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 S05 E03: A Matter of Trust

As we open, class is in session. The new recruits to Team Arrow - Wild Dog, Evelyn Sharp, Curtis, and Ragman, whose civilian guise of Rory Regan looks a bit like a Barry Allen stunt double - are watching Green Arrow in action and supposed to be taking notes.

There's a new drug on the street, stardust, that 'makes PCP look like children's aspirin.' Wild Dog wants to get on the street after it, but Oliver says no, so we know where this is going. Could the name stardust be a reference to Stephen Amell's recent adventures with the WWE? More than you can imagine. The dealer slinging stardust is Derek Sampson, played by wrestler Cody Rhodes, previously known as Stardust. Yeah, I know, whether I like it or not, I'm actually learning about wrestling from Nerdfect Strangers and The GAR! Podcast…

Wild Dog and his short fry sidekick Evelyn go out looking for who is dealing the stardust without Oliver's permission. The Dog kills him by dropping him into a vat of stardust and chemicals Batman style, yeah, this isn't going to end well. Sampson doesn't die per se, he was transformed, and now he doesn't feel pain. Oliver acts accordingly like a jerk, and forbids the recruits from helping.

As if we didn't already have too many characters, and are need of a scorecard, this episode we are introduced to new district attorney Adrian Chase. In the comics, he is known as Vigilante, created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez he was sort of DC Comics' answer to the Punisher, plus a code against killing. When he did eventually cause the death of police officers, the guilt brought him to kill himself. Of course, that's the abbreviated version, there's a lot more to it. We've seen an artist sketch of Vigilante in the first episode this season already. Chase had sought to flip Sampson to find the stardust supplier, but Wild Dog put a monkey wrench in that plan.

Once Sampson is on the rampage to build an army like himself, and after the obligatory pep talk from Felicity, Green Arrow re-gathers the team. They're sparring and bonding, and getting a lesson from Curtis on Mr. Terrific, sadly, it's not who we think. In the Arrowverse, Terry Sloane was a wrestler whose motto was 'fair play,' which is why Curtis' jacket has that on the sleeves. Groan. As a Mr. Terrific fan, I feel a bit cheated, but in a wrestling-themed episode, I guess I'll take it. If you want to know why I love the original Mr. Terrific, Mark Waid says it pretty well here.

In the subplots, Flashback Island is just Bratva blah blah blah, Thea is fighting with Susan Williams a deceitful newscaster at channel 52, and Diggle goes to jail to await court-martial, but there's a twist when it comes to his cellmate. It's Deadshot. I guess the moratorium set by the DC movie universe has loosened and the character can return to "Arrow." But who it is isn't the twist, it's that John imagined him up. He was never there - John is cracking up.

In the final fight we get to see the full Mr. Terrific ensemble. The facial T is as cool as it is weird looking, another effect better down on the comics page than in real life. Is it just me, or is it just too close to being blackface? Wild Dog is fully formed, Ragman would be better in a cape in my opinion, and sadly Evelyn Sharp needs to establish an identity before she gets a definitive costume. We'll wait for Artemis.

As I suspected, the John subplot will play out in the next episode as the A story, but another subplot has arisen to replace it. Felicity's weird guilt over Havenrock on Genesis Day forced her to tell Ragman that she did it. His reaction was to walk away. This can't be good.

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.

Next: Penance!

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...

Arrow S02 E15: "The Promise"

Deathstroke the Terminator. Since before "Arrow" even started, in the earliest publicity shots that featured only his mask, the ones that made fanboys and fangirls want to watch the show even more than the fact it was a show about Green Arrow, Deathstroke has been here. Introduced several episodes in, and expertly played by Manu Bennett of Starz' "Spartacus," he has been hero, friend, and now villain to Oliver Queen, but who is he really?

In the comics, Slade Wilson, better known as Deathstroke the Terminator, was created in 1980 by Marv Wolfman and George Perez in the second issue of the breakout comics series The New Teen Titans. Granted superhuman strength, agility, endurance, and an enhanced healing factor by government military experiments, Slade Wilson became DC's resident mercenary. He would go on to become that revamped team's most dangerous and persistent foe.

In his frequent battles and schemes against the Titans, he became quite popular with fans. Fan favorite status gained him his own series where he went from villain to anti-hero. Marvel Comics even parodied him with much success as Deadpool. He has been included in many of DC's big events as one of the continuity's major villains.

The biggest turning point for the character may have been during Brad Meltzer's Identity Crisis maxi-series when Deathstroke took down the Justice League singlehandedly. In just a few pages, he did what serious JLA foes like Amazo or Darkseid or the Secret Society had been unable to do for decades. It was also in this comic that the vendetta level feud with Green Arrow began. GA didn't defeat Deathstroke, but he hurt him, and a dangerous grudge began, one that bleeds into "Arrow."

On the show, Slade Wilson is still a mercenary, but one that was stranded on what I've been calling Flashback Island with Oliver, and at times Yao Fei, Shado, and Sara. He taught Oliver to survive and to fight, along with the others. While a romance bloomed between Oliver and Shado, Slade loved her silently from afar. When Ivo captured everyone but Slade, Oliver indirectly caused Ivo to kill Shado. In Flashback Island time, the now superhuman (thanks to Mirakuru) Slade is gunning for Ivo, not knowing Oliver's involvement in her death.

In the present, Oliver has mentioned more than once that no one made it off the island alive except him and Sara. So, surprise surprise when Slade not only turns up alive, controlling Brother Blood and other baddies stalking Starling City, but suddenly in Oliver's own home, supposedly making a donation to his mother's mayoral campaign. And that was our cliffhanger last time. We open seconds later in "The Promise."

The first thing I notice is how touchy feely Slade is with Mom. It's more than a little creepy. His conversation is filled with double meaning as he and Oliver both pretend they haven't met before. Of course predictably, it leads to a flashback, this one with the two as friends planning the attack on Ivo's freighter, the Amazo. We're going to learn what happened finally. The shame is we already kinda know... or do we? One of the best things about "Arrow" is the twists and surprises.

There is one thing I liked that I'm not sure if it was planned, or if the writers were covering their asses. Either way, it was done well and seamlessly. Sara makes Oliver promise that if she doesn't make it, he's to tell her family that she died on the Gambit. Continuity hole filled in nicely.

While Oliver deals with Slade's family visit in the present, he is captured by Ivo on the island, and given truth serum. But like most of their plan of attack, it's all diversion, and it's beautiful watching it come together. Best parts? Oliver in his hood and Slade in his mask.

When the moment of truth comes and Oliver confronts Ivo, he breaks down in misdirected guilt and admits he killed Shado, unknowingly in front of Slade. And thus the rift. Slade turns on him. After he kills Ivo, he makes Oliver a promise, matching this episode's title, that he will make him feel complete despair. And that's where we're left in the past - Oliver on the ship now run by Slade, and Sara along with a handful of freed prisoners on the island.

Meanwhile Team Arrow plans an assault on the Queen home to save the family from Slade. Roy shows up, trying outhandshake Slade with his Mirakuru strength, and then Sara. They subtly and threateningly surround him, until Slade says good night. Diggle is outside however waiting to take him out sniper style. Slade knows already and Diggle us disarmed. Slade leaves, swearing to fulfill his promise.

"The Promise" was a fantastic episode, one of the best as friends had been telling me before I'd had a chance to see it. They were right. There are some nagging questions though. Why did Ivo need an eye? What's Slade been doing for five years? Can Moira be more of a bitch? And is that Harley Quinn in the preview for the next episode?? Yeah baby, next: Suicide Squad!

Arrow: Betrayal

"Arrow" is at a point now where you need a score card to know what's what and who's who. I'm not sure that's a place this show should be at right now. I'm sure there's a core audience, but despite the handy elevator pitch origin story in the opening of every episode, I'm not sure that any new viewers wouldn't be hopelessly lost. No matter how you slice it, even I was having trouble keeping all the balls in the air at the beginning of "Betrayal."

Oliver confronts his mom about the notebook full of names that he got from Felicity last episode. She throws it in the fireplace, suggesting the only way the family can heal is to stop asking questions. Diggle tails her throughout the episode, discovering some nasty secrets. When Oliver confronts her later as Arrow, heh, well, that's this episode's cliffhanger.

In the main story this episode, Cyrus Vanch, former muckety-muck of the Starling City underworld has been released from prison, Iron Heights specifically - nice shout out to the comics. He wants what's his back, as well as the Triad's and the Bertinelli family's (I guess that means we haven't seen the last of China White or the Huntress). And he also wants Arrow out of the way. Using his contacts on the police force, he learns Laurel knows Arrow, so he kidnaps her. This forces Dad to cooperate with The Hood.

In the attack on Vanch, I am again struck by the violence of this so-called hero's methods. By my count, there are at least eight of Vanch's men who take arrows right in the chest. Can you live through that? It's what bothered me about previews of the show before it aired. Have they made Green Arrow into a serial killer? Man, give me an old-fashioned boxing glove arrow any day.

In the soap opera portion of the show, honesty gets between Laurel and Tommy. Disappointingly this coupling has yet to be used to its potential as far as being a plot complication. So much unused potential, but I'll keep waiting. Laurel's relationship with her dad is suffering from problems similar to hers with Tommy as well this episode. I wonder what's next on "All My Arrows"...

On the island, Oliver meets Slade Wilson, played by Manu Bennett, Crixus of Starz' amazing "Spartacus" series. Comics readers will immediately recognize the name Slade Wilson as the not so secret identity of Deathstroke. Again, for TV they have flipped things. Wilson is apparently one of two Deathstrokes, and not the one Oliver encountered earlier. Apparently Slade is who trains Oliver. I won that bet.

There are other cool shout outs this episode as well. Vanch's lawyer worked for Wolfman and Perez, referencing the writer/artist team of Marv Wolfman and George Perez, who created the New Teen Titans, a team that occasionally featured Speedy. They also, most notably, created Deathstroke. Laurel wants to call DA Kate Spencer for help to put Vanch back in prison. Kate is of course the civilian identity of Manhunter. Arrow and Laurel meet atop the Winick building - Judd Winick, former MTV "Real World" wrote the Green Arrow comic for a while.

Be here next episode when Oliver tells his mom that she's failed the city, same Arrow time, same Arrow channel.

Quickies 7-15-2010

Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes ~ This campy comedic superhero film is badly acted and directed, in an almost unintended Rocky Horror or Lost Skeleton of Cadavra way, but its script and heart are in the right place. If you rent it, stay with it. The most intriguing part of the flick is its gay-centric cast and community, a trick that really works well, and doesn’t overpower the rest of the movie. Look for fun cameos by Noel Neill, Lou Ferrigno and Nichelle Nichols as well as Marv Wolfman and Len Wein. Tom Tangen is hilarious as multiple characters, writer Vincent J. Roth is charming in the title role, and do not miss the costume party. This is a lot more fun than it at first seems, check it out.

Empire Records ~ This cult favorite pseudo-remake of FM, only at a record store instead of a radio station, is a pleasant surprise. While painfully predictable, it’s also a lot of fun and has a killer soundtrack. Great Gwar cameo and bonus, Renee Zellweger not only sings, but her eyes are open for most of the movie.

Pirate Radio ~ Great sixties soundtrack, but wow, not a great movie at all. It also has a terrific cast, most of which is wasted here. I think this is the first Richard Curtis flick that I haven’t liked. I guess everyone misses sometimes.

Franklyn ~ Really? Darkman meets Dark City with just a touch of Repo! The Genetic Opera thrown in for good measure – really? This is what you were shooting for? This is pretty, this is stunning, but it is very much style over substance. There were whole sequences that were so boring that I fell asleep. It’s a steampunk Tim Burton wannabe visual overdose without much story to support it. Eye candy, but that’s all.

Killers ~ This one was quite a surprise for me. I was fully expecting a mindless romantic comedy here. I don’t like Ashton Kutcher and as I don’t watch "Grey’s Anatomy," I have no point of reference for Katherine Heigl. She was painfully adequate for 27 Dresses but that called for that type of performance. But Killers, other than being a bit more predictable than I would have liked plotwise, is a lot of fun. I really enjoyed this romantic dark comedy with a twist. And director Robert Luketic should definitely be plugged in to work on the Bond films because he has the eye needed. Recommended.

Wizard World Philly - Sunday

Got a late start today and friend and fellow Comic Widows writer Anthony came along for the ride this time. The main thrust of the trip today was to attend the Avengers panel, so after showing the press room to Ant, trying to do some writing and helping myself to one of their kindly offered Cokes, I was off to Avengers-land.

In attendance: king of the Annihilation pimps Bill Rosemann, the gracious Molly Lazer, Jim McCann, CB Cebulski of Loners (applause) fame and of course, Bendis (who was late).

The panel began with (what else?) a slide show. We got to see House of M: Avengers again. They said that libraries and bookstores had requested more House of M because it were so popular(!). They pushed Avengers/Transformers really hard. It made me wonder if they were worried about this one, or just really proud of it. It’s got the pre-Civil War Captain America in it, now there’s a selling point.

Then we dived into Skrull territory. With the dead Electra being revealed as a Skrull in the most recent issue of New Avengers, the vibe has been – who can we trust? Who is a Skrull and who isn’t? Bendis pointed out that this has been going on for almost three years at least, referencing the “shadowy figure on page two of New Avengers #1.” Hmmm, I had always thought that was Nick Fury, but maybe it was the Skrull double of Nick Fury?? Nevertheless, Bendis said the Skrull story will come to a head early next year.

Next slide was about appearances of Tigra, Machine Man and Sleepwalker in upcoming issues of Ms. Marvel. The cover shown looked like a ‘catfight’ between Carol and Tigra. I’m glad my buddy Ray wasn’t there today. ;-)

The talk returned to Skrulls. Bendis put forth the idea that this was a great opportunity to get more for your money with your comics. You could re-read all the books from the last few years, play detective and look for clues as to who is and who isn’t a Skrull. What is out of character behavior because of a change of attitude, and what is a change because of Skrulliness? The Skrulls have always attacked with rayguns and spaceships, why should they when they are shapechangers and could just infiltrate us? This is especially viable with the state of the world today with terrorism and all that. Who can you trust?

Next up for me was the Marv Wolfman panel, which wasn’t really a panel at all, but just himself with a slideshow. He talked his career from fanzines to Warren to Marvel to DC and today. He of course spotlighted Tomb of Dracula, New Teen Titans and Crisis on Infinite Earths. When the slides were done he went to the room for questions.

Regarding Crisis Marv said he hated continuity. Continuity ties the hands of good writers with the stories of bad writers. Interesting. This was merely the first of many astonishing statements from Mr. Wolfman. He doesn’t read any series he’s written after he’s left that book. He never saw Deathstroke as a villain. He didn’t want to kill the Barry Allen Flash, that was forced on him. He thinks we are in the ‘real Golden Age’ now because we have so many truly talented people in the industry today. What about your generation and before, Marv? Told ya, astonishing.

Wolfman discussed his creation of the current version of Lex Luthor. He grew up in the 1950s where Luthor in his prison grays would escape every other issue, and thought the super-suit was a mistake, as Luthor would never be Superman’s equal physically. He surmised Luthor’s greatest weapon was his brain, so he should use it to conceive crimes he could never be convicted of. Also, jealousy not vanity would be why Lex hates Superman. Better idea, better motivation. He also praised Michael Rosenbaum for his portrayal of Luthor on "Smallville."

Marv talked of Dick Grayson and how he preferred Robin as the responsible leader of the Teen Titans rather than the jerky pun-spouting brat who was Batman’s partner. He said when the Bat-editors wanted Robin back he suggested they create a new one. They loved it, and came up with Jason Todd and Marv made Dick Grayson Nightwing. He didn’t care, as long as he got to keep Grayson.

He briefly discussed new projects like a new Superman series, and he just finished the script for the new animated Teen Titans movie. All in all, a pretty enjoyable if surprising panel of one. By that time, Anthony and I were hungry and beat. After a stop at Philly’s Hard Rock we were done.

I had a lot of fun and really wore myself out. I was stunned by the amount of folks who knew me, both from Comic Widows and especially Avengers Forever. I have to say that comparatively this was a smaller con than most Wizards I’ve been to. Perhaps New York and the Heroes Con in Charlotte are taking a bite out of Wizard’s reign?