We're keeping track of all the DC Comics references on Arrow season 5, including the mysterious villain of "The Recruits" Ragman.
So, Arrowhas been lighter on DC Comics references than the other three shows on the CW right now, but that's just fine. The most pleasant surprise on this show in ages was their use of Ragman in this episode.
The character of Ragman dates back to DC Comics in 1976, and he was created by the legendary team of Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, so there's definitely a DC Comics pedigree here. This isn't a direct translation of the character, but the basics, that the rags contain the souls of others (albeit not the souls who were the victims of an ill-advised missile strike), are in place.
There are a couple of reasons why Ragman is appropriate here. For one thing, he played a part in the Day Of Vengeance mini-series, which had some loose ties to the Justice Society, and they're coming to Legends of Tomorrow. But Arrowis still determined to develop the magic elements of the CW superhero universe on the side here, and Ragman is the perfect kind of "second string" magic DC character to do it with. Ragman was also a member of a team called the Shadowpact, and I'd love to see a kinda CW version of this team with Matt Ryan's John Constantine, Emmett Scanlan's Jim Corrigan/The Spectre, and whoever else they can sneak in here. It's certainly time for this show to introduce Zatanna, for example.
And if you hit the next page, you can see our breakdown of DC Comics references from the first episode of the series, too!