Exclusive Arrow First Look: Seth Gabel Debuts as The Count

The Count is coming!

Fringe alum Seth Gabel will make his way to Arrowin the upcoming Wednesday, Jan. 30 episode, fittingly titled "Vertigo." The Count is actually based on DC Comics' supervillain Count Vertigo, though in Arrow's take, Vertigo will actually be the name of a drug that plagues Starling City.

That drug comes from The Count, so it should come as no surprise that when Thea (Willa Holland) falls victim to it, Oliver (Stephen Amell) will go after the man himself. "What gets Oliver into The Count's orbit and puts the two of them in conflict is actually a really personal motivation," executive producer Marc Guggenheim tells TVGuide.com. "Someone close to him is actually hurt by The Count. This is the first time the Arrow goes after someone purely out of revenge. There's argument to be made that the Arrow's general mission is one of vengeance, but this is very specific. This time, it's personal."

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His name may have changed, but expect The Count to be as diabolical as his comic book counterpart. "He's a very interesting character, and the way Seth performs him, he plays him with a lot of flair," Guggenheim says. "The fun thing about The Count is he's actually a businessman. He's got a little bit of a sociopathic streak in him, for sure, but he sees himself as an entrepreneur, as creating not drugs, but art. He compares his drug to performing a social service and to a fine wine, so he has a very skewed view of what it is that he does. At the same time, we know that he's not only sociopathic, but he's very sadistic as well."

Will Oliver be able to take down The Count? Check out an exclusive first look at Gabel's debut as The Count below and hit the comments with your thoughts!

Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.