Dolph Lundgren to Guest Star on Arrow

For people of a certain age, Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren is best known for his iconic turn as Russian boxer/personification of Cold War anxieties Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. That’s why it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine Lundgren as a Russian mob boss in this season of The CW’s Arrow. Lundgren portrays Konstantin Kovar, a member of the Bravta (Russia’s version of the Mafia) who has unwittingly recruited Oliver Queen, aka the Green Arrow, after the latter went undercover to investigate the connection between recent victims of a killing spree. In DC Comics continuity, Kovar is quite the obscure character. Kovar’s the father of a Russian superhero named Red Star, who’s made intermittent appearances over the years. Lundgren’s Kovar seemingly has little connection to the one from the comics pages, but we’ll have to wait and see until the character debuts in the “So It Begins” episode of Arrow airing on Wednesday, November 9. In the meantime, we’ll whet your appetite with these sneak preview photos of Lundgren looking quite spiffy in a tux and bow tie…