GREEN ARROW #71

Seeing Red, Part Three:  Changing Partners

April 2007

Written by Judd Winick

Pencils by Scott McDaniel

Inks by Andy Owens

Cover by Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens

Synopsis

Green Arrow and Batman have just disappeared to deal with Jason Todd (aka Red Hood) and Danny Brickwell (aka The Brick).  Nearby Mia Deardon (aka Speedy) is uncertain what to do until she sees a nearby building on fire.  She decides to investigate.  In California, Drakon and Slade Wilson (aka Deathstroke) escape from Alcatraz.  Then Deathstroke calls Green Arrow’s teacher, master assassin Natas, to inquire about the package that he purchased.  Meanwhile, the Red Hood battles Green Arrow and Brick battles Batman.  Eventually the heroes are able to win the fight, but then the fight was just a distraction for the real business across town:  the fire Speedy was investigating was just a set-up to capture her for the Red Hood.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

“Do you think I always just carry around a katana in my back pocket?”

I liked this issue, very much.  There was plenty of action and a good-old fashioned cliffhanger.  What I liked best is that the Red Hood is always one step ahead of everybody.  I loved how he predicted so much of Ollie’s moves and was able to get Ollie exactly where he wanted him:  holding his own, exploding sword.  Even the fight between Brick’s tactics against Batman were based on Red Hood’s planning.  Maybe it is just the way Winick writes him (since his appearance in Nightwing did little for me), but Red Hood is easily one of my favorite characters. 

I think that I have complained about this before, so I apologize if this seems repetitive.  Ollie decides to leave Star City to go to a desert island so that he can train to be better.  But this issue shows none of this.  In fact, Ollie is continually one step behind Red Hood.  Hell, Jason had it figured out exactly that the fight would come down to the swords, which he would use as a way to escape.  Granted, Ollie wont the fight, but if Ollie had such great training, you would think he would’ve recognize that he was being manipulated every step of the way.  About the only thing I can say is that at least Winick seems aware of it as he does have Ollie question the training. 

If I had to guess, the intel that Natas is providing is information on the stock purchase Ollie made that helped to finance his run for mayor.  It is the one part of the post One Year Later run that has been brought up several times, but as yet to pay off.  I do not believe that the pay off is the use for his campaign.  There has got to be something more. 

Rojo?

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