First Look At Russell Tovey As Gay Superhero The Ray

Back in September we reported that after voicing the character of gay superhero The Ray in a CW Seed animated series, Russell Tovey was set to bring the character into the live-action Arrow-verse in a crossover event. Now we’ve got out first look at Tovey in character as holocaust survivor Ray Terrill, in a story that mixes the likes of The Arrow and Supergirl with the Nazis.

The two-night event is titled Crisis On Earth X, in which ‘Barry and Iris’s wedding brings the gang together, but things go awry when villains from Earth-X attack the ceremony. All of the superheroes band together with help from their super friends like Citizen Cold (guest star Wentworth Miller), The Ray (guest star Russell Tovey, Quantico), Felicity Smoak, Iris West and Alex Danvers to take on their most formidable villains yet. Earth’s mightiest heroes – Green Arrow, Supergirl, The Flash and White Canary – lead their teams into battle to save the world.’

If you’re wondering what Earth-X is, it’s an alternate reality where the animated show Freedom Fighters: The Ray takes place. In it, Germany won World War II and Green Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl are evil.

The Ray himself is a reporter who discovered a group of government scientists working on a secret project to turn light into a weapon of mass destruction. Before he could report on his findings, the project head exposed Ray to a ‘genetic light bomb’. The bomb failed to kill him and instead gifted Ray with light-based powers. With these abilities, Ray realised he could go beyond reporting on injustice – he could take action to help stop it.

The pics of Tovey also confirm that he will be gay in the show, as in one he wears the pink triangle the Nazis forced gay people to don in the concentration camps. Take a look below.

Crisis On Earth X starts on the CW in the US on November 27th, and will air in the UK in early December.