | This twentysomething Latina is pretty but unassuming, book smart and socially awkward by day. But by night, when she hears the cry of battle, her fury is ignited and she becomes a fierce warrior — so much so, that sometimes she can become a threat to others.

“MYSTERY HERO” | An African-American male in his twenties will fill the role of a regular, street smart guy who unexpectedly gains powers, and then, as part of the team, regularly quips about the insanity of the situations.

A lot of speculation went out, but the verdict is in on two of the characters.

The Traveler

The Han Solo-esque rogue who gets by with his charm was surmised to be one of two characters: Booster Gold or Rip Hunter. Both characters are time travelers but are markedly different in the matter of success vs. failure. Rip Hunter career is marked with much more success than Booster Gold and so the casting call was for Rip Hunter, but considering how close the two characters are in the comics (I can’t reveal more with what could be considered spoiler territory) I’m sure in this show we’ll see them both.

No stranger to the concept of time travel, Arthur Danvill (a.k.a. Rory Williams from Doctor Who), will be taking on the role of Rip Hunter in D.C.’s television incarnation of the character. Since the idea of time travel is being introduced more by “The Flash” series, I’m sure his character will debut soon on this show It will be fun to Danvill back on the scene after his emotional departure from Doctor Who. I’m sure Who fans everywhere are liking this bit of casting news.

– via MoviePilot

Female Warrior

The guess was that this character was most likely going to be Fury or Wildcat II drawing connections to Arrow. I didn’t think this was what they were trying to do anyway because of the overarching plan that D.C. has to introduce the Justice league to both film and TV. With that this felt more like Hawkgirl more than anything based off of the description that this character was Latina and warrior which is how her incarnation in the animated Justice League was illustrated.

Deadline gives the plot to the story as this:

In the new series, Saunders is a young woman who is just beginning to learn that she has been repeatedly reincarnated over the centuries. When provoked, her ancient warrior persona manifests itself, along with wings that grow out of her back, earning her the moniker Hawkgirl.

Broadway actress, Ciara Renée, has scored the role of Kendra Saunders. Hawkgirl’s story line is an interesting in the fact that it’s more spiritually inclined dealing with the idea of reincarnation. With that in mind, we could see Hawkgirl make her debut in an Arrow episode and spinoff from there.

Mystery Hero

Lastly, we haven’t heard any casting news concerning this but there can be speculation made for who it might be:

“MYSTERY HERO” | An African-American male in his twenties will fill the role of a regular, street smart guy who unexpectedly gains powers, and then, as part of the team, regularly quips about the insanity of the situations.

With the aspect of team elements being here there has to be a set up where this character will be the witty team member of the group. We both have team Arrow and team Flash in existence, but the question could be “is this a whole new team entirely?”

My speculation is one of two characters that this hero could be. Taking into consideration that out of the two shows the room for quips and wit are normally reserved for team Flash (although it could be on Arrow, but Flash is the more relaxed of the two), I’m making the assumption that the character will come from this series. Two characters that I know are linked to show in one way or another is that of Kid Flash and Static.

Recently at PaleyFest 2015 the question of Kid Flash was brought up by the audience to which the show runners answer (paraphrasing here) we would like to see Wally West introduced soon. My only gripe with that is that Kid Flash’s origin story is identical to Barry Allen’s in the fact that the same experiment is duplicated and gives Wally his powers. The thing is, in the show, particle accelerator mixed with the chemicals and lightning is what gave Barry his powers, and this will be difficult to recreate without it feeling like too much of a stretch. Kid flash’s current incarnation in the comics leads me to believe he could still be in the running. I don’t see him holding a show on his own so a team would be necessary. Enter the Teen Titans.

The group the call is talking about could be a reference to the Teen Titans. Teen Titans is a show that is making its way to TNT and will center around a group of young heroes. It was previously an animated show adapted from the comic series, but will now be live action for this production. Kid Flash would be a perfect segue to this series seeing how in most incarnations of the show he has been a member. I don’t think Kid Flash would be able to spin off into his own show, but there is a character that can merge the flash universe and Teen Titans while still having his own show.

Static is a character that in most common terms is D.C.’s equivalent to Spiderman. Static’s powers originated from an event that is called The Big Bang, that is the origin for a number of superheroes in villains in the Dakotaverse, which is now a part of the D.C. Universe. The Big Bang, a lot of ways, is very similar to the particle accelerator explosion event in the fact that it was a large scale mutagenic event resulting in a mass creation of meta-humans. With this in mind, Static’s origin can be adapted to coincide with the Flash event, with his villains and flashes being shared.

Static (AKA Virgil Hawkins) is also a scientist and inventor who’s aptitude affords him an internship with S.T.A.R. Labs giving him an in for team Flash. With Static’s personality and charm it’s easier for his character to exist in a standalone than for Kid Flash. Align that with his connection to not just the Teen Titans, but also the Justice League, Virgil has the flexibility of storytelling that will allow for many crossover capabilities.

My bet is that they’re going to go with Static for this one, and I’d be hard pressed not to through my bid in for Donald Glover on this one. He’d be perfect for this character and seeing his take on the character and the interactions with The Flash’s Sisco Ramone it’s a recipe for geeky humor that I think will be a much needed entry into the universe.

That’s it! That’s my rant for the day… I’ll find some other news and get back to you!