The Issue:
The Kill Machine: Part 2 by Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino and Marcelo Maiolo
This issue begins the same way the last issue did, with Oliver Queen still in the Black Mesa desert. As he lays unconscious in the dirt, we get a nice flashback of Ollie’s father teaching him to use a bow. Its a poignant scene between father and son that ends with Ollie’s dad telling him to “Never give up”. With that, Ollie gets to his feet and continues walking towards a large rock formation that I can only assume is his destination.
From here, we jump back to our three weeks later story where the last issue left off. Fresh off his beatdown at the hands of Komodo, Ollie awakens at the ports of Seattle with a note from The Magus at his side.
Heeding The Magus’s advice to check out Emerson’s office, Ollie makes his way back to Queen Industries, stopping only to make a call to Steve Trevor. Trevor is obviously unhappy that a member of the newly formed JLA is wanted for murder and informs Ollie that he’ll keep the cops off his back for as long as he can.
Elsewhere in Seattle, we see Komodo returning home after his battle with Green Arrow and find out from a Mr. Kryp that our mysterious villain’s last name is Lacroix. It seems this Mr. Lacroix is the owner of Stellmoor, the company that is buying out Queen Industries.
We then jump back to Oliver Queen as he enters a chinese restaurant and asks the owner for a man named Henry Fyff. It turns out that Fyff was a brillant former employee that Ollie had to, relunctantly, let go from his company. Ollie tries to explain his innocence but Fyff already knows that he didn’t kill anyone. He tells Ollie that the footage is clearly doctored and then asks why he came to him for help. Ollie pulls out his Green Arrow gear and tells Fyff that he’s going hunting and needs some backup.
Back at StellMoor, Komodo stands by an office door talking to his daughter Emiko. She’s pleading with her father to let her come in and watch. Komodo explains that things could get messy but lets her follow him in. Inside the office, we find out that Jax and Naomi are alive after all! Komodo threatens to kill them if they don’t help him find Green Arrow. Jax refuses to betray his friend and Komodo puts an arrow in his head (RIP Jax....again). A scared Naomi agrees to help and we see that The Magus has been across the street on top of another building listening to this ordeal the whole time.
Meanwhile, Green Arrow and Henry Fyff take a quick inventory of what remains of Green Arrow’s gear and then out head to Queen Industries. Green Arrow makes quick work of getting into Emerson’s office and heads straight for the bookcase, thanks to The Magus’s note. After finding a hidden switch, he finds a secret room filled with old weaponry, books, and a map of an island! He also finds a photo of his father and Emerson on the island with a man that looks like Mr. Lacroix.
Before he can explore the rest of the hidden room, Fyff radios Green Arrow and tells him that another, rather odd, heat signature has appeared in there with him. Green Arrow turns around to find The Magus leaning against the opposite wall. The Magus reiterates his message that Green Arrow needs to go to Black Mesa if he hopes to defeat Komodo and then the two get into an argument (there's also a nice little name drop for The Outsiders here).
The Magus warns Green Arrow that Komodo has tipped off the police and that they’re surrounding the building. Just as Green Arrow starts to tell him that he has friends in high places keeping the police off his back, sirens can be heard from outside and helicopters swoop down to light up Green Arrow’s position!
Fyff radios Green Arrow and tells him they’re done and need to talk to the cops but Green Arrow says that there is always a way. Telling himself to “Never give up”, Green Arrow shoots a grappling arrow onto the opposite building and jumps out the window. Just as he starts to zip-line across, an arrow flies in and breaks the line! Fyff screams for a response on the radio, as Green Arrow plummets to the ground, and Komodo watches from the top of the building.
The Opinion:
If you couldn’t tell from all of that above then I’ll just say it. This issue is packed with content. We got more insight into who this Komodo guy is, we’re introduced to a new supporting character, there was a surprise appearance from two other supporting characters we thought were dead, we got a little more information about the secrets Oliver’s father was keeping, and we got a good bit of action to go with it all. That may sound like a lot to pack into a 20 page comic but its paced really well. I never felt like things were moving too slowly or too quickly.
The addition of Henry Fyff is a welcomed one for me. He came across as immediately likable in that genius/slacker role and I enjoyed the dialogue between him and Ollie. Seems like it could make for a fun pair in future issues. I was a little put off by the way Ollie just tells him his secret identity right away but I chalked it up to his current situation.
Poor Jax by the way. The guy is seemingly blown up last issue, makes a triumphant return this issue, refuses to betray his friend and then gets shot in the face by an arrow. Jeff Lemire must really dislike that character.
Jeff Lemire continues to pack in future story ideas and world building in this issue. We get a mention of The Outsiders and they seem to be connected to his father in some way. We know from last issue that Ollie was never supposed to leave the island but now we find out that his father and Emerson have been there with (I’m assuming) the man known as Komodo. Speaking of Ollie’s father, Robert Queen was apparently tied up in some kind of plan or group that involved weapons and war. Plus, we still need to find out what’s so important in Black Mesa, Arizona. There’s just so many plot points to latch onto and think about.
Finally, the art has gotten even better in this issue. The addition of Marcelo Maiolo on coloring has really helped Andrea Sorrentino’s art pop. He adds a lot of depth and nuance that was missing in the colors last issue. They make a great pairing and I can’t wait to see that continue to get better as the series goes on.
