Arrow Season 2.5 - #3 Review


Long Live Brother Blood.
Arrow's Season 2.5 #3 consists of two more additions to the 'Blood' story-line; in 'Following', the Arrow breaks into the Church of Blood and confronts their members and leader, whilst in 'Outnumbered', Diggle and Ollie try to escape from the clutches of Brother Blood and his minions. Meanwhile, 'Crisis in Khandaq' starts to get interesting as Khem-Adam (Arrow's version of Black Adam!) is introduced as the leader of terrorist group Onslaught.
First off, 'Following'. This chapter leads to the Arrow investigating the Church of Blood before being overwhelmed by the creepy acolytes of Brother Blood. Diggle tries to help him meanwhile, but is knocked out by members of the Church. We also get a neat insight into Thea's journey, as Malcolm teaches her in Corto Maltese that all places are dark and twisted, the only thing you can change is yourself. It's a nice moment that foreshadows her eventual transformation into Speedy and reveals for the first time chronologically where Thea and Malcolm went to after 'Unthinkable'.
The follow-up chapter is called 'Outnumbered' and features Oliver and Dig escaping from Brother Blood, whilst Dig learned in the process that Hogue was the new man in the skull mask. Little more plot development took place here, although we did get the surprise revelation at the end that the Huntress is back and wants revenge on the Arrow! I only ever enjoy seeing the Huntress in comic form, so hopefully this time her character is done justice.
The 'Suicide Squad: Crisis in Khandaq' plot thickened at the reveal that the terrorist group Onslaught were being run by Khem-Adam, a terrifying leader who apparently feels no pain and claims he cannot be killed. I LOVE that DC chose to let Arrow do a take on Black Adam, as this really makes the Suicide Squad comic story more enticing!
Overall, #3 doesn't quite reach the heights of the last issue, as little happens to further the plot, however the Suicide Squad story is certainly building momentum.

 STARRING: Brother Blood II, Church of Blood, Khem-Adam, The Huntress

 RATING: 8.4/10

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