17. Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and Mayor of fictional Star City, he is best known to his associates as Ollie.
Dressed like Robin Hood, Green Arrow is an archer, who invents arrows with various special functions, such as a glue arrow, a net arrow, or a boxing-glove arrow.
Throughout his first twenty-five years, Green Arrow was not a significant hero. In the late 1960s, however, writers chose to have him lose his fortune, giving him the then-unique role of streetwise crusader for the working class and the underprivileged. In 1970, he was paired with the more law-and-order-oriented hero Green Lantern in a groundbreaking, socially conscious comic book series. Since then, he has been popular among comic book fans and most writers have taken an urban, gritty approach to the character.
His son Connor Hawke also used the moniker Green Arrow for a time while Oliver Queen was deceased.
Connor Hawke and Oliver QueenAfter believing he killed supervillain Parallax, Oliver Queen flees to a meditational retreat in Star City. There, he meets a young monk named Connor Hawke, created by writer Kelley Puckett and artist Jim Aparo, who teams up with Green Arrow and mercenary Eddie Fyers. Hawke is later revealed to be Oliver Queen's son, conceived during Queen's stay at the retreat. In a 1995 storyline, Queen dies in Green Arrow vol. 1, #100-101. This occurs when Queen infiltrates a group of eco-terrorrists known as the Eden Corps, climaxing with him defeating their leader on an airplane over Metropolis. In his attempt to prevent a bomb from being dropped, his arm is trapped, and Superman is unable to save him when the bomb explodes (safely over the city). After his death, Hawke takes over the role of Green Arrow. Connor Hawke starred in the series, taking up his fathers name and mantle, from issue #102 until issue #137, when it was canceled in 1998. Since the resurrection of Oliver Queen, he is now a recurring supporting character in the restarted series. He still retains the title dually with his father.
In 2000, Oliver Queen is revived in a new Green Arrow series, written by Kevin Smith and illustrated by Phil Hester and Ande Parks. Smith's storyline returns the character to life from a point before the Mike Grell period, although the world around him still reflects the changes that have taken place. Smith's fifteen issues are followed by Brad Meltzer's story arc "The Archer's Quest," who in 2002, handed the title over to Judd Winick. Hester and Parks remained as the art team throughout.
In the story, the soul of Oliver Queen is contacted by Hal Jordan during his incarnation as the Spectre, who wants to bring Queen back to life because he regrets not having been there to save him. Queen refuses, preferring the peace of Heaven, but finally allows Jordan to resurrect his body. Oliver returns to crimefighting, but is evidently traumatized by the experience of resurrection. He lives as a vagabond in the back alleys of Star City, creating a costume and weapons from garbage and castoff material. Oliver is found, confused and delirious by Stanley Dover, who takes him to his home to recuperate. Dover, while appearing altruistic, is a praticioner of black magic, and recognizes Oliver's body as lacking a soul. Dover soon realizes that Oliver believes it to be several years earlier, and decorates his home appropriately (old computers, etc) to ease Oliver back into reality. In the meanwhile, Oliver is being attacked by monsters. The Demon Etrigan attempts to destroy Queen, and finally explains that his soulless body acts as a gateway for demons wishing to enter the world. In addition, his lack of a soul makes him a target for Stanley Dover's calling of "The Beast with no name." Dover had earlier summoned the Beast, but it escaped his control, and he is unable to find it. He intends to transfer himself into Queen's younger, healthier body as part of his overall plan for power and immortality, and search for the Beast from the Justice League watch tower. Conner Hawke locates Oliver, but is caught in the fight for Oliver's body. Queen's soul finally makes the decision to return to Earth to help his son Connor Hawke fight a mass of demons. Dover is defeated and actually consumed by the Beast, who then leaves of his own accord. Queen also finds himself independently wealthy again, as Dover had transferred all his financial assets to Queen in anticipation of taking over his body.
Following Smith's run, Brad Meltzer takes Oliver Queen and Roy Harper, his former sidekick, on a trip across the country recovering old possessions (including a Green Lantern power ring entrusted to him by Hal Jordan many years earlier). At the end of the arc, an old photo and Queen's inner monologue reveal that he had been present at Connor's birth, but later ran from the responsibility of being a father.
One of writer Judd Winick's most publicized innovations was to reveal that Mia Dearden, a former prostitute unofficially adopted by Green Arrow during Kevin Smith's run, tested positive for HIV. Winick had published a graphic novel, Pedro and Me, about a gay friend who died of HIV/AIDS, and subsequently wrote a Green Lantern storyline about homophobia, so some critics have pigeonholed him as a writer of social-commentary storylines. In response, Winick noted that socially relevant storylines are part of the Green Arrow tradition, and that he intends to show Mia living a normal life, "living with HIV, as many people do."
During this new series, Queen builds up a Rogues Gallery, including Merlyn the archer, Constantine Drakon the Greek martial artist, the Japanese vigilante archer Shado (infamous for being the mother of Queen's son Robert, after raping Queen while he was wounded and drugged), Danny Brickwell or the Brick the meta-human mob boss, the illusion-casting Count Vertigo, and the enigmatic Onomatopoeia.
The last issue before DC Comic's "One Year Later" depicts Green Arrow in a showdown with Merlyn on the rooftops of Star City. As Green Arrow is about to win, Dr. Light detonates a series of explosions destroying a large portion of the city while a horrified Green Arrow looks on. This gives Merlyn the opportunity to throw Green Arrow on his back, who is then pierced through the chest by arrows previously embedded in his quiver.
Queen survives Merlyn's attack, but remained in critical condition. He is transported to a remote island along with Connor and Mia for treatment, and uses his recuperation time to retrain with several expert instructors, including a sensei known as Natas, one of the people who initially trained Deathstroke.
In the 2006 "One Year Later" jump after the events in Infinite Crisis, Oliver Queen is the newly elected mayor of Star City, continuing his fight on the streets and through the system. At the onset, it seems Mayor Queen is most interested in the "shock value" of his office, although his controversial decisions and statements are actually meant to draw attention to and benefit the devastated Star City. He uses an open interpretation of the town charter to perform same-sex marriages in Star City as a both a political statement and a way to boost the local tourist economy. He also exercises the power of his office to do things such as blackmail corrupt businessmen, or have the Star City SWAT unit back up his actions as Green Arrow while publicly condemning his alter ego. (He also used his connections to enable his longtime friend and former lover Black Canary to bring a young Vietnamese girl, Sin, into the country to be raised by Canary.)
During the year long hiatus, Queen also amassed a quite large personal fortune by manipluating stocks of companies he sees as unscrupulous. While never stated outright, it appears Oliver Queen is now worth billions. The former gangster Brick now fights crime in Star City and allies himself with Green Arrow, although he evidently still traffics in drugs and prostitution. Deathstroke returns as well, looking for a rematch from the events in Identity Crisis. Deathstroke loses the rematch and makes the observation that during the one year absence, Green Arrow has become a much better fighter and now carries a sword which he wields proficiently.
He also has a new costume, which appears to be a combination of the classic Neal Adams costume and the Mike Grell Longbow Hunters costume.
Green Arrow is considered one of the best archers in the world. He has the ability to shoot 29 arrows per minute (he stated this himself, in the Sound of Violence story arc, when he corrected Black Canary for saying 26). He has a wide-variety of trick arrows, ranging from bola arrows to time-bomb arrows to his infamous boxing-glove arrow. In recent years he has used these arrows sparingly, preferring the time-tested simple arrow. Green Arrow has shown the ability to shoot an arrow down the barrel of a gun, pierce a drop of water as it leaves a tap and shoot almost any part of the human body; although he aims only to wound and not kill when he shoots.
Severely injured as a result of a defeat suffered just before the One Year Later event began, he decided just being an archer (even one of his caliber) was no longer enough in the world he lived in. Between issues #66 and #68, while he was recovering from said injuries on an island, he hired some of the best martial arts (among other disciplines) instructors in the world to come and train him and his companions. He is proficient in several forms of hand-to-hand combat including judo, kickboxing and karate. Proclaimed as a martial arts master, he has shown the ability to take on seven people at once. He is also very proficient with a sword, as evidenced by a battle with Deathstroke in issue #62. Under his alias, Oliver Queen, Green Arrow sports a fortune in the billions of dollars, though the exact amount is unknown.
