‘Arrow’ episode 9 preview: First look at the winter finale (video)

“Arrow” has taken on a number of interesting villains so far this season, even the stellar love / hate interest affectionately known as the Huntress by DC Comics fans. But could there be someone even more intimidating coming up for Oliver Queen soon? Based on the first promo for the show’s winter finale “Year’s End,” the answer here seems to be an undivided “yes”: himself.

The holiday season is going to be upon us in Starling City, but that is not by any means going to stop there from being all sorts of assorted violence in the streets. In particular, some sort of enemy known only as a “copycat” is going to start mimicking some of Oliver’s best moves, but for evil rather than good; not only that, but he is also taking hostages.

The promo promises more than just this kind of action, though, as we are also going to be seeing a few characters show a little bit of skin (though not necessarily in the present). Hopefully, we’re also going to have some sort of epic cliffhanger that gets us more excited than ever about 2012.

We’ve said it before, but it is worth repeating how much this show has been a pleasant surprise in the fall lineup. We’ve nominated it for Best New Show, and there is a simple reason for it: executive producer Andrew Kreisberg has done a fantastic job of keeping the hero grounded in many ways to who the Green Arrow is in the comics, but at the same time still giving the show its own unique flavor and sense of realism.

What do you think about this promo? Be sure to share your thoughts below, and you can also find out some more scoop about the show’s version of Vertigo over at the link here.

Photo: The CW