GREEN ARROW #68

The Away Game, Part Three:  Final Exam

January 2007

Written by Judd Winick

Pencils by Scott McDaniel

Inks by Andy Owens

Cover by Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens

Synopsis

On a deserted island, Oliver Queen (aka Green Arrow) received training for master assassin called Natas.  For the final test, Natas has sent a number of assassins to the island to kill Ollie.  Although there are other trainers on the island to help, Ollie decides to take them on by himself.  Using all of the talents he learned, Ollie is able to defeat the assassins without killing any of them.  Afterwards, Ollie decides to leave Conner and Mia behind on the island as he returns to Star City to run for Mayor.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

"Your Robin Hood carried steel. So should you.  PS - rid yourself of that insipid hat."

I am not quite sure what to make of this issue at all.  This is one of those times where i say a part me felt this way while a part of me felt that way. Such as, part of me was annoyed that any dramatic tension regarding either Ollie’s potential to lose or his decision to kill was completely non-existent.  You know he wins and you know he won’t kill anyone.  Yet, a part of me still enjoyed the fight scenes and the way he outwitted his foes and I like the fact that Ollie is now some über-fighter with a penchant for Rube Goldberg devices.  So you can see, I am not quite sure which part of me I should really listen to. 

Part of me enjoyed the lengthy narration from Ollie has he compared his recent training on the island to his beginnings as an archer when he was a spoiled rich kid stranded on a different island.  It was interesting and I like the comparison about how he changed the first time and now the second time he was being born again.  Yet, part of me realized that a lot of what Ollie was stating was fairly evident from the words and action found in the previous issues of this arc.  Thus, it seemed like a rehash.  I am not sure if Winick felt it necessary to provide the narration over the fight scenes as a way of keeping the reader, well, reading rather than just absorbing the story through the pictures.

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