One of the biggest recurring foes on Arrow was Bronze Tiger, portrayed by actor and martial artist Michael Jai White, a clawed criminal that menaced Star City ever since Season 1.
White reprised his role as Bronze Tiger several times over the Arrowverse series' history, with the actor especially enjoying playing a part in Season 7's acclaimed jailbreak storyline. The season opened with Oliver Queen imprisoned after his vigilante activities were exposed, where he encountered familiar foes waiting for him behind bars for a chance at payback. For White, that particular story arc was a highlight for his time on the series.
"I'm glad we got a chance to do that prison break episode. To me, that felt like a movie and I'm not the only one who feels this way, that really elevated that show a great deal," White told CBR. "I'm glad I got a chance to do that before it went off and people can get to see kind of what it could've been like."
White is set to portray a different version of Bronze Tiger in the upcoming DC Animated Movie Batman: Soul of the Dragon, with the character a martial arts anti-hero that teams up with the Dark Knight. As for the Arrowverse incarnation of the character, White felt that Arrow took a sharp turn since his initial appearances as Bronze Tiger at the start of the series.
"I don't want to speak for Stephen Amell too much... he did tell me 'if we have more episodes like that, I'd still be on this show' and I don't agree with him: As someone who was off the show and came back, it wasn't quite the same thing when I got back," White observed with a laugh. "I got back and I was like 'Wait a minute, everybody's a superhero now?!' [Laughs] And Stephen was like 'Yeah...' and I was like 'Oh my god!' It is what it is. [Laughs]"
Directed by Sam Liu and executive produced by Bruce Timm, Batman: Soul of the Dragon stars David Giuntoli as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Mark Dacascos as Richard Dragon, Kelly Hu as Lady Shiva, Michael Jai White as Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger, James Hong as O-Sensei and Josh Keaton as Jeffrey Burr. The film arrives Jan. 12, 2021, on digital HD and Jan. 26 on Blu-ray and 4K UHD.