Tag Archives: Count Vertigo

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Arrow S2E7: “State v. Queen”

The episode begins with a flashback, where we see how the Earthquake in the Glades takes apart the Iron Heights Penitentiary. I’d like to see a map of the Arrowverse. Because we know that Iron Heights is in Keystone City. We know the Glades is in Starling City. I really wonder how this earthquake worked. Because not all of Starling City is decimated but the quake made its way to Keystone City. How far apart are these cities? In any case we get to see how the Dollmaker and now Count Vertigo make their escape from the Penitentiary.  Through an Arrow shaped hole.

Arrow_Shaped_Hole

Flash further back to the island. Oliver as been taken to Slade and Shado’s camp by Ivo and his men. Ollie yells to warn them. This buys them time to escape Ivo without him knowing they were there. Though Slade is looking rough. Oliver then takes Ivo to the World War II Japanese bodies. Ivo is looking for the “Hosen” arrowhead that should be with the bodies but cannot find it. He is about to have his men kill Ollie when Slade and Shado rescue him. Once in a safe place Shado reveals the Hosen.

Oliver leads Ivo and his men to the WWII Japanese bodies. Ivo searches everywhere but cannot find “The Hosen,” a special arrowhead that was supposed to be with the bodies. Ivo’s men are about to shoot Oliver when Shado and Slade get the drop on all of them.

Another scene on the island. Slade and Shado rescue Oliver. He grabs Sara as they all flee Ivo’s men. Shado uses one of Ivo’s detonators to cover their escape.

One final island flashback. Shado pulls out the Hosen. She doesn’t know why Ivo wants it. There is a Buddhist inscription on one side and the numbers 30, 30, 175, and 12 on the back. It’s very Lost like and obviously coordinates. They are for the Japanese sub. The sub can apparently save the human race. Ollie wants to find it to save Slade who is getting worse.

Jump back to the present we are finally getting to Moira Queen’s Trial. This is my least favorite story arc of this season so it feels like it has been dragging on forever. A.D.A. Adam Donner who has a “Trump Card” yet to be revealed and Laurel, who should not be allowed to prosecute Moira, are in the courtroom. The trial’s opening arguments try make the case that Moira and her family were threatened by Malcolm Merlyn.

Then we switch to Diggle who is feeling weird since he got a flu-shot. He eventually collapsing from his illness. Then we jump back and Adam Donner is collapsing in the courtroom from seemingly the same thing. Hmmm, I wonder who did this? Adam gets rushed into an ambulance hijacked by Vertigo. Then D.A. Kate Spencer, Alderman Blood, and Laurel are discussing his case and Laurel finds Adam’s “Trump Card.” Laurel goes to the prison where Moira is held and explains this is why Moira can’t take the stand. Because of this Moira is forced to reveal to Thea and Ollie that she had an affair with Malcolm Merlyn. Laurel does a weird cross-examination type thing that makes a terrible case against Moira. How did Laurel get this job? The next day we get the verdict. NOT GUILTY!  WTF?!?!?!

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Oh yeah and somewhere in here Team Arrow takes down Count Vertigo. Oh, I mean literally. Three arrows in the chest out the window down a few stories on to a cab and I am sure this makes Count Vertigo ripe for a return from the dead. Speaking of which, Moira’s driver takes her from the courtroom to an abandoned parking lot . He steps out of the car and gets shot in the chest by a black Arrow… Malcolm Merlyn is back. He bribed the jury, knows how to escape death, and is Thea’s Dad!

Oh one more scene to mention. Alderman Blood is getting really creepy. He reveals he is the reason for Count Vertigo terrorizing the city. We see he is experimenting on people who now won’t die. One is Brother Cyrus (See more below). I think we’re going to see all these people not dying and the drugs from the island, Slade, and Sebastian Blood all start to connect.

NOTES:

Count Vertigo: Werner Vertigo, also known as Count Vertigo was created by  Gerry Conway and Trevor von Eeden and first appeared in World’s Finest #251 in 1978. In most of his incarnations he is a ruler of a fiction country Vlatava. He uses his “Vertigo Effect” to disrupt his enemies’ balance. The TV show does a nice job of switching that to a drug. When he eventually comes back from the dead I think we will see him with a weapon to give people Vertigo he is fighting. Outside of his history as a Green Arrow and Black Canary villain, he has been a part of the Suicide Squad, Checkmate, and the Injustice Society. For a good Count Vertigo story check out the Green Arrow #23.1 by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino.

Malcolm Merlyn: The comic book character of Merlyn first appeared in Justice League of America #94  in 1971. He was created by created by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Neal Adams to be an archenemy of Green Arrow. In the comic books Meryln is a stage name and the supervillain name of Arthur King. Oliver Queen is inspired to take up archery after seeing Merlyn perform. As an adult Green Arrow meets Merlyn when Merlyn challenges the hero to a public archery contest. Ollie bests Merlyn. Merlyn disappears from the public eye and joins the League of Assassins. When Green Arrow next meets Merlyn, Ollie is with Batman and is able to deflect one of Merlyn’s arrows with an arrow of his own, saving Batman’s life. Andrew Kreisberg, one of the writers on Arrow wrote a story featuring Merlyn in Green Arrow/Black Canary: Enemies List.

Brother Cyrus: Brother Cyrus most likely refers to Cyrus Gold who becomes the zombie-like character Solomon Grundy. He first appeared in All-American Comics #61 in 1944 and was created by Alfred Bester and Paul Reinman. His name was taken from the 19th Century nursery rhyme.  Solomon Grundy’s story starts when Cyrus Gold , a wealthy merchant, was murdered and his body disposed of in Slaughter Swamp. He was supernaturally resurrected fifty years later, partially being composed of material from the swamp. He is named Solomon Grundy in the hobo camp near the Swamp because his only memory is of being born on a Monday. Pretty mindless, he eventually turns to a life a crime and destruction which puts him into battle with the first Green Lantern, Alan Scott. He is eventually killed, but this is not the end because he is trapped in a constant state of reincarnation. Each time he dies he is resurrected in the Slaughter Swamp with slightly different levels of strength, intelligence, and personality. His most notable story involving Oliver is Green Arrow: The Archer’s Quest written by Brad Meltzer (from History Channel’s Brad Meltzer’s Decoded) and Phil Hester. Obviously in the TV show we are seeing Cyrus being constructed by drugs. However it is worth noting that the forever resurrecting Solomon Grundy goes along with this season’s theme of not dying (Ra’s al Ghul and the Lazurus Pit, Professor Anthony Ivo, Mirakuru, etc.).

Kate Spencer: D.A. Kate Spencer has appeared previously in the season 1 episode “Damaged.” She lead the prosecution that charged Oliver Queen with the crimes the Hood committed. Her comic book counterpart is a federal prosecutor who grows  tired of seeing guilty super-criminals evade punishment. She takes matters into her own hands, stealing equipment and weapons from an evidence room becoming the vigilante Manhunter. She was created by Marc Andreyko and Jesus Saiz for the wonderful series appropriately titled Manhunter.

Jean Loring: She has been a player in the trial storyline this season. She is a defense attorney and an old friend of Moira Queen’s. She was created by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane in Showcase #34 in 1961 as a love interest for Ray Palmer, The Atom. Her comic book counterpart is also a lawyer. She eventually married and divorced Ray Palmer and displayed in various stories some mental instability. She is featured in Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales.

Markovia: This is a small country in Europe, ruled by the Markov family and first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #200 in 1983. Prince Brion Markov is also known as the superhero Geo-Force. He can manipulate the Earth’s gravitational field to make an object heavier or lighter, manipulate the earth, turn organic matter into stone, and project “lava blasts.” A Dr. Brion Markov appeared last season in “Darkness at the Edge of Town” where he created a device for Malcolm Merlyn to create the earthquake. Malcolm killed Dr. Markov once the device was complete. Comic book Brion had a half sister Tara Markov who was the sometimes hero and somes villain named Terra who had the ability to control earth much like her brother. She was mentally unstable and had a professional and personal relationship with Slade Wilson. She is introduced in the story “Terra Incognito” in the New Teen Titans. Brion and Ollie were on a team called The Outsiders together.

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Arrow S2E6: “Keep Your Enemies Closer” Recap

teamarrowtrip

In this episode we see more of Oliver having a hard time balancing his “Arrow” life and his business life. It starts when Diggle gets grabbed by A.R.G.U.S. agents and Amanda Waller shows up to let him know that Lyla Michaels has been captured in Russia tracking down Deadshot. She was tracking Deadshot for Diggle. Waller also lets him know that she knows what Diggle and Ollie are up to at night and basically blackmails Digg into rescuing her. I don’t know how much blackmailing Diggle really needed. This sets Team Arrow on the go to Russia. And worlds start colliding when Isabel Rochev decides she needs to accompany them on this suspicious trip.

John and Ollie ditch Isabel with Smoak to go meet up with Olie’s former Amazo boat cellmate, Antoli Knyazev, who sets up a break into Gulag to rescue Lyla. John and Ollie argue who will go in for her. The decision is made that John will go in. The thought of Arrow going in the prison reminded me of a film by David Goyer that never was made, Green Arrow: Escape from Super Max. The premise is that Green Arrow gets framed for murder and he is stuck in a jail with a bunch of super villains he put there. He needs to escape. Anyway, they set up John to get arrested so he can get in the prison. In the prison, he is chained in a tortuously cold room with Flyod Lawton a.k.a. Deadshot. Digg and Flyod both break free separately and Flyod tells him he knows where Lyla is and he will tell Diggle if Diggle gets him out.

Meanwhile, Ollie and Isabel hook up. Felicity comes calling to help Diggle get free. She realizes that Isabel and Ollie slept together and is visibly upset. On the other hand we also see that Isabel is not phased one bit by their hook-up. We also find out that she, like her comic book counterpart, is Russian. The theme of everlasting life/rebirth and the presence of Russian characters are two things that are very prominent this season. I don’t think it’s too far of a jump to find that Isabel is mixed up with the League of Assassins. She was really giving me a Talia al Ghul vibe this episode. Maybe it was the one night stand.

Keep Your Enemies Closer

Nevertheless Ollie, Smoak, and Antoli rescue Diggle who has rescued both Floyd and Lyla. On the way out they release Floyd. Diggle lets him go because of Floyd helped him escape. In return Floyd tells Diggle that it was not a mistake that he killed his brother but the contract was for his brother by a group named H.I.V.E.

Flashback time. Ollie is meeting with Sara and Ivo on the Amazo. Ivo starts explaining the Japanese sub and how during World War II the Japanese created a serum called Mirakulu that enhanced strength, rapid cell regeneration to create an army of super-soldiers. And we wend with Sara tricking Ollie into giving up Slade and Shado.

NOTES:

Task Force X: This is a government task force also know as the Suicide Squad. This version of the squad first appeared in Legends #3 in 1987. The Squad is a team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for shortened prison sentences. The squad is lead by Amanda Waller and at times the Bronze Tiger. Both Deadshot and Count Vertigo are members of this team in the comic books. The current Suicide Squad book is s decent read but the book by John Ostrander in the late ’80s is what defined what the team is.

Amanda Waller: She first appeared in Legends #1 in 1986, and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein and John Byrne. Nick named “The Wall,” she is a cunning strategist and is the Director of A.R.G.U.S. and the Suicide Squad.

Mockingbird: This is the code name for whoever is in charge of the Secret Six. Many people have been in charge of the Secret Six over many years, one of them being Amanda Waller. The team that she secretly ran consisted mainly of villains who undertook missions of dubious moral quality and often resulting in a high body count. This version of the Secret Six was thematically similar to John Ostrander’s run on the Suicide Squad. It’s definitely a good read by Gail Simone.

Deadshot: Floyd Lawton first appeared way back in Batman #59 in 1950 and was created by  by Bob Kane, David Vern Reed and Lew Schwartz. Deadshot is a hired assassin who is a member of both the Secret Six and the Suicide Squad. It was recently revealed in Suicide Squad that Waller has found a way to bring him back to life no matter how many times he dies. It makes his death wish pretty hard to accomplish. He had a great miniseries back in 2005 by Christos Gage and Steven Cummings that featured Green Arrow. Deadshot: Beginnings collects the miniseries John Ostrander wrote in the 1980s as well as some Batman stories.

Flashwatch: The TV showed a “No S.T.A.R. Labs” sign and the voice over said. “…any scientific gain that might come from it. The people need to understand how dangerous technology like this is and the very real possibility of a cataclysmic event.”

Mirakulu: The description and the sound of this drug sound very much like Miraclo. Miraclo is a drug that scientist Rex Tyler, created that gave him superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and durability for an hour before returning to human levels. He became the superhero known as

Hourman. The CW currently have a Hourman show in development. I wonder if there will be a link to Arrow. Some good Hourman reading I would point to Sandman Mystery Theatre: the Hourman and Starman #11.

H.I.V.E.: The original H.I.V.E. which stands for Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination was a mysterious organization that specialized in high-level contract assassinations and mercenary acts of terrorism. They first appeared in Superman Family #203 in 1980 and were created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.

Slade Wilson: He is also known as Deathstroke the Terminator but is mostly called Deathstroke in order not to be confused with the Arnold Schwarzenegger killing machine. He first appeared in New Teen Titans vol. 1 #2 in 1980 as a bounty hunter. DC Comics recently gave him his own series. I’d suggest reading issues #1-8 by Kyle Higgins.

Shado: She first appeared in Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters in 1987. She is the daughter of a Yakuza agent sent to America with a large cache of gold, prior to World War II, in order to establish Yakuza operations in America. Shado tends to be both an antagonist of Green Arrow and a love interest.