I just read Absolute Green Arrow #3. This series keeps getting darker and more interesting, with some very relevant ties to current cultural and political conversations.
The Setup
Black Canary meets with a family friend who used to work with her parents. She learns the police only know what Hammond feeds them. A trap is set in a heavily secured penthouse using an actor pretending to be Hammond, knowing Absolute Green Arrow would show up. Absolute Black Canary chases down Roy Harper, following the issue #2 ending, and has a tense discussion (at arrow point) with him while they’re on the move.
Highlights
The issue continues, as it has from issue 1, to lean into very dark, hard vibes. Green Arrow gets cornered on a roof but fights his way out with help from some local regular guys who see him as the only one fighting for them — even though he is a serial killer. There’s a lot of blurred lines here, with people protecting him because they hate the dirty billionaires more. At the same time we also have bets running on prediction markets about whether (and when) he’d be killed.
We get flashbacks with Roy Harper talking about how success changes things around you. Friends become leeches or jealous. You’re stressed but no one cares because you’re rich. Roy also explains how every billionaire eventually becomes obsessed with anti-aging (a massive $30 trillion industry) and ties it to Reese Tyler and Miraculum — the strength-and-endurance boosting drug that warps the mind. Hammond apparently bought assets from Tyler Pharmaceuticals.
Black Canary and Roy break into a facility tied to the private pedo island looking for flight logs. They find a man in dire need of some Skele-Gro (flat, no bones) begging to die and project code names based on nursery rhymes. Then comes the big reveal: Absolute Solomon Grundy, a massive monster covered in the same eyes as the kid from issue #1. Roy believes they brought Oliver Queen back from the dead (killed in Absolute Evil). Did they?
Final Verdict
Absolute Green Arrow #3 is another strong, dark chapter. The political and cultural relevance (Epstein-like figures, blurred lines between hating billionaires and protecting killers, prediction markets, anti-aging obsession) makes it feel very tied to the real world right now. The Absolute Solomon Grundy reveal and the ongoing mystery around Oliver Queen keep the intrigue high.
The series has a hard edge and doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable questions. It’s not always comfortable reading, but it’s compelling. I don’t think it hits quite as hard as Absolute Batman, but it has a unique Absolute flavor. I’m very curious to see where they take the Oliver Queen resurrection angle and how everything connects.
What did you think of the Absolute Solomon Grundy reveal and Roy Harper’s role? Tag me on X @NostalgicNestEg!
Originally posted as a thread on X — check out the original conversation here:
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