ArrowHere at the Crisis On Infinite Midlives Home Office, we literally have about five minutes to spare today – we’re running a lot of background operations to prepare for some Web site maintenance this weekend, plus it’s snowing again and we have an appointment with our Home Office property managers to test our walls to make sure that our neighbor’s unit, where the pipes burst on Saturday (the last time it went above freezing here), isn’t spewing black mold spores into this place. And while there was a time where I would have welcomed that concept, I then turned 12 years old, and learned that alien mold was less likely to give you superpowers than a little something I like to call emphysema.

So instead of my half-finished review of X-Factor #1, I will give you this extended promo for the mid-season premiere of Arrow, which has slowly turned into one of the best superhero television shows in recent memory (Sorry Smallville, but you should have taken the lesson from The Dukes of Hazzard and understood that when John Schnieder leaves? You cut your losses and pull the plug, Plus, you sucked).

The episode, which airs on The CW this coming Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, features the debut of supervillain Shrapnel and, just based on his name, means that stuff should get blowed up real good. And you can check the promo out after the jump.

Meanwhile, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to visit the common wall, breathe deeply, and see if I get superpowers. You know, beyond the powers of a Red Lantern: spitting up blood while my heart stops.