Green Arrow #125

Issue Details

Synopsis

"Hate Crimes Part 1 - The Fiery Furnace" Convicted mass murderer Nicholas Kotero is loaded onto a prison van for transfer. Though he doesn't realize that his most hated foe Oliver Queen is dead, he still dreams of getting revenge against him. On the road, Kotero manipulates the Federal marshal and the prison guard into arguing with one another giving him the opportunity to grab an officer's gun and make his escape. Some time later in New York, Green Arrow (Connor Hawke) and Master Jansen go shopping with Connor's mother. Connor is still uncomfortable with the fact that his mother is married to arms dealer Milo Armitage, but he knows that simply telling her that Armitage is bad isn't enough and that she must learn of his shady business practices on her own. Suddenly, several hover ships speed down a busy street and open fire on store fronts owned by various ethnic groups. One of the armed pilots uses a cluster gun in an open crowd. Connor springs into action and engages the gunmen. Fortunately, help arrives just in time - Green Lantern. One of the gunmen fires at Green Lantern momentarily stunning him. As Kyle gets back to his feet, the hover-ships speed away. Kyle and Connor share a few words and agree to meet back up later. Elsewhere, Nicholas Kotero enters an abandoned warehouse facility. He has kidnapped two different families and is holding them prisoner in an underground dungeon. He attempts to placate the scared prisoners by saying that they will be fine so long as their "hubbies and daddies" continue to do exactly what "Uncle Nicky" has instructed them to do. As promised, Connor and Kyle meet up that evening and go to the Statue of Liberty. They talk about their respective mentors and Kyle mentions that he never really got to know his predecessor Hal Jordan. Connor tells Kyle stories about how his father and Hal, though polar opposites in so many ways, always tried to fight the "good fight". After reminiscing some more, the two eventually part company. Back at Moonday's apartment, Milo Armitage watches a televised broadcast of commentator August Phipps. Phipps espouses ideas of racial superiority and Milo finds himself agreeing with most of Phipps' rhetoric. He even tells Master Jansen that American has "mismanaged our minorities". In opposition to Phipps, another media commentator Cyrus Bramlett gives a racially charged speech concerning immigrants and an alleged sense of entitlement. Viewers watching the broadcast from a bar cheer him on and tempers begin to heat up. Nicholas Kotero is present in the bar and exacerbates the issue with a few racially charged quips. A fight breaks out and carries out onto the street. The police arrive, but as tempers flare, one trigger-happy officer opens fire and accidentally kills an innocent man. Such incidents begin to repeat themselves throughout the city and it doesn't take long before riots begin to break out. Connor and Kyle show up to quell some of the violence, but even they are unsure of the best way to handle the situation. Meanwhile, executives at a WGBS affiliate station are looking to capitalize on the power of the August Phipps' commentaries as well as Cyrus Bramlett's speeches.