Brotherhood of the Fist Part 5: GREEN ARROW #135

The Brotherhood of the Monkey Fist cult is out to kill the current Green Arrow, Connor Hawke, but Batman, Robin, and Nightwing have his back.  Lady Shiva has come to Gotham to challenge Connor to single combat, and she'll kill any Monkeys that get in her way.  Meanwhile, ex-CIA spook Eddie Fyers has traveled to Southeast Asia to the headquarters of the Monkey Fist, where Black Canary and Bronze Tiger are being held captive.  Fyers is there to stop the cult, but the hired gun Deathstroke has their back.

Green Arrow #135: "Brotherhood of the Fist Part 5: The Borrowed Life" was written by Chuck Dixon, drawn by Doug Braithwaite, inked by Robin Riggs, and colored by Lee Loughridge.

In the wreckage of a luxury hotel knocked over by the Gotham earthquake, Connor and Nightwing come face to face with Lady Shiva.  She is in town because, like a shark attracted to the scent of blood in the water, she heard that the Monkeys were taking out martial arts masters and she wanted a piece of the action.  Specifically, she wants Connor Hawke, whose status as a Master has risen since he defeated the Silver Monkey.

Shiva incapacitates Nightwing fairly easily, and then she and Connor square off.

While Nightwing, as well as Batman and Robin battle Monkeys in other parts of the hotel, Shiva tells Connor that she will kill him to secure her place as the greatest fighter in the world.

In the headquarters of the Monkey Fist, Fyers and Deathstroke draw down on each other and open fire.  The chaotic shootout in the temple is overheard by Black Canary and Bronze Tiger, who are trapped in a cell below.  Fyers is wounded, but he sets off some shaped charges and the explosion traps Deathstroke on the other side of the temple.

Back in Gotham, Shiva praises Connor's ability even as she escalates her attacks to kill him.

In the Monkey cages...

The original Silver Monkey is also locked up and pleads for Fyers to release him.  Fyers doesn't.  He escapes with Canary and Bronze Tiger, while the Sensei of the Brotherhood saves Deathstroke, but admonishes him for his failure to stop Fyers.

In Gotham, Shiva is about to kill Connor.

Lady Shiva grants Robin's request, and takes off, leaving Connor and the rest alive.  Robin and Nightwing help Connor recover while pumping up his self-esteem by talking about how few people have ever come that close to defeating Shiva.

Batman's praise is more dire and dreadful than the youths.  He tells Connor that his new credentials as a master fighter is going to paint a target on his back.

Connor accepts the inevitability and circle of events: "Win, lose, or tie -- another enemy will be there to take the last one's place."

This was a fun rock 'em, sock 'em little crossover.  I don't think the story needed to be five chapters--three or four could have sufficed perfectly well.  As much as I love seeing Black Canary and Bronze Tiger teamed up, they didn't accomplish anything and their entire part in the story could have been reduced to a couple panels in one issue.  Since I don't care about Eddie Fyers and I've never been a big Deathstroke fan, that whole subplot was uninteresting to me, as well.

I read Green Arrow #0 as part of the Zero Hour even back in the '90s.  That was the first time I saw Connor Hawke, and I was intrigued enough to read a few more GA issues after that.  At the time, I liked that Hawke was younger and "greener" than Oliver Queen; that made him feel like my generation's Green Arrow, the whole purpose for the Legacy heroes that DC kept churning out decade after decade.  I'm glad Oliver Queen is back, because I've since read more (and I've grown up) and I want him to be the Emerald Archer.

Is there a place for Connor today?  Not in the New 52, not when Ollie and the rest of the heroes have been de-aged to their early/mid twenties.  I guess Connor and Wally West and Donna Troy will have to exist on a parallel Earth somewhere.  Maybe we'll see them again someday.

Brotherhood of the Fist Part 3: ROBIN #55

The deadly Monkey Fist cult has dispatched assassins all over the world to kill Green Arrow and basically anyone with a martial arts background.  Connor Hawke and Batman barely survived an encounter when an avalanche buried them in the mountains outside Gotham.  Former government agent Eddie Fyers related what he knew about the cult to Nightwing and Robin, and Bronze Tiger saved Black Canary from a Monkey attack.  The two are now working together.

Robin #55: "Brotherhood of the Fist Part 3: Monkey Fist" was written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Will Rosado, inks by Stan Woch, and colors by Adrienne Roy.  I can't read the signature of the cover artist, and it's not credited inside so it might be Rosado.  It looks nothing like the interior art, though.  The cover is awful.  Any comparisons I can think of feel like insults to Bobble-Head Dolls or whatever else.  I would look at this cover and never, ever, ever buy this comic except that it's part three of the crossover.

Anyway, Batman and Connor Hawke are stranded in the snow-covered wilderness.  At least, Connor thinks they're stranded.  Batman doesn't get stranded; he's always prepared, right?

How does Batman know the Monkey Fist is targeting every martial artist?  He's been incommunicado with all of the other characters that were attacked.

Far from Gotham, the Sensei of the Monkeys is dismayed that Eddie Fyers is killing so many of his warriors because Fyers uses guns.  So the Sensei hires someone with a gun--Deathstroke, the Terminator--to take out Fyers when he comes for the Sensei.

Later, back in Gotham, the titular hero of this comic, Robin, is on patrol with Connor Hawke, who has taken up with Batman's circle of crime fighters until the monkey business (couldn't help it) is sorted out.  Robin and Connor save a hostage from some street thugs, and then they discuss the damage the earthquake caused to the city, unaware that more Monkey cultists are following them.

Batman goes to see Oracle to find out what she's learned about the Monkey Fist.  She offers the data, but won't tell him where she's getting it from.

Right after Batman leaves, Oracle makes contact with her source--Black Canary.

Black Canary doesn't tell Oracle she's working with Bronze Tiger, but doesn't tell Ben who she was talking to either.  Keeping both of her worlds separate, perhaps?  Bronze Tiger recalls his adjacent connection to Oracle from his Suicide Squad days.

This little scene tickles me.  I accept and expect that Dinah is just playing the part of good intel operative and compartmentalizing her worlds.  Oracle and Bronze Tiger don't need to know of each other right now; this is a security measure for her.  On the other hand, there's a little part of me that wonders if--between the pages--something sexual was going on between Dinah and Ben during this little continent-jumping search for answers.  I've always thought that Canary and Tiger would make an interesting and exciting couple.  Maybe not in the long term, but they have enough in common that a romantic dalliance wouldn't be unexpected or unwanted.

Batman, Nightwing, and Connor meet with Eddie Fyers so Batman can tell the man to get the hell out of his city.  Before leaving, Fyers reveals something he knows about the organizational structure of the Monkeys.  There are different schools and disciplines, and different numbers of members based on how skilled and masterful the school is.  This explains why there is one Silver Monkey who is one of the deadliest fighters in the world, but the Emerald or Bronze Monkeys get mowed down effortlessly by the heroes.

Elsewhere in the city, the mysterious Paper Monkey declares her intentions to fight Connor Hawke in single combat to restore the honor of the Brotherhood.  She tells her underlings to keep Batman and his partners distracted, but insists that no one is to harm Robin else she will kill him.

Speaking of Robin--since this is supposed to be his book--he and Connor are out patrolling again, talking about learning to drive and things like that.  Connor asks Tim if Batman is his father.

Obsidian Monkeys are stalking Connor and Robin, but before they can attack, the Paper Monkey backs up her previous declaration.

Before killing the last of the Obsidians, Paper Monkey makes clear that she is not in Gotham at the behest of the Brotherhood's sensei.  She is here on her own with her own agenda.  Who is this woman?  Why does she have a personal beef against  Robin?  And what will happen when she faces Connor?  Maybe those answers will be revealed in Part 4 tomorrow!

Overall, this was another good issue, but not as strong as the previous two.  Will Rosado's art is too cartoonish for the heavy themes and seriousness of this story.  For all that this is an issue of Robin, Tim Drake only appears in like five and a half pages.  When he does appear, though, he offers some nice insight into Batman and how Batman respects Connor Hawke's ability even if he would never say it.

Two more major players were introduced in this issue: Deathstroke and Paper Monkey, whose identity will be revealed later for anyone who couldn't guess who she is.  But Deathstroke's inclusion feels more or less like an afterthought, and assigning him the role of bodyguard and waiting for a nobody like Eddie Fyers to show up looking for the Sensei feels beneath his character.  And I'm not even a Deathstroke fan.

I love the pairing of Black Canary and Bronze Tiger, but they only get two pages and not much to do in this issue.  I wish there was more of these two together in the future.

Come back tomorrow for Part 4 in Nightwing #23.

Brotherhood of the Fist Part 2: DETECTIVE COMICS #723

In the first part of "Brotherhood of the Fist", the mysterious and deadly Monkey Fist cult, in an effort to restore their honor and pride--launched an all-out assault on the Green Arrow Connor Hawke and every other renowned martial arts master in the DC Universe.  Connor teamed up with Batman to ward off the Emerald Monkeys, but a self-destruct mechanism in may have trapped them beneath a mountain.

Detective Comics #723: "Brotherhood of the Fist Part 2: Fight Back to Gotham" was written by Chuck Dixon, drawn by Alex Maleev, inked by Bill Reinhold, and colored by Gloria Vasquez.  I first read this issue back in 1998 when it came out, but I completely forgot that Alex Maleev worked on a couple issues of 'Tec in the '90s.  Also, I made such a big deal of Maleev drawing Black Canary in last November's issue of Batman: The Dark Knight that I forgot he had already drawn her in this issue sitting in my old longbox.

The issue opens with Batman and Connor Hawke crawling their way out of the smoldering wreckage of the Kobra headquarters and finding themselves isolated on the snow-capped mountain.  Isolated, but not alone.  More assassins crawl out of the snow and attack.

Meanwhile, Nightwing has returned to Gotham City, which is still recovering from the cataclysmic earthquake that nearly destroyed the entire city.  He teams up with the new Robin, Tim Drake, and the two head out on patrol together.

While Nightwing and Robin fight Monkeys in the city, Batman and Connor fight them in the country.

I love how Batman speaks of Oliver Queen to Connor in these issues.  You can't help but read the subtextual respect and mourning even when it sounds like Batman is criticizing the former Green Arrow.

Before long, the snow Monkeys give up the fight and run from Batman and Connor, choosing to let the mountain itself kill them.

Back in Gotham, Nightwing and Robin are pinned down by spear-tossing Monkeys when Eddie Fyers shows up and guns them all down (the assassins, not the heroes).  Fyers knows Tim Drake from a previous encounter, which is all that keeps Nightwing from attacking the man he calls a "murderer".

Instead, Fyers tells them about the Silver Monkey, the Monkey cult, and the fact that anybody with martial arts mastery (including Judomaster, Katana, and the Question) has been targeted.

After Nightwing convinces Fyers to bug out of town before Batman gets back, he and Robin go to Oracle to confirm the ex-CIA spook's intel.

This issue came out between Birds of Prey: Manhunt and the ongoing series.  Black Canary is still working as Barbara Gordon's field agent.  She was on a simple recon mission working a case when the Monkeys attack her.

Elsewhere, at the Brotherhood of the Monkey Fist's lair, the Sensei tells his followers that Connor Hawke and Batman are dead and that the time is right for the Monkey cult to take its place as combat champions of the world.  Of course, the original Silver Monkey, who is sitting in a prison cell, doesn't believe Connor is dead.  And he's right.

Like the first part of the story, chapter two of "Brotherhood of the Fist" is a fun, action-packed story.  The infusion of Nightwing and Robin into the story brings a youthful energy and levity that could be lost in Batman's brooding and Connor's stoic determination.  Fighting crime isn't a war for the Robins the way it is for Batman; it's a job.  A job they enjoy the hell out of, but a job nonetheless.  Batman can't turn it off, but Tim and Dick can, which gives them a swagger and attitude while they patrol that resonates like Spider-Man or Daredevil.

The other terrific part of the story are the cameos and guest appearances.  Black Canary and Bronze Tiger are two of my favorite characters, and to see them together, actually working together now, is a treat.  Can't wait to see what happens to them tomorrow when I review Part 3!

Black Canary to Appear in CW's ARROW Season 2

I assumed there would be no significant Black Canary news to come out of San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend, but I was wrong.  The teaser trailer for the second season of CW's popular Arrow TV series premiered and features the first in-costume appearance of Black Canary.

Check out the full trailer below.  Or jump ahead to 2:27 mark to the Canary kicking ass.

More surprising than the appearance of Black Canary in costume was the identity of the actress who would suit up.  Regular viewers who know the characters have expected Oliver's friend Dinah "Laurel" Lance to eventually become Black Canary, since, y'know, that's who she is in the comics.  Laurel has been a regular part of the show since the beginning, played by actress Katie Cassidy.

This Black Canary, though, will be portrayed by Caity Lotz.  

As fans were rightfully confused by this turn, Zap2It reached out to Arrow's show runners and got the scoop on who this character is and what this might imply for the future of Laurel.

I still have never seen an episode of this show, but I might have to start if Black Canary becomes a regular fixture of the series.  Hell, I'd even check it out just to see Bronze Tiger debut in Season 2!

Playdate #8: Black Canary & Bronze Tiger

Click to big-ify!