Arrow: First Look at Ragman!

Tonight’s episode of Arrow, titled “The Recruits,” offered audiences a first look at Ragman, one of DC’s odder mystical antiheroes.

In the episode, Ragman was fixated on the corporaion known as Amertek, who were responsible for the creation of the bombs used by Damien Darhk on the so-called Genesis Day at the end of Arrow Season 4 when he tried to murder millions in order to power his dark magic.

Ragman’s family were among the thousands killed at Havenrock, a small city not far from Star City which was destroyed when Felicity redirected one of Darhk’s missiles there to minimize casualties when she couldn’t deactivate it.

In the comics, Ragman is a Gotham-based vigilante who wears the mystical Suit of Souls, from which his powers come. Created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, Ragman has a bit of a Ghost Rider thing going on, with the costume allowing him to take the souls of the guilty — except that in the case of Ragman, he can summon their abilities later in battle. By being used in this way, the evil can actually earn redemption and passage to Heaven.

Because of the supernatural nature of his powers and the fact that he’s in Gotham, he tends to creep people out. He’s been a part of various DC super-teams, although the most memorable recently is probaby his time in Bill Willingham’s excellent Shadowpact monthly.

Rory Regan’s family has passed the Ragman identity down through the centuries, including his father Gerry Regan, who apparently sacrificed himself to pass the suit along to Rory in the TV version.