According to The CW, a new actor has been cast as a popular comic book super-villain to kick-off Season 3 of the Vancouver-lensed TV series "Arrow", debuting October 8, 2014:
Actor Peter Stormare will take over from Seth Gabel who played 'The Count' in Season One and Season Two of "Arrow". Stormare will be known as 'Vertigo', rather than 'The Count', aka 'Werner Zytle', who debuted in DC's "World's Finest Comics" #251 (July 1978).
The character was the last descendant of the royal family that ruled the small eastern European country of 'Vlatava' that was taken over by the Soviets and later became devastated by the 'Spectre'.
"...'Count Vertigo' first appeared in 'Star City', where he attempted to steal back the jewels his parents had sold when they escaped to England after the war. The victim of a hereditary inner ear defect that affected his balance, Vertigo had a small electronic device implanted in his right temple that compensated this problem.
"Tinkering with the device, Vertigo learned he was able to affect other people’s balance as well, distorting their perceptions so that they literally couldn’t tell up from down, an effect known as 'vertigo'.
"Donning a costume and taking the name 'Count Vertigo', he embarked on a life of crime, bringing him into conflict with both 'Green Arrow' and 'Black Canary'..."
"Arrow" stars Stephen Amell as 'Oliver Queen', Colin Donnell as 'Tommy', Willa Holland as 'Thea Queen', Susanna Thompson as 'Moira Queen' and Paul Blackthorne as 'Detective Quentin Lance'.
From Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg and David Nutter, the CW series 'reinvents' the DC hero, following his being marooned for five years on a remote island, then returning home with a mysterious agenda and lethal set of skills he uses in a vigilante war on crime.
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