Vincent Sobel


 * For the copycat Vigilante, see Vigilante (New Gotham City).

"My mission. We were SCIS officers for ten years. What did we ever accomplish? Not enough, not nearly enough. This is the only way."

- Vincent to Dinah Drake

Vincent "Vince" Sobel, also called "Vinny", is a male Human who is a vigilante and former detective of the Starfleet Criminal Investigative Service and the ex-boyfriend and partner of Dinah Drake. After nearly being killed by Sean Sonus, Vincent began a crusade against criminals as the masked vigilante publicly nicknamed, aptly, Vigilante.

Undercover and apparent death
Vincent Sobel was the lover of Dinah Drake; an highly skilled manufacturer, he used to make little boxes with paper roses for her. Vince and Dinah both worked together at the SCIS as partners and they never told anyone about the relationship between them, even to their captain David Singh.

In 2379, Dinah, under the guise of Tina Boland, was kidnapped by a criminal named Sean Sonus while undercover. Two weeks later, Vincent was kidnapped by Sonus as well. He was brought to Tina, where Sonus pointed a gun to his head, wanting to kill him in front of her. Tina begged for Sonus not to kill Vincent, but he didn't listen. Vincent was seemingly killed by Sonus, who shot him in the head right as he and everyone inside the room was hit by a wave from the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator. In this moment, however, Vincent was transformed into a meta-human with regenerative capabilities.

Vincent's apparent death effected Dinah for years. She quit the SCIS and became a vigilante in Hub City, trying to kill every member of Sonus' group, eventually succeeding with Sonus himself.

Begin of his activities
Emerging as a vigilante after Genesis Day, Vincent, known publicly as "Vigilante", tried to stop Triad gun running deals, and also tried to stop their gold laundering through Star City Trust Bank. These actions brought the attention of Felicity Smoak who was researching Star City vigilantes.

Antagonism with the Green Arrow
After the "Spooky Crew", a gang of skull-masked criminals, began robbing banks, Vigilante went after them. During their heist at Star City National Bank, he killed Rickie Jenkins. That night, they hit Star City Allied Bank. However, before Vigilante could kill any of them, Team Arrow intervened, with Green Arrow asserting his opposition to what Vigilante was doing, causing the latter to quickly escape. Later on, he targeted the Papp Motel, where the leader of the gang, Eric Dunn, was recovering. Unfortunately for Vigilante, the Green Arrow was there, and he kept Dunn safe, not being affected by any of Vigilante's bullets.

The following night, Team Arrow posed as the gang, pretending to rob Star City Trust Bank. Vigilante saw through the ruse and knocked Artemis out, taking Mr. Terrific as a hostage. Allowing the rest of the team to go, Green Arrow shot an arrow at Vigilante before he could kill Mr. Terrific, disarming him, and they had a fight that ended in Green Arrow strapping him to a pillar.

Before he could be unmasked, an explosive went off, allowing him time to escape.

Some time later, Vigilante once again engaged with Green Arrow, Red Arrow and Spartan at a warehouse, but before his bullets could hit them, they were saved by The Flash.

Vigilante continued his antagonism against Green Arrow when the latter was tracking down the identity of a mass shooter who attacked the City Hall. After Green Arrow interrogated a member of the Bertinelli crime family, Vigilante shot the mobster and claimed that he's doing Green Arrow a favor, with one less criminal on the streets. Green Arrow accused the masked avenger of being a criminal himself and the Vigilante opened fire at him before escaping.

Targeting Mayor Queen
When Oliver Queen faced impeachment. Vigilante decided to target him for supposedly being corrupt and prepared his weapons, not knowing Oliver Queen was secretly the Green Arrow. He attacked Queen's shuttle by shooting it causing it to flip, tells the others in the shuttle that if Oliver surrenders he'll let them live. He was attacked by Dinah Drake and Thea Queen but he managed to subdue them. Oliver faced him and Vigilante shot him, but Queen dodged and SCIS arrived, so Vigilante told him he had one more day to live.

After the attack, Vigilante was cornered by Prometheus (who had tracked him from a piece of his goggles that broke from the attack) on a rooftop. Prometheus informs him that Oliver Queen is his, to which Vigilante says he will kill him first. The two engage in a fight which ends with Prometheus throwing Vigilante off the building, but Vigilante managed to somehow get away safely. As Oliver delivered a speech, Vigilante prepared to kill him with a sniper from a nearby building. But before he could, he was attacked by Spartan, Mr. Terrific, and Wild Dog. They engage in a fight, in which Mr. Terrific took him down with one of his T-Spheres, but Vigilante managed to escape once again. After the charges against Mayor Queen were dropped, Vigilante presumably gave up on targeting the mayor and his "corruption" as he was not seen again.

Targeting Councilwoman Pollard
Vigilante emerged again, to try to kill Emily Pollard for also supposedly being corrupt after her crafting and supporting anti-vigilante legislation. He first attempted to kill her with a sniper rifle, but Dinah Drake saw him and pushed her out of the way. He was caught on video camera, allowing Team Arrow to know he was back. When he attempted to sneak into Pollard's apartment, he was spotted by Dinah again, in which he tried to escape, realizing he couldn't escape in time, he attempted to raise a weapon at her but she used her Canary Cry to destroy his googles. He took off his mask revealing his identity to her, throwing her off, this allowed him to escape. He later trapped Pollard again and attempted to kill her but Dinah once again showed up dressed as Black Canary, only for a police officer to aim his gun at the pair, when he shot the gun, Vigilante took the shot, Dinah sent the SCIS officer away to get a doctor, but was shocked to discover that Vigilante had a healing ability. He explained to Dinah, that what they did as SCIS officers did no good, she allowed him to escape and didn't inform her team. Later on he left a gift for Dinah the same kind he used to when they were together, revealing that there is still a part of the man that he was in him.

Alternate reality
When the Legion of Doom used the Spear of Destiny to rewrite reality, Damien Darhk became the mayor of Star City. In this reality, Vigilante tried to oppose his rule and was killed for it. His mask was placed in his office beside other vigilantes and heroes who Darhk had killed and kept their masks as trophies.

Personality
Before becoming a meta-human vigilante, Vincent was a considerably better person. However, after becoming a vigilante, he became extremely violent, cruel and ruthless, even towards criminals who had only committed minor offenses. He is also willing to kill criminals in cold blood, even if they have not physically harmed anyone.

Vincent claims that he is exactly like Oliver Queen (under the guise of Green Arrow) only more effective, which is not entirely without merit given how similar his methods are to Oliver's when the latter was starting out, particularly a murderous "no mercy" attitude towards criminals.

Vincent could be described as a fanatic where his crusade against crime is concerned. When Oliver (in the guise of his civilian identity) was threatening to face impeachment from his career as the Mayor of Star City, he tried to kill the latter simply because he covered up the death of SCIS detective Billy Malone, claiming it was government corruption. He is similarly willing to sacrifice innocent lives as "collateral damage" if he deems it necessary, likening his actions to a war and thus being willing to take such extreme measures. He thusly views Green Arrow with contempt for his unwillingness to take similar actions, feeling that the only reason Green Arrow does not do so is because he has not suffered sufficiently.

As lost in bitterness and a vengeful attitude towards criminals as he's become, Vincent does genuinely believe he is doing the right thing; he saved an innocent from men who intended to traffic her and then told her to run. He also still cares for his former partner and lover, Dinah, choosing not to kill her when she first opposed him and later taking a bullet for. The subsequent interaction between them revealed that the reason he had not sought her out in the years since is because he did not wish to be "distracted". Between it all, it is apparent that, as John Diggle correctly deduced, part of the old Vincent still remains, particularly his feelings for Dinah.

Vincen seems to prioritize his secret above his targets because he retreated when Mr. Terrific's equipment hit and presumably destroyed his goggles.

Powers
"You're not the only one dark matter did something to... everything heals now."

- Vincent to Dinah Drake


 * Meta-human physiology: After Vincent was struck by the energy of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator, this altered his DNA and supercharged his cells, augmenting his physiology and allowing his body to heal at an accelerated rate.
 * Accelerated healing factor: Vincent has the ability to heal at a much faster rate than normal humans, as his body can heal from severe and even fatal injuries such as a bullet to the head. However, his scarred eye is unable to heal.

Abilities

 * Peak of human physical condition: Vincent is in top physical condition and well-trained, as he was able to kill one of Eric Dunn's followers, and later injure and defeat the other. He was able to battle Green Arrow with an injured shoulder for some time (but this is probably due to Vincent's healing factor), albeit being pushed back. He can also catch a shuriken thrown at him by Prometheus as well as throw the latter over his head during their confrontation.
 * Expert marksman: Vincent prefers guns and rifles as his favorite type of weapons, and has great proficiency with them, as was shown in battle against Eric Dunn's group and Team Arrow. His aim is so precise, he was able to shatter one of Artemis' launched arrows by firing a bullet straight down the head.
 * Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: Vincent is shown to have excellent combat skills as Vigilante. He is able to defeat multiple bandits and thugs, ex-soldier John Diggle, and an Olympian awardee like Curtis Holt, who is trained personally by Oliver Queen. He was able to fight on par with Green Arrow and Prometheus, but not enough to actually best them.
 * Computer hacker: Vincent has at least basic computer hacking skills.
 * Intimidation: Vincent is shown to effectively terrorize people, both his enemies and unwilling allies like a gun shop owner. The latter said that Vigilante was much more frightening than Spartan.
 * Stealth: Vincent is shown to have great skills in stealth, being able to sneak closely to Mr. Terrific and Artemis, silently defeat both of them. His skill also allows him to seamlessly disappear from sight without a trace, making it difficult to keep up with him.

Equipment
"Cold-blooded murder. You're the criminal." "I'm you, and the only difference between us is that I use a more efficient weapon."

- Green Arrow and Vincent Sobel


 * Vigilante suit: Vigilante's suit is comprised of black leather and computerized orange goggles that resemble ski goggles.

Weapons
Vigilante uses guns while on patrol in Star City.
 * Heckler & Koch MP5K: Vigilante's main submachine gun.
 * FN SCAR-L: Vigilante's main assault rifle with a mounted FN MK 13 Mod 0 grenade launcher.
 * Glock 17: Vigilante's main sidearm.
 * Nemesis Arms Vanquish: A suppressed sniper rifle handled but not fired.

Season 5

 * "Legacy" (SCIS sketch; as Vigilante)
 * "Vigilante" (as Vigilante)
 * "Spectre of the Gun" (as Vigilante)
 * "Fighting Fire With Fire" (as Vigilante)
 * "Disbanded" (photograph)
 * "Underneath" (mentioned)

Season 6

 * "Deathstroke Returns"

Season 3

 * "Invasion!" (as Vigilante)

Season 2

 * "Doomworld" (suit detail)

Trivia

 * According to Felicity Smoak's files, Vincent considers himself a red hat hacker or "hacktivist".
 * Vincent was nicknamed "Mr. Ski Goggles" by Felicity Smoak.
 * Vincent's eye not being able to heal despite his accelerated healing factor is very similar to Slade Wilson; they both have or had an accelerated healing factor that failed to heal their eye.

Behind the scenes

 * In the DC comics, Vigilante is the alter ego used by multiple characters, most notably District Attorney Adrian Chase who in Arrow is still the District Attorney by day, but by night is instead Prometheus. Just like Chase in the comics, "the Vigilante" is not the first man to operate under that alias in universe, as Oliver Queen, back during his actions as the Hood, was also nicknamed "the Vigilante" by SCIS. The Adrian Chase Vigilante ended up committing suicide, and the Arrow Adrian Chase did as well.
 * When stating why Chase wasn't Vigilante, Guggenheim stated: "We knew we were going to do Vigilante this year, we knew who the character of Prometheus was, we knew that the character of Prometheus was the son of one of Oliver's early kills in season 1, we knew that he was going to be someone who was going to indoctrinate himself into Oliver's good graces in the mayor's office and eventually betray him. One morning... it occurred to me that if we called this character Adrian Chase, and we made him a district attorney, everyone would be so focused on when he becomes Vigilante that they wouldn't be expecting that he really was Prometheus."
 * Vigilante's modus operandi has similarities to that of Hunter Zolomon from the comics. Hunter claimed that Wally West could not operate as the Flash truly effectively until he experienced personal tragedy, which is why he fought Wally as Zoom. Vigilante says something similar to the Green Arrow, claiming that if he still shows mercy to the criminals, the only explanation is that his personal tragedies never truly hardened him into a person capable of doing "what's necessary", not knowing how many tragedies Oliver Queen had already suffered in his life.