Limbo

"Limbo"
Information
Series	Arrow
Chapter number	12 of 36
Released	December 26, 2012
Written by	Story: Marc Guggenheim Andrew Kreisberg Script: Emilio Aldrich
Art by	Julian Totino Tedesco
Cover by	Jason Shawn Alexander Lee Loughridge
Chronology
Previous chapter	"Huntress Year One"
Next chapter	"Shanghai"

"Limbo" is the twelfth chapter of the comic book series Arrow. It was released digitally on December 26, 2012.

Synopsis

When The Arrow finds himself aboard a drug-running yacht, memories of his last night aboard the Queen's Gambit begin to catch up with him!

Plot

Oliver, as the Arrow, is drowning in the aftermath of a shipwreck. The story then flashes back to 33 minutes earlier.

Oliver watches a drug shipment being prepared for the Chinese Triad, determined to put an end to the operation. After taking down some workers, Oliver interrogates one of them, demanding to know where the drug supply is coming from. The man reveals the drugs come from a yacht two miles offshore, which delivers twice a night.

While taking a raft to the yacht, Oliver suddenly experiences a hallucination of his father, Robert Queen, admitting how he failed Starling City, causing him to flash back to the sinking of the Queen's Gambit. Shaking it off, Oliver boards the yacht and kills a crewman keeping watch before sneaking inside.

While searching, Oliver hallucinates Sara Lance from their night on the Gambit but tries not to dwell on it, knowing distraction will get him killed. Just then, he experiences another hallucination of Robert warning Oliver that his affair with Sara won't end well and is thrown off, nearly allowing two drug runners to sneak up on him. He manages to subdue them after a brief struggle.

Just then, Oliver has another hallucination of Sara, pleading him not to leave her alone. He freezes and is suddenly confronted by more drug runners, who immediately begin shooting at him. A bullet grazes Oliver's sleeve as he flees from the fire into a storage area. He finds himself surrounded by boxes of methylene chloride, a compound in street drugs which is highly flammable. As the drug runners corner him, Oliver strikes an arrow against the ground, lighting it on fire, and shoots it at the boxes, which causes a chain of explosions and kills his pursuers.

As the destroyed yacht begins to sink, Oliver struggles to stay afloat amid the wreckage. He hallucinates a drowning Sara begging for help and tries to save her before realizing it isn't real. Forcing himself to let her go, Oliver swims to the surface and grabs onto a piece of the yacht.

While the sun rises, Oliver eventually paddles to the shore and watches the smoking wreckage. He ponders his demons, wondering if he will ever be free.

Trivia

• Oliver's hallucinations/flashbacks are taken from "Pilot".

Gallery

Digital cover