The newest entry into the Arrowverse, Freedom Fighters: The Ray, arrives this week. We get you ready for the animated series set on Earth-X.

We first met The Ray in the big Arrowverse crossover, “Crisis on Earth-X.” A gay hero with light powers, Ray revealed he is actually from Earth-1, though he now fights the Reich on Earth-X alongside some familiar faces, like Leonard Snart doppelganger Citizen Cold (who is also Ray’s romantic partner) and General Winn Schott.

The animated series will be a prequel to the defeat of the Reich, including the deaths of Overgirl and Dark Arrow, in “Crisis on Earth-X.”

Synopsis

All his life, Ray Terrill (Russell Tovey, Quantico, Looking) has fought injustice, dreaming of making a real difference like his older brother, a Marine who was killed in Afghanistan. One day, he stumbles upon a dying superhero from another Earth and is stunned to find that this superhero looks just like him—because it is!

The dying Ray Terrill of Earth-X transfers photokinetic energy to this Earth’s Ray, making him a superhero – THE RAY.

However, Ray quickly learns being a superhero isn’t all hanging muggers from streetlamps and fighting giant robots. As the evil Nazi New Reichsman of Earth-X, led by Overgirl, close in, The Ray must learn to harness his powers by coming to terms with his true self, even if that means also finally coming out of the closet to his parents. The fate of Earth-X depends on it!

Line-up

Who are the Freedom Fighters of Earth-X?

• The Ray, voiced by Russell Tovey
• Phantom Lady, voiced by Dilshad Vadsaria
• Black Condor, voiced by Jason Mitchell
• Red Tornado, voiced by Iddo Golberg (who played T.O. Morrow/Red Tornado on Supergirl)
• Dollman, voiced by Matthew Mercer
• Vibe, voiced by Carlos Valdes

Melissa Benoist also lends her voice to Overgirl.

Trailer

Watch the trailer that premiered at SDCC 2017:

Words from the executive producer

Watch a preview video, featuring executive producer Marc Guggenheim describing the series:

In the video, Guggenheim explains that the project excites him because it’s “our first super-powered gay superhero.” He continues, “It is a story about The Ray from Earth-1 getting these crazy powers, learning how to use them responsibly — spoiler alert: he doesn’t often use them responsibly.”

He says the series is also introducing “a whole new Earth, Earth-X. We’ve got an entire planet that’s been taken over by Nazis with a whole new group of superheroes. And a lot of supervillains.” He explains that the villains are the Reichsman, a group that features evil counterparts for Green Arrow, Supergirl and The Flash.

Interestingly, in “Crisis on Earth-X,” we saw Dark Arrow and Overgirl, but the evil Flash was Earth-1’s Reverse Flash, Eobard Thawne. This is not the evil version of the Flash in Freedom Fighters: The Ray, however. It should be interesting to see if the evil Flash in Freedom Fighters: The Ray meets an untimely end before the events of the crossover.

Guggenheim concludes the video by noting that animation “is a place for us to test out new ideas in a way that, in success, we can bring on to the live action shows like we did with Vixen.” He also teases that Vixen will appear in Freedom Fighters: The Ray.

“Everything’s connecting,” promises Guggenheim.

Stills

Check out a promo poster and stills from the animated series:

Freedom Fighters: The Ray premieres on Friday, December 8 on CW Seed.