In Green Arrow #3, the dynamic duo of writer Joshua Williamson and artist Sean Izaakse once again blow my damn mind with how good this book continues to be. Let’s not waste any time, and I’ll tell you all about it. Fair warning: I’m gonna spoil the ending immediately after this paragraph. You good with that? Yeah? Okay? Okay.
SPOILERS AHEAD for Green Arrow #3!
PARALLAX!!! Oh my god, Parallax, good god, I never in my life saw that one coming. I was ecstatic, elated, I audibly gasped while reading. I spent a week champing at the bit waiting to absolutely gush over how much this destroyed my brain. Ahem. So anyway, I love Parallax-era Hal Jordan – while a divisive time for the ring-slinger, it ended up being one of my favorite eras of Green Latnern with some top tier storytelling about Hal’s tragic fall and redemption. So, seeing a version of THAT Hal pop back up (perhaps continuing that forgotten Convergence plot thread?) totally threw me for a loop. Good lord Williamson, you absolute, brilliant madman.
DC Comics
My gushing aside, I LOVE this as a plot reveal, and the fact an older, future version of Ollie himself had Parallax set all this up… yeah, that’s the tragically self-righteous but well-meaning move I’d expect. Classic Ollie. I adore how all these pieces just instantly clicked together – of COURSE it would be Ollie himself doing this, thinking it “for the best”. It’s a brilliant reveal. Even with that, I just KNOW there’s even more going on here we’re not privy to yet — we do have nine whole issues left, after all — but I don’t think anything is gonna beat my hype over this plot reveal. Man, talk about a laser-targeted appeal for me in particular.
And of course, the father and son reunion was positively heart-melting. You just love to see it. Outside Ollie and the gang’s misadventure in the future, we learn more about what Waller has to do with all this back with Dinah and Roy. It’s mostly just some back and forth with Peacemaker, but it does further things along on their end a bit. It makes me wonder where she plays into the future-Ollie part of this scheme, but I trust we’ll know pretty soon.
DC Comics
Of course, everybody here is totally on point as usual. Like I already outlined, Ollie here continues to be PERFECT in ways I didn’t even predict. Ollie purposefully spoiling his own happiness — and that of his loved ones — for their own good? That’s a classic Oliver Queen maneuver. Misguided and arrogantly pigheaded, by still trying to be well meaning and protect people. That’s our boy. It was also fun to see the Arrow Family interact with the Legion, which is something I don’t think has ever been done before. Sadly, I can’t comment on their accuracy; all my knowledge of them comes from some friends who are die-hard superfans and I’ve yet to delve into that can of worms myself. But, I can say again that Parallax was exactly what I wanted from him, even with only a line or two of dialogue. He feels plucked right out of the ’90s, and boy am I a sucker for DC in the ’90s. Everybody here is spot on, and it makes me so excited to keep reading to spend more time with Williamson’s take on these characters.
DC Comics
The art is, in a word, perfection. Izaakse has been killing it consistently, with everybody here feeling well defined and the panels all clear and concise. With the added challenge of drawing a lot of characters with the Legion cameos too, all looking on model to their current designs and full of personality. And because I keep gushing about it, yes, even Parallax is perfect. He’s got that shit-eating Hal Jordan grin, and it’s absolutely perfect (as is Ollie’s very not-at-all-pleased expression at his arrival). Oh, and Lian’s little future outfit is adorable.
Do I even gotta say it? This issue of Green Arrow absolutely fried my brain with how much it feels it was made specifically to appeal to me. How often can you say that a book comes around about a character (or characters) you love, and not only is it exactly what you wanted to read, it still manages to one-up your expectations by dropping a bombshell like this issue did on your lap. I thought I had this whole thing mapped out from the onset, but boy have I never been more glad to be proven wrong. This book was already a contender for favorite of mine for the year, but if this keeps up… man, I don’t even know what I’ll think. Hats off to you guys – keep it up!
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