Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

I can't quite tell when this is placed.   It seems like it's earlier on in Oliver Queen's life - but I'm not sure.  I also didn't realize Diggle was a character in the comics, and he may not have been until around the time Arrow premiered.   (I think he might have been integrated after, but I'm not one hundred percent sure on the timing.)  Just for those who don't watch Arrow or read the comics: Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow, or just Arrow, on the show and Diggle is his bodyguard on the show.  

Having Emi as part of this made me think of Queen's sister on the show, and I did some research and found out that Emiko - a character I didn't recognize  from the show - was in earlier comics.   Shado, who is in Arrow, is in fact in this volume, too.   Having read very little Green Arrow - some but very little - and having watched Arrow?  I knew just enough to confuse me as to the timing, especially since I thought all of Rebirth was set post The New 52.   This, however, is establishing Black Canary as a popular singer, from her previous series, and so I'm confused as to if they're incorporating any New 52, especially since they mentioned going back to their legacy.   I assumed this meant all of The New 52 was wiped away, especially with the missing ten years that has something to do with the Rebirth issue.   (Which I haven't read.   But even before Rebirth came out, I'd been reading about Wonder Woman exploring the missing ten years or knowing that they'd been stolen from them, and something weird going on in that series with that whole thing.)

I suspect that Batgirl and Black Canary were critically praised and popular enough that it would seem like a waste not to incorporate some of that history into Rebirth.   But again, this is confusing.   You're picking and choosing which elements to incorporate without telling us?   Why?   And while U disliked much of the previous runs, I did happen to like the parts they're keeping: Batgirl and Black Canary.   So I'm not complaining about Canary's role, but rather about how her history was incorporated, how all the histories seem to be incorporated in a rather random manner, and the lack of explanation forthcoming due to this.   

Still, it didn't effect my comprehension of this storyline.   It was distracting enough to knock off one star, although my irritation was rather minor.   (And if the author was told by DC to use Canary as was, I can't quite fault him, especially since I don't know how he was told how to incorporate this tackling.   As it is, it's simply glossed over, which is why I have questions and minor complaints.)

Hell, I wouldn't even be talking about this long enough if I didn't care about the source materiel - and I do.   From Dinah (Lance, aka Black Canary) needling Oliver for his liberal stances while he lives in a penthouse, to him overthinking his liberalism, there's a lot here in that relationship.   She's not afraid to call him out on his bullshit - and tell him that she likes the relationship better when he doesn't talk, and he's both willing to listen to what she has to say although he tries to convince her otherwise.   And even while she can see the hypocrisy in his situation, she knows he has his heart in the right place.   For all the light hearted teasing, all the needling, she truly cares about him, partly for the reasons that she points out as hypocritical.   It's that he cares so much about what she thinks that what she says bothers him, and while she might not change his mind, I think him directly meeting her points proves that he's willing to listen, think things through, and that he takes her point of view seriously.   What I'm trying to say is that this is just a fantastically layered relationship, even if it is small moments that flesh it out the most.   

While Queen is balancing his relationship with Lance, he's also taking care of his younger half-sister, Emiko.   When Lance and Queen discover missing homeless people, and that Queen industry is involved in their trafficking, Ollie gets his own hands dirty as he tracks down the people he needs to talk to in the office.   When he's betrayed, he puts his life in danger, and then those that he cares for most.   Luckily, both Emiko and Canary can take care of themselves, although even they may not be enough to take down those responsible.  

I wasn't sure how involved Diggle was in the end, and was surprised given his introduction.  Still, it fit perfectly while leaving a whole lot of questions, like what exactly Oliver did, and what will happen between them in the future given their vaguely hinted at past.   I'm eager to find out.   Despite the inconsistency in legacy versus New 52, this laid a solid ground for this series.   I kinda love it all.