Derek Sampson

"What’d Mark Twain say?"Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated!" Man, he wasn’t kidding…"

- Sampson to his men

Derek Sampson is a villain in the fifth season of Arrow. He is portrayed by Cody Runnels.

History
Sampson is a supplier of Stardust, a new drug in Star City which is fabricated from Vertigo. After the Green Arrow has gathered intel on Sampson, his protegees Evelyn Sharp and Rene Ramirez secretly head to Sampson's facility where Ramirez eventually convinces Evelyn to attack them. The two attack Sampson's men and eventually, Ramirez battles Sampson on the walkway over a vat of drugs. Although Sampson is able to overwhelm Ramirez, he is shot in the stomach by Evelyn and Ramirez uses the oppurtunity to throw hím over the railing and into the drug vat. Sampson is believed to be dead. Oliver Queen later finds out that the DA's office was about to bust Sampson's operation and would have forced Sampson to reveal his suppliers.

During Sampson's autopsy, Sampson opens his eyes and asks why he cannot feel anything. He then murders the shocked coroner and escapes into the hospital. There, armed policemen attempt to stop him but, even after being shot multiple times, Sampson shows no indication of pain. The Green Arrow eventually turns up and tries to stop Sampson with an arrow but this too proves to be ineffective. Sampson attacks Oliver and overpowers him, as Oliver cannot cause him any pain. Oliver distracts Sampson by causing electric sparks and then retreats, leaving Sampson free to escape. Back at the base, Oliver and the team talk about Sampson. Although some team members believe him to be a zombie, Felicity reveals that the chemicals in the drug vat put him into stasis and that he know woke up. Sampson now has superhuman strength and is unable to feel any pain.

Sampson returns to his gang, revealing his survival. He reveals to them that he now has greater plans than just Stardust, he wants to take back the city from Tobias Church.

Oliver and his team later find out that Sampson plans to create an army of superhumans like him and that he needs to return to the crime scene in order to obtain the chemicals. He and a few of his men indeed turn up, murdering the policeman guarding the entrance. Inside the facility, Sampson’s men are attacked and taken out by Oliver, who engages Sampson in a fight. Meanwhile, the rest of Oliver’s team take out Sampson’s henchmen. To defeat him, Oliver slices Sampson’s tandons with an arrow. Although Sampson doesn’t feel the pain, he is nonetheless unable to get up. Sampson claims that his men will still take down Oliver but Oliver reveals that his team took care of them already. Oliver and his team then rig the building with explosives, leaving Sampson behind. The building blows up moments later, presumably killing Sampson for good.