The new CW animated series Freedom Fighters: The Ray will feature cameos from across the Arrowverse and showcase the birth of a new superhero. Since the debut of Arrow, the so-called Arrowverse has been growing exponentially across The CW and their digital site CW Seed. The interconnected nature of the series not only allows for a massive annual crossover, but lets smaller cameos and team-ups occur along the way. And besides the four live-action shows, the animated side of the Arrowverse has been steadily growing.
CW Seed, which houses a number of DC shows from other networks along with a few animated films based on the comics, first expanded the world of the Arrowverse with Vixen. That story has already impacted the live-action shows, with the lead hero appearing in an episode of Arrow and her grandmother now a prominent player on Legends of Tomorrow. Next season of the latter time traveling show will pit the antagonist from Vixen against the team, and Vixen herself will be making a cameo in another animated series from CW Seed.
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TV Insider spoke with Marc Guggenheim, the executive producer of the Arrowverse, about what fans can expect when Freedom Fighters: The Ray arrives. Along with providing some insight into the show, Guggenheim confirmed Supergirl‘s Melissa Benoist will portray her Earth-X doppelgänger, Overgirl, alongside a number of other Arrowverse cameos:
“Melissa is so sweet, and so is her interpretation of Supergirl. It was fun to hear her voice records and see she’s capable of a darkness. I think she really enjoyed playing the bad guy for a bit!”
Based on the character from the comics, The Ray will travel to an alternate world where the Nazis won World War II and evil versions of heroes like Supergirl, the Flash, and Arrow suppress freedom. While the teaser trailer for The Ray showcased all three villains in action, Grant Gustin and Stephen Amell haven’t been confirmed as part of the series. Although they lent their voices to Vixen, it looks like they may be sitting out The Ray. Other cameos will include Cisco, Mr. Terrific, and Vixen, but no word on whether the former two will be voiced by their Arrowverse actors.
Along with the cameo news, Guggenheim also talked a bit about the show’s plot. Along with battling Nazis, The Ray will explore how the hero gained his powers and will also delve into his complicated romantic life (this is a show on The CW, after all). Guggenheim also confirmed that the series will loosely adapt the story of the Ray from Grant Morrison’s recent The Multiversity comic book:
“It’s called Freedom Fighters: The Ray for a very specific reason, which is we knew we wanted to establish the Freedom Fighters and Earth-X. In Multiversity, Grant Morrison came up with an idea we really responded to: The Freedom Fighters are made up of various minorities targeted by Nazis—women, gay men, Jews. We wanted to honor that idea. At the same time, it’s an origin story about the Earth-1 iteration of The Ray.”
Like in the recent comics, the Ray will be both gay and a metahuman, adding layers to the show’s focus on persecution. Adapting Morrison’s premise will not only add a new layer to the Arrowverse in terms of exploring social issues often connected to groups like the mutants in Marvel Comics, but it will allow another parallel Earth to be explored. Interestingly, Guggenheim’s final comment also seems to indicate an Earth-1 version of the Ray will arrive, likely setting up his future debut in the live-action Arrowverse.
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Freedom Fighters: The Ray premieres this fall on CW Seed.
