RIP David Cassidy

After a frightening few days, actor/musician/songwriter David Cassidy has passed away at the age of 67. We have lost more than a couple folks in the last few days, but this one has hit me the hardest, perhaps because he was such a part of my childhood.

Mel Tillis was more of someone I heard about than heard from, most as a joke on "The Tonight Show;" Della Reese was a great talent, but other than "Touched by an Angel," I was for the most part unfamiliar with her; Charles Manson haunted the recesses of my formative years, was legend if nothing else, and if I'm being honest, Steve Railsback's portrayal of him in the TV movie Helter Skelter was far more frightening than the real thing I saw cavorting in his cell on Tom Snyder's "Tomorrow;" and Malcolm Young of AC/DC was a great loss, but let's be honest, the band's golden age was decades ago, and that's coming from a fan. But David Cassidy, this one resounded with me.

David Cassidy was Friday night after "The Brady Bunch." And although I preferred the Bradys over "The Partridge Family," the latter was much cooler, much hipper, and more real to me. Perhaps I remember hearing somewhere that they were real, or based on real people (I know now it was the Cowsills), but the Family, their bus, and especially David Cassidy's Keith Partridge, were all way cooler than the Bradys. When David's little brother came along later, I liked him, but still remember thinking David was cooler.

One of my favorite underrated and lost TV series featured David Cassidy as an undercover cop in high school and was a backdoor pilot and spin-off from "Police Story." The premise of cop in high school worked better the first few episodes then fizzled out, but I still remember the oddly titled "David Cassidy: Man Undercover" fondly. It was the godfather of "21 Jump Street," and to this day I think it was better.

Later I discovered his music, both solo and with what passed for the Partridge Family on vinyl, the nerd in me loved his role of Mirror Master in the original 1990 "The Flash" TV series, and I still enjoy his daughter Katie on "Arrow" as both the Black Canary, and now the Black Siren.

David Cassidy was a star of TV, stage, and music, and will be missed.

Torso, Justice League, and the Russian Avengers

Confession time.  I hadn’t thought about this in years, decades really, but it came up recently in a Twitter conversation with friend and fellow Biff Bam Popper Tim Murr.  He’d just seen the 1973 pre-slasher era horror classic Torso and I’d mentioned I’d seen it in its initial run, when I was ten.  I wasn’t a bad kid really I wasn’t, but let’s face it, I was that night.

On what might seem like a dare, but was more like a don’t be a body part Trump thinks he can grab without permission, three other boys in my class and I sneaked out after nine during the summer and watched Torso at the drive-in with no sound from the woods near the screen.  My siblings are probably shocked right now, and my parents both passed would have kicked my butt majorly if they’d known, but yeah, I did it.

Arrow S06 E05: Deathstroke Returns

When Deathstroke returned last season I wondered aloud if a spin-off was in the wind.  Certainly there’s been more effort to spotlight the character on “Arrow” than the other two spin-offs, one successful (“The Flash”) and one aborted (“Suicide Squad”) in favor of a movie.  Here again in this episode, it seems they’re trying again. 

Thematically this season with Oliver abandoning his Green Arrow identity to make more time for his son William, he has much in common with Slade Wilson who is searching for his lost son.  In the comics, Slade’s son Joseph was the New Teen Titan known as Jericho, a deaf hero who not only had the ability to possess people by eye contact, but also frequently fought against his father with the Titans.  With a Teen Titans TV series in production, one wonders how much, if any, of that will translate to “Arrow.”

Considering that Joe has changed his name to Kane Wolfman (Nice homage to his co-creator Marv Wolfman) and Slade has been tracking him around the world, I’m guessing it won’t.  Kane has also gone into the ‘intelligence’ business and has wound up a prisoner in Kasnia, a fictional nation of tumultuous leadership that has turned up time and again in the DC Animated Universe, once even being ruled over by Vandal Savage.  Slade needs Oliver’s help to save his son. 

If this is a backdoor pilot for a Deathstroke, it’s a poor one.  Despite the title of this episode I was bored.  The B-plot back in Star City was far more interesting and compelling, if predictable, even with the dark matter twist.  Anyway, we get some bad espionage that reminded me of some of the more boring Bratva episodes of last season, followed by Deathstroke going all Punisher on the generic bad guys before being confronted by his son, the new leader of the Jackals.  Slade will get another chance to prove himself show worthy next episode. 

We actually open however on the councilwoman, who is pushing for vigilante legislation, being targeted by a sniper.  Based on the ‘previously on Arrow’ catch-up showing Vigilante, and realizing, hey, he’s still at large, it’s obviously him.  Prometheus made us forget all about this weak subplot that by all intentions should have been Adrian Chase. 

In a clash with Black Canary, where her sonic cry shattered Vigilante’s visor, he took off his mask and she got a good look at him.  He’s Vincent Sobol, her old partner, whose face looks like he somehow survived that gunshot to the head.  That of course is his metahuman ability, some sort of regeneration, possibly coupled with brain damage or derangement.  Either way it looks like he’ll be hanging around a bit, forgotten subplot or not. 

Samanda Watson continues to question and investigate.  She is either playing dumb of she’s figured out exactly who everyone on Team Arrow is.  If nothing else, shouldn’t have found that all these folks all hang out at the same abandoned warehouse at all hours of the day?  And how is it the FBI can’t cooperate with say, the DEO or ARGUS on this investigation?  She’d have all the answers, and a cease and desist as well by now. 

Our ‘flashback island’ this episode is thirteen years ago, in New Zealand, as Slade tries to balance his secret life with a camping trip with son Joe.  The analogy to Oliver and William painfully obvious and my back hurts from being hammered only moments in.  I did find it intriguing that Slade calls his son ‘kid’ just like he does Oliver.  Too bad he probably also traumatized his son for life, but we’ll see for sure next time.

I found it interesting that Felicity mentioned attending Iris West’s bachelorette party over on “The Flash,” but there’s no reason given why Oliver didn’t attend Barry’s bachelor party, nor is it even acknowledged.  I know Oliver can be a real stick in the mud and funless at times, but could it be he wasn’t invited?  Would Barry choose party crasher Ralph Dibny over Oliver? 

Another nice bit was Nylander calling Slade the Terminator.  Interesting sidenote, Deathstroke the Terminator was originally the villain’s full name until some James Cameron flick called The Terminator came out and DC Comics toned down its use of that term.  We also get another piece of the puzzle of what happened on Lian Yu in last season’s cliffhanger.  John says to Felicity that Slade left them in the island. 

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode, anything else in the Arrowverse, or anything in the Marvel or DC television or cinematic universes, please join the Marvel DC Movies TV group on Facebook.

Next: Promises Kept!

Arrow S06 E02: Tribute

Like last episode, we seem to be bouncing off of the previous episode’s cliffhanger, in this case, the news media’s reveal of Oliver Queen as the Green Arrow, a story so big it was even noted in last week’s episode of “The Flash.” We open with Oliver confronting the press, and denying he is Green Arrow, saying that photos can be doctored, and anyone’s head could have been put on that body, even Bruce Wayne. 

That’s an interesting name drop to make, especially for the Arrowverse.  For five seasons now it has seemed that Green Arrow has been playing proxy for Bruce Wayne AKA Batman.  He has faced so many Bat-foes, including Talia and Nyssa, the League of Assassins, Deadshot, the Dollmaker, Prometheus, Solomon Grundy, the Huntress, and most of all, R’as Al Ghul, that one might speculate that Batman doesn’t exist in the Arrowverse as Oliver has filled that role. 

Of course, to be fair, Green Arrow has also faced a truckload of Teen Titans, Flash, and even (who would have thought?) Green Arrow villains over five seasons as well, so it might not mean anything.  And while it is the first name drop of Bruce Wayne or Gotham, Bludhaven has been mentioned numerous times.  All that said, I wouldn’t mind a Bat in the Arrowverse if only to see him interact with Oliver. 

In his office, Oliver has a surprise waiting, FBI Agent Samanda Watson, there to investigate the allegation that Oliver is the Green Arrow.  While Samanda seems to be a new character with no counterpart in the comics, she is played by Syndelle Noel, who does have a very cool comic book connection.  She’ll be playing one of the Dora Milaje in the Black Panther movie.  Folks might also know her as Cherry ‘Junk Chain’ Bang from “GLOW.”  The show is really rocking its wrestling connections. 

When we cut to the only-seconds-long title sequence we get a new treat.  It’s not just an arrowhead symbol and the word ‘Arrow’ any more.  We see new stylized symbols for Black Canary, Wild Dog, Mr. Terrific, Overwatch, Spartan, and Green Arrow.  I guess it wasn’t unveiled until this episode so as not to spoil who survived Lian Yu.  Nice, I like it, like the mention of the Human Target moments after it.  It’s a big universe, why not a Batman too?

Team Arrow is obviously under pressure with Oliver’s identity possibly out in the open and the authorities having him under a microscope.  Much like Batman and his own team, once Oliver’s identity is compromised, it’s a short jump and a straight line as to who the rest of Team Arrow actually is.  I was pleased that at least the showrunners acknowledge this. 

Another comics name drop in the episode is one that has appeared often, Markovia.  Oliver is trying to bring their Vortex Industries to Star City to create jobs, but the press won’t let go of the Green Arrow thing.  One has to wonder though, with all this talk of Markov and Vortex, will we see Geo-Force, Terra, or maybe Count Vertigo soon?  The wondering does not last long as the entourage is attacked by the KGBeast and his men.  However Anatoly and the Bratva are not after Oliver, they’re after the Markovians. 

Like the Black Siren last episode, this is another villain seeking revenge.  Team Arrow suspects its Anatoly who leaked the photo of the unmasked Oliver in costume to tie his hands in this current operation.  He’s holding the Markovians hostage for $20 million, the exact amount the insurance paid out for the police station the Siren blew up.  Coincidence?  I think not. 

In soap opera corner, Oliver continues to spar with William.  I gotta say I love the kid’s Flash backpack, a callback to the first time the character appeared and he liked the Flash better.  Further complications arise with the possibility that Watson may interrogate William regarding his father and mother.  John’s subplot has been revealed as degenerative cell damage from shrapnel he caught on Lian Yu.  And I dig that Dr. Schwartz is slowly becoming an honorary member of the team. 

In the end, Oliver and Anatoly part honorable enemies, and Oliver promises to be a better dad to William.  We know how his promises work out, Oliver never changes.  He is going to try however, the first step is pass the mantle of the Green Arrow to John.  But John is pulling an Oliver and not telling him about his handicap. Looks like we’re going to see a hero fall sooner or later...

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode, anything else in the Arrowverse, or anything in the Marvel or DC television or cinematic universes, please join the Marvel DC Movies TV group on Facebook.

Next: The live action debut of another Green Arrow villain from the comics - Onyx - in “Next of Kin!” 

Arrow S06 E01: Fallout

If I’m being honest, which I always am, it was hard to concentrate on anything happening in the first few minutes of this sixth season opening episode of “Arrow” because I was too busy taking attendance.  After the way the island of Lian Yu, which I nicknamed Flashback Island after its use for that titular plot device, blew up with the entire cast, sans Oliver, on it, what else could I do?  I hated that cliffhanger when it aired, and hate it just as much now. 

Again, I was happy as I counted them off - Green Arrow, Spartan, Wild Dog (in a slick red and black outfit, counter to last season’s look and his costume in the comics), Mr. Terrific, and Overwatch - all taking down a criminal terrorist named Alex Faust (any relation to Felix? With John Constantine in the Arrowverse, so is sorcerer Felix Faust).  It was a little disappointing that Felicity was only there as tentative romantic interest for Oliver, and to hand out Big Belly Burger to the men. 

We are shown the caption tag ‘five months later,’ which in itself in interesting.  Over on “The Flash,” Central City has been ill-protected since Barry Allen entered the Speed Force, and we’re uncertain what the status quo is in Star City only a few minutes into the episode.  It would seem to me that the gaps between seasons on both shows might actually be more interesting than the pick-up almost a year later. 

Nevertheless time has moved on.  Oliver is struggling to raise his son William without a mother, indicating that she probably did not survive Lian Yu; Oliver and Felicity seem to still have a tenuous relationship, and she may or not still be a part of Team Arrow; and Rene is apparently rocking a suit and writing speeches for Oliver.  We also meet a new(?) character, Raisa, who helped raise Oliver and is now doing the same for William.

If you listen close to Team Arrow’s conversation after they nab Faust, you’ll know that Dinah also survived, we finally see her a couple scenes later interrogating the psycho villain.  We also find that Quentin is still with us (did anyone die in the island?) playing mind games with his own perceived guilt and alcoholism.  When Dinah goes to help him through it, Faust helps break himself out with another Lian Yu survivor, and his boss, the Black Siren.  She and her goons blow the hell out of the police station, all before we see the opening title card. 

When Team Archer regroups, the reveal of Black Siren is a surprise as they all thought she died on Lian Yu.  Quentin seems to think she went to the police station looking for him.  We get a great little street fight between Team Arrow and the bad guys, with Canary against Siren.  Wild Dog is injured when Spartan hesitates.  And the whole fight has weird aerial cinematography as if shot from one of the T-Spheres.  I did not like it. 

Oliver was missing for five years, and with “Arrow” having run five seasons, the flashbacks have come full circle.  So now it seems the flashbacks will work on the five months since the cliffhanger, letting us know what happened in that time frame.  It’s not a matter of who didn’t make it, but how they did or didn’t.  Every moment of this episode shows us someone else alive, either seeing them or mentioning them.  Add Deathstroke and Nyssa to that list.  Would Talia, Captain Boomerang, Merlyn, Speedy, and William’s mother be the only ones who didn’t make it?  Or not.  We’ll see. 

The soap opera kicks in heavy with Quentin’s guilt coming from him trying to kill Black Siren on the island.  And William knows his dad is the Green Arrow, and blames him for his mom’s death.  Just like he was boyfriend of the year, it looks like he’ll be father of the year too.  Throw in John’s problem as a subplot too, and that’s at least enough to start the season.  At least William and Oliver get a little closer at the end, but the latest cliffhanger should undo that...

In the meantime, it turns out the Black Siren’s real target is the Bunker, or as I like to call it, the Arrowcave.  The question is, was she trying to blow the place up, or something else maybe?  Was she trying to steal something?  In multiple epilogues we find Thea in a coma; Deathstroke and Wild Dog both benefiting from Oliver helping them be better fathers; and John not using his gun because of seemingly PTS from shrapnel received on the island.  And then there’s the TV news stinger revealing that Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow...

This episode was good, but affected negatively by the last season end, its piecemeal vibe, and almost immediate dive into soap opera and subplot.  It’s just too soon. 

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode, anything else in the Arrowverse, or anything in the Marvel or DC television or cinematic universes, please join the Marvel DC Movies TV group on Facebook.

Next: “Tribute!”

Len Wein and the Golden Age of Comics

There's a saying among comics fandom, a play on words really, that the real golden age of comics is ten. Traditionally the Golden Age is considered roughly from 1938 to 1951 when all the great characters were created and things were simpler and better in general. Also as implied, when most folks start reading comics they are a magical age when they believe all the wonders they read, and that nostalgia stays with them, forming the basis for their love of the genre. For me, that love came roughly between the ages of six and twelve, and most of the good comics that formed my magic time were by a guy named Len Wein.

The man passed away this past weekend, and many folks have memorialized him, in personal blogs, comics press, and even the mainstream media. Most mention his huge triumphs in the field. Len Wein created Wolverine, Swamp Thing, co-created the New X-Men, and edited Watchmen - all events that advanced, shaped, and transformed comics as an entertainment medium - and all true. However, that's not really what I remember him for. I remember him for the comics that shaped me and my thinking, and my love of comics.

As I was beginning to learn to read, more from comic books and Dr. Seuss than from any of the Dick and Jane readers at school, Len Wein wrote the comics that thrilled and amazed me. When comics were coming down off the social relevance trend of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Wein sought to bring back the characters that made comics fun for him. He re-established the paradigm of superheroes and super-villains, and returned a fun Silver Age and even Golden Age vibe to the oncoming Bronze Age of comics.

In Justice League of America, a comic he was only on for a short time, he turned these characters from a group of heroes who sometimes worked together into a team of friends who were a finely tuned fighting unit, who knew each other, watched each other's backs, and even socialized together. Wein returned not only traditional Silver Age villains like Amazo, the Key, Felix Faust, T.O. Morrow, the Shaggy Man, Eclipso, (and indirectly the Queen Bee and the Lord of Time), but also revived Golden Age superheroes like Earth-Two's other super-team (a decade before the All-Star Squadron) the Seven Soldiers of Victory, and gathered the old Quality Comics heroes as the Freedom Fighters of Earth-X, a parallel world where Germany won World War II - soon to be featured in an animated series on CW Seed. In an age where young readers were being newly introduced to these characters in the reprints of the 100-Page Super-Spectaculars, Wein brought us new stories of these greats.

Wein also, in his all-too-brief fifteen issue run on JLoA, expanded the membership for the first time in years. He added the Elongated Man, a move that was a long time coming; moved the emotional android Red Tornado over from Earth-Two, after killing him in one of comics' earliest hero deaths; and inducted the mysterious and seemingly out-of-place Phantom Stranger into the team's ranks. He was able to make the Stranger work within the team better than any later writers, probably because Wein himself was writing the character in his own title at the same time. He always had a mastery of these new members, as well as guest-stars, the Justice Society, when under his pen. Speaking of the JSA, Wein had the honor of writing the hundredth issue team-up of the JLA/JSA, as well as introducing the concept of adding a third team to the annual mix, and even wrote the only one-issue teaming of them. Speaking of guest-stars, he also helped engineer the first unofficial DC/Marvel crossover at the Rutland Halloween Parade.

Speaking of the JSA, another story that resonates with me to this day is Flash #215, written by Wein during his short stint on that title, which I've briefly talked about before. With a dramatic Neal Adams cover and interiors by Irv Novick, in my opinion, the Flash artist, this story told the tale of Barry Allen waking up in bed with his Earth-Two counterpart's wife Joan, finding that he'd replaced Jay Garrick. After that weirdness, Barry goes on the find Jay in the limbo dimension and fighting the Vandal Savage, yet another Golden Age character that Wein breathed new life into. This remains one of my favorite Flash stories, and made me love Jay Garrick.

Also notable from this era were his Adventure Comics stories with Supergirl and Zatanna respectively, which I still love. I bet if he'd stayed on JLoA longer, he would have brought Zatanna on to the team much earlier than she ended up joining. While they were going on at roughly the same time, and I did not read them at the time, I did eventually read Wein's fantastic stories of the Swamp Thing, Phantom Stranger, and Korak, and dug them. And let's not forget that he also co-created the Human Target, a back-up feature I never understood as a kid, but loved as an adult.

This was the mid-1970s now, and Len Wein had moved across the street to Marvel Comics, where he would create Wolverine as a Hulk foe; assemble the New X-Men, reviving that title which had been in low-selling reprints for a while; and had longer (if not as memorable, to me at least) runs on titles like Amazing Spider-Man, Thor, Fantastic Four, and Marvel Team-Up. What I do remember him on was Defenders, which he picked up on after Steve Englehart left the book. Wein would recruit Nighthawk to the team, one of my favorite Defenders, after an eerily familiar clash with Marvel's parallel universe evil Justice League, the Squadron Supreme (or was it Sinister? I always get confused).

Len Wein would return to DC Comics however as an editor. He was editing both Justice League of America and Flash ironically when I met him at a Creation convention around the time of those two titles' 200th and 300th landmark issues respectively. I told him how much I enjoyed his Justice League stories, but also expressed, perhaps too cockily, an opinion that the 200th issue shouldn't be so full of guest-stars as the 100th issue was. He took the left-handed compliment well, smiled, and said I would be pleased with Justice League of America #200. I was, the tale, which pitted the original members against all the later members of the team in a retelling and return to their origin, is not only one of my favorite stories, but also a lot of folks' too.

Later Wein would go on to edit Watchmen, write the new Blue Beetle series, and oversee the Who's Who project, all wonderful stuff. He continued to write and edit for years to come, including Batman, Wonder Woman, and After Watchmen. He won many awards, even wrote for television animation, the last work I saw from him was the adaptation of Harlan Ellison's script for Two-Face on the 1966 "Batman" television series. We have lost one of the greats in the comics field, and we are all poorer for it. Len Wein was and is a legend, and he'll be missed.

Back in a Flash

Back in a flash, and gone in a flash as well. I haven't read a DC Comic in quite some time, maybe a year at least. There was a moment there, just a moment mind you, when there was interest, but the event fatigue that has almost killed Marvel Comics, drove me equally away from DC. Notice that the thrust of this single issue of The Flash I'm looking at today is pretty much following up storylines from my reviews a year ago, not cool. Whatever happened to one-and-done comics? Hell, one story in one issue could be the next hot gimmick - that's one gimmick I would gladly put my money down for.

Speaking of money, and I hope the powers that be are reading this, the first comic book I had to have, and actually sought out a comic shop to go and put money on the counter for was The Flash #22, and that was for Jay Garrick, the real Jay Garrick, the original Golden Age Flash. That's $2.99 sight unseen, from the shelf to the counter and out the door. Think about that, DC Comics, you put the real Jay Garrick in a comic book, and I hand you money. Otherwise, I'm not interested in your line for a year or more. Someone says there's a traditional hero from my childhood acting like a hero, and I'm a customer again. Do the math.

This issue is the fourth part of a storyline called "The Button," some hogwash trying to connect Watchmen to the DC Universe. I'm really not interested honestly. Watchmen's story is over. Anyone who read the acclaimed maxi-series knows this. Any further use of the characters, who are technically Charlton heroes and barely Alan Moore's creations, is just DC giving Moore the finger. So as far as any of this button nonsense goes, I really don't care. It's the Jay Garrick stuff I want to talk about.

Jay Garrick is the first Golden Age superhero from Earth-Two I got to know. I never had a problem with the multiverse, it's only DC's writers who had trouble with that. I was fascinated by this older Flash from another world, and as I got older, I grew to love those Golden Age versions of the heroes more than the rest – Green Lantern, Hawkman, Doctor Fate, they ruled, but Jay was the first and the best.

Jay Garrick is cover-featured on The Flash #22, shown burning through the original cover of Flash Comics #1 from 1940 to appear today. Nice effect, as if the book wasn't already sold on me. Sadly, Jay only appears on five pages of this roughly twenty-one-page comic. It was enough to make me cheer for a moment, but then again that's something Marvel hasn't been able to do for quite some time.

Batman and the Flash, the Rebirth versions of these characters, are in pursuit of the Reverse-Flash through the time stream. The villain is apparently destroyed by a force - maybe God, maybe Doctor Manhattan – that also leaves our heroes without their Cosmic Treadmill and swept away into the winds of time. Metaphoric and cosmic, but it's that kind of comic. Then they hear a voice, telling Barry to say his name, "Jay."

There's a weird Shazam! like vibe in that, but the name summons Jay Garrick, and he uses his speed to get Batman and Flash back to their universe, back to the Batcave, back home. He looks like our Jay Garrick, sleeker, maybe not as much of an old man, and the costume has a few tweaks, but nothing to complain about – shinier helmet, new boots, and his sleeves cover his hands more. It was still Jay, not that guy from that Earth 2, this was the old Flash I loved.

Jay mentions being free, perhaps from the Speed Force, or some other dimension, or maybe some other Earth invisible from the 52-Earth multiverse… or maybe from Doctor Manhattan himself. Like Wally West in DC Universe Rebirth #1, he tries to get Barry to remember him, to no avail, and he vanishes into oblivion. I got my five pages and DC got my three bucks.

The deal still stands however. Give me back my Flash, hell, I'll get greedy, give me back my Justice Society, and I'll give you my money, DC Comics, deal?

Arrow S05 E19: Dangerous Liaisons

With Adrian Chase exposed as Prometheus and on the run, with the whole city, maybe the whole country (I guess the Flash is too busy mangling timelines to help), on the look out for him, how can he stay hidden?  Still he manages to pull the authorities' chains as in the opening sequence in the arcade with Wild Dog and Mr. Terrific, nice. 

My question lies in that vein.  Is Green Arrow still a wanted man?  Would Chase's revelation really even affect that?  And furthermore, if Green Arrow is still wanted (as might be assumed by Oliver's itchy man in black ninja outfit), wouldn't it follow that Team Arrow are also wanted as accessories, if not simply for questioning?  They seem to get free rein in the opening, and it's not like they're all that hard to miss. 

Things get really bad when Felicity demonstrates just how stupid she can really be.  Why she trusts Helix is beyond me.  She was a hacker, she should know how they operate, especially after she knows they hacked her and Team Arrow already.  Here's the kicker - in exchange for their help in finding Prometheus, Helix wants Felicity to hack ARGUS for them. 

Alena (Kojo Sledgehammer) and Helix are far more sinister than we originally thought.  As a matter of fact I think this episode may actually be setting up the big bad for season six of "Arrow." Alena tells Felicity of Cayden James, who formed Helix, and is the world's most skilled hacker.  Felicity has never heard of him, and Alena's answer is that he's just that good, he's a ghost, and he hasn't been seen since ARGUS picked him up. 

Most skilled?  In a world with Felicity, Cisco, the Calculator, Brie Larvan, the Thinker from the next season of "The Flash," and all these Helix misfits?  Hard to believe, and harder to believe that both the next seasons of "Flash" and "Arrow" would involve cerebral big bads.  Perhaps Helix will emerge as something more like its comics counterpart rather than Checkmate as I first suspected? 

In the comics, Helix is something far too way out and comic booky for a show like "Arrow."  These antagonists of Infinity Inc., the sons and daughters of the Justice Society, were a super-villain group whose genetically engineered members included Mister Bones, a living skeleton with a death touch; Baby Boom, an adult in a five year old girl's body who blows things up; and Carcharo, and giant man-Shark.  Hmmm, we've already had King Shark, so maybe they aren't all that weird...

The thrust of the episode is that Felicity is working for both Team Arrow and Helix even when their objectives clash.  Helix wants their founder Cayden James released from ARGUS, and he coincidentally has tech that could find Prometheus. Oliver of course takes Felicity to task for doing what he always does.  Man, is that kettle black. 

There's also a forced subplot of Quentin trying to get Rene and his daughter back together.  There are great performances here by both Rick Gonzalez and Paul Blackthorne, but in the end, another forced subplot to give the character something to do. There is a reunion, and it's great to see Rene smile, but the resolution seems fuzzy, and if it works out I fear we'll lose Wild Dog, one of the best parts of this show from "Arrow."

As to the identity of Cayden James, it occurred to me that it might be Felicity's old college boyfriend, after all the inspiration for Helix was Felicity herself.  Another possibility might be, and this is a long shot, Roy Harper.  Think about the name Cayden James, it sounds an awful lot like the actor's name, Colton Haynes, doesn't it?  Either way, I don't think we'll find out for a while. 

In the end, Cayden James and Helix are in the wind, and have kicked Felicity to the curb.  I suppose we may see them next season as I guessed earlier.  They did leave her some idea of where Chase may be.  I'm still wondering however, with all the on and off this episode, does Felicity need her glasses or not? 

We close with a hell of a cliffhanger.  John and Lyla are in dire straits as are Oliver and Felicity.  It seems to me that a little bit of listening instead yapping might cure both couples' ills.  Felicity and Oliver don't have to worry about it though, cuz Prometheus blows up the Arrowcave, with them in it. 

Next: "Underneath!"

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode, anything else in the Arrowverse, or anything in the Marvel or DC television or cinematic universes, please join the Marvel DC Movies TV group on Facebook.

Vixen Season Two

Last year, before the live action debut of Vixen on "Arrow," I reviewed season one of her animated digital series on CW Seed. You can check it out here.  This year the character has not only a second animated season, but her grandmother, the Golden Age Vixen, who in Arrowverse continuity was a member of the Justice Society of America, is now part of the "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" crew. 

Her role in "Legends" was tricky as showrunners originally wanted Megalyn Echikunwoke to reprise her role but when she was unavailable, the time travel series turned to time travel for a solution and recruited Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Vixen's grandmother who also used the Tantu Totem to gain animal powers and fight crime and injustice.  When her lover, Hourman, was slain by the time traveling Reverse-Flash during World War II, she joined the Legends to hunt the evil speedster down.  That quest continues through this, the show's second season. 

In the second season of the animated "Vixen" on CW Seed however, Echikunwoke returns to reprise her original voice role. Vixen's journey to uncover her heritage and powers continues.  We once again see guest-stars the Flash and Cisco Ramon, as well as Firestorm when Vixen is called upon to help stop the Weather Wizard from destroying Monument Point.  As you can see from the linkage, this series is solidly entrenched in the Arrowverse continuity. 

Vixen's quest leads her to the discovery of four other totems similar to her own, but granting powers of the four elemental forces.  An old enemy of her family with the fire totem seeks revenge in this tale of consequence and reunion, that also guest-stars DCTV second stringers like Black Canary and the Atom. 

Bottom line, this is a fun adventure, and there are sure to be more as there are still two other totems out there.  CW Seed is a cool app too, now with the much missed "Constantine," and soon to host its possible animated continuation.  Great stuff.

Arrow S05 E11: Second Chances

We open this episode of "Arrow" three years ago in Central City, the night of the particle accelerator explosion that created the Flash and dozens of other metahumans. Some thugs have kidnapped and are torturing two cops, one of them, Tina Boland, was spotted at the end of our last episode demonstrating sonic powers like the Black Canary of the comics. One guess how she got that way.

In the present Team Arrow is looking for a replacement for the late Laurel, a new Black Canary. No matter how awesome the candidates the others come up with, Oliver shoots them down, saying they're not up to the impossible standard Laurel set. Seriously, folks, was Laurel that good? I mean really, if we're being honest, there were episodes where she didn't even appear or speak, let alone suit up and fight.

Finally Curtis brings up an urban legend with sonic powers, Tina, who's kicking ass and saving lives. The only thing she doesn't have is blond hair, but one could fix that with a wig, just like in the comics. That's cool and all, but to make her a blonde... isn't that a bit weirdly obsessive? Just saying.

While Felicity meets a hacker groupie and Flashback Oliver gets help against Kovar from the Batman-less Arrowverse's version of Talia Al Ghul, the rest of Team Arrow pursue Tina Borland to Hub City. She wants nothing to do with joining Green Arrow's little club to replace his dead girlfriend.

While there and taking steady burger breaks, the three heroes - Green Arrow, Wild Dog, and Mr. Terrific - not wanting to take no for an answer get mixed up in Tina's war on drug lord Sean Sonus, who killed her partner. Sonus also received metahuman powers from the particle accelerator explosion, to create vertigo in his victims. In the comics, he's known as Dischord, and in the Arrowverse, he's actually the third or fourth meta to have that power, after Count Vertigo and the Top.

In the end, Tina kills Sonus, presumably ruining her chances to join Team Arrow, and yet does any way, revealing her real name is Dinah Drake, the actual maiden name of the Golden Age Black Canary in the comics. Per the episode title, she gets a second chance.

Elsewhere, John is seemingly exonerated using information obtained from the hacktivist group Helix. And Flashback Oliver is given the tools to create his Arrow identity by Talia. New beginnings.

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode, anything else in the Arrowverse, or anything in the Marvel or DC television or cinematic universes, please join the Marvel DC Movies TV group on Facebook.

Next: Bratva!

Arrow S05 E10: Who Are You?

First off I should mention that "Arrow," as well as "The Flash," "Legends of Tomorrow," "Supergirl," and a few other CW shows have all been renewed early. Although such an early renewal is unusual, what is really intriguing is that "Arrow" had originally been conceived as a five-year project. I guess the future really is wide open, at least in the Arrowverse.

We open as we left before the mid-winter finale, with Laurel alive greeting Oliver in the Arrowcave. Trust me, he's as shocked and disbelieving as we are. Laurel claims that at the time of her death, Sara rescued her and healed her with the technology of the Waverider. At first Oliver accepts it, then Felicity comes in, and so does she. That said, she can't help but wonder why the Legends can save Laurel but not Malone. That old devil time travel.

Considering however that there was no mention of these events in the previous night's episode of "DC's Legends of Tomorrow," I'm calling shenanigans. And if she's not Laurel, who is she? Prometheus? Laurel's 'resurrection party' is sparsely attended and the mood is a bit grim. Everyone is still upset by Artemis' betrayal, Prometheus still on the loose, and yes, Detective Malone's death at the hands of Green Arrow last episode. But of course, Felicity set the party up with only one intent - to get Laurel's DNA. Even if the rest of Team Arrow is drinking the Kool-Aid, Felicity is still in the job.

The DNA is a match. And just as Rory is joking with Felicity about evil twins, Felicity realizes that Laurel does have an evil twin. Before she can even mouth the words Black Siren, they're attacked by... guess who? The Black Siren. I love when comic book shows are comic booky. It just makes this fanboy right here squeee!

The Black Siren was freed from S.T.A.R. Labs by Prometheus. The video sent over by Cisco seems to indicate magic or teleportation as no alarms were triggered and they were in and out. But things aren't working out between Prometheus and the Black Siren. I guess Prometheus is not as cool a boss as Zoom. She arranges a meet at the Black Canary statue that goes awry, taking the statue with it. Broke my heart to see that.

Still Team Arrow apprehends her, and Oliver tries to interrogate her, to no avail. He can't separate her from her doppelgänger, and if can get redemption for his Laurel through her evil twin, he'll do it. Felicity however knows her ex's weaknesses and tries to compensate. Felicity hooks up the Siren unknowingly with tracking nanites and sets her free. Oliver is of course livid. In the meantime we get some nice interaction between Wild Dog and Mr. Terrific. Wish there was more of that.

The nanites lead the team to both Prometheus and the Black Siren. It was great seeing Overwatch in the field, despite alternately being bait and a target. And of course Prometheus got away again, although I'm not sure how. He had a chance to kill Green Arrow but seemed to sneak out the back in the middle of the fight.

The Bratva flashback continues to drag on, only brightening up when Talia al Ghul shows up. I love Talia, but I'm sorry, folks, after Damian Darhk (who continues to haunt the Legends of Tomorrow), I am all League of Assassins-ed out.

Also Oliver goes to Adrian Chase to defend Diggle, but while there he learns that the DA knows Malone was killed by Green Arrow being manipulated into thinking he was Prometheus. Chase does intercede on Diggle's behalf only to find the military is set on eliminating Diggle. Chase cleverly saves him, if only temporarily.

The stinger at the end of the episode fades in from Oliver swearing he'll find a replacement for the Black Canary, someone worthy of the mantle. We see a woman take out two bikers in a bar with a sonic scream. Really? Are there so many metahumans out there now that powers are repeating? And I say powers and metahumans because I don't see any tech here.

Next: Second Chances!