Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Amancay Nahuelpan, Sean Izaakse
Colors by: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letters by: Troy Peteri
Cover art by: Phil Hester, Ande Parks, Ryan Cody (cover A)
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: September 25, 2024
Green Arrow #16, by DC Comics on 9/25/24, brings the Absolute Power tie-in to a close when Oliver joins forces with his family to battle Bright. Plus, Bright's origin is revealed.
Is Green Arrow #16 Good?
Writer Joshua Williamson ends the Green Arrow title's contribution to the Absolute Power event with mild reveals, a few teases, and a decent amount of action. It feels like a lot happens in Green Arrow #16, but if you consider how the arc started and how it ended, not much has changed, with one exception. In short, you could take it or leave it.
When last we left the Arrow Family in Green Arrow #15, Roy led a strike team to snatch Professor Ivo in the hope that he could tell them how to disable Task Force VII. The mission went awry when Bright nabbed Ivo first, leading to an airborne battle of silly proportions. The issue ended with Ollie arriving via jet pack to stop Bright from killing Lian.
In Green Arrow #16, the mid-air battle continues. Bright still has Lian in his grip, taunting Oliver and the Arrow Family for their resistance. After launching several well-aimed arrows, the family is freed, so Ollie orders Roy to take command of the airship while he and Connor fight Bright because Connor is, according to Ollie, the best fighter in the world.
Oh, brother! DC is laying it on thick by trying to elevate Connor in every conceivable way possible. No, Connor is not the best fighter in the world, not by a long shot, but the fight is reasonably well done. Or at least, it's as well done as it can be with two humans punching a cybernetic, metallic behemoth with their fists.
During the fight, the taunting escalates. Soon, Bright recounts why he hates this Earth by explaining he was the White Lantern of Earth-3, and he was betrayed by Earth-3's version of Green Arrow - Deadeye. When Amanda Waller put Bright back together, she offered him the chance to wreak havoc on our Earth as payback... for some reason.
Yeah, Bright's reveal is a letdown. He's a nobody taking out his anger on a different version of the Oliver Queen who betrayed him. If you were hoping for a cooler reveal, this is as good as it gets.
The issue concludes with Bright taking a big fall, Good Ollie reverting to Bad Ollie, and a quick tip from Ivo that may be a clue to Ollie's motivations.
What's great about Green Arrow #16? Despite the lack of meat in this story, Williamson delivers plenty of action, strong emotional beats between Ollie and his family, and a reasonably well-maintained sense of intrigue about Ollie's intentions. Ollie is likely working to destroy Waller's plans from within, so Williamson drops just enough clues to keep readers hanging on. More clues would be better to raise the tension level, but some is better than none.
What's not great about Green Arrow #16? Note all the reasons mentioned above and more.
Bright's origin turned out to be a nothing burger.
Ollie talking up Connor as the greatest fighter ever reads as tone-deaf because it is certainly not true.
If you consider what Roy and the Arrow Family tried to do, they failed on practically every front, so the bulk of the arc is pointless.
Black Canary showed up at the very end. For some inexplicable reason, she did the exact wrong thing by telling Ollie what was about to happen. Why on Earth would she do that when there are many reasons to believe Ollie is possibly compromised?
How's the Art? Truly, Amancay Nahuelpan and Sean Izaakse do a bang-up job delivering an action-heavy issue that looks great. The fights are mostly well done, and the emotional beats, especially when the Arrow Family lays into Ollie, are strong.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
Green Arrow #16 brings the series' contribution to the Absolute Power event to a close with a rousing fight, Bright's lackluster origin story, and not much else. Williamson delivers a reasonably fun script, but the contribution to Absolute Power is lacking. At least the art team gave it their all.
6/10
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