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More Out Of Life. 'Sara' was always going to struggle to top the series three premier, but episode two provided some powerful emotional arcs along with some major developments in Team Arrow. The overriding plot of this episode centred on the fallout following the death of Sara at the end of 'The Calm'. The episode smartly began with the contrast between the blissfully unaware members of Team Arrow and the broken figure of Laurel quivering next to Sara's corpse, spread out on a table. From here, the episode developed into a cross between murder mystery and the pains of losing a loved one. The combination felt slightly unusual, but came together to create a solid instalment in the Arrowverse, even if the plot led to nothing in the end when it was revealed that Komodo hadn't killed Sara. Speaking of, Simon Lacroix a.k.a. Komodo was criminally underused in his Arrowverse debut (which to this day sadly remains his only appearance in the shared universe). S...

Doubt Is His Real Enemy. The Flash  builds upon its debut episode with another fun adventure featuring a man who can produce clones of himself. Multiplex, as Danton Black became known, was another one-note villain who it seems will never get a chance to build upon his character. The only benefit which came from this villain was some cool sequences involving Barry and his powers being used to fight crime. The best of these was the grand finale, when Barry smashed his way through an army of Black's clones to then spear-tackle Danton himself. It seems a waste to me for Multiplex to be killed off after only one appearance, but it does at least add a darker tone to the show which it was feared to be lacking. The relationships between Barry and those he considers friends and family continued to develop this episode, as we watched Joe finally let go and believe in his surrogate son, whilst we also saw Barry struggle to hold back his emotions as he watched Eddie kiss the woman he lov...

A Man Cannot Live By Two Names. Arrow  returned for season three in a big way with 'The Calm', as relationships changed and new threats and mysteries arose.  Picking up months after the Siege, we see a well-oiled Team Arrow taking out a criminal truck, showcasing Arsenal in his brand new (incredibly bad-ass) costume in the field with Dig and the Arrow. It's an explosive introduction and sets the pace from the start. I enjoyed seeing what the group dynamic would be like during a time of relative peace, although naturally this was disturbed repeatedly throughout the episode. Werner Zytle posed the threat in episode one, as he assumed the mantle of Vertigo and went around taking over Starling's criminal network. Vertigo was an entertaining villain and certainly an upgrade on Seth Gabel's interpretation of the character. I liked how the writers used him as a plot device to highlight Oliver's worst fear - himself. It might have been cliche, but it was a nice id...

Run, Barry, Run. Following his introduction in Arrow season two, Barry Allen a.k.a. the Flash finally gets his proper Arrowverse debut in the first episode of The Flash  season one and it is a solid debut for the Scarlet Speedster. Picking up slightly prior to the fateful lightning strike but just after the events of 'Three Ghosts', the show establishes Barry's position as a CSI along with his relationships to foster father Joe, love interest Iris and idol Harrison Wells within the first few minutes. We then travel through time to the day Barry awakens from his coma (which he spent most of Arrow  season two stuck under) to discover his city racked with changes. I enjoyed this angle on the beginning of the Flash's journey, as it acted as a great entrance for newcomers whilst also respecting those of us who have already seen Barry's transformation in Arrow . From here, events transpire rapidly as Barry discovers his powers and becomes acquainted with what will b...

Bullseye - Bridging The Arrowverse. After I finished Season 2 of Arrow , I was worried about how fast things would go downhill, since I considered Arrow 's sophomore outing to be the peak of the series. Fortunately, I was proved wrong by Arrow: Season 2.5 , which featured a great array of villains old and new, whilst explaining Sara's journey back to Nanda Parbat, the Suicide Squad's epic new mission in Khandaq and of course Oliver's campaign against the resurgent Church of Blood. This campaign took up the majority of the series, after Clinton Hogue adopted the mantel of his former employer. I thought that the 'Blood' arc was really well written and featured some great moments for the Arrow, Arsenal and the Huntress. It also featured Roy's transformation into Arsenal, including how he obtained his costume, which was very exciting for me as an Arrowverse fan as these events are never shown onscreen. The story was well paced too and although the extension...

I Am The Arrow. Oliver shakes off his past and embraces his identity as a hero in the closing chapters of Arrow Season 2.5 ; 'Reckoning' sees Oliver question his quest as Caleb Green delivers a morbid message on his deathbed, whilst 'Prologue' brings the series right up to the beginning of Season 3 as Oliver strives to prove himself... to himself. 'Reckoning' kicks things off in this final issue, with Green's dramatic death and one more evil speech. I like how much it really struck a chord with Oliver as we see him struggling to focus after the incident. Felicity's speech was really cool and actually not that cheesy for once as well, which was a pleasant change. It probably helped that it was accompanied by a sweet montage of Team Arrow destroying gangbangers across Starling City. The other focus here was Sara, who after a brief steamy encounter with Nyssa journeys to Starling to take out Malcolm Merlyn, only for the latter to knock her out at the s...

Oliver Queen Is Dead. Caleb Green and Oliver Queen finally have their dramatic showdown in this issue, which consisted of two stories as per usual; 'Home' featured both Ollie and Malcolm experiencing unwanted guests in their houses, whilst 'Recompense' showed the epic battle between Green and Queen as a burning mansion collapses around them. 'Home' is more of a set-up episode for this confrontation. Laurel is kidnapped and makes a great joke about how often she gets broken into, which has been a common trope and inadvertent running gag throughout the first two seasons. This then leads to a war of the words between Ollie and Green, which is fairly standard villain victory talk which leaves Green feeling undeveloped and two dimensional. The best part of this chapter was seeing Malcolm come under threat from the League, which again sets up the conflicts that will play out in Arrow  season 3. The follow up chapter, 'Recompense', depicts the set-piece s...