He’s a billionaire, a playboy, the owner of a big company and he uses gadgets and his fighting skills to stop crime in his city.
No, it’s not Batman, guys. Come on.
It’s Star City’s own Emerald Archer, the Green Arrow! You may also know him simply as Oliver Queen.
What makes this archer one of the most feared heroes in all of mankind history? Well, it’s quite a list. But here we go:
- He can shoot up to 29 arrows in a minute-span.
- He has a variety of different arrows to use such as bola arrows, time-bomb arrows and even a boxing glove-tipped arrow.
- He can shoot two arrows down two different gun barrels while he hangs upside down, during a somersault and in mid-flip, too.
- He is proficient in numerous styles of martial arts such as judo, wing chun, taekwondo and eskrima.
- He is an expert in acrobatics and is able to even dodge enemy fire by using his knowledge in acrobatics.
- And though it is not his usual weapon of choice, he is also a master of the sword, having been shown to stop an incoming arrow by using a sword.
Being a celebrity in your home city isn’t an easy task to uphold while you’re also trying to fight crime. Oliver Queen is the proud owner of Queen Industries, a company that has been in the Queen family for generations. Not only an owner, but Queen is also a huge factor in the team of superheroes known as the Justice League.
Fans do compare the character of the Green Arrow to the likes of Batman on multiple occasions. Because of this reason, it is why writers had slowly developed Oliver Queen into being a voice of progressivism, separating him from his caped crusading partner-in-crime.
The Green Arrow has been around since the early 1940’s, debuting in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941 along with his sidekick, Speedy. Artist George Papp took inspiration from Robin Hood and The Green Archer and combined them, along with his own concept, into creating the Green Arrow.
During his early years, Oliver also traveled around in the Arrow-Car and Arrow-Plane! How cool is that?
Green Arrow was also one of the very few select DC Comics characters to survive the recession of superheroes after the Golden Age of Comic Books. The way the writers kept the hero alive was by using him as back-up heroes to the Superboy comic books. They created a new version of the Green Arrow where Oliver lost his fortune and would become an “outspoken advocate of the underprivileged.”
He would later be added as a secondary hero alongside the Green Lantern in the early 1970’s and would tackle contrasting sociopolitical viewpoints between the two heroes. Green Arrow would be a representative of radical change, while Green Lantern would be an established liberal figure working within the law and the institutions of the government. It was a great way of showing readers how politics can be at times of turmoil and how they could coexist with one another and work together to solve worldly issues.
Now, ever since the 2000’s, the Green Arrow series runs strongly with stories of Oliver Queen protecting his Star City along with his love interest and crime-fighting partner, Black Canary, and has become part of one of the greatest television series in history.
You know which series we’re talking about!
The “Green” (that’s right, GREEN) Arrow will be making his return to television screens everywhere for a brand new and exciting fourth season this October and in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow in 2016 on SFL-TV, the CW!
