Yesterday came the news that legendary hero Hawkman was joining the cast of the upcoming CW series Legends of Tomorrow, and now the show’s primary villain has been cast as well: World, meet your new, live-action Vandal Savage, played by actor Casper Crump. Although Vandal Savage is set to be the show’s main antagonist (and was already name dropped in the early trailer that was released a few months back) he will first appear on The Flash and Arrow, before Legends of Tomorrow drops mid-season.
But first: can we have a moment for Crump, who is not only a dead ringer for the comic book character, but also has a real name that is almost as cool and evil sounding as the character he’s playing?
I mean really.
Vandal Savage is a longtime DC villain, going back to the early 1940’s when he faced off against the Alan Scott version of The Green Lantern. A 50,000 year old prehistoric man who came into contact with a mysterious meteorite that gave him eternal life, Savage has since claimed to have been every notorious figure in history—from Julius Cesar to Vlad the Impaler to Jack the Ripper. When he wasn’t being a high profile despot and murdering thousands, he was an advisor to one, steering the motions of Napoleon and Hitler. He eventually comes into conflict with the heroes of the Justice Society of America, and eventually, the modern era heroes of the Justice League.
Even though some of that history has been re-written somewhat in DC’s New 52 continuity, he’s still more or less the same ageless villain. Although the character appeared several times in the Justice League Unlimited animated series—as well as Young Justice—this would be his first official appearance in live-action. Considering that he’s been around for most of recorded history, it makes sense that he’s the villain for the time-travelling heroes of the Legends of Tomorrow series, as he’s kind of a “big-gun” threat that would require more than one hero to defeat.
Legends of Tomorrow is set to premiere in early 2016 on the CW.
Image Credit: Mike Parobeck/Who’s Who In The DC Universe
