YMMV / Green Arrow (Jeff Lemire)

• Awesome Art: Plenty of readers agree that Sorrentino's art style is gorgeous, and really helps to sell the mood of the comic.
• Complete Monster (Issues #17-31): Komodo was once Simon Lacroix, a power-hungry man from the slums who rose to become a continental threat. After learning about the Outsiders from Robert Queen, Komodo became greedy and thanked his former mentor by seemingly murdering him, later on stealing his daughter Emiko from her mother Shado, giving Shado to Count Vertigo, and raising Emiko as an assassin. In his mission against Oliver, Komodo quickly frames him for murder; kills dozens of his employees before bankrupting him; kills dozens of cops; and straps a bomb to Naomi Singh. After plotting with other Clans to have him take over, Komodo murders his master before using the power of the Clans to pour Sarin gas all over Europe, causing a continental catastrophe just so he can sweep in and take control. When Robert and Shado interfere once more, Komodo attempts to kill his own daughter Emiko just to spite him one more time.
• It Was His Sled: Emiko being Oliver's half-sister, due to the fact that she was a major player in future runs like Green Arrow (Rebirth) and her storyline was (loosely) adapted in Arrow's seventh season.
• Magnificent Bastard:
  • The Magus is the mysterious leader of the Mask Clan who proves to be Oliver's most crucial ally against Komodo/Simon Lacroix. Having previously worked with Robert Queen to subvert the mad archer's rise to power by faking Robert's death, Magus returns in the present day to continue his mission, starting by forcing Oliver to accept his teachings. Through various methods like drugging him and leaving him alone in the desert, Magus forces Oliver to accept his role, all while allying the other Clans for the incoming war. Using his powers, Magus distracts Komodo with Oliver's face before taking on his army, coordinating with Katana to subvert his plans to destroy Europe before accepting Oliver's choice to return to Seattle.
  • Robert Queen, believed to have been killed by Komodo, is in truth still alive and orchestrated Oliver's journey to heroism. Having predicted that Simon would betray him, Robert allied with Magus to fake his death, allowing him to search for the mystical Green Arrow for years. In order to prepare Oliver for his role, Robert orchestrated his imprisonment on the island, including his torture and the final battle to the death between the two, ensuring Oliver's transformation into the Green Arrow. Resurfacing in the present day, Robert not only takes down the leader of the Shield Clan, but escapes the island himself to fight Komodo head-on, ultimately getting Oliver the Green Arrow artifact and dying to protect his daughter.
  • Richard Dragon was once Ricardo Diaz, Jr., the son of a master criminal who was defeated by the Green Arrow. Wanting to humiliate the archer in his father's name, Diaz traveled to the League of Assassins and trained under the original Richard Dragon, eventually killing his master and taking his name out of respect. Arriving in Seattle, Dragon takes over the city's underworld within days, killing everyone in his way and gaining such power that he can walk right into the police station without hassle. Even when Green Arrow returns to the city, Dragon stays one step ahead at all times, taking advantage of his genius intellect and brilliant analytical abilities to attack weak points and strike strong. Although he's ultimately defeated, he escapes, ultimately completing his goal to prove himself far more than the average thug.
• Tough Act to Follow: Andrew Kriesberg's short-lived the Kingdom arc that followed this run fell flat on its face for a variety of reasons, but nothing that followed something as acclaimed as this series was ever going to fare well. It wasn't until Green Arrow (Rebirth), several years later, that a Green Arrow comic received anything even close to this level of acclaim.

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