Family Reunion – Convergence: Green Arrow #2 Review

Another chapter closes for the DC Comics event Convergence with the finale of Convergence: Green Arrow. Author Christy Marx (Amethyst: Swords & Sorcery) and artist Rags Morales (Identity Crisis) have once again knocked it out of the park with their work on the two part title, delivering fans of Green Arrow both new and old a satisfying conclusion to their battle for survival.

Despite the growing success of Green Arrow with the CW hit show Arrow, along with his current run of the New 52, for the first time in years the character actually feels like Oliver Queen. Unless you count his appearance in the Injustice Gods Among Us comics. Aside from Titans (check out the review I did for Issue #1) , Green Arrow was the Convergence title I had been looking forward to the most. Not only would I finally be getting Oliver Queen back, restored to his former glory, but it also meant the return of characters long lost to the New 52 including Green Arrow’s son, Connor Hawke.

Spoilers below so read ahead at your own risk!

Convergence: Green Arrow #2 picks up right where the last issue picks left off as Oliver Queen and Connor Hawke encounter the Kingdom Come counterparts for Black Canary and well Black Canary. The latter being Olivia Queen, the daughter of Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance. The four are given an ultimatum, the same one that has been given to the heroes of all the other Earths under Telos’ thumb. Fight or watch as their home be destroyed. Even with their disconnection, given that the characters come from parallel realities, these four heroes also realize that killing each other isn’t an option. Thus begins a game of wits to outsmart Telos to ensure the survival of both worlds.

While Rags Morales had been familiar with Green Arrow prior to Convergence with Identity Crisis as well a few issues where Oliver appeared in Hawkman, it is Christy Marx who finally has a chance to make her mark on the character. Marx had already proven herself to be a fantastic writer with issue number one, yet with issue number two she manages to further capture and even enhance the personalities of all the characters involved. Oliver’s humor and Dinah’s snark complete this issue, something that has been missing from the characters given their newest depictions.

The most important thing about this issue is that fans were delivered with the one thing that has been missing from Green Arrow comics since the events of Cry For Justice and even the reboot with the New 52, the sense of partnership and more importantly, family. Judd Winnick’s 70+ issue run of Green Arrow stressed just how important this was not only to Oliver Queen but to other members of the “Arrow” family throughout multiple arcs. Yet this is something that the current universe surrounding Green Arrow has ignored consistently. Seeing characters like Olivia Queen and Connor Hawke, characters that we could refer to as half siblings (you know in some strange alternate reality sort of thing) react as naturally the way they did was a joy to read. The same goes for Dinah and Ollie. Despite their difference and coming from alternate Earths the connection was there. So to see this theme used as heavily as it was throughout the issue was something that we definitely needed in regards to the character.

This is the issue that fans of Green Arrow and company have been waiting for. I’m only sad to see it gone so soon. I want and expect more of this sort of treatment for these beloved characters. Let me see more Connor Hawke and more Olivia Queen. Convergence: Green Arrow has blown me away and is one of the many examples that proves just why this event is so great as it returns long forgotten characters to us once more. As always you can pick up Convergence: Green Arrow at your local comic shop or pick it up digitally over on Comixology.