Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 17 - Distant Sun

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 




Plot

Alien bounty hunters swarm National City when a price is placed on Supergirl's head. Meanwhile, Alex deals with awkwardness when Maggie's ex comes into town for a few days and J'onn receives an interesting order from President Olivia Marsdin.


Influences

Romeo And Juliet (name-dropped by Mon-El, the theme of noble families and forbidden love)


Goofs

Odd that the most powerful telepath in the Alcorian system doesn't read the mind of the guy who threatens him to see if the weapon he's being threatened with is real and, oh, not a stapler.

Where did Queen Rhea learn that Kryptonite could be used to hurt Kryptonians? (It's possible she got the information from some source on Earth, but it seems unlikely given her high-and-mighty attitude toward the Earthlings having anything to benefit her people.)

For that matter, given how much The Daxamite royalty hate Krypton and anything associated with it, what are the odds they'd be hauling Kyrponite around with them to be fashioned into knives when they call the rocks of Krypton "litter" and had no idea their son had fallen in love with a Kryptonian woman until a week ago?

The Daxamites have been orbiting Earth for a little over two weeks now - give or take. Why then, can the king be stabbed to death with a simple knife? Shouldn't he have the same invulnerability that Mon-El developed almost instantly?


Performances

As usual, Chris Wood and Melissa Benoist's flirting is the high point of the episode. But Wood gets some good moments here to show off his dramatic chops.

Chyler Leigh damn near steals the show with her scenes as Alex in this episode, however, and her subplot has definitely been the strongest one of the season to date.


Artistry

The effects work during the first fight between Supergirl and the Amalak is good.

Kevin Smith's direction of the comedic scenes is well-done.


Super Trivia

Despite Kara having been fired from CatCo in 215, the opening narration still describes her as a reporter working for CatCo.

This episode was directed by filmmaker Kevin Smith - famed for his View Askewniverse and his work writing various Marvel and DC Comics books, including a critically acclaimed run on Green Arrow.

The alien bounty hunter with the laser-shooting eye-patch whom Kara first fights is identified as being part of a race of alien bounty hunters called Amalaks.

In the comics, Amalak was the name of an alien enemy of Superman and Supergirl. Amalak's planet of origin was never identified, but according to him it was destroyed by a Kryptonian and he was the last survivor of his people. To that end, he armed himself with a variety of energy weapons based around mimicking the energy of a red sun and devoted himself to destroying what little remained of Krypton and its people.

The telepathic bounty hunter claims to be the most power telepath in the Alcorian System.

In the comics, Alcoria is the home-world of Tal-Dar of the Intergalactic Space Police. First appearing in Detective Comics #282 (August 1960), Tal-Dar has the distinct honor of being the only alien (other than Superman, of course) who made multiple appearances in Batman's Silver Age adventures.

Mon-El makes mention of a planet that a Durlan emissary told him about when he was a kid.

In the original comics, Durla was the home-world to a race of shape-shifting aliens. Chameleon Boy of the Legion of Superheroes was a Durlan and the race was almost universally mistrusted due to their powers.


Technobabble

The first alien bounty hunter had a interplanetary messaging device, which can access an alien-run "dark Net".

The bounty on Kara's head is 300 quartz crowns. According to Mon-El, this is an insanely high amount of money - enough to buy a good planet.

Winn reconfigures the messaging device to act like a pager whenever another messaging device (and, presumably, another bounty hunter) is close.

The exact technology used by the Daxamite ship to travel through space is not described but it is said that it will take four of their years for it to return to Daxam from Earth.

The transmat portals used by the Slaver's Moon slavers do not require a second gateway to establish a portal. The second portal acts as more of a beacon to the first but so long as you have the exact coordinates of where you want to teleport, you only need one gate.

The DEO satellites are able to detect ion thruster activity.


Dialogue Triumphs

Kara: Any word from your parents?
Mon-El: No, they're just... up there, hovering around in orbit. (gasps in realization) Is that what they mean by "helicopter parenting"?

Alex: How much is 300 quartz-crowns?
Mon-El: It's a lot. Like, enough to buy a planet.
Winn: Woah! Like, we're talking like a planet in a good neighborhood? Or like a hipster, up-and-coming kinda vibe?
Mon-El: Exactly.

(J'onn asks Alex to search the DEO databases for alien species that access the bounty hunter dark Net)
Alex: Absolutely. Well, I had plans, but I will cancel.
Kara: No! No, don't cancel your plans just to search databases. That's ridiculous!
J'onn: Ah - these databases won't search themselves.
Winn: Oh, actually, they will. I just have to write a program for it. (wincing) And I just signed up for more work, didn't I?

(Mon-El's parents have just discovered that he works in a bar on Earth.)
Lar-Gand: You... you -work- here? As a a servant?
Mon-El: (haughtily) I'm a mixologist. It is an artistic profession in the medium of preparing alcoholic beverages. And it is very honorable.

(Kara and Mon-El are cleaning up the glass of the broken window in Kara's apartment.)
Mon-El: Hey, so, I've been thinking of a solution to our problem.
Kara: Yeah. Me too.
Mon-El: Yeah?
Kara: There's only one thing we can do.
(The two start to speak at the same time.)
Kara: Talk to your mother. Wait - what?
Mon-El: Run for our lives. What?
Mon-El: (stammering) So, there's this planet that a Durlan emissary told me about when I was a kid. It's got water and a yellow sun . It's got everything we need to survive. My parents wouldn't find us there! We'd be together. We'd be safe... I think of this because I'm reading this play right now - Ro-May-O and Juliet?
Kara: Yes.. I've... heard of it.
Mon-El: Right and... there's this moment at the end, where I am right now, where they're about to - to run away together and live happily ever after and I can't... help but think that that could be us. You know?
Kara: Yeah, but... Juliet and Romeo both die at the end.
Mon-El: ... I... did not see that coming.
Kara: And, no. We're not going to your secret planet. I'm Supergirl. I don't run from anything!
Mon-El: (burying his face in his arms on the table) Yeah, I know. It's one of the more annoying things about you.
Kara: Well, thank you.
Mon-El: You're welcome.

(Queen Rhea has just stabbed Kara with a dagger made of Kryptonite.)
Kara: Where did you get Kryptonite?!
Queen Rhea: (coldly) Our planet is littered with the corpse of yours.

Alex: I think... that when your parents didn't accept you, you stopped trusting the people that are closest to you. And I totally get that. But Maggie? You don't have to be guarded with me. Okay? I am not here to judge you for things that happened in the past. I am here to help you heal.

(Winn explains how he can use one of the gates used by the Slaver's moon slavers to teleport Kara onto the Daxamite ship.)
Alex: So as long as you have the exact coordinates of where you want to transmat, you only need one gate?
Winn: Mmm-hmm. Yes. One gate and one, you know, flawless calculation of the ship's location as it hurtles through space, relative to us, as we spin around the Earth's axis at 1,000 mph.
Kara: And if the calculation's wrong?
J'onn: You'll transmat directly into the cold vacuum of space.
Kara: Let's hope it's not wrong.

(Mon-El is in a cell on the Daxamite ship. Suddenly, there is a flash of light and Winn lands in the area outside the cell with a grunt.)
Mon-El: Winn?
Winn: (looking around) Okay... thank God I am not in space.
Mon-El: You -are- in space.
Winn: Oh! Yeah, I know. I mean, like floating around in space, dying. (collecting himself) Uh - I am here to rescue you! Hi!
Mon-El: Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?
Winn: You finally saw Star Wars!

President: Director - did you engage the Daxamite ship?
J'onn: Yes. How did you find out?
President: I have my sources! And you had your orders. I am disappointed.
J'onn: I understand. But an alien who was under our protection - who had been given amnesty - was taken against his will and we were his only hope.
President: And what if things hadn't turned out your way?
J'onn: It's my job to ensure that they do.


Continuity

Mon-El taught himself how to cook by reading a cookbook.

President Marsdin was last seen in 203.

The President orders J'onn not to engage with the Daxamite ship for fear of starting an intergalactic war.

Maggie practices yoga. Alex has just started it.

Maggie was with Emily for five years. The relationship ended badly, with Emily breaking it off and telling Maggie she did not deserve to be happy.

The most powerful telepath in the Alcorian System is not as powerful as J'onn.

Alex confronts Emily and discovers that Maggie had cheated on Emily, spurring the comments about her not deserving happiness.

It is revealed that Queen Rhea issued the bounty on Supergirl without her husband's knowledge.

Winn recovered one of the transmat portals from 209.

Mon-El finally saw Star Wars.

Maggie is able to find closure with Emily.

President Marsdin has some source that informed her of J'onn taking action against The Daxamite ship.

Again, we are reminded - as we saw in 203 - that President Marsdin is some manner of shape-shifting alien.

Queen Rhea stabs her husband to death, saying she is not done with Earth yet.


Location

The Fortress of Solitude.

The Daxamite ship in low Earth orbit.


The Bottom Line

A decent episode, if one ignores the plot holes in the script, but it's not one that's likely to be remembered fondly or at all. Kevin Smith is a fine comedic director and the romantic scenes here aren't bad but the man can't block an action scene to save his life. The basic plot isn't pushed forward much until the final segment and while the cast turn in some fantastic performances, the whole thing still feels like filler.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 9 - Supergirl Lives

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.





Plot

The search for a missing teenager sends Kara and Mon-El through a portal to an alien world where Roulette has set-up shop as a slave-trader. Unfortunately the red sun of the alien world leaves both of them totally powerless! Meanwhile, back on Earth, Alex blames herself for Kara's disappearance, feeling she's been slacking off on her big-sister duties since falling in love with Maggie Sawyer and Winn suffers from PTSD after his near-death experience while aiding The Guardian.

Influences

Doctor Who (rock quarry and the same two hallway sets used to replicate alien world/alien foretress, mention of transmats), Stargate (the appearance of the portal used by the alien slavers, Winn specifically calls it this), Star Trek (the quarry set for an alien planet, Winn tries to psyche himself up by saying he is not a Red Shirt, Winn's take-down of a Maaldorian soldier with a thrown rock is vintage Shatner Fighting 101)


Goofs

Kara using her heat-vision to create an explosion that flips a van carrying ordinary jewel thieves seems horribly out of character.

How the heck did the two jewel thieves in the back of the van survive the van flipping and remain in good enough condition to run away when the driver, who had a seat-belt on, appeared to be injured from the impact and barely conscious?

For that matter, how did they get out of the van without Supergirl seeing it when she was flying right behind them?

Granting that Roulette in the comics was a consummate capitalist who would do anything to make a profit, it seems odd that the DCTVU version - who was previously established as an anti-alien racist - would be involved in any operation that involved her exploiting fellow humans to benefit alien slavers.

Throwing Winn - a DEO tech support agent with no field training or weapons training that we're aware of - into a hostile alien landscape seems incredibly stupid, even if he WEREN'T showing signs of suffering from PTSD.

It gets worse when Alex leaves Winn behind to guard the star-gate without a partner.


Artistry

The effects used to create Slaver Moon are nice, from the subtle filtering of the light to create the red sun effect to the digital effects to create "the murder castle".


Super Trivia

This episode was directed by filmmaker Kevin Smith - famed for his View Askewniverse and his work writing various Marvel and DC Comic books, including a critically acclaimed run on Green Arrow.

The actress playing the missing girl Izzy is Harley Quinn Smith - Kevin Smith's daughter.

The title of the episode - Supergirl Lives - is a reference to a canceled Superman film titled Superman Lives, which would have been based on The Death of Superman comic story line. Kevin Smith was famously hired to write one draft of Superman Lives.

In the comics, Kryptonians and Daxamites gain super powers under the light of a yellow sun and become like ordinary humans under the light of a red sun. Different stories, however, have depicted the loss of power after moving from a yellow-sun environment to a red-sun environment differently. In some stories, they change back to normal instantly. In other stories, the change is more gradual.

In the DCTVU, Kryptonians and Daxamites lose their powers almost immediately under the light of a red sun.

Reference is made to the creature that Jo is eating as a Thanagarian Snare Beast. This was a term used by Kevin Smith in his Superman Lives script to describe the giant spider-like monster that Superman would have fought at one point. This was due to producer Jon Peters' demand that Superman fight a giant spider at some point in the movie and DC Comics' demand that - if this happened - that the giant spider be called something other than a giant spider.

The alien slavers are referred to as Maaldorians. While there is no alien race known as the Maaldorians in the DC Universe, there is a cosmic villain known as Maaldor The Dark Lord.

We are told Maaldoria is in the Arcturus system.  In the real world, Arcturus is a red giant star, located some 36.7 light years from our sun.

In the Superman novel Last Sun of Krypton by Elliot S! Maggin, Arcturus was revealed to be the Earth name for Rao - the red star which Krypton orbited.


Technobabble

The cover story used by the slavers at the clinic is that they are testing a new-to-market supplement and examining the effect of the supplement on base metabolic rates.

James refers to hearing about a 10-37 code on the police scanner. This is the police code for a suspicious vehicle.

Kara refers to the Bismuth Mountains on the planet Sedenach, where one could have a crystal staircase grow under your feet and lift you up.  Bismuth is Atomic Element 83 on the periodic table. It is a non-toxic heavy metal, weakly radioactive with a half-life more than one billion years times the age of the universe and it is the heaviest element with a stable nucleus. Though rarely occurring in nature, pure bismuth can form a variety of colorful crystals.

J'onn identifies the "star gate" the slavers use as a transmater portal - a way to travel instantaneously between worlds.

Winn is able to track the Transmat's terminus by following the ionization trail.

The air on Maaldoria is toxic to Martians due to some kind of silicate in the atmosphere.

J'onn develops a "yellow sun grenade" - a flash-bang capable of giving a Kryptonian's powers a jump-start in a red-sun environment.


Dialogue Triumphs

Alex: Oh! Hey, what happened to you?!
(Winn forces a smile to his face.)
Winn: I got mugged. And I'm fine...
(Winn winces a bit.)
Winn: And it hurts to smile.

(Kara and Mon-El hear a noise like a plane taking off in the distance.)
Kara: What's that?
Mon-El: Sounds like a short-range shuttle. (tilts his head a bit) That's a troop transport... but where is it going?
Kara: It's probably heading there .
(Kara points to a rather intimidating looking building/ship in the distance.)
Mon-El: Oh. Um... yeah, so we're going...?
Kara: After it.
(Kara starts walking away, resolutely.)
Mon-El: No!  No. No. No.  We are going away from Murder Castle because we don't have our powers anymore!
Kara: And?
Mon-El: ...right.

(Kara and Mon-El watch as their captor prepares a meal.)
Mon-El: That's Thanigarian Snare Beast. And we're the next course.
Jo Gunraf: (shuddering in disgust) Jo Gunraf does not eat bipeds!
(Kara's jaw drops in shock. Mon-El looks surprised as well.)
Mon-El: ... so you speak English?
Jo Gunraf: Oh yes. Jo dissected a human once.
Mon-El: Of course you did.
Jo Gunraf: Learned your tongue. (shudders in disgust again) Hideous pink thing!


Dialogue Disasters

Kara:What's more important than a mother finding her daughter?
Snapper Carr: My coffee, my danish and the five minutes of peace and quiet you stole from me.


Continuity

Mon-El starts working as a bartender at the alien bar.  He refers to the 208 and notes there was a job opening following Lillian Luthor's attack there.

Roulette was last seen in 204.

The planet Barvex has two-headed cannibals.

Kara and her family spent solstices on the planet Sedenach, which hiad Bismuth mountains that would grow under your feet into a crystal staircase that lifted you up. Mon-El also went there once with a girlfriend.

Maaldoria is also known as The Slaver's Moon and Planet 51-Arc-B.

We are are told that carbon-based life forms are sold like animals on Maaldoria. This suggests that the Maaldorians are not carbon-based life-forms.

Some kind of silicate in the air renders its atmosphere toxic to Martians.

The Daxamite royal family bought slaves on Maaldoria, according to Mon-El.

Slavery was legal on Daxam, though Mon-El claims to have been personally against it.

Maaldoria is in the Arcturus system.

Diamonds are incredibly common on Maaldoria.

The alien who buys Kara's party is a Dominator, last seen in the Invasion! crossover.

For some reason, The Dominator gives the order for Mon-El not to be harmed. Indeed, he even bows to him as Mon-El tries to hold off the Maaldorian soldier who is trying to shoot the escaping slaves.

Maggie Sawyer figures out that Kara is Supergirl. Partly because of Alex's reaction when Supergirl went missing and partly because "the glasses don't help."

Mon-El decides he wants to be a superhero.

The hooded aliens from 208 make an appearance, learn Mon-El is on Earth after questioning the slaver posing as a doctor and then kill him.



Location

Maaldoria a.k.a. Slaver's Moon


Untelevised Adventures

Supergirl stopped a bank robbery one week before the events of this episode.


The Fridge Factor

Alex fears she is off her game because she is in love.

Supergirl is kind of an idiot through this episode


The Bottom Line

Cheap, stupid and not in a fun way. You know it's going to be a rough episode when the best aspects of the episode are the comic-relief guest alien and Winn making knowing references to all the other franchises the writers ripped-off. One suspects they got Kevin Smith to direct this episode because whatever else you may say about him, The Smith does know how to work on a budget and all of this episode's money clearly went into the CGI for the aliens and alien ships.

With the same three hallways being used to simulate an alien fortress and a rock quarry simulating the surface of an alien planet, this feels like a classic Doctor Who episode with modern CGI added in. The script has everyone acting out of character, with Alex and Kara being uncharacteristically stupid. The subplots involving Alex and Winn's respective losses of confidence don't ring true and not even Melissa Benoist can't make Kara's speeches here sound inspiring.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 7 - Killer Frost

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

When Caitlin is forced to use her powers to save Barry from Savitar, it seems to trigger a transformation that brings her bad side out. When she takes Julian Albert hostage as part of her desperate search for Alchemy and a return to normalcy, Barry and Cisco may be forced to fight their friend in order to stop her before she truly lives up to the name Killer Frost!


Influences

The Flash comics of John Broome (creator of Doctor Alchemy), The Flash comics of Mark Waid (creator of Savitar and The Alchemist) and the Firestorm comics of Gerry Conway (creator of the original Killer Frost.)


Goofs

Granting that the performances for this episode are generally excellent, they do not excuse the fact that the script is built around the asinine conceit that Caitlin's sudden villainy is due to her powers being inherently evil and that Caitlin will suddenly start taking hostages and breaking into police interrogation rooms.. The whole thing feels horribly forced and while Caitlin's anger at Barry over her current circumstance may be understandable (if not justified), it still doesn't explain why she wouldn't seek help from Cisco as opposed to taking Albert hostage. As a result, the central conceit of the episode doesn't ring true.

If Barry is right and it is Caitlin's powers that are turning her evil, why didn't they put the power-blocking cuffs on her while she was unconscious in a bid to win her back from the dark side?


Performances

Danielle Panabaker sells the hell out of every scene she's in. It's almost enough to make up for the weak script. Almost. Yet there are some great moments here, particular her scenes opposite Grant Gustin.

On that note, I don't often speak about Grant Gustin's acting talents because he is so rarely tested or required to push into new areas. This episode is different, with Grant turning in a phenomenal performance  - particularly when Barry releases Caitlin and tells her the only way she is leaving STAR Labs is by killing him.

Not to be outdone, Carlos Valdes delivers an unusually sober performance as Cisco Ramon learns the truth behind his brother's death.


Artistry

Whatever else may be said about Kevin Smith, the man can direct the heck out of scenes involving two people talking.  Most of the episode plays to Smith's strengths, consisting of a series of dialogues. Even the few action sequences are built around conversations.

The sequence of Savitar "taking Barry for a run" looks fantastic.


Flash Facts

This episode was directed by filmmaker and comic writer Kevin Smith, who also directed episode 221 - The Runaway Dinosaur.

The new role of Detective Tom Patterson is played by Greg Grunberg. A veteran actor who has appeared in numerous science-fiction television series and movies (perhaps most famously as telepathic patrolman Matt Parkman in HEROES), he is notably one of the few actors to appear in both Star Wars and Star Trek. He is also co-host (with director Kevin Smith) of the show Geeking Out.

Savitar was a villain introduced in the Mark Waid run of The Flash. A pilot for an unnamed Third-World country during The Cold War, the man who became Savitar was struck by lightning while testing a supersonic jet and developed super-speed. He took the name Savitar and began to study the applications of his powers, developing techniques no other speedster at that time had. Among these abilities were the creation of force-fields made of inertia and the power to drain the speed from moving objects. He developed a cult of followers, whom he was able to loan his speed to and sought to depower every other speedster on Earth who was not one of his followers.

As HR notes, Savitar is the name of the Hindu god of motion.

We know little about the DCTVU version of Savitar so far save that he is apparently so fast that ordinary humans cannot perceive him. When he grabs a hold of Barry, all everyone else sees an invisible force holding Barry down.  Even Barry only perceives Savitar as a white bolt of light when he is in motion. Despite this, Savitar is still vulnerable to Caitlin Snow's freezing powers, which ice his body over, rendering him visible, and holding him in place for a couple of seconds.

We learn in this episode that Doctor Alchemy is apparently the head of a cult devoted to Savitar and that there are three other people in the cult.

Caitlin attempts to kill Barry at one point by kissing him and draining the heat from his body. This was a favorite method of absorbing the heat from another person used by Killer Frost in the comics.

In the final scene of this episode, Julian Albert is confirmed to be Doctor Alchemy but he seems to be a reluctant servant of Savitar.

In the original Flash comics, the first Doctor Alchemy was a man named Albert Desmond whom suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder. It was his darker personality that spurred his acts as a super-villain. That may be the case here as well.


Technobabble

Savitar's speed is such that when he is carrying Barry with him, the tracker at STAR Labs seems to show Barry teleporting from point to point around the city. Barry says that it seemed like teleporting, even from his perspective.

Cisco is able to create intra-dimensional breaches - i.e. portals between two points on the same Earth. However, this is an even greater strain on him than creating a breach between two different Earths, for some reason.

The MRI Caitlin takes of Cisco's brain shows changes in the capillary morphology similar to that of a mini-stroke. Thankfully, this is more serious than it sounds and Caitlin assures Cisco he'll be fine after a few aspirin. However, she still advises him against attempting an intra-dimensional breach for a while.

Wally's vital signs and brain function within the cocoon are subdued. Caitlin describes them as being on par with those of a coma patient.

When a caterpillar is in its chrysalis, its body brakes down into enzyme soup before rebuilding itself as a butterfly. For that reason, Caitlin advises against trying to cut Wally out of the cocoon he is in.

Caitlin asks Julian Albert to create an algorithm that will allow him to locate anyone who conducted a specific web-search within the past six months. In this case, the word "Savitar".

Cisco is able to track Caitlin by using the STAR Labs satellite to detect the ultraviolet cold signatures created by her powers. It can also detect rapid temperature decelerations.

Caitlin disables Barry by severing his triceps surae - a pair of muscles located in the calf. Even with Barry's quick healing powers, it will take him four hours to recover.

Joe's attempt to cut Wally from his cocoon results in a power surge in the STAR Labs cortex.

Cisco is also able to program the STAR Labs satellite to scan for rapidly moving objects.

Caitlin theorizes that removing Wally from his cocoon early left him in a fuege state. His synapses aren't used to functioning at super-speed, so his muscles and mind are misfiring. She develops a synthetic neural compound that she thinks will get mind and body working at the same speed again.


Dialogue Triumphs

Savitar: You may serve The Speed Force, Flash, but I rule it! You are only a man, but I am a god! Your god! I am Savitar!

(The Flash runs in, planting himself between Julian Albert and Caitlin)
Barry: Stop.
Caitlin: Get out of here!
Barry: You know I can't.
Julian: What are you doing?! Take her out! Take her out!
Barry: (To Caitlin) You don't want to do this. You don't want to hurt anybody.
Julian: She's willing to hurt someone! Knock her out!
(Barry punches Julian at super-speed, knocking him out.)
Barry: Caitlin...
Caitlin: Leave me alone!
Barry: What are you doing?
Caitlin: I have to find Alchemy!
Barry:  We will find him. All right? Together.
Caitlin: No. You don't understand. I don't want to lock him up. I need him to help me!
Barry: Help you what?
Caitlin: I need him to get rid of my powers!
Barry: Oh, Caitlin... I don't know if it works that way.
Caitlin: You don't know that it doesn't!
Barry: I know that we love you. And we will do everything that we can to help you. You and I? We've - we've been through too much together to let each other down now. Please... let me help you.
Caitlin: Like you helped your mother?
Barry: Caitlin...
Caitlin: Or Wally? Or me? You keep messing with everyone's lives, wrecking everything and we're left behind to pick up the pieces from your mistakes! Some things you break can't be put back together!
Barry: ... I can fix this.
Caitlin: Oh, like you fixed Cisco's family? You didn't tell Cisco that you screwed him worst of all, did you? (loudly to the open air)  You hear that, Cisco? Dante was alive - health and happy - until Barry created Flashpoint! When he reset things? That's what killed him. Barry is the reason your brother is dead!

Caitlin: (To Craig the cultist) Both of my parents are doctors. It's all I ever wanted to be. Growing up I used to practive the Hypocratic Oath. I was obsessed with it. If anyone was even going to step on a bug, I would say "Do no harm!" It's built into my DNA (makes an razor-sharp icicle) Unfortunately, my DNA isn't what it used to be. So believe me when I say... answer every one of my questions or I will harm you and your family.

(The Flash comes running into the scene. Caitlin throws a chilling blast in front of him. Barry slips on the suddenly icy road and falls on his bad leg.)
Caitlin: How's the leg?
(Barry sighs, suddenly punching at Caitlin's ankle and sweeping her off her feet. She lands next to him on the pavement. The two lie there a moment, both pained.)
Barry: I'm sorry, Caitlin
Caitlin: That was cold, Flash. But this is colder.
(Caitlin rolls over on top of Barry, kissing him. His skin turns blue almost instantly as if the life were being sucked out of him... which it is!)

(Barry opens The Pipeline and looks at Caitlin in her cell.)
Barry: We need your help, Caitlin. Wally, he - he's out of the cocoon but his biochemistry is all out of wack. He went AWOL.
Caitlin: So?
Barry: So when we find him, he's going to need your help. He's going to need your medical expertise. Your experience with metas. What he needs is Caitlin Snow MD.
Caitlin: So you came to try and talk some sense into me?
Barry: No. I came to let you go.
(Barry opens her cell door.)
Caitlin: For a smart guy, that was an awfully dumb move.
Barry: Like I said, you're free to go.
Caitlin: What's the catch?
Barry: You have to kill me.

Caitlin: You want to fight? Flash?
Barry: No. I'm not going to fight you. But if you want to leave this room, you're going to have to kill me.
Caitlin: Don't think I won't...
Barry: Then do it.
(Caitlin makes a shiv out of ice and holds it up. She hesitates in stabbing Barry.)
Barry: What are you waiting for? What's the big deal? (tauntingly) C'mon! Live up to your name, Killer Frost. I want to see some killing!  You want to be the villain? This is what they do. They kill their friends, because nothing matters to them anymore, right?
(Barry steps forward, pressing his chest against the ice shiv.)
Barry: Right?! C'mon!  Kill me, Caitlin!
(Caitlin still hesitates in pushing the shiv further.)
Barry: You can't do it. You can't. Because underneath all that cold, you're still you.
(Caitlin's eyes suddenly shift back to normal as she drops the icicle and collapses against Barry, her eyes tearing up. Barry just hugs her.)
Barry: It's okay. I've got you. It's okay.


Continuity

The episode continues right where 306 left off.

Cisco is able to use his powers to teleport through a breach between two points on the same Earth, though this leaves him horribly sickened afterward.

Caitlin's ice powers are strong enough to freeze Savitar in place and ice-over his body, if only for a few seconds.

HR claims to be a crossword puzzle wizard in two planets.

Alchemy is revealed to be an acolyte of Savitar and their cult is devoted towards Savitar. The cultists believe Savitar will judge humanity

We do not find out what powers any of the cultists have gained from their association with Alchemy.

There are three members of the cult besides Alchemy. One of them is captured by the CCPD but goes unnamed. We do not find out what powers he has, but he claims to sense the fear in Caitlin.

Caitlin is able to use her powers to exhale chilled air (a.k.a. freeze breath) and create a smoke-screen of chilled fog.

Cisco is able to track Caitlin by using the STAR Labs satellite to detect the ultraviolet cold signatures created by her powers. This is the same method he used to track Captain Cold in 203.

Detective Thompson is a trigger-happy police officer who hates metahumans and believes they are all crazy.

HR does not have any children.

Cisco learns that his brother's death was caused by Barry's creation of The Flashpoint timeline.

Another cultist- who escaped - is named Craig and has a house in the Central City suburbs. He also has a wife and children, as Caitlin threatens to harm his family, though we only see the wife.

We do not know what powers Craig has but he claims to have seen the future and says that Savitar has plans for Caitlin. He also claims to have seen Caitlin as Killer Frost in the future and that Alchemy can take away powers in addition to giving them to people.

Caitlin refers to both Eddie Thawne and Ronnie Raymond as people Barry failed to save in both 123 and 201.

Barry refers to what Jay Garrick told him about his not being a god in 302 after Iris says something similar.

Wally frequently went to his old house in Keystone City when he was missing his mother.

Wally is confirmed to have super-speed. His lighting is yellow, like Barry's.

Wally's exact top speed is not mentioned but it is said that he's faster than Barry was when Barry first started out as The Flash.

Wally compares the feeling of The Speed Force to everything feeling buzzing and electric, like he can do anything.

Cisco tells Barry, quite honestly, that he isn't sure if they are going to be okay now that Cisco knows that Barry is responsible for his brother's death.

Julian Albert agrees not to identify Caitlin Snow as his attacker if Barry agrees to resign from the CCPD.

It is starting to storm as Barry leaves his lab after packing his things.

Julian Albert is confirmed to be Doctor Alchemy.


Location

The Wests's old house in Keystone City.


The Fridge Factor

Caitlin's entire arc regarding her gaining super-powers is based around the trope that some powers are inherently evil and using them is a one-way street to becoming a villain. It's somewhat disturbing that of all the people to develop powers around Barry Allen, it's the one woman who is in danger of being corrupted and falling to The Dark Side.


The Bottom Line

Strong direction and some strong performances from the core cast salvage an unusually weak script. Thankfully, it seems they are done toying with the idea of Caitlin becoming a villain or are at least going to go about it in a slower, more natural way than her powers just making her evil.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 21 - The Runaway Dinosaur

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

With Barry presumed dead, there is no one left to defend Central City when Girder - one of Barry's first metahuman enemies - seems to have been resurrected by the second particle accelerator explosion. Iris volunteers to act as bait - an action Joe is naturally and strongly against. Meanwhile, in another time and place, Barry struggles to escape a surreal world populated by beings wearing the faces of his friends and family... a world that turns out to be The Speed Force itself!


Influences

The Flash comics of Mark Waid, particularly Terminal Velocity (The story which introduced the idea of The Speed Force as an otherworldly realm/afterlife for speedsters and general revelations about The Speed Force and how it works in the DCTVU), the film Contact (hero makes contact with an otherworldly being who takes the form of loved ones to make the hero more comfortable), The X-Files (Cisco and Iris stumbling around a lab with high-power flashlights ala Mulder and Scully, the "monster of the week" tone of the script regarding zombie Girder, Cisco name-drops the show referring to Barry's medical records as his "X-File".) The 1931 Frankstein (the general behavior of the zombie Girder), Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (the comedic tone of most of the zombie Girder scenes before he gets to STAR Labs, Cisco refers to the movie calling Girder "Abby Normal" and saying everything is going Young Frankenstein), Peter Pan (Barry chasing his speed through The Speed Force is reminsicent of Peter Pan chasing his shadow) and the children's book The Runaway Bunny (The Runaway Dinosaur seems to be a tribute to this book in both plot and title.).


Goofs

While Harry Wells has his hands in the proper place to do CPR to the unconscious Jesse (a rarity in most depictions of giving CPR on television) he is not using nearly enough force.

Shouldn't Henry look over Wally too, despite Wally seemingly being in better condition than Jesse? (He's sent home purely to increase the drama when zombie Girder shows up at The West House).

At this point, one wonders why Iris and Joe are still keeping Barry's secret identity a secret from Wally. It's particularly painful that Iris is going along with it, given how rightly annoyed she was at being endangered by her ignorance.  Seriously! How many times is this now that a super-villain has attacked The West home while Wally was there?


Performances

For the first time in what seems like forever, Grant Gustin is allowed to take center stage and do some real acting beyond playing the bold hero. We dare you to not get a little tear-eyed during the scene in which he recites his favorite book as a child from memory.

The actors playing the various aspects of The Speed Force all do a fine job of playing something "other" than their usual roles. There's just enough that is off-putting about their performances to seem slightly inhuman. John Wesley Shipp is particular effective in his sequence, seeming to want to comfort Barry as he cries at his mother's grave but knowing so little about humanity that it cannot even conceive of the idea of a comforting touch, much less the hug Barry sorely seems to need.

Tom Cavanagh's faces as Carlos Valdes tries to explain - badly - just what is going on with the Zombie Girder may be the finest moment of visual comedy in the show's history.


Artistry

The music for this episode during the Speed Force sequences is phenomenal.

The script, by X-Men: First Class writer Zack Stentz, is particularly strong in its dramatic segments.

Shockingly, given Kevin Smith's reputation as a comedic director, it's the dramatic scenes in The Speed Force which are the most memorable and strongly directed.

The special effects for the sequences in which Cisco and Iris both reach out to Barry in The Speed Force are amazing.


Flash Facts

The director of this episode was Kevin Smith. In addition to being a prominent podcaster and screenwriter/director, Smith is an occasional comic book writer, whose critically acclaimed run on Green Arrow brought Oliver Queen back from the dead in 2001.

The name of the Barry's favorite book as a child - The Runaway Dinosaur - seems to be a nod to the classic children's book The Runaway Bunny. Both stories deal with an animal child who wishes to be something else, who is assured by its mother that it will be loved no matter what it becomes and where it goes.

The author of The Runaway Dinosaur is given as Ethan Rhys Helbing. This may be a nod to the on-line RPG Sacred - where Ethan Rhys is the name of a powerful armor set - and to The Flash writers Aaron and Todd Helbing.

The idea of The Speed Force as an otherworldly realm and afterlife of sorts for speedsters was first introduced in The Flash storyline Terminal Velocity. In this story, Wally West became absorbed into The Speed Force but later returned from it, guided by his love for his girlfriend and future wife, Linda Park. Later stories revealed that Barry Allen, rather than dying during Crisis on Infinite Earths, was instead absorbed into The Speed Force.

This episode references several of the ideas Mark Waid introduced during his run on The Flash regarding The Speed Force. Chief among these are the idea of The Speed Force being a place as well as an energy source, that speedsters are given power when The Speed Force "notices" them and the idea that a person's love may allow them to become an anchor for a speedster, so they can find their way home now matter how far or fast they travel, as Iris seems to be with Barry here.

Harry Wells quotes Karl Marx - "History repeats itself first as tragedy and then as farce."

Jason Mewes - the actor who played drug-dealer Jay in many of Kevin Smith's movies - has a cameo as the man whose car is destroyed by Girder outside of the Big Belly Burger.

Cisco refers to the zombie Girder as "iZombie" at one point and asks if he is still following Iris. iZombie, of course, is another CW show based on a DC Comics series. It's a double reference joke as actor Greg Finley, who plays Girder, also plays a zombie on iZombie.

The titular dinosaur of The Runaway Dinosaur is an Maiasaur. The name - a combination of Greek and Latin - roughly translates as "good mother reptile". This was in reference to the first fossils of the Maiasaur which proved that they fed their young in the nest - the first evidence that some dinosaurs did care for their young in the same fashion as mother birds.


Technobabble

Harry constructs a simple feedback loop. When Cisco vibes on Barry, his brain waves send Harry the necessary data to pinpoint whatever dimensional pocket or corner of the universe that Barry is stuck in. The loop will then electrically stimulate Cisco's prefrontal cortex while opening a breach, which will give Cisco physical access to Barry and let him be the beacon that guides him home.

It is later determined that other people can see Barry in The Speed Force while Cisco is vibing in the simple feedback loop, if Cisco makes physical contact with them. This is what allows Iris to make contact with Barry.

The stray energy from the second particle accelerator explosion reactivated parts of Girder's brain. Cisco disassembled STAR Labs' MRI to set up two large electromagnets. Caught between the magnetic field the magnets generate, it should disrupt the energy wave that reanimated Girder. Iris likens this to wiping a hard drive clean.

Barry is able to charge the electromagnets using the spin from his running in a circle around Girder, like an electric turbine.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Barry walks down the steps of his childhood home and into the crime scene where his mother was found dead. He sees Joe West kneeling in the middle of it.)
Barry: Joe?
"Joe": (looking up and standing) Good to see you, Barry. But I'm not Joe.
Barry: You're not?
"Joe": No.
Barry: And all of this? It's not real?
"Joe": How do you feel being back here?
Barry: I feel awful.
"Joe": We... thought you'd be more comfortable talking to someone who looked familiar. And in a place you know.
Barry: We?  Who is 'we' exactly?
"Joe": That's a little hard to explain... Sit, Barry. (motioning to a chair) Sit.
(They both sit down.)
"Joe": How much do you know about The Speed Force?
Barry: It's the source of my power. It's what makes me a speedster.
"Joe": Yes! And no. When the first subatomic particle sprang from The Big Bang to form reality as you know it? We were there. When the last proton decays, stops vibrating and plunges the universe into heat death? We'll be there too.
Barry: I'm talking to The Speed Force?
("Joe" nods.)
Barry: Isn't that like saying that you're having a conversation with gravity or light or...
("Joe" just grins. Barry stands, looking confused.)
"Joe": You need a minute? It's okay if you do.It's a lot to take in.
Barry: So you're saying that I'm - I'm talking to the source of my power, which just so happens to look like... my adoptive dad? That's trippy.
"Joe": (chuckles) We pretty much invented trippy here.
Barry: Look, I'm - I'm not sure why you brought me here, but you need to send me back. My friends are in danger from Zoom...
(A black blur moves past the window.)
Barry: Did you see that?
(The blur goes past again.)
"Joe": You're not going back. Not until...
Barry: Until what?
"Joe": Until you catch... that.
(Joe points at the blur.)

"Iris": Do you remember this place? Where we first kissed?
Barry: Yeah, of course, except that wasn't you.
"Iris": We thought you'd find this place and our appearance less upsetting. Yet you seem upset?
Barry: My friends, my city... my whole world is in danger. Zoom is on a rampage with the power that he stole from me and you are keeping me here!
"Iris": You were given a rare and precious gift and you rejected it.
Barry:  No, I did not reject it! I gave up my powers to save someone's life! To be a hero! I nearly killed myself to get them back when you brought me here! Wherever here is!
"Iris": That's not what we meant.
Barry: If you would rather have given these powers to somebody else, why did you give them to me?
"Iris": Because you are The Flash, Barry.

Joe: Wells...as a parent, believe me, I have nothing but sympathy for what you're going through. Listen to me closely when I say to you - we have a lot of fires burning at the same time and if we all work together, we just might be able to put them out. Let Henry take care of your daughter. Me and Iris will handle this Girder situation. But you and Cisco are the scientists. You're the only one who can bring Barry back from wherever the hell he is right now!
Harry: (quietly, slowly becoming more determined as he speaks) Ramon? Give those medical records to Henry and meet me in the Breach Room in five minutes. We've got work to do.

(Barry finds himself in a cemetery. He sees a man from behind, looking at the graves.)
Barry: Who are you pretending to be now?
(The man turns around. He looks like Henry Allen.)
Barry: I don't have time for this!
"Henry": Yes you do, Barry. You have all the time in the universe. Literally.
Barry: No, I don't! And how can you stand there in judgement and accuse me of rejecting my gift?! Do you have any idea how much I've done since I was struck by lightning?! How many I've helped with the power that you gave me?! (quietly) What I've sacrificed?
"Henry":  Of course we do.
("Henry" begins walking, guiding Barry towards a particular grave.)
"Henry": You've saved countless lives. And now you are the only thing standing in between your world and unspeakable evil. And yet for all of that, you've never been here.
(Barry kneels down to look at the grave. It belongs to Nora Allen - his mother.) 

Barry: Why did you bring me here?
"Henry": Your mother's death happened to you, Barry. It made you who you are. But have you accepted it? Really accepted losing her? Maybe that's why you couldn't come here... because that would make it real.
Barry: I know it's real. (sobbing) Every day I know. I had a chance to save her. You saw what I chose.
"Henry": And you're at peace with that decision?
Barry: (sobbing, forcing a laugh) "At peace". How could someone ever be at peace with letting his mother die? Deciding that his life was more valuable than hers?
"Henry": Do you really think your mother would have wanted you to die for her? And out of all the people that The Flash saved as a result of that decision, what about them? Do their lives have value too?
(Barry looks up and sees the black blur again.)
Barry: I don't have to listen to this. I have to get home.
(Barry gets up and goes running after the blur.)

(Barry returns to his childhood home and chuckles. He enters the living room and sees his mother.)
Barry: Mom?
"Nora": Hi, Barry.
Barry: You're not my mother... (exasperated) Why are you doing this to me?
"Nora": We're not doing anything to you, sweetheart. You're just so tired. Sit, Barry. Sit.
(Barry sits down with "Nora.")
Barry: You were right all along. I haven't accepted it. I don't think I ever will.
"Nora": My beautiful boy... you have to find a way.
Barry: How?
"Nora": I don't know. But I know this. What you've become? It's wonderful. A miracle even. But it won't make bad things stop happening to you. Even The Flash can't outrun the tragedies the universe is going to keep sending your way. You have to accept that. And then you can truly run free.
Barry: (sobbing) I know. I just miss her. I miss you so much...
"Nora": What if I told you that she's proud of you. And of the man that you've become?
Barry: Who's telling me that? The Speed Force or my mother?
"Nora": Both.

"Nora:" (reading) "Once there was a little dinosaur called a Maiasaur. One day he told his mother, "I wish I were special like the other dinosaurs. If I were a T. Rex, I could chimp with my ferocious teeth!"
Barry: (from memory) "But if you were a T. Rex," said his mother, "how would you hug me with your tiny little arms?" "I wish I were an Apatosaurus," said the little dinosaur, "so with my long neck I could see high above the treetops." "But if you were an Apatosaurus," said his mother, "how could you hear me in the treetops when It old you I love you?" "What makes you so special, little Maiasaur?" said his mother. "Is it your ferocious teeth or long neck or pointy beak? What makes you special, is that out of all the different dinosaurs in the big, wide world, you have the mother who is just right for you. And who will always-"
"Nora:" - love you."

"Nora": Run, Barry. Run.

Cisco: (To Barry) I'm so glad you're back! Because we're about to die!
Barry: Wait, what?
(Zombie Girder pounds against the door. )
Cisco: So...
Harry: Girder.
Cisco: (speaking rapidly and waving his hands as Harry looks like he wants to interject but is unsure where to start correcting Cisco.) Girder came back to life and he's all Young Frankenstein now and he only recognizes Iris and she lured him to my workshop so we could de-magnetize him but the machine shorted out, so he's about to come through that door and smush us all into chunky salsa and possibly eat our brains
(Harry's jaw drops and he sticks a finger in Cisco' face.)
Cisco: I don't know. Jury's still out on that.
Barry: All right. I've got it. I will lure him to your workshop abn we figure out a way to turn the power back on. Okay?
(Cisco and Harry look at each other.)
Both: Plan H.

Henry: It's been quite a day, huh? Not so much "one damn thing after another" as "every damn thing all at once".

(Barry and Iris walk to Nora Allen's grave.  Iris holds an umbrella. Barry kneels down with a backpack and puts some flowers on the grave.)
Barry: Joe offered to take me so many times. I always found an excuse to say no.
(Barry opens the backpack and pulls out a copy of The Runaway Dinosaur, which he places on Nora's grave.) 
Barry: My mom and I read this when I was little. Do you know it?
Iris: Yeah. I never really liked that book.
Barry: Why?
Iris: Because it was about a mother who was always there for her child, no matter what, and that wasn't my mom. Or yours. We never had anyone who was "just right" for us.
(Barry stands and takes the umbrella from Iris.)
Barry: Didn't we? I'm seeing things a lot differently now. I wasted so much time being angry about what I had lost when I had so much. My dad. Joe. And you. The truth is Iris, I don't know what this is between us. Or where we go from here. All I know is you're everything to me and you always have been. And the sound of your voice will always bring me home.


Dialogue Disasters

Cisco: A zombie? For real? (unusually flat delivery from Carlos Valdes here)

The whole nonsensical scene with Zombie Girder destroying a Hummer and the requisite Jason Mewes cameo that peppers almost everything Kevin Smith has ever directed.  As a Kevin Smith movie scene, it wouldn't be bad. Tonally, however, it feels totally out of place on The Flash.

Joe: I've been meaning to ask you - uh, how are you feeling?
Wally: Tired but fine, I guess.
Joe: So you don't notice anything... different?
Wally: (confused)  Uh... no.
Joe: I mean, I want you to know that you can talk to me if you're scared. Or if you have questions about how your body's changing.
(Iris groans in the background.)
Wally: I think you're a little late for the puberty talk, Dad. I've seen the Internet.


Continuity

Jesse's heart actually stops following her exposure to The Speed Force energy.

Harry Wells knows CPR.

Wally seems to be perfectly fine.

Jesse winds up in a coma similar to the one Barry was in after he was struck by lightning. Her heart-rate, reflexes and breathing are fine, but she still isn't waking up despite this.

STAR Labs has a morgue, where they kept the bodies of dead metahumans and Eobard Thawne conducted experiments on them.

The second time The Speed Force speaks to Barry is as Iris, at the park by the lake where Barry kissed Iris before time-traveling for the first time in 115.

Zombie Girder trashes CC Jitters.

Apparently the TV show iZombie exists in the DCTVU.

Barry has never visited his mother's grave.

Barry refers to the events of 123 and how he could have saved his mother but didn't.

Barry knows the book The Runaway Dinosaur by memory. It was his favorite book as a child.

Barry awakens Jesse by touching her hand. As he does so, a jolt of Speed Force energy seems to go into her.

Henry Allen decides to stay in Central City.

Barry goes to visit his mother's grave for the first time with Iris.

Iris did not like the book The Runaway Dinosaur because it reminded her of how she didn't have a reliable mother who would do anything for her.

As the episode ends, Zoom has assembled an army of Earth Two metahumans in the Central City Police Station and given Caitlin an ultimatum - stay her and side with me or leave and know I'll show you no mercy the next time I find you.


Location

The Speed Force.


The Bottom Line

Harry Wells says it best "History repeats itself first as tragedy and then as farce."  The whole episode retreads familiar ground, with Barry once again getting a second chance to find closure regarding his mother's death (as in last year's Fast Enough) and Girder's returning in an even more violent form.

The segments involving Girder are very much a farce and a mostly unwelcome distraction from the truly moving drama of Barry coming to peace with his mother's death. Thankfully, the humor coming from the cast themselves is on much firmer footing. Overall, the episode is a strong one though it may have benefited from nixing the return of Girder completely.

Five Reasons Oliver Queen Is Awesome

Despite the popularity of the show Arrow, fans of Oliver Queen still get a lot of guff about our favorite hero being a half-hearted Batman rip-off.  While it may be true that Green Arrow spent a goodly portion of The Silver Age following in Bruce Wayne's footsteps, later comics turned Oliver Queen into his own man.

So what is it that separates Oliver Queen from all of the other billionaire playboy superheroes and all of the other archery-based superheroes?  Besides epic facial hair, of course.  Well, the man said it best himself in JLA #123.

"...I can't leap tall buildings in a single bound and I don't wear any fancy power rings. Hell, I'm not even the world's second greatest detective, whatever THAT means. But I am a guy with a hell of a lot of chatzpah. And that's got to count for something in a crisis, right?"

More than anything, Oliver Queen is defined by that word - chatzpah.  Call it guts, nerve, boldness, balls or just plain audacity if you want to use a ten-dollar word.  Oliver Queen is a man who will say the unthinkable, attempt the impossible and just plain refuse to back down no matter how badly the deck is stacked against him.

To that end, I've put together a list of five deeds that I think exemplify Green Arrow's awesomeness.  And to make it fair, I've eliminated all of the stories where he dies a heroic death in the name of his principals.  Because that is its own Top Five list.


5. Oliver Queen - The One Man Justice League. 



As Seen In: The Dark Knight Returns & The Dark Knight Strikes Back

I'll admit this one is implied more than it is stated.  But the facts are there on the page.  For those who haven't read The Dark Knight Returns, it's a classic Batman story set in an alternate future where superheroes were made illegal in the United States and a middle-aged Bruce Wayne comes out of retirement to become Batman one last time.  The sequel, The Dark Knight Strikes Back, is not as well regarded but it continues the story of DKR and shows what happened to all of the other Justice League members.

Apart from Superman, Green Arrow is the only Justice League member who appears in The Dark Knight Returns.  We don't get the full details of his story but we do get enough to paint a vivid picture.  Oliver Queen was in prison for a while, escaping five years previously.  He spent that time on the run, striking against the corrupt American government as best he could from overseas.  And at some point before Ollie was imprisoned, Superman was responsible for him losing an arm.

The Dark Knight Strikes Back reveals the fates of the other JLA members.  Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel joined Superman in working for the American government, which we find out is secretly being run by Lex Luthor and Brainiac.  The rest of the team either went into hiding in remote locations or were captured and imprisoned by Luthor and Brainiac.

Logically, that means that for a time, both before being imprisoned and afterward, Oliver Queen was The Justice League.  He was the one hero who didn't back down or give up or agree to fade into the shadows in a world that was going to Hell.  And he did that while single-handedly facing two of the world's most dangerous villains and three of the most powerful superheroes on the planet.

And when I say single-handedly, I mean that in the literal sense as well.  Yet despite that disadvantage, he could still use a bow with Olympic-level accuracy.  Even though he had to pull the bow-string back with his teeth!


4. Oliver Queen Holds His Own Against The Forces Of Apokolips.



As Seen In: Final Crisis #4

At the time of this story, Black Canary was the leader of The Justice League.  And as Apokolips once-again tried to invade the Earth in the name of Darkseid, The JLA Watchtower was attacked.  Knowing the importance his wife held in planning a retaliation against the invaders, Oliver Queen stayed behind to hold off the pursuit as the rest of the team teleported to safety.  

One man with a quiver full of arrows against a horde of soldiers with the strength and endurance of Superman, riding giant hunting hounds and a few brainwashed superheroes as well?  Doesn't sound like much of a fight.  And it isn't.  Ollie tears them apart.

He brings down the hounds and the soldiers with them.  And if Ollie hadn't stopped to try and talk some sense into a brainwashed Black Lightning, he might well have won.  But he didn't and one good shock to the system was all it took to bring Oliver Queen down long enough for a mind-control helmet to be slapped down on his head.

This battle would rank higher, but this fight was a loss for Oliver Queen.  And yet it was a victory, because Ollie did accomplish his goal of buying enough time to let the love of his life and the rest of his teammates get to safety.  And while the villains may have technically won the fight,  it was a hard-won victory that shouldn't have been nearly as difficult as Oliver Queen made it.


3. Oliver Queen Overcomes The Black Mercy



As Seen In: Green Lantern (Vol. 4) #8

Created by Alan Moore for his Superman story For The Man Who Has Everything, The Black Mercy is a sentient alien plant with telepathic abilities.  Parasitic in nature, the plant latches on to a host, to whom it broadcasts a hallucination of an ideal life.  The host slowly wastes away, blissfully unaware that its body is being sucked dry by The Black Mercy in the real world as their every fantasy is seemingly brought to life.

So how strong is a Black Mercy plant?  Strong enough that even Superman couldn't break free of its control without Batman pulling it off of him by force.  And then when it latched on to Batman, Robin had to pull the plant off of Batman for him to be freed of its influence.  Even Hal Jordan was unable to resist the lure of the perfect world that The Black Mercy created for him.

And yet... Oliver Queen did.  He resisted.  He saw through the illusion and dragged himself and Hal back to reality after a single Black Mercy plant latched on to them both.

After the fact, Hal Jordan guessed that the plant had chosen to focus on him since his will was stronger and that instead of giving Ollie a vision of what really would be his ideal world, it had given him what Hal thought would be Ollie's perfect world within the context of Hal's perfect life.  Fine and dandy.  Except that does nothing to explain why Hal Jordan thought to set-up Oliver with Connor Hawke's mom (a woman Ollie hadn't seen in decades and whom Hal had never met) and why there was no place for Dinah Lance or Roy Harper in Ollie's "perfect life".

I think Hal is kidding himself.  I think the truth is that The Black Mercy may be strong enough to cloud the mind of Superman, subvert the fortitude of Batman and even overcome the willpower of a Green Lantern.  But that's nothing compared to Oliver Queen's ability to question everything around him.


2. Oliver Queen Resists Poison Ivy



As Seen In: Batman/Green Arrow: The Poison Tomorrow

Dennis O'Neil earned his place in comics as a living legend with his work in the 1970s on both Batman and Green Arrow.  It was he who developed Green Arrow into the modern-day Robin Hood we know and love and turned Batman into a Dark Knight Detective once more.  He teamed the heroes together in The Brave and The Bold and a few more times besides!  And yet, I think O'Neil's 1992 graphic novel The Poison Tomorrow may be the best thing he ever did with both of these heroes together.

The Poison Tomorrow sees Batman and Green Arrow joining forces after they discover they are working the same case from different angles, with Oliver Queen racing time to save Black Canary's life.  The trail leads from a diseased scientist to Poison Ivy and a plot to use toxic baby food to make a fortune selling an antidote.  In the exciting climax of the story, Batman moves to stop the first shipment of the tainted food as Green Arrow retrieves the antidote from Poison Ivy, who is currently hiding out in a housing development that was built on a toxic landfill!

To his credit, Ollie does try to go in protected.  But he didn't count on how hard it was to draw a bow while wearing a Hazmat suit.  Or on Ivy having a muscle-bound henchman who shared her immunity to toxic waste.  Deciding he can risk the poisoned environment for long enough to hand out a beating, Ollie slips out of the suit and beats down the henchman only to be confronted by Ivy herself.

Ivy, being Ivy, pours on the charm along with the pheromones.  The full "oh my brave hero, let me take care of you" act.  And for a moment, Ollie is tempted.  He's taken a few good lumps from the henchman and he's starting to feel the effects of the toxins around him.  And a little voice tells him he's as good as dead anyway - what harm could one kiss do?  But Oliver Queen's love for Dinah Lance is too strong to be overcome by such cheap tricks.  And with one open-handed strike to the face, Green Arrow shuts Poison Ivy down.

A few years ago, I achieved a modicum of fame for taking Judd Winick to task for his depiction of Oliver Queen as an unrepentant womanizer who cheated on Dinah Lance continually.  This story was largely responsible for my attitude.  Because while a lot of stories show how passionate Oliver Queen is in his love of Dinah Lance, I don't think any story has ever quite so well depicted just how strong that love truly is and how love is a more powerful force than lust any day of the week.  That's why I have nothing but contempt for anyone who tries to sum up Oliver Queen as "a horndog who chases skirts and can't stay faithful".


1. Oliver Queen Walks Out Of Heaven.


As Seen In: Green Arrow (Vol. 2) #10

Oliver Queen was dead.  Astonishingly, to him at least, he went to Heaven.  Or some kind of paradise where he had found the peace that was denied him in life.  As such, when his best friend Hal Jordan (who, at the time, possessed the power of all but one of the Guardians of the Universe) breached the boundaries between worlds to offer him a second chance at life, Oliver Queen turned it down.  But he did agree to let Hal bring him back after a fashion, creating a soulless clone that would possess all of Oliver Queen's memories up to a certain point.

This "hollow Ollie" would go on to reestablish the name of Green Arrow in Star City in Kevin Smith's Quiver and become a target for all manner of supernatural evil.  When that evil threatened Connor Hawke - Oliver Queen's illegitimate son - the hollow Ollie was somehow able to breach the boundaries of Space and Time to deliver his older, wiser self a much-needed dressing down.  That and the knowledge that his son needed him was enough to stir Oliver Queen into action and demand to be returned to Earth.

Oliver Queen defied his enemies.  He defied his friends.  He defied his government and alien invaders.  He overcame a mind-controlling parasite and the most powerful seductress on Earth.  And all of that is awesome.  But for sheer awesomeness, I don't think anything can top Oliver Queen finding the strength of will to walk out of paradise.


Agree?  Disagree?  I await your comments.

Classic Fantastic: Kevin Smith's Green Arrow - A No Flying, No Tights Review

There’s one question I’ve been getting a lot recently, both as a librarian and as a comic book historian – where should I start if I want to read some good Green Arrow comics?  It’s a fair question but it’s also a difficult one for me to answer fairly.  Despite being around for over seventy years, Green Arrow never had a solo comic book series until the late 1980s and most of those comics have never been collected in a trade paperback edition.  Many of the stories which have been collected haven’t aged particularly well, with the Dennis O’Neil penned Green Lantern/Green Arrow comics of the 1970s being particularly cringe-worthy with their groovy dialogue.

For this reason, I usually recommend Green Arrow: Quiver and Green Arrow: The Sounds of Violence.  These two trade paperbacks collect all the stories written by the man who brought Green Arrow into the Modern Age of Comics – Kevin Smith.  Better known for his work as a filmmaker, Smith was a rather prolific comic book writer at the turn of the century best known for his inability to meet deadlines and his outspoken personality.  Love him or hate him, one can’t deny the impact that Smith had on Green Arrow.

What’s it about?

As Quiver opens, we are introduced to Oliver Queen – the man behind the mask who fought corporate criminals and corrupt civil servants as The Green Arrow.  This introduction comes through the eyes of his loved ones as they reminisce upon the impact he had on their lives before his untimely but heroic death.  Death?  Yes, as this story opens Oliver Queen is dead.  Or is he?  There’s a familiar green-clad figure running around the roof-tops of Star City who begs to differ and his oldest friends in the Justice League agree this new Green Arrow sure looks and sounds like Oliver Queen did ten years ago.  But even if Green Arrow has come back from the dead, how did he do it and for what purpose?  And why are his memories and personality those of a younger Oliver Queen than everyone remembers?  The search for answers will lead the newly resurrected Green Arrow and his allies on a wild ride through the spiritual side of the DC Comics universe.

The Sounds of Violence continues where Quiver ends, with a newly resurrected Oliver Queen trying to get on with his life.  His new job overseeing the Star City Youth Center has given him purpose beyond his nightly patrols and it’s offered him ample time to bond with Connor Hawke – the illegitimate son he never knew he had.  But Ollie worries that with the world having moved on there may not be a place for him anymore.  At the very least, he worries there’s no place for him in the life of the lady he most wants to be with – long-time girlfriend Dinah Lance, a.k.a. The Black Canary.  And even as Ollie seeks to rebuild, a new villain plans to end Ollie’s crime-fighting career before he can truly restart it.

Notable Notes

Two things stick out above all others in Kevin Smith’s scripts – his love and knowledge of the DC Comics universe and his twisted sense of humor.  From the very first scene, we know we’re in for something special as we see Superman and Batman – not as the Big Blue Boy Scout and the dour Dark Knight but as two friends snarking about their first memories of feeling cold (Batman’s involves a sleigh ride and Superman asks if the sled was named ‘Rosebud’).  Despite this story being built upon some rich history, it is easily accessible to anyone who has never read a comic book before, much less a Green Arrow comic.  Long-time comic readers may get more out of reading this series, spotting references to Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman among other things, but one needn’t have a copy of Who’s Who in The DCU on standby to get through it.

The artwork is all-around amazing.  Penciler Phil Hester, who collaborated with Smith previously on a comic based on Smith’s film Clerks, proves an unorthodox but credible choice to bring Smith’s characters to life.  Hester’s previous works tilted heavily in favor of the horror genre, which proves fitting given the direction Smith’s story takes toward the end of Quiver.  Inker Ande Parks further adds to the dark and spooky feeling with some atmospheric inks.  Writer/Artist Matt Wagner, who painted the covers for each of the monthly comics and the cover of the TP collections, also deserves high praise.

Significance

This series catapulted Green Arrow into the spotlight and kept him there for the better part of a decade.  The monthly series began to wane after Smith’s departure but Green Arrow’s newfound popularity extended into other media, particularly the various animated adaptations of the Justice League and Batman comics.  This eventually led to Ollie becoming a series regular on the Smallville TV show and probably had a hand in inspiring the current Arrow TV series.

Appeal

Fans of Smith’s movies will love these books for their humor.  Fans of superheroes looking for an easily-accessible entryway into the DCU will also find this series enjoyable.  It’s also the first thing I’d recommend to fans of the new Arrow show, who want to know more about the comics that inspired the show and how different the two worlds are.

I would offer a brief word of warning regarding the series’ content.  While there’s nothing in this series that would make experienced comics readers blush, the fact remains that this is a Kevin Smith story.  Those of you familiar with his films will know what to expect.  For the rest of you, let me say that there are several depictions of extreme violence, references to drug use, an attempted rape and a far more frank depiction of Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance’s sex life than some may be comfortable with.  Suffice it to say there is much innuendo and while nothing is shown, Oliver Queen is depicted giving oral sex to his girlfriend twice over the course of the series.  Taken all together, I’d rate this series as being a T+ (16 and up).

Why should you own this?

Strictly speaking, these are among the few Green Arrow comics that are easily accessible to a new reader.  Sadly, they are out of print and even used copies are going for five-times the original price on-line.  Hopefully the success of the Arrow TV show will inspire DC Comics to put these stories back in print, despite their lacking relevance to the New 52 universe.

Four Books For Arrow Fans New To Comics

I was recently asked by a friend who had seen a trailer for The CW's Arrow what comics I might recommend to someone unfamiliar with the character of Oliver Queen who wanted to read more.  It's a difficult question.  Can I rattle off a list of good Green Arrow stories?  Of course.  Are most of them going to be easily available?  Sadly not.

Unlike Batman and Spider-Man, Green Arrow doesn't have a lot of stories collected in TP format to begin with.  And with the New 52 revamp of the DC Comics Universe barely a year old, most of the Green Arrow stories that are collected and available don't really fit in with the current on-going series.  Thankfully, a digital Arrow comic based on the show with art by Mike Grell and a script by the show's writers will be release tomorrow along with the first episode of the TV series.  That should give Arrowheads old and new alike something to look forward to.

Still, the question remains - is there anything I can recommend to those new fans who are both brave and bold enough to delve into the past of The Emerald Archer?  Yes.  Yes there is.  Here are four comics collections that I can recommend to new readers with few reservations.

#1 Green Arrow: Year One.  Written by Andy Diggle.  Art by Jock.

WHY THIS BOOK?: First, because it's the most recent complete origin story we have for Green Arrow.  Next, because it isn't just a great origin story - it's a great story.  Ollie is established early on as a screwed up man but one whose heart is ultimately in the right place - the kind of protagonist you want to see succeed in spite of himself.  Finally, this book served as something of a series bible for Arrow and what little we know of Ollie's origins on Arrow so far match up with the story we see here.  We know that China White - the drug lord Ollie fights in this story - will be showing up in at least one of the flashbacks depicting his time on the island, played by Kelly Hu. 

   

#2 Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters. By Mike Grell

WHY THIS BOOK?:  Mike Grell redefined Green Arrow for a generation with his now legendary run on the second volume of the Green Arrow series and it all began with this three-part story.  This story brought Ollie into the real world, as he abandoned Star City for Seattle and gave up his trick arrows and Robin Hood hat in favor of a more realistic yeoman's garb, complete with a longbow and cloth-yard shafts.  The whole series is worth tracking down but the original mini-series is all that has been collected in TP format.  Left to his own devices, with relatively few crossovers from the main DC Comics universe, this issue truly explored the idea of low-powered vigilantes in a way few stories had before or have since.  And like GA: Year One, much of the visual aesthetic and base concept of Arrow seems to have come from this series.  Incidentally, Grell apparently did some of the artwork for the pilot (he drew the police sketches of The Arrow) and he will be doing that covers and some interiors for the upcoming Arrow comic.

#3 Green Arrow: Quiver.  Written by Kevin Smith.  Art by Phil Hester.

WHY THIS BOOK?: For my money, this is the greatest comic series ever written by Kevin Smith.  Yes- the same Kevin Smith who wrote and directed Clerks, Chasing Amy and Dogma.  What's most miraculous about this story is how effortlessly Smith is able to explain away several years of back-story through natural dialogue as he spins the tale of how Green Arrow has returned from the dead.  The opening chapter, in which we learn all about what sort of man Oliver Queen was through the remembrances of those closest to him should be required reading for any aspiring comics writer wanting to learn how to tell an effective origin story without requiring the presence of the main character.  And being as this is a Kevin Smith script, there's a lot of good humor to go with the action and drama.

#4 JLA: Year One.  Written by Mark Waid.  Art by Brian Augustyn. 

WHY THIS BOOK?:  While not technically a Green Arrow story as such, Oliver Queen plays a pretty big role in the action, showing up at several key points and proving himself worthy of being the first person outside of the original five founders to gain a membership in The Justice League.  I can't say much more for fear of spoiling a bit of the story but trust me - this story is something all Green Arrow fans should read if only for the "romantic" moments with Black Canary.  If nothing else, this issue is a good introduction to the DC Comics universe at large for people who want to get into comics in general if not Green Arrow in specific.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Batman: The Widening Gyre #6

GOOD THING: I like Smith's take on Batman, which is very Bronze Age retro and not simply because of the inclusion of Silver St. Cloud in this storyline. Here is the Batman of Denny O'Neil, Steve Englehart and Len Wein - a Batman who can strike terror into the hearts of criminals but still crack wise in the heat of the moment. A Batman who tries to balance both his life as Bruce Wayne and his life as Batman. A man who recognizes the good that he does but does long - at least a little bit - for a normal life, even as he fears that he is completely unable to live normally. In short, Smith's Batman is all too human.

BAD THING: Smith has done his job too well. He has made Silver St. Cloud out to be such a likable heroine and her effect upon Bruce so positive that we want her to win. We want her to get Bruce out of the cave. We want her - and him - to be happy.

Of course we all know that can never happen. There must always be a Batman and he must always be a lone Dark Knight. But that still doesn't take away the sting when this happens on the final page.

When I first read this book yesterday, I was horribly depressed by this scene. I suppose it is too much to hope that - even today - we could have a storyline in which superheroes are allowed to enjoy themselves, if only for a little while before the blood of The Dark Age tarnishes the Bronze.

Now, having read the commentary of many another critic, I find myself depressed for another reason. I feared that Silver's apparent Fridging was the last act of a desperate writer or editor hoping to shock the readers into paying attention. But so far nobody, apart from myself, seems to have even noticed - or indeed - cared about Silver St. Cloud dying!

I've heard one voice raised in anger raised about the suggestion that Alfred might be gay.

I've seen a few angry comments about Kevin Smith paying homage to/"ripping off" Alan Moore, with the above flower scene and the nod at Swamp Thing.

I've even seen one whole column complaining about how Kevin Smith has besmirched the reputation and proud legacy of Frank Miller by writing a Batman story with sexual innuendo and crude humor, by revealing that Batman wet his pants after a pivotal scene in Batman: Year One after a too-hot flash bomb went off too close to "The Bat Pole".

And nobody - NOBODY - has complained about a smart, funny female character being killed off (or fatally wounded) for no readily apparent reason other than to milk the drama and drag Bruce Wayne back into the dark. The one person who even mentioned it didn't seem to think that was nearly as bad as Frank Miller's legacy being tarnished.

That, to me, is a very, very bad thing indeed. Not because of what it says about this story or Kevin Smith as a writer but because of what it says about us as readers.



The Final Verdict: Might be the most controversial book this year. It has me annoyed and pissed off but not for any of the reasons any other critic is likely to be voicing right now. Suffice it to say, if you're not a fan of Bronze Age Batman or Kevin Smith's movies, you'll want to stay away. The rest of you should be ready for a hammer of a story that will move your heart, if only by punching you in the gut.

Irony

Am I the only one who finds it ironic that Chris Sims wrote an entire article complaining about how Kevin Smith has besmirched the proud legacy of Frank Miller...

... by writing a Batman story filled with sexual references and crude humor?

Just a thought.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Green Hornet #1

GOOD THING: Kevin Smith's gift for dialogue really comes through here and his usual jokey-style seems a natural fit for a Golden Age hero like The Hornet.

BAD THING: The ads for the many other Green Hornet mini-series coming out soon are a distraction from the comic. This is an odd bit of criticism, I admit, but there are some page breaks where the reader can be thrown by just how much the advert art looks just like what they are reading now.

The Final Verdict: A solid first issue, establishing the classic Green Hornet for those who are unfamiliar with the original character. Smith's writing is solid pulp at its' finest with the artwork by Hester and Lau being picture perfect. This is one to keep an eye on, folks!

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Batman: The Widening Gyre #5

BAD THING: Kevin Smith had done a pretty good job of keeping his usual gutter humor out of this book... until this moment.

GOOD THING: That being said, the man CAN write dialogue like nobody's business and his take on most of these characters - from Robin to Batman himself - are a welcome change from the gloomy, emo take on the characters that has dominated the page in the last year.

The Final Verdict: It's light on plot and short on story but the character moments make it well worth the read. I just wish I knew how all the plots were going to end in the next issue because right now... I have no idea what may happen next.