Green Arrow #4 is written by Joshua Williamson and published by DC Comics. Artwork and cover (left) are by Sean Izaakse with interior and cover colours by Romulo Fajardo Jr. Letters are by Troy Peteri.
Green Arrow #4 is available now, in print and on digital, where all good comic books are sold.
Synopsis
PARALLAX RETURNS! Years ago, Oliver Queen died and was resurrected by his good ol’ buddy Hal Jordan. But it wasn’t really Hal, it was Parallax. And did no one think that would come with a cost?! Now Parallax has returned to collect! Meanwhile, Arsenal and Black Canary’s search for Oliver Queen leads them to a long-lost Green Arrow family member…who isn’t so happy to be found!
Review
After a short hiatus for the Knight Terrors event Green Arrow is back and he’s brought along an old friend. Picking up where we left off, Green Arrow is still separated from his family and trapped in the future. But now he has old friend Hal Jordan aka Parallax giving him the Ghost of Christmas Past treatment as Ollie finally realises it may be time to return to Dinah and the others.
I’ve really enjoyed having Green Arrow back in comic book stores. Oliver has been missing for far too long. In the wake of the Arrow TV series he became lost as readers and viewers alike tried to reconcile the vastly different versions of the character available to them. But with the TV series in the rearview mirror Joshua Williamson has grabbed the opportunity to bring back the character with both hands. It’s also really interesting to see a normally grounded hero being presented in a heavily science-fiction series.
Here the Hard Travelin’ Heroes have become the Time Travelin’ Heroes. Williamson plays in to the history of Hal and Oliver. Brilliantly using their relationship to exploit Oliver’s currently state of mind and his whereabouts in the timeline. The last time these two were face-to-face there was serious beef between them and those feelings boil over in the opening pages of Green Arrow #4. Williamson perfectly encapsulates the betrayal that Oliver feels but quickly turns that on its head by manipulating him in to believing a small part of his old friend is still fighting for control.
Green Arrow has been running concurrent storylines as Ollie exists in the future whilst Dinah and Roy search for clues to his whereabouts in the present. At this stage those two storylines are beginning to coalesce but perhaps not in the way that anyone would expect. We’ve seen Ollie slowing coming round to the idea of embracing his family. But he’s physically unable to without multiversal ramifications. So here Parallax takes a page out of the Christmas Carol playbook and takes Ollie in to the past as some kind of Force Ghost. It’s gut wrenching to see him so close to Dinah but with neither able to acknowledge the other. Williams is yanking at our heartstrings in the best way possible with this writing.
Ultimately there’s another problem to contend with. The Legion of Superheroes know what happens in the past and whether Ollie returning will help or hinder the timeline. Parallax also has his own motivations for pulling Ollie around the timeline. As Green Arrow #4 comes to a rather dramatic conclusion it seems like what our hero wants and what he should do are two very different things…
Verdict
It’s take a little while for Green Arrow to win me over. Its high-concept setting is unique for a character who normally exists to fight street level crime unless he’s with the Justice League. But Williams’ capable storytelling and its robust emotional foundations continue to drive home what is one of DC’s most compelling solo series.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
