Arrow S06 E03: Next of Kin

Back during the time of late high school and college when I wasn’t actively reading comics any more (I know, shocking), a lot of things happened.  One of them was the first appearance of Onyx, a naive vigilante who Green Arrow crossed paths with in Star City.  Sheltered in a monastery she learned martial arts, and in a move that would make Batman proud, Onyx went out into the world to do good, her parents having been murdered years before. 

Later she was completely revamped as a Batman associate in the War Games story arc.  Now she was trained by the League of Assassins, and no longer naive.  Personally I liked the original teenaged Onyx with the cape better, but it’s the later version who has been brought to the small screen on “,a href="http://monsura.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html">Arrow.” 

Continuing from this season’s first episode, Team Arrow is in pursuit of Alex Faust, with John Diggle taking over as the Green Arrow.  He took on the mantle at the end of the last episode, in spite of the degenerative cell damage he suffered on Lian Yu.  So far only Black Canary also knows, but neither has told Oliver.  Seems like Oliver has definitely rubbed off on the team. 

This pursuit has John pulling the insane stunt of jumping off a building and letting Black Canary’s scream propel him across to another building.  It sounds nuts and comic booky, but the way it was executed I totally believed it.  Bravo.  Also notable the opening gauntlet of symbols lacked one for Spartan, giving more commitment to the idea that John is now the Green Arrow.  Nice touch. 

When Oliver shows up for work the next day Samanda is waiting for him.  She’s not stupid, and despite Oliver’s airtight alibi, she knows someone else was playing Green Arrow, someone who’s not an archer.  Samanda also brings up how the cops might feel slighted (at best) with the mayor leaning on a vigilante.  It’s a thought I had as a little kid watching the original “Batman” TV show - why do the Gotham police even bother showing up to work?  They’re either bored or disillusioned, right? 

Meanwhile the slick Onyx, here a crooked ex-CIA operative named Onyx Adams, breaks into Kord Industries (will we ever see Blue Beetle?) and downloads some serious intel, including a deadly nerve gas (Kord makes nerve gas???).  When Team Arrow protects the gas shipment, Onyx takes them out pretty easily.  I did like Rene’s “Surprise, bitch.” though.  We need more Rene in the show as he gets the best lines.  Why not put him in the Green Arrow suit?  Or Dinah or Felicity, they seem to be leading as well. 

Rene asks Oliver to come back, but he gives John a pep talk instead.  So, the team is splintered when it next goes into action against Onyx and her team - who having seen John in action are unimpressed and don’t see him or his team a threat.  Not good.  Things do turn around however, and the fight sequences of the last act are quite impressive, and a vast improvement over the first episode this season.  And John proves himself. 

Unfortunately, as the end stinger reveals, John is using performance enhancing drugs to stabilize his tremors.  Well, that’s not going to come back to bite anyone in the ass.  There’s more soap with William as Oliver finally allows Felicity into his life.  There was a lot to like about this episode, but all things considered, I’d rather have Oliver as Green Arrow.  This is like one of those tired cliche comic arcs where the hero is replaced.  I’m just waiting for the real Green Arrow. 

Something I talked about last time, but have since given further thought to is the existence of Batman in the Arrowverse.  After a brief exchange with friend Tim Murr on Twitter I’ve reconsidered my position.  There may well be a Batman in the Arrowverse.  And while I’m thinking of it, check out Tim’s work at Biff Bam Pop! right here.  He’s only been with us a couple of months, coming over from the late Popshifter, but he’s written some great stuff.  And a book too.  Check him out. 

So maybe Batman does exist.  After all, we’ve seen Harley Quinn, right?  Felicity wouldn’t take the name Oracle (she does it again subtly in this very episode) when suggested because it was already in use. And then there’s Rip Hunter from “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” who remarked from a dark future that he’d seen dark knights and men of steel fall.  That’s pretty conclusive. And there’s no reason why Green Arrow couldn’t have fought all those Bat-villains before Batman did, right? 

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 Black Siren returns in “Reversal!”

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 S05 E18: Disbanded

Mentally and physically beaten and defeated by Prometheus, Oliver limps to the Arrowcave and proclaims Team Arrow and the mission shut down, it's over.  The rest of the team disagrees.  As they retool and regroup, equipment courtesy of ARGUS and Felicity's apartment as secret lair, Chase continues to taunt Oliver at the office.  Now, not that I'm advocating such behavior, but what's to stop Spartan or Wild Dog from just shooting this son of a bitch from across the street?  Seriously. Game over, Chase. 

While Oliver walks around like he's getting ready for his own funeral, it's nice to see he hasn't completely given up as he contacts Anatoly, the KGBeast in the Bratva, for a favor - kill Adrian Chase.  With five episodes left, I doubt they will succeed, but still good try, and nice tying up of loose ends.  Their price however is high. 

Felicity turns to Helix for help, but they keep wanting more and more in exchange for their help, namely her hacking skills.  They discover that Prometheus uses a scrambling program that prevents him from being recorded visually.  Once Felicity has hacked Kord Industries for that unreleased tech, Helix can reverse engineer it.  What happens when the price for all this free intel exceeds what Felicity can pay? 

Meanwhile, Team Arrow sans its Arrow is on the move with their new itchy ARGUS ninja suits.  They run afoul of illegal drug operations run by Anatoly, allowed by Oliver in payment for his favor.  Diggle is not pleased.  He tries very hard to be Jiminy Cricket to Oliver's Pinocchio, but the mayor tells him one last time to stand down. So Oliver has let Bratva have free run of Star City, in exchange for a job they haven't done yet? 

Things get crazy when the Bratva does try to take Chase down, as Team Arrow stops them.  In the confusion Chase bumps into Curtis, beats him down rather brutally while taunting him about his husband.  So is he a hate criminal as well as a super-villain?  That was a bit disturbing.  There was an ulterior motive however, as Curtis planted the anti-cloaking device on him. 

The flashbacks continue with Oliver contemplating returning home after his wild five-year adventure.  They parallel the current storyline only with both Oliver and Anatoly wearing different wigs.  Gotta give props to the hair people on this show, for most of all five seasons, good work.  It's a shame that their relationship is about to come to an end. 

In some of the best character bits in quite some time, John convinces Oliver that the team is on his side and will stand by him, both against Prometheus, and in helping him be a better man.  Meanwhile, at the behest of Helix, who have figured out their identities, Felicity and Curtis break in to Kord Industries (are we ever going to see Blue Beetle?). It's a good back and forth sequence as ninja Oliver and Team Arrow clash with Anatoly and Bratva. 

In the end, the team succeeds in obtaining footage of Adrian Chase as Prometheus.  While finally outted, and on the run, he is still dangerous and the baddie to beat this season.  Anatoly has returned to Russia after the tiff with Oliver, but has left his best men in Star City, all hungry for revenge on the vigilantes that betrayed them.  And Helix is just waiting in wings to be the new baddies on the block. 

I always get scared with this show when it reaches a moment like this.  When things are status quo, seemingly back to normal, and everyone is getting along - it's usually time for everything to explode.  Yeah, it's time. 

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.

Arrow S05 E06: So It Begins

Well, I'll give it an A for effort and dramatic effect, but the opening to this episode, with Green Arrow and Spartan walking into what may be a trap, to get a flaming message that says, "So it begins," left me kinda meh.

I've talked before about how I feel about yet another archer as the big bad when we had a perfectly good big bad in Chad L. Coleman's Tobias Church. Church was new, different, dangerous, smart, charismatic, and we barely got to delve into that interesting Charon obsession of his. He was Negan to "Arrow," and now we have just another archer.

Another problem I have with the opening is that it just has Green Arrow and Spartan, watched over by Overwatch. Oliver didn't want to involve the team because it might be a trap. This is why I didn't want Diggle back quite so soon. With no A team, the B team would be the A team, know what I'm saying? At this point they will always be on the sidelines.

The showrunners seem to be at a loss as to what to do with Quentin and Thea this season. Their subplots seem more like busy work or placeholders than anything else. Or maybe not. The same can be said to some extent regarding Felicity and her cop boyfriend Malone. Keeping secrets from a lover is one thing, but stealing evidence is a whole different arena. When Felicity tells Malone she works for the Green Arrow, he surprisingly takes it well. Knowing this show, that can't be good.

Prometheus seems to be targeting Oliver by killing people whose names are anagrams for people on The List. Is it just me, or should that be a very short list? Anagrams are easy, but to find people in the same city who names are anagrams for each other would seem so specific as to be nearly impossible, right? Those are crazy odds.

After much dissent from the team after learning Oliver was effectively a serial killer, they split up to each guard one of Prometheus' six targets. He hits the one Artemis is watching, seemingly teleporting in and bulletproof. And when Green Arrow shows up, he vanishes in a burst of flame. If nothing else, some trust is reestablished with the team. Let's see how long it lasts.

Meanwhile in the past, Konstantin Kovar has declared war on the Bratva. When Oliver's new family strikes back by trying to intervene, Kovar captures Oliver and preaches to him about unity. Konstantin is the father of Leonid Kovar AKA Red Star/Starfire, and played by Ivan Drago himself, Dolph Lundgren. We will see more of him.

The kicker at the end of the episode is that Felicity discovers that Prometheus' weapons are made from Oliver's melted down arrows, meaning he has access to SCPD. We fade on Quentin waking up with a wound and a throwing star. So he is either a split personality caused by alcoholic black outs, or he's being set up. I'm voting for option two. Could it be Malone?  Now that would hurt...

Next: Finally Vigilante!

Arrow S05 E02: The Recruits

Team Arrow is recruiting. First up is Wild Dog, who as opposed to the comics here is really Rene Ramirez rather than Jack Wheeler. Pretty much everything else is the same though, hockey mask, guns, camouflage, and red dog shirt. Second is Curtis Holt, who it seems like we have been waiting forever for him to finally take on the identity of Mr. Terrific. And then there's Evelyn Sharp, who masqueraded as the Black Canary, but rumor indicates will become Artemis.

When we first see Flashback Island this episode it becomes apparent that Green Arrow is using his old Bratva initiation tactics to train the new recruits. No matter how you slice it, our boy is being rough with the newbies. You'd think after four seasons Oliver would have learned some social skills.

There's a callback to AmerTek as the company funding a new hospital/free clinic. They appeared once before and in the comics is a corporation that plagued Steel and produced the Toastmasters battle armor. Their execs are being attacked by our mysterious stranger - to be named later as Ragman.

In the comics, originally, Ragman was Rory Regan, an Irish-American war vet who through an electrical accident gained the powers and abilities of his father and his friends, then put on a rag costume and fought crime. This version was created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. Post-Crisis, his origin was retconned, and Rory became Jewish, and the costume became magic. Made from cloth thousands of years, Ragman's cloak and costume could absorb the souls of the corrupt, adding to his power.

Here on "Arrow," Ragman is played by stage actor Joe Dinicol, and is the lone survivor of the Havenrock nuclear blast. Magic cloth of the devarim and atomic mutation, as well as a drive for vengeance have turned him into the Ragman. He looks to be simply dressed in rags, with no cool comics cape, but mystical animated tendrils of rags do extend to grab and entangle his opponents. He could be fun. At the end of the episode, Oliver asks him to join what's left of Team Arrow.

To protect the opening of the clinic, the new Team Arrow grudgingly gets its baptism of fire. Ragman arrives, and attacks another AmerTek exec. His speech sounds very familiar, "You have been judged and found wanting." It's almost as if he's been watching "Arrow" reruns. Nevertheless he kicks the crap outta Green Arrow (how did Oliver change into his costume so quickly?) and Wild Dog and takes off. Definitely a meta.

So Ragman is after AmerTek, and AmerTek is going bankrupt because of their involvement with Genesis Day - the catch all term for the day Damien Darhk nuked Havenrock last season. They made the missiles. And now to make back some of that money lost, they're selling $100 million in weapons to Tobias Church. Yeah, that'll work, pardon me while I roll my eyes.

Green Arrow's reprimand after the clinic debacle makes everyone leave the team. Curtis is the one who stands up to him and tells him what's what. I liked that. And yet still, it's Felicity who finally gets through to him. Too bad Oliver ruined that relationship. Felicity has already moved on to detective Billy Malone, who she's using for his police access. I can't help wondering if he's really just a cop... Prometheus maybe?

As if the Bratva flashbacks aren't enough of a diversion, we also have a subplot with John Diggle in Chechnya getting double-crossed by his own men. A General Walker, also reacting to Genesis Day, is stealing one of Darhk's missiles to defend against metas, and leaving Diggle as the patsy. My guess is that a future episode will have the Green Arrow and his new team saving Spartan's butt.

Next: A Matter of Trust!

Arrow S04 E20: Genesis

In the aftermath of the funeral that started this season and Oliver's vow to kill Damien Darhk, the villain returns to H.I.V.E. and promptly kills his former associates, longtime Arrow foe Milo Armitage among them. The plan Darhk and H.I.V.E. have been readying for far too long, Genesis, is now in motion.

Apparently Oliver has been in touch with John Constantine (I wonder what the cell charges are like from literal Hell) and he referred him to a 'magic tutor' in Hub City. Notably Hub City IL is the home of superheroes the Question and at one time, the Blue Beetle. The showrunners are fond of Blue Beetle, so much so that when they couldn't use the character for whatever reason they turned the Atom into a version of him. Let's face it, Ray Palmer is more Blue Beetle than Atom.

Anyway, with Oliver training in magic, the rest of the team take some downtime as well. Felicity insists on going with Oliver, Diggle goes on the hunt for his brother, and Thea has a weekend away with Alex Davis. All the while, Darhk is prepping Genesis, nice time for a vacay, guys...

John tracks his brother Andy down only to be involved in a shootout and eventually captured. While torturing John it becomes quite clear that Andy's not just a jerk and a liar, he's completely insane. Darhk is his savior and H.I.V.E. is his family. Yeah, Andy's gone bye-bye. If A.R.G.U.S. hadn't intervened, John would be a meatbag. Nothing was as it seems as usual, this was all a ploy for Darhk to get to Lyla and Sara... although it begs the question, why didn't John just take Andy into custody when he the chance?

Alex Davis takes Thea away to a place that seems too perfect. It's almost as if she's been hypnotized or dreaming. Yep, did we all forget that Davis works for Mayor Ruve Adams now? He's kidnapped Thea to a domed biosphere, where she'll be safe from/for Genesis, but more on that later.

Oliver and Felicity visit an underground casino where they end up playing cards with an exotic woman named Esrin Fortuna, another refuge from the Batman mythos. Mama Fortuna was the female Fagan to the Alleytown Kids, until the Black Mask put her out of business. Catwoman as a young girl was one of her kids. I didn't know that Fortuna knew anything about magic, at least not in the comics, that I know of.

This obsession with Batman has long ago gotten old. If the showrunners wanted to do Batman, why do they start a show about Green Arrow? And it's not that Green Arrow doesn't have history, he has lots of it, obscure, but lots, and all of it just waiting to be updated with new spins. Rather than yet another recycled Bat-villain, how about giving us new contemporary versions of Bull's Eye, Professor Merlin, the Rainbow Archer, Greenface, Skylark, even Red Dart, or, ahem, Dr. Davis?

Fortuna, another immortal, explains that Darhk's power is channeled through the idol, and it is fueled by fear and death. Oliver needs to equally channel light and hope or he'll just be making Darhk stronger. Oh boy, Oliver is going to need more than a lesson or two, he's going to need therapy! After two attempts to teach, Fortuna gives up, saying Oliver can't be taught - the darkness in him outweighs the light.

Nevertheless Oliver and Felicity show up just in time to save Lyla from Darhk. Again with the logistics. In the comics Star City is in California by most accounts with Hub City in Illinois... how long is that trip? At least it's not on another continent like Nanda Parbat. Green Arrow manages to repel Darhk's magic, but not before he steals Rubicon from Lyla.

Meanwhile John finally grows a pair and shoots Andy, something we viewers have wanted to do forever. The bad part is he lies to Lyla about it. Some men never learn. I guess they're headed back to divorce court sooner than later.

Now for, and finally, Darhk's master plan... Rubicon was the Maguffin from the Shadowspire episode, and it's a failsafe for all of the world's nuclear missiles, which of course can be manipulated to launch all those missiles. Yes, someone was dumb enough to build such a thing. Genesis has Darhk burning the Earth and starting over. And it looks as if Thea is a prisoner inside his hive...

The world is at stake. Who wants to take bets that Oliver never thinks to ask Arsenal or Vixen or the Flash or even Constantine for help? What's the point of a shared universe if you don't make use of it?

Arrow S04 E19: Canary Cry

In the aftermath of the death of the Black Canary, even in a world where death is not always the end, Team Arrow is shattered. John Diggle blames himself for her death because he believed his brother Andy had changed, and Quentin Lance is simply in denial, thinking she can come back... and seeing as he's already had another daughter come back from seeming death twice, really, who can blame him?

We open on a funeral, but not the one you might think. Laurel Lance is giving the eulogy, and it's Tommy Merlin's funeral. Oliver should have given the eulogy, but couldn't. The day of Tommy's funeral is the Flashback Island thread this episode, showing how Laurel helped Oliver through the death of his once best friend. It also gives Katie Cassidy a last chance to shine on the show.

To complicate matters, the Black Canary's sonic device is found to be missing from the hospital, and someone is out there on the streets masquerading as the Black Canary. This teenaged girl not only has a vendetta against our heroes, but she's turned up the power on the device and Team Arrow is no longer immune.

Interestingly the faux Black Canary attacks Alex Davis just as he's about to open up about his past to Thea, saying that he works for them. Our girl knows more than she's telling. I'm still betting that Alex is both related to the Davis on the list, and to Silver Age Green Arrow villain Dr. Davis. Time will tell, it's not like these DCTV shows don't do the villain-among-us thing all the time. Yeah, I'm looking at you, Caitlin and Win.

New Mayor Ruve Adams puts out warrants on Star City's vigilantes, especially the 'Black Canary' who murdered Laurel Lance. This comes after Spartan's attack on the Mayor, one in which Green Arrow calls John by his name. Between this and Barry on "The Flash" lately, I am so tired of these title heroes making really stupid mistakes.

Speaking of the Flash, Grant Gustin shows up after Laurel's funeral to bring that sequence full circle. To keep Ruve Adams' ploy at bay, Team Arrow put on the gravestone that Laurel was the Black Canary. Clever, but troubling. We end as we began the season, with Oliver vowing to kill Darhk. But how?

Arrow S04 E14: Code of Silence

Just when you thought you'd seen it all when it comes to political debates, "Arrow" gives the concept a bit more bang for its buck. Preceding the big mayoral debate between Oliver Queen and Ruve Adams (the wife of Damien Darhk), Team Arrow and H.I.V.E. have a throwdown. Way to keep things friendly.

H.I.V.E. leadership is beginning to get a face, or faces, now. It seems that both Malcolm Merlin and Milo Armitage, from waaay back in "Tremors," are part of it now. There's some great team action with Team Arrow, brief as it is. It looks like Spartan has had a helmet upgrade, perhaps saving the T for Mr. Terrific when he finally shows up.

The soap is wide and deep this episode, what with the wedding planning, Oliver's illegitimate son, and Quentin breaking up with Donna in order to keep her safe. Wouldn't it be wiser to keep her closer to protect her? Sometimes the cliches fly as hard as the soap in the show.

Speaking of cliches, the villains of the week are the Demolition Team, some lame baddies who fought Green Lantern back in the 1980s. Basically mercenaries with demolition tools, these Wrecking Crew wannabes basically cause collateral damage, more pests than villains. They get a slight realistic, and ridiculous, upgrade here on "Arrow" working for H.I.V.E.

And then there's Curtis curing Felicity's spinal injury. Things like this are always dicey in superhero universes. One wonders if there are metahumans, alien civilizations, and satellite headquarters - why can't they cure cancer? Here's why. Will everyone get the benefit of this cure, or just Felicity? Still it was nice to at least hear Curtis called terrific.

Next: Vixen!

Arrow S04 E11: A.W.O.L.

As Felicity returns to work with Team Arrow, conjuring more than a passing resemblance to Oracle, and meeting the goth ghost of times past, the team goes up against a new threat, Shadowspire. I'm just thankful it's not Damien Darhk and H.I.V.E. And while the Arrowverse does seem to have appropriated most of the Batman mythos, Oliver admits that the name 'Oracle' is already taken so gives Felicity the codename Overwatch. Awkward, but it'll do in a pinch.

Because this is a John Diggle-centric episode (usually not a good thing), instead of Flashback Island, we get Flashback Afghanistan where the Diggle brothers went to war and first encountered Shadowspire. Here in the Arrowverse, the group are just military war profiteers, but in the comics they were a bit more super-villainous, using biological warfare and running afoul of our old friend Deathstroke among others. They were also led by Baron Blitzkrieg AKA Reiter from Flashback Island, a bit later verified in this episode.

Felicity is hallucinating due to her pain meds and is taunted by her brunette goth self from college. She's like an evil twin saying all the things Felicity can't say out loud herself - or more accurately she's saying the things we viewers yell at the screen for the last few years. And have I not been paying attention, or is this the first time John Diggle's superhero name Spartan been referenced?

Speaking of references, Shadowspire is seemingly looking to steal a shipment of railguns from Kord Industries. It's a decoy of course to keep Team Arrow away from their real target, A.R.G.U.S. Black Canary asks what Shadowspire would want with railguns. My question is different. What the hell is Kord Industries doing making railguns?? And will we ever see Ted Kord or Blue Beetle? I know that the Atom was supposed to originally be Blue Beetle on the show, so with Ray Palmer off time traveling with the "Legends of Tomorrow," can we finally get the real Blue Beetle?

Now my first thought when A.R.G.U.S. and Amanda Waller showed up in this episode was one of surprise. With a DC Comics Cinematic Universe film version of Suicide Squad coming this summer and Deadshot, in particular, dead in the Arrowverse, I figured we were done with this little corner of the DC TV universe. While Felicity and the Diggle brothers saved the day, halfway through the episode, something shocking happened - Amanda Waller was shot dead.

Now it's not her in the grave, and all she gets is a glass of wine remembrance. I have to wonder how this changes the Arrowverse. It's one thing to ignore characters, but it's a whole 'nother kettle of fish to kill them. I wonder what kind of repercussions this will have. And there's also the mention by Oliver of the Flash's ability to change the past. How permanent is Felicity's paralysis, and what would the repercussions of that change be?

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.

Arrow S04 E07: Brotherhood

Before we go anywhere this week, I just want to note why the emergence of John Diggle's brother as an actual character on "Arrow" is so weird. Diggle was named in homage of Andy Diggle, one of the Green Arrow writers in the comics. When the opportunity came up to give Diggle some backstory, someone clever behind the scenes thought it would be fun to give him a dead brother named Andy.

Now, this brother is figuring heavily in the current storyline, and it's odd to keep hearing the name Andy Diggle and seeing an actor play him. This is a step beyond the Neal Adams remark a few weeks back, because I doubt we'll ever see Neal. The Andy Diggle thing is different.

Speaking of homages, the trail to find where the H.I.V.E. ghosts are coming from leads to a raid on another corporate entity peddling in super science. Since it doesn't matter the name, at least they decided not to tease us with a real DC Universe company this time like Kord Industries to get our hopes up. This one is Wolfman Biologics, named for writer Marv Wolfman, who did his share of Speedy stories during his reign on New Teen Titans. Ironically, it's also where Diggle finds his brother.

Andy Diggle is alive, and working for H.I.V.E. To get to the point where we find any real information about it is a long road. This episode seems to be about quick action scenes to get to the slow dreary soap opera parts - as opposed to the other way around. Thea is juggling an undercover romance (again?) with Davis, and dealing with her Lazarus Pit blood lust (again??), although it's always nice to see John Barrowman.

The Andy thing brings back the annoying bugaboo between Oliver and Diggle over family and secrets. It seems that the H.I.V.E. ghosts are definitely enhanced by a drug, as well as bound by Darhk's suggestion - and probably dead as well. Ray, coming out his back-from-the-dead funk, pinpoints their home base. It was a thrill to see the Atom join the fight after so long.

The big deal however is Darhk's mini-confrontation of the week. He corners Thea, noting her fighting style as that of R'as Al Ghul, then flips it by asking how her father is. But the whammy is that when he tries to take her heart a la Mola Ram, he surprisingly can't. Lazarus Pit immunity maybe? Weirdly though, the encounter took away Thea's blood lust.

Flashback Island has unearthed a revelation for me in that boss man Reiter was referenced as 'Baron.' Now I am able to place him in the DC Comics mythos. This is the TV version of World War II baddie Baron Blitzkrieg. This Nazi super-villain clashed with the All-Star Squadron frequently, as well as Earth-Two versions of Wonder Woman and Superman. In comics it should be noted the Baron never really had an interest in magic, and on "Arrow," he won't be going by his Blitzkrieg monicker.

Next: the big Arrow/Flash crossover, when Heroes Join Forces, against Vandal Savage!



And then there's this...