Green Arrow has agreed to help Amanda Waller retrieve the secrets of Sanctuary, the disastrous superhero therapy centre which aimed to help Heroes in Crisis. Waller being a homicidal megalomaniac these days, Ollie’s not exactly in her corner, he aims to rescue the last hero she recruited/coerced into going into sanctuary – Ollie’s ward Roy, Arsenal.
Ollie isn’t alone, he has son Connor Hawke with him as he heads for the frozen wastes where Sanctuary seems to be these days… wasn’t it previously in sunny Nebraskan fields?
They’re ready for an ambush, but not for the identities of their attackers.
And most surprising of all…
Mia was the street kid who took on Roy’s hero identity years ago. I thought she’d been wiped away by continuity and it seems Ollie did too. And that she thought Ollie was gone. Then, who should Ollie meet but the leader of this ragtag team of Robina Hoods.
It’s Roy himself.
Writer Joshua Williamson may as well have called this issue ‘Limbo dancing’, given it brought back so many characters who have been in comics limbo or, in the case of the recently introduced Red Canary, should be there. I mean, she’s a kid with a stick, and no ties to the Green Arrow/Black Canary family.
It’s good to see Mia again, and I always liked Arrowette from Young Justice, but this issue just emphasises how overcrowded Ollie’s life is when it comes to sidekicks (see also Batman and Superman). At this rate I wouldn’t put it past Williamson to have Xeen Arrow show up next issue. What I’d like to see is a speedy wrap-up to the Waller business in this book – DC are guaranteeing several months more across the line, sadly – and a thinning out of the cast. Since this series began it’s been all over the shop in terms of characters and setting; I’m ready for Ollie and Dinah to spend some quality time together, with just one sidekick dropping by for a bowl of chili each week. Enough cosmic tomfoolery, how about some down-to-earth supervillains who can reasonably be beaten with a flying fondue arrow.
As a quippy time passer I enjoyed this comic well enough. Ollie is on good form, and there are some great hugs, beautifully presented by co-artists Sean Izaakse and Tom Derenick… don’t worry about who draws what, editors Chris Rosa and Paul Kaminski don’t.
I especially like the treatment of the background by colourist Romulo Fajardo Jr, who does a fine job throughout. I would like it if the four female archers had been differentiated a tad more by the artists in terms of body type, and height – when they’re in silhouette they’re the same person. On the other hand, a million points for Ollie’s woolly hat, he should keep it. Plus, a cracking final page by, I think, Tom D.
Letterer Troy Peteri finds some surprisingly friendly fonts, and bless his patience when things get super-wordy
To be fair, I think this is Williamson establishing how excited Mia – an anagram of ‘aim’, I finally notice – is to see her old mentor.
The cover by Izaakse and Fajardo is a cracker, though it’s a shame it gives away Mia’s return. This is a pretty decent issue, despite the overcrowding in the heroes-with-quivers department. If you’ve read this one, I’d love to hear what you reckon to it.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
Based on the reviews I’ve read of this title, it mainly seems to exist to lead into the Amanda Waller event. Is that your take, Martin? And didn’t this happen with Williamson a few years ago on the title he was writing with Deathstroke and Black Canary? It was really just all set up for Dark Crisis? It’s one thing if that’s the purpose of a limited series. But an ongoing? Five or ten years from now, will Williamson’s Green Arrow run stand up if it’s just the prequel to something? – Brian
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think you’re probably right, with luck once it’s done the lead-in bit the comic will settle down a tad, perhaps with a new writer.
LikeLike
Re: Red Canary…”Characters who have been in limbo… or should be”
Ahahahahahahahahhaha! Savage, my friend. Savage!
LikeLiked by 1 person
She’s definitely cannon fodder. She’s like Roscoe way back when, the great guy who tried to be Captain America when Steve Rogers was Nomad the first time, only not likable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bring on the big guns!
LikeLike
Just read this… and I share your confusion about the placement of Sanctuary. Especially because we see the Nebraska fields in one of this issue’s flashbacks! At first I thought the files had been moved, and they were just tracking them down, but by the end, it seems like the whole Sanctuary facility has been moved? I don’t get it.
Same with all of the archers crowding Ollie out of his book: Less of them, please. Especially since Williamson doesn’t even seem to have a grip on how archers would defend a place. Hint: they’d fire arrows, not jump out of the shadows for hand-to-hand combat. He even directly states that one of them (and who the hell cares who, they’re indistinguishable) is a specialist as a sniper. So why leap into battle?
As for Red Canary, I’d find her a power-set and then keep her around. It’s about time somebody idolized Dinah. The other three clones can fight it out until there’s just one standing. I feel like we need a Crisis just to clear out the Arrow family.
As for this being a lead-up to Absolute Power, from what I recall, this was originally intended as a limited series…or at least, they had a plan for a conclusion at issue 6, but them decided to extend it when it was selling well. Sort of like Poison Ivy or the recent Swamp Thing series.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a lovely point about someone idolising Dinah, it’s just that Red Canary is so under qualified – she’s an apparently untrained kid with a couple of sticks. Black Canary is the most grounded of heroes, and very maternal/big sister-ish… remember how it was she who helped Roy Harper get through his drugs crisis? I can’t see her encouraging Red Canary. I can see Dinah taking her under her wing and giving her an insight into the life she wants to lead. Make her aware of the dangers and if she still wants to live it, enrol her in whatever the equivalent of Ted Grant’s gym is these days. Maybe have Cassie Kane (is that her name, kid with the sewn-up mask?) train her a tad. As it is, she’s looking like Redshirt Canary.
LikeLike