Arrow: Marc Singer Joins Cast As General Shrieve

With an apparent vacancy in the series' cast following the events of this week's midseason finale, Arrow has cast Marc Singer as General Shrieve, likely based on Lt. Matthew Shrieve, an obscure DC Comics character created by J.M. DeMatteis and Pat Broderick.

Broderick recently returned to DC Comics after a 20-year absence, and this month generated a storm of online controversy by venting his disdain for cosplay models at comic book conventions on Facebook.

Singer, who also appeared in The Beastmaster, is described by Comic Book Resources as a recurring character who will debut in the series' upcoming, fourteenth episode of Season Three. Shrieve will play a major role in the flashbacks.

In the comics, Shrieve is an American soldier involved with Project M and the leader of the Creature Commandos, an elite combat unit composed of soldiers with monster-like features. He himself, though, has no powers and appears to be an ordinary human. In the New 52 reboot, the Creature Commandos are agents of S.H.A.D.E., an organization that has sometimes found itself in competition with A.R.G.U.S. for dominance in the metahuman-espionage community.

Since the reboot, we haven't seen Shrieve, with his role as field commander being filled by Frankenstein.

In the alternate universe created during the Flashpoint crisis, Shrieve's granddaughter Miranda, a monster hunter, was introduced and appeared in the Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos miniseries.

Arrow returns to The CW with new episodes on January 21.