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For The Old Gods. Arrow Season 2.5  put the Suicide Squad in the spotlight in this issue, appropriately titled the 'Crisis in Khandaq Special'. I have been looking forward to some development in this arc and finally we got it - thankfully it doesn't disappoint. Feeling like a modern military movie, the Suicide Squad infiltrate Khandaq and hunt down the extremist leader Khem-Adam, kicking some serious ass along the way. I love the relationship between the members of the squad, particularly the banter between Floyd Lawton and Diggle. Eventually the group reach the caves where Khem-Adam is based, leading to a climactic showdown. It was an epic fight, leading to the dramatic death of Ben Turner a.k.a. Bronze Tiger! I really didn't think any major characters would die in this series so I was shocked how swiftly and easily the villain was dispatched! Rest in peace you over-the-top, leather wearing Wolverine knock-off. The big reveal in this one was that Nyssa Al-Ghul, S...

Miscellaneous Expenses. The Arrow: Season 2.5  comic series picked up the pace in #5 with it's continuation of the 'Blood' storyline; 'Transitions' sees Caleb Green escape from the Church of Blood in order to kill Oliver Queen, whilst in 'Gone' Oliver finally realises that Felicity has been taken and enlists the recently awoken Roy to help him rescue her. The 'Crisis in Khandaq' feels close to boiling over, as Diggle replaces pregnant Lyla on the mission and joins the crew at the helicopter. 'Transitions' is a particularly eventful chapter. In it, we see Oliver dreaming of Thea killing him, whilst at the same time Malcolm trains Thea in his house in Corto Maltese, further evidence that she is going to transform into Speedy in the coming seasons. Additionally, Sara enlists Quentin's help to track a target for the League of Assassins and Roy wakes from his coma. All-in-all, it was a great chapter which began a number of story-lines and...

The Fun Is About To Begin. Arrow's Season 2.5  comic series continues with two more chapters in the 'Blood' arc; 'Haunted' sees Oliver face off against figures from his past as he trips on vertigo, whilst in 'Awakenings' Sara returns to rescue Oliver and Team Arrow vow to fight back. In 'Crisis in Khandaq', Ravan Nassar is recruited to the Squad whilst Deadshot and Bronze Tiger train at ARGUS. 'Haunted' is an emotional chapter, where Oliver is forced to contend with his demons after Werner Zytle injects him with vertigo. I liked how Zytle popped up here as I know he is going to reappear as the first antagonist of season 3. Also, it was nice seeing the return of familiar faces including Robert, Moira, Tommy and Slade. We learn about Oliver's self doubts, as his ghosts speak his greatest fears and his failures. Whilst this emotion-driven chapter is interesting, it ultimately doesn't move the story forward in any meaningful way. In...

Blood is Risen. Arrow Season 2.5  brings revelations and mysteries in its two chapters: 'Acolyte' sees a member of the Church of Blood make a demonstration of his devotion to the new Brother Blood, whilst 'Ascension' explains just how Clinton Hogue became the new Brother Blood, answering a few lingering questions from season 2. In 'Acolyte', Oliver learns that the Church of Blood is back and led by another Brother Blood, who is revealed to be Sebastian Blood's old bodyguard Clinton Hogue! I'm glad the comic writers chose a character that was in the show, as it felt more dramatic revealing him to have been an ally of Blood's prior to his death. Additionally, we get to see where Team Arrow get all of their awesome gear - some shady nut job with a scarred face and a weird pair of goggles. Diggle gives this guy the plans for Roy's Arsenal costume, which is an awesome link back to the TV show! Following this, 'Ascension' explains that Ho...

What, OJ and Charles Manson Weren't Available? Arrow  brought back a number of villains in the Arrowverse's debut of the Suicide Squad, a fun episode with plenty of heart but lacking in execution despite its best endeavours.  Diggle once again took centre stage this week, as Amanda Waller recruited him into Task Force-X, alongside returning rogues Bronze Tiger, Shrapnel and Deadshot. I always love seeing Dig take the reigns and this week was no exception, with his relationship with Lyla being explored much more thoroughly and his complex friendship/rivalry with Deadshot becoming more amicable as we learned about Lawton's daughter. The assassin was in dire need of some humanising and 'Suicide Squad' provided this, giving the character much more depth and better dialogue to suit, which resulted in a fitting arc for the infamous sniper. The mission itself was dull however, using familiar tropes to frame a bad guy buying bad things but posing as a good man. Gholem...

Some People Are Just Broken. Bronze Tiger returns in one of the more mediocre episodes of this season, serving more as a plot device to force the Arrow to reveal his true identity to Roy. Elsewhere, Laurel continues to spiral and Moira decides to run for mayor. The aforementioned villain of the week Bronze Tiger is given his second outing as he is contracted to steal a prototype earthquake device from Malcolm Merlyn's old house. I liked this nod to the first series, however it felt a bit cheap for there to suddenly be a whole other earthquake device that hadn't been found for months. Bronze Tiger is given more lines than in his previous appearance, but continues to disappoint and over-act in a way which feels false. Nevertheless, it was fun seeing a recurring villain and the teaser for the Suicide Squad was a nice addition. The main conflict this week came in the form of Oliver teaching Roy to control his anger, using similar techniques that Shado used on him back on the ...

You'll Never Be A Hero. 'Identity' didn't impress quite as much as 'City of Heroes', but was a fun, slightly more focused episode in which we are introduced to Sebastian Blood and Bronze Tiger. The flashbacks dive deeper into Oliver's relationship with Shado and how it is affecting Slade, which foreshadows the dramatic events to come for the trio. The plot this week was strange and a bit weak, with Triads targeting medical vans for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, this thin plotline was made weaker by the return of China White as the villain of the week, who is once again strangely wooden and at this point feels like the meme of the Arrowverse. Don't get me wrong, for some reason I love it whenever she crops up randomly, but damn she is a REALLY weak character. It seems some of this rubbed off on her associate Bronze Tiger, who made his debut this week in similarly random fashion. His introduction explained none of his motivations beyond wanting t...