This final chapter of "Straight Shooter" stands out as Winick's best Green Arrow to date. It's not only thoroughly accessible -- one needn't have read the previous five chapters to follow along -- but it demonstrates what sets the title character apart from other DC Universe properties. Green Arrow isn't Batman with arrows. He's a hero, yes, but not in the traditional sense of the super-hero genre. Because the character is something of a second-tier icon, he and those around him are free to boast an edge. This isn't "might makes right." It's "don't mess with me and mine." Green Arrow continues to be defined by his failures, and it makes for riveting reading.
Green Arrow discovers Joanna Pierce, the lawyer he was working with on the Elevast urban development problem, dead in her apartment. She had just made an important discovery about Elevast and its connection to the troll-like creatures on the rampage in Star City... and the assassin Drakon learned of her discovery as well. Everyone who knows what Joanna knew is in danger, and that includes not only Oliver Queen, but his proteges Connor Hawke and Mia as well. Arrow rushes across the city to save those he loves, but Drakon is well ahead of him.
Phil Hester and Ande Parks say it all on that first page. One can see the hero's frantic but deliberate movement. We can see the desperation and guilt on his face. The darkness of the art conveys the ugly and tense mood that's going to loom over the whole story. Guy Major's deep, dark colors reinforce the angry and sad side of the book as well. The action sequences between Drakon and the Arrow Family are fantastic. The quiet intensity between him and Connor is just as visually engaging as the rapid-fire movements as they fight.
What sets this story apart from the typical DC Universe super-hero tale is that the heroes don't behave heroically all the time. They do whatever it takes to win. Connor and Ollie both knows Drakon is their superior in terms of skill, so it's up to them to exercise the element of surprise. Winick's script paints the protagonists in a clever light, but it also demonstrates that they're not "heroes" like their costumed colleagues. They're warriors. Winick brings an intensity and edge to them that really makes this story grab the readers' attention.
There's not a single scene in the book that doesn't have the reader riveted, but standing out among them is the epilogue, in which we see the weakness of character and self-loathing of the title character. These are the elements that define him, that make him an interesting person. We've all held ourselves up to personal scrutiny and found ourselves wanting, and that's what makes Oliver Queen such a compelling character. We can see our mistakes in his.
