Arrow Gives Fans Their First Look at Count Vertigo

While he may not go by the name "Count Vertigo" on the TV series, Seth Gabel's drug-dealing count wears a ring that bears the black-and-white bulls-eye design familiar to fans of the comic book iteration of the character. That's one of the key observations from a pair of newly-released photos that show Gabel's first appearance on the hit CW drama. "What gets Oliver into The Count's orbit and puts the two of them in conflict is actually a really personal motivation," executive producer Marc Guggenheim told TVGuide.com. "Someone close to him is actually hurt by The Count. This is the first time the Arrow goes after someone purely out of revenge. There's argument to be made that the Arrow's general mission is one of vengeance, but this is very specific. This time, it's personal."

"He's a very interesting character, and the way Seth performs him, he plays him with a lot of flair," added Guggenheim. "The fun thing about The Count is he's actually a businessman. He's got a little bit of a sociopathic streak in him, for sure, but he sees himself as an entrepreneur, as creating not drugs, but art. He compares his drug to performing a social service and to a fine wine, so he has a very skewed view of what it is that he does. At the same time, we know that he's not only sociopathic, but he's very sadistic as well." Arrow returns tomorrow night at 8 p.m. on The CW. Vertigo will debut two weeks later in an episode by the same name.