Nightwing #29 - A Review

Lost within a ring of snow and ice - the second circle of the labyrinth formed out of Gotham City - our heroes find themselves contending with a twisted version of Mr. Freeze and an army of frost giants! Thankfully, Nightwing has arrived on the scene to join the search for Batman, but he faces his own inner-conflict regarding the menace they face. Meanwhile, The Teen Titans meet up with The Suicide Squad, forming a reluctant alliance to get into the maze themselves...


The unfortunate thing about comic-book crossovers is that new readers, attracted by the linking story line, may find themselves turned away from a single chapter due to unexplained references to the book's regular story. This problem plagues Nightwing #29 which makes repeated mention of a villain called Dr. Hurt and Dick Grayson's connection to The Court of Owls. While I am vaguely familiar with this plot-line from Scott Snyder's Batman, Tim Seely doesn't do a very good job of explaining it and it's largely incidental to the action of the issue in any case. Even that much might be confusing for those readers who haven't already read Batman: The Red Death #1, which is more efficient in explaining the basic idea of The Dark Multiverse.

Thankfully, this issue's script makes up for this shortcoming in other ways. Seely's grasp of the characters, for instance, is top-notch. I was particularly gratified to see Killer Croc as being written as something other than a complete idiot, though Damian Wayne is back to being a spoiled brat. Your mileage may vary on if this is an accurate assessment of his character, but it doesn't jibe with what we saw in Teen Titans last week. But whatever - I can forgive a lot simply for the revelation that Harley Quinn and Green Arrow are both pen-and-paper RPG players.


The artwork is a similarly mixed bag. Paul Pelleiter is a good artist but his detail-driven style suffers in the small panels that the story requires. This frequently causes the panels to be cluttered and only the fact that Andrew Hennessy applies his inks so sparingly saves the issue. Even then, the fine details are often lost in the more heavily-shaded panels with a higher saturation of darker colors.

The Final Analysis: 6 out of 10.  Decent enough but it could have been so much better.

Injustice 2 #3 - A Review

When Harley Quinn was captured by Amanda Waller to be part of the new Suicide Squad, she expected Batman to come to the rescue right away. She did not, however, expect him to show up guns-a-blazing and ready to kill. Who is this strange new Batman? And where is the real Batman?


I feel safe giving away the "stunning twist" of last week's issue for three reasons - a gun-totting Batman is on the cover of this issue, the synopsis on Comixology spoils the same point, and, c'mon, we all knew that wasn't really Bruce Wayne! I refuse to say anything more about the story, save that Tom Taylor has retained his capacity for dark humor and keeping readers guessing.

Taylor remains well-matched with a top-notch art team. Bruno Redondo is at the peak of his powers, creating interesting and eye-catching designs for some villains we haven't seen before. Juan Albarran provides just the right amount of shade to every scene and Rex Lokus varies the color palettes in a way that is literally stunning.

Final Analysis: 10/10.

Justice League Vs. Suicide Squad #2 - A Review

Cornered by The Justice League while in the middle of a mission, The Suicide Squad have only two choices - get blown up by The Wall or hold on long enough for Rick Flagg to air-lift them out of there. It's not much of a chance but there is one thing The Suicide Squad has that The Justice League doesn't - nothing to lose for trying.


This issue is much more in line with what I expected from this series when I first heard of the concept - mindless action with an emphasis on the 'mindless' aspect of the action. Most of battles here are anti-climactic, though there are a few amusing moments such as Aquaman's fight with Killer Croc.

Unfortunately, most of the Justice League members here seem horribly out of character, with an unusually vicious Batman telling Deadshot he'll never be more than a common killer and a horrifically judgmental Wonder Woman telling Harley Quinn that she could never be friends with a deranged killer. This is ignoring the continuity problems I've heard about from other reviewers, such as Batman's commendation of Deadshot ringing false given a recent storyline when Batman tried to offer a group of criminals - including Floyd Lawton - a shot at redemption as part of his team!


At least the artwork looks good, but that's damning with faint praise. Tony S. Daniel, Sandu Florea and Alex Sinclair do a fantastic job depicting the spectacle of battle. Shame there's not much more to this comic than that. I'm uncertain at this point if I'll bother picking up Issue 3, despite the strong first issue.

Suicide Squad - A Spoiler Free Review and Some Spoiler-Filled Discussion

Is Suicide Squad a good movie?  Yes.

Is it a perfect movie? No.

Is it an abomination that will surely end the era of the superhero movie and/or DC Comics Cinematic Universe? To the dismay of many a snooty critic and Marvel Zombie... if I may quote Will Smith, "Oh HELL no!"

The best way I can describe the movie, for those who have read the Suicide Squad comics by John Ostrander and Kim Yale that largely inspired the movie, is to compare it to The Ataris' cover of Don Henley's Boys Of Summer. They may have changed the orchestration and the lyrics a little but the spirit and message are exactly the same. 

The performances are all good. Some changes have been made that many annoy certain purists but the choices generally work to improve the story flow. It is worth noting that Viola Davis captures Amanda Waller perfectly. And however you may feel about her costuming, Margot Robbie IS Harley Quinn in all her paradoxical glory.

So yes - I'd recommend it. And be sure to stick around for the scene mid-way through the credits.

More in-depth discussion under the image. Abandon this web page lest ye be SPOILERED!

WHAT WENT WRONG?

Let's just get this out of the way, shall we?

* Rick Flag Jr. is mishandled. The character's defining characteristic in the comics has always been that he's been a good soldier who tries to live up to his dad's legacy.  Apparently that was too complicated for a flashback, so instead we find out that Amanda Waller manipulated events so that Rick would fall for June Moon and that she used his love for her to manipulate him into being the field commander for Task Force X, despite his objections to employing criminals for military missions.

* For that matter, the romance between June and Rick isn't developed very well.  I suspect that they may get the least screen time out of all of The Squad members, which is unfortunate since the main plot of the movie is focused on Enchantress.

* Katana's presence is kind of pointless and she doesn't get nearly enough to do.

* Captain Boomerang is criminally underused. And I want to see what his perfect world would look like.  (Maybe that was one of the cuts made to get the movie down to PG-13?)  Ditto Killer Croc.

* The unicorn doll. I don't know if this was added in because of Deadpool or was shot before it came out. Either way, that little gag probably should have been cut.

* The Juggalo fashion designs for Joker and Harley just look ridiculous. And not in a funny ha-ha ridiculous way.

* The soundtrack goes a little overboard in trying to provide appropriate themes. I'm honestly we surprised we didn't get Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic for Enchantress or Down Under for Boomerang.

* Enchantress' dancing while working her spells just looks goofy as all hell.

* A lot of the action-scenes are shot way too close and are way too dark. Maybe it was just the settings in my theater, but I could barely see some parts of the final fight.


Now, with that out of the way... let's look at some of the bits I think we were most worried about.



THE JOKER/HARLEY RELATIONSHIP

I've seen some critics complain that this is ambiguous but honestly, I think that's the way to go with it. Batman: The Animated Series dithered on this point as well up until Mad Love and there''s enough textual and metatextual evidence to make a case that The Joker (or at least one of his personalities) does harbor some genuine affection for Harley AND that The Joker (or one of his personalities) just sees her as one more prop to be used in his performances.

In one flashback, The Joker offers Harley to one of his business associates and Harley plays along with it. Joker winds up offing the guy but it's unclear if it's because he's insulted the man refused his gift or that said associate was even willing to entertain making time with Joker's gal for a moment. Is it romance or possessiveness? Can't it be both?  Or was it because it was Tuesday?

And then we have Joker's line to Harley right before she freely dives into the chemical vat. The one which sounds like a lost line from 50 Shades of Grey - "Desire leads to submission. Submission leads to power." Of course in a consensual BDSM relationship, the submissive does have all the power, but how much control did Harleen Quinzel have over her transformation into Harley Quinn?  Again, it could go either way.

To that end, Margot Robbie is a perfect Harley Quinn. She is both the bad-ass moll and the romantic who dreams of settling down somewhere that's green with The Joker as needed. Which is as it should be. They may seem contradictory to some critics but Harley's whole character is contradictory. That's part of her charm!



THE FRESH PRINCE OF GOTHAM

They did change Floyd Lawton a little bit for the sake of having Will Smith play him but the changes are largely cosmetic. Lawton's famed death wish is present (we see him insulting the guards in Belle Reve and spoiling for a fight when his cell doors are open) as is his snarky attitude. And while it's somewhat rushed, there's even a hint of the odd frienemy relationship that developed between Rick Flag and Deadshot in the original comics. For that, I can tolerate Will Smith calling The Wall "gangsta" after she shoots several of her own men.

We don't learn much of Lawton's history here, but it seems to take more from the New 52 origins where Lawton was the product of a poor family rather than a rich scion and a dark mirror of Bruce Wayne. There's also a fair bit of the character as written by Christos N. Gage in the 2005 Deadshot mini-series, where it was revealed Deadshot had an illegitimate daughter and he made an honest effort to try and clean up her neighborhood and take care of her despite his realization that he had no idea how to be a good guy OR a father.

The desire to do right by his daughter is this Deadshot's main motivation and we see some of that awkwardness in Smith's portrayal. There's a sense that he knows he's a bad man and that won't stop him from at least trying to be the dad his daughter needs.  Even if this does lead to him making a geometry lesson more complicated by trying to factor bullet weights into calculating the hypotenuse of a triangle.



FINAL THOUGHTS ON WHAT WENT RIGHT

* Despite certain members of the cast being criminally underused, there isn't really a bad performance in the whole movie.

* Viola Davis is PERFECT as The Wall.

* The scenes of the characters talking to each other are great. The movie needed more moments like that and less action scenes of the team fighting Lovecraftian beasties.

* The Flash cameo was pretty much perfect.

* As much as I hate The Joker's blinged-out teeth, I genuinely liked Jared Leto's performance as The Joker. Oddly enough, he reminded me of the Caesar Romero portrayal of The Joker, with the nightclub scene seeming like a modern update of the old Batman episodes where you would see the villains openly going out in costume to enjoy a night on the town.

* Jay Hernandez pretty much steals the movie as El Diablo.

* Overdone as they were, a lot of the music-video sequences are pretty good.

* Loved the shout outs to John Ostrander. Both of them.

* The mid-credits sequence. Perfect.

The Flash: Season Zero #18 - A Review

The good news is that Barry Allen has stopped the so-called King Shark from killing again. The bad news is that, in the process, he allowed a terrorist to escape from The Suicide Squad. The worst news is that they all have just ten minutes to stop a bomb from going off... and Deadshot just pumped Barry full of enough tranquilizer to make sure The Flash doesn't get in the way of The Squad and their target a second time...


The script for this issue is fairly good, with dialogue that sounds like it came right from the show. Cupid is appropriate flirty, Captain Boomerang makes a number of puns involving his favorite weapon. All well and good.

The actual story, however, suffers from a few logic gaps. The big one here is that Deadshot - a character not known for his compassion  - just happens to be carrying enough tranquilizer to take down a speedster in one shot. And then there's Amanda Waller's apparent stupidity in utilizing a blood-crazed monster as an agent on a mission requiring them to capture and question a suspect.


I've said before that I didn't think Phil Hester was the right artist for this series, but his talents prove well-utilized here. With the focus of this issue largely on The Suicide Squad, Hester's gritty style and talent for drawing monsters seems a good fit. And Eric Gapstur's inks perfectly enhance Hester's pencils.

The Flash: Season Zero #17 - A Review

Trapped in the bowels of ARGUS, Barry Allen has only minutes to save the unfortunate King Shark from killing again at the behest of Amanda Waller.  Naturally The Wall doesn't care about the toll the shark-man's endless hunger is taking on his mind - only that he's an asset that Task Force X can use. A little help from his friends may get Barry loose but can even he reach Coast City in time once he's free?


This latest issue is thrilling right up until the very last page where a whopping big plot hole reveals itself as we find out King Shark's target was a terrorist who needed to be questioned about an active bomb. Of course Amanda Waller wouldn't lose sleep over a dead terrorist. But the idea that The Wall would send an untested resource - to wit, a man-eating shark-man - out to capture a target who needed to be taken alive and hope that it could be kept under control long enough for an interrogation to occur is just plain idiotic!


Phil Hester is back in the artist's chair this time around and I can't say I've missed him too much. Some of the pages in this issue look rushed and sloppy. And I really do believe Eric Gapstur's style better fits the brighter aesthetic of The Flash universe.

The Flash: Season Zero #16 - A Review

Barry Allen is still determined to rescue the so-called King Shark from the clutches of The Suicide Squad. But even with Cisco and Caitlin backing him up and blueprints of ARGUS' headquarters and security systems, can The Flash accomplish this impossible mission? Not if Amanda Waller has anything to say about it. And armed with some newly built drones designed specifically for bringing down The Fastest Man Alive, she may indeed have the last word.


This issue marks the first time Eric Gapstur has handled the art duties on this series himself and it proves a welcome change. I love Phil Hester's artwork but his blocky style seemed a little stiff for The Flash. Gapstur's style is more fluid and there's a greater sense of motion to the book as a result.


The script itself is as enjoyable as we've come to expect from this creative team. Cisco makes A-Team references nobody else gets but proves to be far more than simple comic relief as he takes charge in the field and comes up with the plans that keep Barry in once piece. And while I side with those who dislike the newer, slimmer Amanda Waller design, I cannot deny that John Ostrander's Wall is very much here in spirit, no matter her appearance.

The Flash: Season Zero #15 - A Review

King Shark has been captured by The Suicide Squad, though they nearly killed Joe West in the process. This sets Barry Allen to tracking down this dangerous new villain group and sends him to Starling City looking for answers. Answers Oliver Queen has but doesn't want to give away...


With all the secrets upon secrets and shared information that has been revealed on The Flash and Arrow, it never occurred to me until now that Barry knows nothing about ARGUS or The Suicide Squad.  As such, the central conceit of this issue - that the sudden reemergence of Captain Boomerang with a gang of other killers would send Barry running for answers - is a brilliant one that helps to tie the two series even closer together.  As one might expect, there's a high humor quotient to this issue as Barry intrudes on Ollie's 'Arrow' time and fails to notice that while he might casually hold a conversation in the costume, The Arrow does not do anything casually.


Phil Hester is on familiar ground with his artwork here, having been the artist on Green Arrow for a number of years.  Hester's work with The Flash hasn't been bad but I think he's a better fit for the aesthetic of Arrow, which offers more opportunities for the shadowy, dramatic scenes that Hester excels at.  It's a debatable point but what can't be debated is that this issue is as well illustrated as it is well written.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #14 - A Review

To save Felicity, Ollie has surrendered himself to The Church of Blood!  Roy has the means to track him but with Diggle helping The Suicide Squad overseas he's a little short on back-up. Thankfully, there is one ARGUS agent who is available to help but calling them an unlikely ally is the understatement of the year.


Meanwhile, in Nanda Parbat, student Mesi Natifah is brought before Ra's Al Ghul. The leader of the League of Assassins does not impress easily but the young woman's actions in troubled times have accomplished that deed. And now he's ready to make her a rare offer...



One would think it impossible for a comic set between the seasons of a TV series to truly surprise its readers - we already know what characters will survive to see Season 3!  Yet Arrow: Season 2.5 #14 managed to surprise me not once, but twice!  I won't say anything beyond that save this - if you're a fan of the Arrow TV series and you aren't reading this comic already, you should start. Now.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #13 - A Review

As the Suicide Squad return home from their mission and debrief, Oliver Queen and Roy Harper leave on a new mission.  Brother Blood has captured Felicity Smoak and he demands a high price for her safe return - The Arrow himself!


I have mixed feelings about the script for this issue.  On the one hand, it's nice to see Roy Harper indulging in some of the snark so common to his comic-book counterpart.  On the other hand, I'm not sure that Felicity - even with her increased confidence post-Season One - would be quite so free about heckling Brother Blood as she is here.  There's a lot of good comedy here but I'm not sure it really fits Felicity's scared mode.


While I may quibble with the dialogue in this issue, I have no qualms about the artwork.  Joe Bennett and Craid Yeung continue to do a fine job on the main Arrow comic.  And Szymon Kudranski proves as impressive as always on the back-up Suicide Squad story.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #12 - A Review

I have only one word to say after the latest issue of Arrow: Season 2.5 - More!


The recent Suicide Squad: Crisis In Khandaq Special has proven superior to every Suicide Squad comic since the New 52 reboot and I would love to see this as a regular feature alongside the regular Arrow and The Flash comics.  Like John Ostrander before them, Marc Guggenheim and Keto Shimizu have drawn upon real world events to tell a tale that takes advantage of the setting of the DC Comics Universe while still being grounded in a gritty reality.

And yet there are a number of little touches that are offered up with surprising subtlety, such as Deadshot showing the outrage only a father could at the thought of little girls being endangered.  And Khem-Adam - this world's version of Black Adam - proves a frightening foe even without magical powers.  It spoils little to say that not everyone makes it out of this issue alive but hopefully Khem-Adam will return someday... perhaps even on Arrow itself.!


The artwork by Szymon Kudranski is as excellent as ever.  Comparable to Tony Harris in his photo-realistic style and use of shadow, Kudranski's also an excellent caricaturist who perfectly captures the likeness of the actors from the show.  This book has never looked as good as it has under his pencils.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #11 - A Review

About the last thing John Diggle wants to do is go back overseas in the company of Deadshot - the man who killed his brother. But when the alternative is his pregnant ex-wife going overseas in the company of the man who killed his brother (i.e. the very last thing John Diggle wants), he didn't have much choice but to volunteer and lead Task Force X into a war zone. He may be signing his own death warrant but that's why they call it The Suicide Squad.


I asked for it. And boy did I received it!  A full-length Suicide Squad special worthy of the name! I said in Arrow Season 2.5 reviews past that the back-ups by Keto Shimizu and Szymon Kudranski needed to be their own full-length book.  And what we see in this issue more than justifies my belief in the creative team.


I'm reluctant to say more about this issue save this: if you're a fan of the classic Suicide Squad comics of John Ostrander, you'd do well to check out this issue even if you're not normally an Arrow viewer.  Fans of military adventure fiction will likely enjoy this comic as well.  And Arrow-heads?  You'll like it too, especially for the cameo at the end.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #9 - A Review

Arrow: Season 2.5 #9 contains no major revelations nor big surprises. There are no major plot twists nor exciting cliff-hangers.What it does contain are a number of resolutions and set-ups for adventures yet to come.  These include Felicity being kidnapped by Brother Blood's cult and a Mirakuru-enhanced madman with a grudge against Oliver Queen being released onto the streets of Starling City.


Despite the generally sedate tone of the issue, Marc Guggenheim delivers a lot of good character moments as he engages in his house-keeping of the book's many subplots. Brother Blood indulges in some non-sequesters that would do Felicity Smoak proud. Roy Harper and Quentin Lance both awaken from their respective comas. And Oliver Queen has a prophetic nightmare as he comes down off the newest version of Vertigo to hit the streets.


The Suicide Squad story by Keto Shimizu shares this laid-back tone.  This story is devoted toward the introduction of a brave young woman, who offers herself up as a bride to one of Black Adam's followers in order to spare a pre-teen girl the same fate.  The art for both comics continues to adhere to the high standard set by Joe Bennett and Szymonn Kudranski's work to date on this series.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #8 - A Review

Poisoned by a new Vertigo variant, Oliver Queen is running amok. Hallucinating that his dead loved ones have come back to haunt him, Ollie put a major hurt on John Diggle, who was just barely able to escape to the Arrow Cave.  Good thing Sara Lance just got back into town and The Canary is on the case!


There isn't much action to this issue of Arrow: Season 2.5 and what action there is proves surprisingly brief.  Another surprise is that Joe Bennett seems to be a little off his game this week, with some of his characters oddly posed throughout the book - particular Canary in her fight with Arrow!  Still, Marc Guggenheim delivers some fun and witty dialogue as Round Two with Brother Blood and his followers is set up.  More, he appears to drop some hints regarding a certain mastermind with a league of his own and how it might be possible for several characters thought dead to have come back.


I fear I'm becoming a broken record with this comment but I have to say it again.  The only thing wrong with the Suicide Squad back-up comic is that it is too short!  Szymon Kudranski's artwork is amazing and Keto Shimizu's script manages to convey the personalities of both Deadshot and Bronze Tiger, though they barely have any dialogue at all!

Arrow: Season 2.5 #7 - A Review

Oliver Queen and John Diggle have escaped from the lair of Brother Blood.  But the fight is just beginning.  A vengeful Huntress is waiting for Ollie as he emerges from the sewers... and she's not alone!  Other people - loved ones he's failed - are there to confront Oliver, including his dead parents and best friend, Tommy!


The secret "twist ending" of this issue isn't much of a surprise.  Dedicated Arrow-Heads will guess almost immediately what's going on.  Despite this, Arrow: Season 2.5 #7 is an enjoyable read as writer Marc Guggenheim takes advantage of the gimmick to give us some insight into how the usually close-lipped Ollie views his mistakes.  Amusingly, some of his complaints mirror those of comic fans regarding how the character of Helena Bertinelli was treated when being adapted for the show or how Ollie reacted to Slade Wilson's killing of his mother.  An all-star team of artists worked on this story, giving the whole affair a disjointed feeling as the art shifts along with the visions tormenting Ollie.  For once, this lack of visual continuity works to the story's benefit.


As usual, the Suicide Squad back-up story by Keto Shimizu and Szymon Kudranski is as enjoyable as the Arrow one.  Indeed, it is so enjoyable I wish it was its own comic!  Getting one page every two weeks is a maddening way to tell a story and I'd love to see this as a longer feature.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #6 - A Review

The main portion of Arrow: Season 2.5 #6 is high on action and short on plot.  The focus lies upon Ollie and John, fighting to escape the clutches of The Church Of Blood.  At the same time, The Church of Blood begin the process to convert one of their own into a Mirakuru-enhanced soldier.


The script by Marc Guggenheim and Keto Shimizu is up to their usual standard, up until the last page. It is then that we are hit with something that honestly surprised me and things go above and beyond the usual high standard. I won't say what but suffice it to say it will inspire talk regarding a number of fan theories about the story-line of Season Three.

Sadly, the Suicide Squad page this week is a little lackluster, serving no purpose other than to let us know that Amanda Waller is more concerned about punishing the wicked than saving the innocent.  This is not exactly a newsflash to any fan of the show or the comics who has been paying attention. It's unclear why this scene is necessary beyond showing Lyla Michaels' growing discomfort with her job.


Still, the artwork is as wonderful as ever.  Joe Bennet is a wonderful fight choreographer and the action scenes in the main portion of the comic are well laid out.  And Szymon Kudranski adds his usual shadowy aura to the Suicide Squad back-up.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #5 - A Review

When the suspect in Laurel's latest case begins spouting off about a leather-masked god named Blood, it hits too close for comfort.  The rest of Team Arrow agrees it bares investigation, even though it's impossible for Sebastian Blood to have returned from the dead.  Meanwhile, Malcolm Merlyn - who would be faintly amused to hear anyone say that the dead don't come back - begins his training of his daughter Thea.

Meanwhile, in Khandaq, the terrorist leader responsible for kidnapping a number of schoolgirls gives the public a name.  He calls himself Khem-Adam - the ancient Egyptian phrase for Black Adam.  More, he claims to be a conduit for the ancient gods and to feel no pain...


The script for this issue by Marc Guggenheim and Keto Shimizu is fast-paced and feels just like a storyboard for an episode of the show.  The dialogue is crisp and hilarious and the action scenes well-played.  As before, I find the Suicide Squad back-up story to be as interesting as the main story and wish more space was being allocated for it, particularly in the wake of this issue's revelation that the terrorist leader for the group we've seen in action so far is Black Adam. Time will tell if we're about to see the first proof of magic in the unified DC Television Universe or if this is just another bone for the long-time comic fans.


The artwork is just as good as the scripts. Joe Bennett and Craig Yeung offer up some fine heroic artwork that is reminiscent of the works of Mike Grell, though not so heavily inked. The equally wonderful work of Szymon Kudranski in the Suicide Squad story is grittier and more realistic by comparison, in keeping with that story's darker aesthetic.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #4 - A Review

Arrow: Season 2.5 #4 is primarily concerned with the back-story of the new Brother Blood and how one of Sebastian Blood's underlings came to acquire his boss' mask and formed a doomsday cult in Starling City. The writers do a good job of delivering this information without it seeming like an exposition dump.  Nevertheless, this issue does feel somewhat repetitive as much of it repeats scenes from the show verbatim before building on the established material.  Nice as it is to see the "Bitch With Wi-Fi" scene again, it would have been better to see more new material.


The artwork by Joe Bennett and Craig Yeung is largely excellent, save that it loses fine detail in the middle and far distances.  A larger problem is that Bennett draws nearly every page as if he were emulating a camera that was in the process of falling to one side when it took its shot. I can understand wanting to vary up perspective but there's a number of pages where one wonders if they need to tilt their head to view the artwork properly or if someone changed the alignment of their monitor.


Personally, I found the all-too-brief back-up story involving the Suicide Squad far more interesting, if only for the revelation that Barack Obama is the president in the DC Television universe.  That's not to say the plot - based on current events involving religious extremists in Africa - isn't gripping stuff.  It is and I wish this comic devoted more than a page every two weeks to it.  I'd also like to see more of the photo-realistic artwork of Szymon Kudranski, whose previous work on Green Lantern I enjoyed.

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Arrow: Season 2.5 #3 - A Review

Times are tough for Oliver Queen and company.  Money is getting tight and it's getting harder and harder to get all the wonderful toys Ollie needs in his crusade to protect Starling City.  And things are becoming harder still, with Brother Blood seemingly returned from the dead and leading a new gang.


The third issue of Arrow: Season 2.5 is largely a housekeeping issue.  Little happens here in terms of the long-term plot, save that Ollie learns about Brother Blood's return and we, the readers, learn the secret of Brother Blood's resurrection.  One wishes they had kept the secret going a little longer but the story doesn't suffer from the revelation.  And there's a fair bit of humor in the opening sequence where we learn just who has been providing Ollie's new trick arrows.  The issue closes with the first part of a Suicide Squad mini-comic that promises to be an interesting read, if only for the real world issues it is based around.


The artwork is largely competent but nothing special.  Craig Yeung continues to create some wonderful splash-pages and close-ups but his work loses fine detail in the mid-range.  The Suicide Squad story drawn by Szymon Kudranski isn't bad, though it is heavily shrouded in inks as is typical of Kudranski's work.  Thankfully, the deep shadows fit the story, so in this case it works.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 16 - Suicide Squad

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



Plot

As Ollie prepares for the coming battle with Slade Wilson, Sara tries to back him up only to be pushed away.  Meanwhile, John Diggle is called away by Amanda Waller to assist with some ARGUS business.  An Afghan warlord who Diggle once saved is believed to have stolen a lethal chemical weapon and it's felt that Diggle may be their easiest connection to getting close to him.  Naturally Diggle is all too eager to help... until he is introduced to the rest of his team.

Enter Task Force X - a program that offers time-off to criminals in exchange for service in off-the-books operations.  Everyone on the team is a criminal The Arrow helped to bring down... including Diggle's own sworn enemy, Deadshot!  With the lives of millions at risk, can Diggle afford to hold on to his black and white morality in a world full of greys?


Influences

The 1980s Suicide Squad by John Ostrander, the 2001 Suicide Squad by Keith Giffen, Gail Simone's Secret Six and the 2005 Deadshot mini-series by Christos N. Gage.


Goofs

Why is a civilian like John Diggle allowed to walk into the cell-block housing Deadshot and the other Task Force X members?  Particularly after he told-off Amanda Waller and said he wasn't working for her anymore?


Performances

After spending the better part of Season Two on the sidelines, Diggle is finally given an episode in the spotlight and David Ramsey rises to the occasion.  Ramsey can steal a scene with one good line and the whole episode does a fine job of highlighting his talents.

This episode marks Michael Rowe's longest appearance playing Deadshot so far and it is the first episode where it feels like we really get a glimpse at the complex character that is Floyd Lawton.  Rowe captures both Lawton's death-wish and his dark sense of humor.  He said in an interview that the most interesting thing about Deadshot - and the main reason he loved playing him - was that there is something oddly likeable about Floyd and yet Floyd doesn't like himself at all.  To my mind, that sums the character up perfectly.

Though their parts this week are relatively small, Stephen Amell and Caity Lotz both capture Oliver Queen and Black Canary perfectly in this episode.  Pushing people away when he needs their help the most is vintage Ollie as is his desire to protect the woman he loves, even when she's perfectly capable of protecting herself and probably more capable than he is in a straight-up fight!  Lotz perfectly captures the comics' Canary's loving nature and desire to comfort her man, in spite of her frustration over what an ass he's acting like.


Trivia

Lyla texts Diggle and asks  her to meet him at Room 1141 at the Ostrander Hotel.  This is named in honor of John Ostrander - writer of the 1980's Suicide Squad comic and the co-creator (along with Len Wein and John Byrne) of Amanda Waller.

The nation of Kahndaq is mentioned during Diggle's briefing at ARGUS.  In the comics, Kahndaq is a fictional nation and home to the supervillain Black Adam.  It is in the Middle East, located between Israel and Egypt on the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula

Part of the episode takes place in Markovia.  In the comics, Markovia is located in Western Europe between France, Belgium and Luxembourg.  It is home to the hero Geo-Force.

The blonde woman with the squeaky voice on the Task Force X cell-block is credited as "Deranged Squad Female".  Given that she is played by Tara Strong, and that the woman claims to be a licensed therapist,  it seems clear the woman is meant to be Harley Quinn - a member of the Suicide Squad in the New 52 Suicide Squad series.

The robbery that Ollie goes to stop only to find the robbers already killed by Slade Wilson is located at 5th and Giffen.  This is in honor of Keith Giffen, who wrote the 2001 Suicide Squad comic.

Diggle's call-sign with The Squad is Freelancer. 

As in Gail Simone's Secret Six, Waller's call-sign is Mockingbird

As in Ostrander's Suicide Squad, explosives are used to keep the criminal members of Task Force X under control. 

The idea of Deadshot having a young daughter, whom he provides for using his earnings as an assassin was first introduced in the 2005 Deadshot mini-series by Christos N. Gage.  This series centered upon Floyd Lawton discovering he had a four-year-old daughter in Star City and - lacking anything better to do - deciding to turn his skills against the corrupt cops and dangerous gangs threatening the neighborhood she was being raised in.  His activities gained the attention of Green Arrow, who - finding out the reasons for Lawton's rampage - agreed to patrol the area more often in exchange for Deadshot agreeing to leave town.

Gail Simone would later pick up on this thread in her Secret Six book, where Floyd actually visited Zoe and made an honest attempt at being a father.  He would later decide it was better he not expose her to the dangers of his life and he told her mother as much over the phone.

Deadshot is depicted as having a death-wish and not really caring about whether he lives or dies.  This is consistent with his characterization in the comics, where the kindest thing to say would be that Floyd has issues.  Serious issues.

The detonation code for Deadshot's implant is BATB-25.  This is likely a reference to Brave And The Bold #25 - the first comic to feature the original 1959 Suicide Squad. 


Dialogue Triumphs

Amanda Waller: They're designated Task Force X.
Deadshot: Give me a break!  This ain't no task force.  Let's call it like it is.  Welcome to the Suicide Squad.

(To an arguing Diggle and Lyla)
Harley Quinn: Do you two cuties need some counseling?  I'm a trained therapist!

Diggle: A girl needs a father.
Deadshot: Nah.  Not this father.  Best thing I can do for her life?  Not be in it.

Ollie: I can't...I don't know how to stop him.
Sara: You start by letting people help you.
Ollie: But he's going to come after you!  You're alive... because Shado isn't.
Sara: And when he does do you think it will make a difference whether or not we're together?  Let him come.  I'm not the girl he knew on The Island.  I'm not that easy to kill.  Together?
Ollie: Together.

Lyla: What about us, Johnny?
Diggle: Last night the man who killed my brother showed more character than the woman charged with protecting the world.  Good and Bad, it's not so clear to me.  One thing I do know for sure- Black and White - is that I can't ever lose you again.


Continuity

Ollie and Sara are seen sleeping in the Arrow Cave at the start of the episode, indicating Moira's threat to kick Ollie out of her house in 215 was not an idle one.

Oliver makes contact with Alexi Leonov - his contact with the Russian Mafia in Starling City, last scene in 112.  By episode's end, Ollie with have cut all ties with the Russian Mafia and Alexi is dead by Slade Wilson's hand.

Waller's Suicide Squad is made up of villains Arrow was responsible for catching.  They include Bronze Tiger (last seen in 212 ), Shrapnel (last seen in 210 ) and Deadshot (last seen in 206).  We also see Amanda Waller for the first time since 212.  Shrapnel is killed after he attempts to escape.

We see John Diggle's current girlfriend/former wife Lyla Michaels for the first time since 206.

Ted Gaynor, whose death we witnessed in 111,  is seen in the flashback scenes.

The mask Slade leaves at the robbery scene is identical (if not the same mask) that we saw on The Island in the pilot episode.

By episode's end, Waller says they'll implant the kill-chips for the Squad members in their spines.

Ollie and Thea both hated swimming as children.

In the episode's final moments, it is revealed that Oliver Queen and Amanda Waller have some manner of prior relationship and that Oliver is aware Amanda knows his secret identity.  He also has some reason to hate Amanda but notes that she is much lower down on his list these days.

Waller reveals that Slade Wilson's assassin alter ego has been dubbed Deathstroke by ARGUS.


Location

The flashbacks for the episode - six years earlier - are set in RC South, Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The majority of the episode takes place in Markovburg, Markovia.


The Bottom Line

For once, the interplay between Ollie and Sara isn't the focus of an episode nor is it the best part.  Forget a Flash TV series next season - I want more Suicide Squad!  With Harley Quinn as a series regular!  And Clock King as a part of the Squad!  And blackjack!  And hookers!