Arrow S02 E16: "Suicide Squad"

In the original DC Comics, the Suicide Squad was a band of military operatives during and after World War II who took on the jobs that no one else wanted - almost literally a suicide squad, sometimes fighting dinosaurs and metahuman menaces. After Crisis on Infinite Earths and Legends, the concept was rebooted with a Dirty Dozen vibe. Super-villains, against their will and for time off their sentence, would embark on similar missions under the command of Rick Flag and Amanda Waller. While mostly featuring a rotating cast, semi-permanent members included Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, Nightshade, and Enchantress, as well as frequent Green Arrow foe, Count Vertigo.

In the "Arrow" television continuity we've already seen Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Amanda Waller, and Vertigo. Shrapnel, who we saw recently, even served his time on the team. From all the publicity pics of the Suicide from "Arrow" we see the absurdly thin Amanda Waller fronting Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Shrapnel, Lyla Michaels, and John Diggle.

Worried over the events of last episode, and the promise of Deathstroke to destroy him and all his family and friends, we open on Oliver reforging his old alliance with Bratva, the Russian mob. When he's taxed to prove himself, he ably shows who's boss. In hindsight, it's a bit scary that such a dangerous man is scared of Deathstroke. That said, "You cannot die until you know complete despair." is a heavy threat.

There's more tough talk between our dysfunctional superhero couple, Sara and Oliver, before we get a really touching scene between Diggle and Felicity. Oliver is making him guard her and she brings him hot cocoa. It is refreshing to see such depth and connection between Diggle and Felicity. They've bonded so well as friends while Oliver, who brought them together, remains stunted. Shame. And Emily Bett Rickards needs to smile more, she lights up the screen.

Diggle leaves for an intimate rendezvous at the Ostrander Hotel with Lyla (Harbinger) Michaels. Did we know before that they were exes? They're both corralled by the painfully thin Amanda Waller and taken to ARGUS. She wants to recruit them for a mission to retrieve a nerve gas. After noting she knows all about Oliver Queen and his Arrow activities, she introduces Task Force X - Deadshot, Shrapnel, and Bronze Tiger. Deadshot calls it the Suicide Squad.

The best part is Diggle's adamant refusal to go along with it - cooperating with murderers. Lyla notes how many bodies there are out there because of his employer Oliver Queen and his girlfriend Sara Lance. It's really not that different. I like that this is coming back to bite Arrow, at least indirectly. The serial killer Arrow of the first season was one of the sticking points that kept me from completely liking this show.

In many ways, Arrow is the anti-Man of Steel. Arrow did need to kill to grow as a character. The evolution of Oliver over the two seasons is proof of that. Superman should not kill however. He should find a way not to - that's what makes him Superman. He finds a way, he is our example, he doesn't learn by example.

The codenames used by Task Force X range from the obvious to the intriguing. There's Deadshot, Shrapnel, and Tiger. Lyla is Harbinger, Diggle is Freelancer, and Waller is Mockingbird. Mockingbird is the secret mystery leader of the old Secret Six, a realistic espionage crew in 1960s DC Comics, and it's newer counterpart, a villain group very similar to the Suicide Squad.

Amanda Waller, despite her petite size, proves that she is every bit as ruthless and devious as her heavyset comics counterpart. And it's nice to see Deadshot in a tux, so similar to his original Golden Age 'costume.' I wish Bronze Tiger had a bit more to do however. This was a waste of Michael Jai White in my opinion. And now that the Squad has a vacancy, perhaps Count Vertigo will come on board?

The Suicide Squad is the A plot here, with Team Arrow taking a back seat. Even Flashback Island reflects this as the flashbacks this week are Diggle's and go back to Afghanistan. I'd like to see more of this. Maybe a Felicity (she did imply she had a past) or Quentin or Sara (or maybe one of the villains) focused episode complete with flashbacks next?

Ostrander Hotel is a nice shout out for this episode, as John Ostrander created the most known super-villain version of the Suicide Squad and wrote most of their exploits. ARGUS, HIVE, Giffen (Keith Giffen was a later Suicide Squad writer/artist), Khandaq, Qurac, and Markovia are also namedropped. This episode is chockful of DCU references, the best of which is Harley Quinn, waiting her turn for a Suicide Squad mission at ARGUS headquarters.

Originally The Flash was meant to be a back door pilot on "Arrow," and we know that the Mirakiru has all the ingredients for the Hourman pilot that's coming. I wonder if perhaps this is the practice run for a Suicide Squad series or pilot. The way the creators of "Arrow" work, a Squad series could certainly give "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" a run for its money. I'd watch, would you?

I'll leave you with one to think about. This has been bandied about on the internet for a while now. Could Diggle's full name be John Stewart Diggle? Discuss, enjoy, and I'll see you next time.

Arrow: Home Invasion

Deadshot has been a growing threat in the world of "Arrow." While a minor Batman villain and Suicide Squad superstar in the comics, here he is a one-eyed super-assassin for hire. His most twisted attribute, besides the weird red eye piece, is his penchant for tattooing the names of his victims on his body.

His biggest claim to infamy on the series is that he killed John Diggle's brother. Diggle is now obsessed, perhaps ever more so than Oliver. Not only is revenge biting his ass, but Diggle's can't really move his relationship with his sister-in-law (his late bro's wife) until Deadshot is dealt with.

We open on Diggle training with Oliver, while Deadshot makes another hit. Felicity has hacked into ARGUS and is tracking Deadshot. I really have to wonder where this is going with ARGUS. Is there a Justice League in Oliver's future? Probably not, as this ARGUS acronym isn't the same as the comics.

Diggle's contact in ARGUS has a little more fire. Named Lyla in the show, she's given the surname Michaels in the Arrow companion comic. Lyla Michaels is the real name of Harbinger, a power player in DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths way back in 1985. Harbinger was missioned with the task of collecting the superheroes who would then save the universe/multiverse. Harbinger is even her codename in the show. What an interesting connection.

The opening shoves a whole lot of plot, subplot, and information into a very short amount of time, so much so, my head began to spin a bit. The current dynamic of Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity is counterpointed by the flashback dynamic of Oliver, Deathstroke, and Shado. We also learn Oliver is lunchdating Laurel even though he's on the outs with Tommy. Bad, Oliver, just the first of many bad decisions this episode.

This is all under eight minutes, before the credit sequence. We are also introduced the main plot/subplot of this episode. Laurel is working with a family who were testifying against a bad man, List-worthy, but surprisingly not on it - it could be his dumb name, Edward Rasmus. His hired killer, Mr. Blank, gets the parents but misses the seven year old son. Laurel takes the kid in. Don't think the thought hasn't crossed my mind that most times when you add a kid, you've jumped the shark.

This is all in about ten minutes. The episode hasn't really even started. It doesn't get less complicated as the episode continues. After a few awkward moments between ex-friends Oliver and Tommy, some bonding between Tommy and the kid, and a fairly cool scene where Mr. Blank attacks Laurel, the couple and the kid move in with the Queens to enjoy the heavy security there. I found that puzzling. Besides Diggle, Queen security has seemed extremely lame. Obviously it's The Hood who will protect them, but Quentin Lance shouldn't have agreed to it.

It gets very predictable at this point. There are newborn kittens who knew Oliver will be distracted with Deadshot the next time Mr. Blank attacks, letting everyone down, duh. Or the other way around, although it should have been the former. As one would expect, Oliver makes the bad choice. The worst choice, and we lose Diggle over it. At this point, the only thing that could make this worse would be an appearance by the Huntress.

Speaking of bad choices, on the island, while being trained in archery, Oliver kisses Shado. For comics fans, we know how that works out. The cliffhanger here finally means forward motion on the island at least.

Mr. Blank is an intriguing villain, played by J. August Richards, formerly of "Angel." He reminds me a lot of Chiwetel Ejiofor as The Operative in Serenity. He's very calm, very precise, and likes to make conversation with his prey. He was a very suitable foe for this version of Green Arrow. His clash with Oliver is perhaps one if the best of the series so far.

As if there's not enough going on, Roy Harper, who is apparently dating fellow Speedy, Oliver's sister Thea, is trying to track down The Hood. There is a good scene where finally it's addressed that The Hood is a murderer. Finally. Thea agrees to help Roy find The Hood. More shark jumping in the form of idiotic 1950s secret identity protection? I hope not, cuz that's what breaks up Tommy and Laurel. Worst case scenario - Oliver takes on a teenage sidekick (or two) to replace Diggle. I know it's the natural progression, but damn it, I liked David Ramsey's Diggle a lot.

This was a very uneven episode, save some great character bits, a throwaway Wonder Twins reference, and of course, Mr. Blank. Only three more episodes to go, I wonder how it's going to go...