DCAU #231: The Fix

IN THIS ONE... Green Lantern and Green Arrow get involved in a drug story,

CREDITS: Written by Steve Vance; art by John Delaney and Ron Boyd.

REVIEW: Steve Vance writes a good Kyle Rayner, and though Connor Hawke's Green Arrow is a bit of a cipher comparatively, they make a good pair. But going back to the old GL/GA model, confronting the heroes with social issues and making very overt PSA statements, feels obvious and old-fashioned to me. Maybe on a young audience, which the DCAU line was definitely trying to speak to, the message has more resonance. For this old dog, it almost seems trite. Especially considering the climax hinges on a crazy coincidence.

That said, the action is still good, and Kyle in particular shines from not having all those self-doubts he was saddled with in earlier Adventures appearances. His ring tricks are more fanciful than usual, and both he and Connor radiate pride at having picked up the torch from older heroes. They don't feel intimidated by it. For them, there's a lot of joy in helping people and that's ultimately the message that resonates more than the one about the more (still) topical drug issue.
IN THE MAINSTREAM COMICS: Though Kyle and Connor have teamed up before, this is really a call-back, and sequel, to a classic Hal and Oliver story from O'Niel and Adams' classic GL/GA story in which Speedy is found to be a junky (#85-86 of their combined series). The two creators are thanks at the end.

REREADABILITY: Medium - The two leads make the obviousness of the message more than tolerable.

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