Who Was in the Helicopter on 'Arrow'?

Ricardo Diaz

One possibility is Ricardo Diaz. A new character this season on Arrow, we don't know a lot about the show's take on DC Comics villain Richard Dragon, outside of the character's description which you can read below.

"A hardened ex-con recently released from prison for crimes he didn't commit, Ricardo Diaz is bent on taking over Star City's criminal underworld. A master in hand to hand combat, honed by years of life on the street, Diaz has yet to meet a foe he can't take down."

With the character supposed to bring a whole new threat to Team Arrow, Diaz somehow being connected to or involved with Black Siren is a real possibility especially since teasers for this season have revealed that this version of Laurel will have criminal intentions -- and we did see her break someone out of police custody already -- at least for part of the season.

Vigilante

One of the dangling plot threads from Arrow's fifth season was the identity, whereabouts, and motivations of the villain known as Vigilante. While audiences initially thought that Adrian Chase was the mysterious masked villain, Chase turned out to be Prometheus and died by his own hand in the fifth season finale. That left Vigilante as a viable villain -- and one that has been confirmed will appear this season.

While we don't presently know exactly who Vigilante is, Arrow showrunners have hinted that Vigilante will be someone close to one of the series regulars. With Black Siren Laurel set to be a series regular, Vigilante very well could be the mysterious figure in the helicopter, especially if Vigilante turns out to be Tommy Merlyn.

Tommy Merlyn

Ever since Tommy Merlyn's death in Arrow's first seasons fans -- and even the show's cast -- have hoped that the character might make a return to the series and while it might be a long shot, being involved in saving Black Siren might just be a perfect avenue for the character to return.

With Black Siren coming from Earth-2 it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to also bring in an Earth-2 Tommy Merlyn, especially since we already know that the show will explore more of Laurel's Earth-2 history. If she had similar relationships and connections on Earth-2, then a version of Tommy may have a vested interest in keeping her alive.

Of course, it could also be the "real" Tommy Merlyn, too, especially if Tommy turns out to be Vigilante.

Michael Emerson's mystery character

While Ricardo Diaz, Vigilante, and Tommy Merlyn are all serious possibilities the most likely answer to the question of who was in the helicopter and rescued Black Siren is the mystery character played by Lost alum Michael Emerson.

While we still don't know who he's playing specifically, executive producer Marc Guggenheim explained to ComicBook.com during San Diego Comic-Con that he would be a complex villain on the show.

"We are talking about him playing a character who's got a lot more nuance than the typical creepy-guy role that he is often cast in." Guggenheim explained. "We've had a lot of creative discussions with him, and I think that's one of the things that has excited us and excited Michael: that we really want to create a character in consultation and in conjunction with him. It's not just 'here's the script — go!' It's a really interesting, two-way back and forth."

Fans will just have to continue to tune into Arrow to find out who brought Black Siren back from Lian Yu...and why.

Arrow airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW