NEW YORK COMIC CON: ARROW

Fresh off strong ratings for its pilot episode, The CW's Arrow was promoted Sunday in a panel at New York Comic Con.

Panelists included executive producer Marc Guggenheim Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen), Katie Cassidy (Laurel Lance) and Willa Holland (The Queen). DC's Geoff Johns served as moderator.

Following are highlgihts:

* Guffengheim said he and Andrew Kreisberg come to the show afters. "Longbow Hunters and Year One are huge influences on our take," he said, noting they try for a "grounded, realistic" approach.

* Amell said before he even picked up a bow, his trainer showed him a 45-minute video on the way archery had been portrayed poorly in film and on television.

* It was noted Holland's character was called "Speedy" in the pilot. "I'm ready to kick some butt," she said. "I am ready to pick up a bow and arrow whenever they are to write me in."

* Cassidy was asked where she's her character going -- point to Black Canary -- and she turned the question over to Guggenheim. "I would say Episode 3 gives a pretty good indication of where you might be headed," Guggenheim said.

"You'll definitely find out a lot about Laurel and her history and where she's going," Cassidy said.

In terms of villains, Guggenheim said there will be a few "big bads" and a "biggest bad" this season, building to a "momentous" event.

"We're telling a very long, multi chapter story," he said. "Each of these chapters need to build to some big momentous event. You saw those guys with the hockey masks are the Royal Flush Gang. You'll see them in Episode 6."

Deathstroke and Huntress will appear, and Johns said there will be other "street-level" characters from the DC Universe.

"You'll see that Helena comes on the show in a moment where Oliver really needs someone like her," Guggenheim said. The seventh episode was written by Kreisberg, Guggenheim and Johns.

Amell talked about the bar-lift training sequence in the pilot sequence and noted there is a "training sequence 2.0" in Episode 8. Look for Amell in a rope-climbing stunt in this week's episode -- "I do try to do everything," he said.

Flashbacks to the island are an important component to the show, and the first flashback in Episode 2 picks up where the flashback in the pilot episode left off. "For us as producers, one of the best parts of the show quite frankly is the opportunity to go in each week and do those flashbacks. It just adds a huge amount of scope to the show," Guggenheim said. "Each flashback, even though we're proceeding in chronological order, has some kind of thematic resonance with what is going on in the episode's main story."

For the flashbacks, Amell goes through an hour and a half o makeup. "The wig hurts and my clothes are ratty," he saod. "It changes my body language.

* Talking about John Barrowman, Guggenheim said he plays a "character shrouded in mystery."

"Every time we see the dailies, he's incredible. The one word that comes to mind is magnetic," Guggenheim said. The fun part of his character is that he's sort of a change agent for the show. Every time he talks to a member of our cast, it affects those characters in different ways. You'll get a chance to experience him in a variety of different kinds of scenes."

* Talking about the Tommy Merlyn character, Guggenheim said, "It Episode 7, things start to happen to him that are both good and bad. it's that mix that will add an interesting degree of complexity."

* Amell said that Oliver tends to keep eye contact and that he based it on Gus from Breaking Bad.

* About his character, Amell said, "We're shooting Episode 9 right now, and you can't see the evolution that much, but I do know Episode 9 is everything I want in the series," said Amell. "We play on the idea that Oliver is just a regular guy, with no superpowers, and he is vulnerable. We say that a lot, but in Episode 9 we show that."

Amell said that killing is not Oliver's opening move. "Killing is not an objective, it's a necessity," he said. "It's part of what makes the story real."

"I saw four distinct characters in the pilot. It's really fun going forward that almost everything I say in the show can have a double meaning."

* Amell said there is a battle scene in Episode 5 that will give a wink to the DC audience. "I love that," he said.

* In terms of conditioning, Amell noted he got pretty far in the casting process for Spartacus, and Arrow "was the next evolution."

"You want you to believe that as a guy who doesn't have super powers, you can believe what I'm doing," he said.

* Asked about Roy Harpet, Guggenheim said, " We definitely talked about Roy, and we have a pretty cool idea for him. All things in good time. The take we have for Roy up our sleeves is pretty bad-ass."

* Amell talked about how viewers will react to his character.

"Oliver's not a good guy, Oliver's not a bad guy. Oliver's a guy with a mission," he said. "I love characters that don't compromise. On shows that I enjoy, all the characters -- just as male leading characters -- have a set of ideals. They're not trying to win a popularity contest. I want people to be interested in and invested in what I do.

"If you love him Oliver, that's fine. If you hate him, that's fine.... just don't be indifferent.

* Guggenheim defended the show changing Star City to Starling City, saying that Metrolpolis and Gotham City sound like real cities, but Star City "has a less grounded feel to our ear." He noted, as shown in the Arrow comic book based on the show, the city is nicknamed Star City."

* Talking about the costume, Amell said he could it on by himself in and five minutes. "It's totally functional. It's totally real," he said. "It's a little too hot in the summer and a little too cool in the winter."