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"Interesting. Using deception and intimidation to make a name for himself. This guy stole my move."
—Cyrus Vanch on The Hood[src]

Cyrus Vanch is a former career criminal and member of the Renegades. He was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences for his crimes. After his eight-month term in prison, Vanch tried to take advantage of the power vacuum in Starling City before being stopped by the Hood. His name is also on "The List".

Biography[]

Criminal activities[]

A notorious career criminal, Cyrus Vanch, along with his girlfriend, Vivian, was involved in drug running, racketeering, human trafficking, and connected to at least 52 different homicides. At some point, his name ended up on The List. Vanch was prosecuted by CNRI and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences in Iron Heights. However, after an eight-month term in prison, he was released due to lack of evidence.[1]

Return to crime[]

Cyrus Vanch is released from prison

Cyrus Vanch is released from prison.

Vivian picked Vanch up from prison and they visited his lawyer, George Wolfman. Knowing his business suffered due to the actions of The Hood, Vanch killed George in retaliation for both this and his imprisonment before taking up residence in George's mansion alongside Vivian.

A couple nights later, Vanch talked with Vivian about how he wanted to claim a piece of the underworld in the face of the power vacuum in the city, which required him to impress the Chinese Triad, Bertinelli crime family, and other leaderless gangs. The Hood secretly listened to their conversation with a trick arrow but was forced to leave when a guard managed to fire his gun before being taken down. Vanch and Vivian heard the fight and found the trick arrow. Vanch then decided to eliminate the vigilante to ensure his business' success.

Using her mole in the Starling City Police Department, Vivian told Vanch about The Hood's connection to Laurel Lance, one of the attorneys who prosecuted him. Vanch and two of his thugs broke into Laurel's apartment, intending to capture and use her as bait for the vigilante. Laurel managed to fight off his men but Vanch incapacitated her with a taser. Vanch then kidnapped Laurel and left The Hood's trick arrow in her apartment with a message demanding that the vigilante meet him by sunrise, threatening to "leave pieces of [Laurel] all over Starling City" if he didn't comply.

Vanch and Vivian kept Laurel captive in the mansion while a platoon of armed mercenaries waited for The Hood outside. The Hood managed to kill them and entered the mansion. Having anticipated his amount of arrows and shots, Vanch and Vivian easily captured him as he had no arrows left. They prepared to execute the vigilante when Detective Quentin Lance, Laurel's father, burst in and killed their remaining thug. The Hood then swiftly knocked out Vivian. A furious Quentin tried to kill the unarmed Vanch but was dissuaded by The Hood. Quentin then spitefully punched Vanch, knocking him out, and arrested him. Vanch was returned to Iron Heights, this time serving his complete sentence with the new evidence against him.[1]

Working as part of the Renegades[]

Renegades

The Renegades.

During The Undertaking, Vanch escaped from prison[2] and eventually began operating out of Blüdhaven as part of a mercenary group called the Renegades. In summer 2014, on Clinton Hogue's orders, the group kidnapped and held Felicity Smoak hostage.[3] The Arrow, Arsenal, and Huntress soon found them, crashing in from the ceiling. Vanch and Winnick Norton battled Arsenal. Winnick aimed a gun at Arsenal but accidentally shot Vanch instead. Suddenly, Lyle Bolton electrocuted the others and took Felicity and the Huntress hostage.[4] Before he could intervene, Oliver knocked Vanch down. Helena eventually knocked out Bolton and rescued Felicity. They tied up all of the mercenaries before anonymously tipping the police to their location, leaving the group to be arrested.[5]

Personality[]

Cyrus Vanch is a ruthless, sadistic career criminal who is willing to do whatever it takes to get power. He has a philosophy of taking down "the biggest guy" to achieve recognition and respect in his aim to take over Starling City's criminal underworld. Vanch maintained an affable, confident demeanor in his line of work to mask his sociopathic nature, as he would converse with his victims for some time before killing/harming them. He was completely devoid of empathy to anyone except his girlfriend, Vivian.

Vanch had a talkative nature and was fond of speaking his mind, a sharp contrast to Vivian.

Vanch admired those with strong dispositions and held some measure of respect for The Hood, whom he regarded as his most deadly opponent. He even complimented Laurel Lance for putting up a fight before capturing her. However, Vanch had a cowardly side as well; unlike Vivian, he was visibly afraid when cornered by both The Hood and Quentin Lance.

Abilities[]

  • High-level intellect/Economic acumen/Skilled tactician: Vanch was an infamous career criminal, able to run various illegal operations and avoid getting prosecuted. He was able to abduct Laurel Lance from her apartment building without being detected. Vanch seems to have good analytical skills, as he positioned enough men that The Hood would run out of arrows and projectiles in the hope he could kill him. However, he underestimated vigilante's adaptability. 
  • Skilled hand-to-hand combatant: Vanch had some moderate combat skills, able to fight against Arsenal for a time, but was ultimately bested.[4]
    • Weapons proficiency: Vanch is shown to have skill with using a switchblade and a taser. 

Appearances[]

Arrow[]

Season 1[]

Comics[]

Arrow: Season 2.5[]

Trivia[]

  • The fact Cyrus knows The Hood carries 24 arrows could be a reference to David Anders' previous role in the series 24.

References[]

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