Komodo

Creation

Komodo first appeared in Green Arrow #17, and was created by Green Arrow writer Jeff Lemire and artist Andrea Sorrentino.

Origin

Simon Lacroix, the man who became Komodo, was born into a poor family, but became a high-ranking member of Queen Industries; he was even taught archery by Robert Queen, father of Oliver Queen. Lacroix was part of Queen’s expedition to find the legendary “Green Arrow” – a mystical arrow belonging to the head of the Arrow Clan, said to bring its owner true enlightenment and even immortality. However, the Outsiders – the union of the seven “weapon clans” which secretly maintained order around the world- appealed to Lacroix’s greed and convinced him to kill Robert, leaving himself the only contender to become the new head of the Arrow Clan. He also kidnapped Emiko, the daughter of Robert and the Japanese archer Shado, and handed Shado to Count Vertigo of Vlatava, where she was imprisoned. Lacroix adopted the identity of the masked archer Komodo, and continued to work with the Outsiders through their front corporation, Stellmoor International.

Major Story Arcs

The Kill Machine

After Stellmoor bought out Queen Industries, Lacroix’s first act as Komodo was to murder the CEO of Queen Industries and destroy Q-Core, framing Oliver Queen for the former crime. Aware of Queen’s secret identity as Green Arrow, Komodo tricked Ollie into believing his assistants Jax and Naomi Singh were killed by an explosion in the Q-Core building; Komodo had actually taken them hostage, but killed Jax when he refused to talk.

Komodo then clashed with Green Arrow a second time, with assistance from Emiko. Combined, they hit Oliver seven times, although he still managed to escape.

In their next confrontation, Komodo used Naomi as bait, leading Green Arrow to the Queen family mausoleum. This time, Ollie emerged the victor, stabbing Komodo’s left eye out with an arrow.

The Outsiders War

When Golgotha, leader of the Spear Clan, brought the clans of the Outsiders together, Komodo, believing Golgotha to be an inferior leader, killed him and took over leadership of the Outsiders for himself. The clans that pledged their loyalty to Komodo began a plan to take over Europe, but were stopped by the intervention of Oliver and Robert Queen, Shado, Magus, and the Sword and Axe Clans, led respectively by Katana and John Butcher. Upon learning that her parents were alive, Emiko turned against Komodo. He then attempted to kill her in retaliation, but she was saved by Robert, at the expense of his own life. After being injured in a fight with Green Arrow, Komodo was killed by Emiko with a single arrow through his chest.

Powers and Abilities

Komodo possessed no superhuman powers, but was a very proficient archer. He was shown to be able to draw a bow faster than Green Arrow, and virtually never missed a shot. The loss of his eye did not seem to seriously hinder his abilities. Komodo is extremely agile and is able to think on his feet.

Equipment and Weapons

Bow and Arrow

A standard bow and arrow combination.

In Other Media

Television

Arrow

Simon Lacroix/Komodo appears in “Sara”, the second episode of Arrow‘s third season. He wears a mask and costume similar to the original version, but is given a different background: he is an assassin-for-hire from the town of Sainte-Sophie, Quebec. He is the prime suspect in the murder of Sara Lance, who had been killed by an archer in the previous episode, but he is discovered to not be her killer.

Although the original version of the character was white, Komodo is portrayed by Matt Ward, a black actor.