Green Arrow/Black Canary #4 came out this week and caused an interesting flow of discussion. One element in the opening of the comic seems particularly noteworthy.
(The following links and excerpts likely contain spoilers)
Brian Andersen, to his surprise, actually liked the book, particularly one scene:
The best part of this story was Ollie yelling for Superman’s help. Being that Superman hears all, it was clever to have Ollie grow from a whisper to a shout. Although, why didn’t he just yell for Clark when he was held captive on Paradise Island? Maybe he didn’t think of it at the time? I also enjoyed the influx of heroes in this issue, although the only reason any of them showed up is for Ollie, as his son Connor has largely been forgotten by the rest of the DCU, despite his brief foray into Grant Morrison’s JLA run. The heroes’ concern speaks volumes for their affection for Ollie and Dinah. Writer Judd Winick smartly brings in the big guns to address the trauma Team Arrow faces and it’s great to see so many characters offer support and appreciation.
Kirk Warren points out something slightly problematic about the scene:
The opening bit with calling for help from Clark was a great scene, but, if you think about it too hard, it makes it seem like Superman is basically only listening for his close friends since he’s not saving every single person that’s calling for help around the world. So, while I like this book, I recognize it’s a far cry from the greatest thing ever written.
Steven Padnick did not like that scene:
Now, the logical response for anyone in the DC Universe to horrible circumstances is to shout “Superman, save me!” because, more often than not, he will (Kurt Busiek did a good story about that last year). But in terms of story, nothing sucks out the suspense like knowing the heroes aren’t really in any danger because a demigod is waiting in the wings. For story purposes, Black Canary/Green Arrow has to exist in a world without a superman.
So what did you think?
January 12th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
I think Steven makes a fair point. Logically, any time a member of the JLA comes up against a supervillain, he should call in the JLA and overwhelm that guy. That hero has no problem being in an unfair fight against a mugger, police have no problem sending in more officers than than there are bank robbers, etc.
But that kind of logic hurts stories. All tension in a Batman book would bleed away if he called in the Flash every time it made sense. Doing something like this once, even for an extreme situation, highlights that the heroes aren’t usually doing something that makes sense.
January 12th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Did Green Arrow actually yell out “SUPERMAN!!!” or “CLARRRRRRRRRRRK!”
January 12th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Hey Jason, Batman would NEVER call for anyone’s help ;-)….he’d die first, or have his back broken first. But I guess he would call Wally before Clark if he really really had to. But no doubt does this open a can of worms over the entire DCU now…every writer will have to make sure the hero is bounded and gagged before about to kill any of them.
I also think that Ollie knew Dinah would come and save him on Paradise Island, and that was the great concept there and why the book is called GA/BC.
I would only assume that the heroes reserve the “Clark Call” for these extreme life and death situations, as you remember they were too far away from either side and everyone on the boat had no real super-powers.
Although I think Connor is a great character and wouldn’t necessarily want him to die, I would have loved to have seen this same scene but Supes DIDN’T make it in time. Too bad DC, doesn’t have a What If series.
January 13th, 2008 at 4:24 am
This is a really bad precedent to set. Now, every time Winnie wants to put GA in real danger, he’ll have to drop in a note about how Superman is off in a mission in space.
Of course a good writer would do a story about GA yelling for help and none coming, and how he deals with that.
January 13th, 2008 at 5:28 am
I wonder why Winnick had Hal use his magic ring to try and save Connor rather than Kyle. 1. Kyle and Connor are friends so it would make SOME amount of sense for him to try and help. 2. Kyle’s the Lantern Winnick actually is MOST familiar with writing.
*shrug*
January 13th, 2008 at 5:44 am
I also had some hard time buying the part where Ollie and Dinah make a pact with the devil to erase their marriage so Connor can live…
January 13th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Great fisrt story arc! I can’t wait to see where this is going.
January 13th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I’m with pat… I’m way more interested in this Green Arrow and Black Canary series than I would ever have believed I could be. My only concern is that Winnick will fake-kill a main character every few issues, as that seems to be the pattern so far. Having said that, I loved the sense of how firmly GA and BC’s world fits into the greater DCU and wish more series did that.
January 13th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Lurker: Well, Kyle is currently on Oa, isn’t he?
January 13th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I had a bigger problem with the whole, “Well, we managed to repair the damage from the bullet, but unfortunately, the bullet was coated with a super-poison…”
January 13th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I bought the issue because when I was Byrne-stealing the issue that exact scene struck me as a nice moment. The way Winick played out the scene, Ollie initially tried to get help through the medical equipment on the boat, trying to get one of his “family” (Canary, Mia) to help his son. Quickly realizing that was inadequate, he took desperate measures. Ollie realized this was a situation he could not fix (by nature most superheroes, Green Arrow in particular, have an over-confidence in their abilities…they rarely think they need help). In a later scene, in the hospital, Ollie pleads for Hal to help him. And he says “Hal”, in a public hospital. An editor or Winick made a point of reinforcing this nuance, by having Black Lightning express concern about revealing secret IDs. And how about that pretty Chiang art?
January 13th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
I have no problem with what GA did. The idea of Superman listening for only his friends is stupid. Ollie called out Clark, not Superman and I’m sure Clark recognized not only Ollie’s voice, but the fear in his voice.
As for why GA didn’t call for him in the first place, isn’t Paradise Island a place of magic? What’s Superman’s other weakness? Also, why would a self-proclaimed superhero call on Superman? Doesn’t the superhero cease to be a superhero if they keep calling on the big guns when they’re in serious trouble?
January 14th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
My problem with this one scene is that the speed of sound is ignored. How near was Ollie to Metropolis again?
For that matter, why didn’t he have a JLA signal device.
That said, I think it’s a pretty cool idea. Too bad Winick once again indulged his taste for cheap soap operatics and sadistic storytelling in what he did to Connor.
January 14th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Of course a good writer would do a story about GA yelling for help and none coming, and how he deals with that.
A good writer did.
In this issue of Superman, Kurt Busiek tells the story of a woman who believes Superman is her personal guardian angel, so she repeatedly confronts the gang members preying on her neighborhood, confident that Superman will hear her and come save her.
Except one time, when he can’t get to her in time…
January 15th, 2008 at 12:25 am
That story was recently collected in the Redemption trade, which I cannot recommend highly enough.
Busiek wins! AGAIN!