Fanboys Anonymous

Before I get on with the review, I want to make something clear to you, the reader. I have never read a single issue of "Green Arrow" or have seen any of the previous episodes from season one of the television program, "Arrow." I have dived in with no knowledge of the world this show depicts.


Arrow HD Wallpaper

However, this is a review of the season premiere episode, "City of Heroes." We could call this my first impressions review.

Continuing where season one left off, Starling City is still recovering from a mechanically engineered earthquake which has killed hundreds of people. As a result, Queen's mother was placed in prison for her involvement. Additionally, a band of thugs, calling themselves "The Hood" (a gang who were inspired by the city's vigilante), blame the Queen family for what has happened to the city and want to avenge those who have died.

Knowing Starling City is in dire need, Diggle and Felicity go searching for Oliver, who retreated to the jungle. While searching for him, they were saved by him from an explosive trap. Then, there is a flashback to five years previous on the island where Queen, Slade Wilson and Shado were living together after the cruise ship Queen was on with his father was sabotaged.
Since I did not know the full backstory, I asked a colleague to fill in the blanks for me.

"Oliver was on a cruise with his dad and Laurel's sister and it crashed via sabotage; so, he was stranded and the island's filled with mercenaries and all sorts of other horrors since it's used as a bit of a prison dead-zone," said Anthony Mango, founder of Fanboys Anonymous.

After some convincing, Oliver agrees to return to the city and finds it in disarray. His sister, Thea, now owns his club and has taken up a relationship with Roy. If this is not enough, he also learns his family's company is on the brink of a financial takeover.

Now, I could go on about the entire episode, but I do not believe in spoilers. However, as an outsider giving his perspective on a show I have no prior knowledge of, I will say this was one of the most intriguing shows I have seen. I have watched other shows based on classic comic books, although, not too many of them would I consider to be memorable (then, again, I did enjoy The Flash when it aired in the early 1990s).

After watching this episode, I am convinced I should go back and watch the entire first series of this show.


Since Travis gave you a rundown of the episode from his perspective, I figured I'd throw in my two cents as well. Frankly, I loved it. Arrow's first season took a while for me to get into, but I was able to mostly because of the character of Tommy. With his death at the end of the season, I figured the show would drop down in quality, but it seems like they've figured out the tone and pacing much better this time around. Although I still miss Tommy on the show, and I still think that Laurel is nothing but a pain in the ass, Roy is stepping it up and becoming my favorite character. Thea's also handled a bit better so far as well. I'm not sure I'm going to miss Summer Glau's character once she makes her exit from the show (despite how I like Summer Glau herself), but who knows…maybe she'll end up being worthwhile. The implementation of the knockoff "Hoods" gang, albeit a total ripoff of the Dark Knight trilogy (which shouldn't be a surprise, considering how much of this show has been patterned off that series), was a nice way to get the name change for Green Arrow and justify his return to the city. All in all, very entertaining, and if this episode is any indication of what is coming for this season, I'm excited to see what's next.

What are your thoughts on season 2's premiere? Are you excited about The Flash and all the other characters that will be introduced this season? Give us a comment below!