Green Arrow

Revision as of 11:52, 20 January 2023

Oliver Queen in Green Arrow v4 #1.

Green Arrow is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Pre-Crisis

Oliver Queen

He was raised in the western United States where his nearest neighbour was a family of Sioux Indians. Among them was a boy his age named Little Otter who first taught him to shoot. (World's Finest v1 #82)

The city later faced a new threat from criminals who were receiving aid from the Specialist who operated as a 'Consultant in Crime' where he planned their ventures. After failing to catch the villain once, Green Arrow decided to go undercover and went in disguise as Ollie the Croaker. (More Fun Comics v1 #106)

He was on a voyage in the south seas when he accidentally fell overboard and his cries for help were unheard. Queen drifted off-course and ended up on Starfish Island where he was the only person there and was forced to learn to survive. Taking shelter in a cavern, he started a fire and had a source of water but had to learn to hunt for food. He crafted a bow and arrows where he went through many hours of practice until he became a skilled archer. In this time, he began to experiment in the customisation of arrow shafts leading to him first creating different kinds of Trick Arrows. He spent sometime on the island until one day he sighted a commercial freighter where he swam to it only to find part of the crew were engaged in a mutiny. Queen then used his new talents in order to help put down the mutiny where he took the name the Green Arrow with the ships captain taking Oliver Queen back to civilisation. Back in society, he decided to use his talents to help fight crime as a costumed vigilante. (Adventure Comics v1 #256)

The Green Arrow and Speedy the Cyclone Kid later responded to an emergency from the History Club. This club involved people taking the name of historical figures but someone was responsible for murdering people among its ranks. During an investigation, they came to uncover that the murderer as the club's treasurer Erza Samson who had been embezzling their funds in order to steal a small fortune. He had attempted to pin he blame on Socrates but ended up being discovered where he was killed when he attempted to escape the masked hero. (More Fun Comics v1 #73)

Afterwards, he and Speedy later received a public challenge from a mysterious criminal mastermind called the Hand. He bade seven heroes to gather together with these being Vigilante, Crimson Avenger, Shining Knight, the Star-Spangled Kid, and Stripesy. Each were set to fight one of their respective villains that the Hand had recently freed from prison and made their lieutenant. Green Arrow and Speedy went in pursuit of Professor Merlin who was operating in Death Valley where the villain looked to steal the gold of Old Cactus Mike. For this task, Merlin had intended to use a cold machine to kill the man but was thwarted by the Green Arrow. He then joined the other heroes who had similarly completed their assignments where Sir Justin suggested that they make a permanent superhero team together where they came to be known as the Seven Soldiers of Victory. (Leading Comics v1 #1)

In the Anti-Monitor's final assault, Green Arrow was in Chicago fighting alongside Peacemaker against the Shadow Demons. However, they were overwhelmed and Oliver Queen was killed by one of the creatures. (Crisis on Infinite Earths v1 #12)

Post-Crisis

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.

His father was noted to had given him his first bow when he was a child one Christmas morning. (Green Arrow Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

Oliver went with his parents on a safari trip to Africa where they were to hunt for sport with them being accompanied by a guide named Congo Bill. However, he could not do so as he did not want to kill an animal due to his experience with his first accidental kill. This saw his father to convince him that hunting helped the environment by culling excess population. Despite this, Oliver refused and joined his mother when they were ambushed by a pride of lions. This saw Moira Queen being killed and Robert Queen being fatally wounded with this forcing Oliver to pick up a bow which he used to kill a lion. He survived but his parents were dead with the incident scarring Queen for life as he felt responsible for their deaths after hesitating in using a bow. Congo Bill then had Oliver Queen sent back to Star City where he came to stay with his uncle. (Green Arrow Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

Black Canary created a new costume for Green Arrow, and Oliver took to the streets to defend Seattle. One of the first criminal he captured was a serial killer known as the Seattle Slasher. (Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters v1 #1)

Oliver also tracked an assassin named Shado who was targeting men for personal reasons but failed to capture her. At this point, Oliver began working with police officer James Cameron as his informant. Black Canary went undercover to expose a drug ring but was captured and tortured by the criminals. Green Arrow arrived to rescue her before the situation got any worse and shot their leader in the chest without hesitation. Shado also mysteriously arrived and offered backup against the drug dealers. (Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters v1 #2) After getting Dinah to safety, Green Arrow and Shado would go on to uncover a conspiracy involving the C.I.A. shipping cocaine to fund foreign wars, run by men Shado had sworn vengeance against for her father Tomonaga. (Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters v1 #3)

On the plane ride to the city, there was a massive firefight with another deep-cover agent, and most of the terrorists were killed. Due to circumstance, Green Arrow's arm was trapped inside the detonation chamber for the bomb, which would activate if he released his hand. Superman arrived and tried to help but had no way of saving Oliver other than tearing off his arm. (Green Arrow v2 #100) Rather than allow himself to be crippled, Queen remained steadfast as the plane exploded, sacrificing himself to save thousands of people. Having been completely vaporized in the blast, there was no body. A small funeral gathering of his closest friends was held at Guy Gardner's bar Warriors. There was nothing to bury, so his son fired an arrow into the air and marked its landing as his final resting place, as in the legend of Robin Hood. Connor Hawke decided to continue Oliver's legacy and officially became the new Green Arrow. (Green Arrow v2 #101)

He was approached by a probe made by Batman as part of a contingency to be used in case the Justice League were ever killed. The protocol was designed to seek out specially chosen recruits to replace them as the new Justice League as the Earth always needed its protectors. Oliver Queen was among the heroes chosen where he joined his new teammates on-board the Watchtower where they were joined by Nightwing who was selected to lead the group. (JLA v1 #69)

The badly injured Oliver was left near dying from his injuries when tenants of the building rushed to the roof to find him and they did their best to save him. They managed to get him to one of the nearby medical camps set up after the explosions that affected the city. When Oliver regained consciousness, he attempted to rush to help his loved ones only to find himself on a remote island with his son Connor taking him and Mia there to a piece of land that was one of the Marshall Islands. They had been given refuge but one of Connor's friends Frederick Tuckman with Oliver then finding about the devastation done to his city. He then decided that the three of them needed to train to be better in order to fight their foes where they called martial arts masters from around the world to the island to begin their training regimen. This included everything from martials to making the ideal food to assembling equipment but Oliver felt that these people were all righteous individuals. Instead, he wanted someone to train him to fight the likes of Deathstroke leading him to seeking out the services of Natas who had been Slade's mentor. (Green Arrow v3 #66)

In the aftermath, the Justice League became divided as Hal Jordan was tired of losing more friends to villains. He wanted to hunt down Libra and the Secret Society though Superman along with the rest of the League were opposed to this decision. Green Arrow though decided to side with Jordan where the where they went about bringing the villains to justice. (Justice League: Cry for Justice v1 #1)

Possessed by the death entity, he was forced to watch from inside his body as it attacked Black Canary, Connor Hawke, and Speedy. He fought his loved ones and nearly killed them, his zombie body taunting them with their biggest fears. Determined not to sit back while his family was murdered, Oliver exerted enough willpower to make himself miss a kill shot and fired at a liquid nitrogen tank. Connor then used it to temporarily freeze his father, stopping the Black Lantern in its tracks. (Green Arrow and Black Canary v1 #30)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Oliver Queen

During the Zero Year, Oliver came back from the island and learned about the Gotham blackout, and the fact that his mother Moira Queen went there to help. Realizing that his mother could be in danger, Oliver insisted on going straight to Gotham to find her. She was being targeted by Killer Moth, who was stopped with the combined efforts of Batman and the Green Arrow. (Green Arrow (v5 #25)

It was shown that during a battle with Clock King that he and Roy were catapulted back in time to the Golden Age of superheroes. Rather than alter the timeline, they came to instead operate during that era as they sought a way back home. In this time, they came to make a group of friends among the earliest known superheroes where they became the Seven Soldiers of Victory. They had many adventures where they fought numerous villains like Iron Hand and the Nebula Man. During their adventures, several of their younger members were noted to had died including the Star-Spangled Kid and Wing. Eventually, they sought to stop a ship containing a time machine built by Per Degaton that catapulted Oliver Queen and Roy Harper back to the present. (Stargirl Spring Break Special v1 #1)

Oliver had begun using his subsidiary technology company Q-Core as a front for his activities as Green Arrow with the help of a hacker named Naomi and an engineer called Jax. These activities, though, interfered with his real job as the CEO of Queen Industries, much to the annoyance of his father's old friend Emerson, who was the head of the board of directors. (Green Arrow v5 #1) Even as he was warned that he would be removed from the board if he did not do PR for Q-Core, Oliver was on the trail of a super-criminal called Rush, who was achieving fame by posting videos of his crimes on the internet. (Green Arrow v5 #2) After spending a harrowing evening fighting Rush, Oliver defeated him. By way of meeting Emerson's demands, he held a press conference to warn against giving up a life of accomplishment for one of apps and videos. This only served to anger Emerson, since it essentially condemned Q-Core's products as a waste of time. (Green Arrow v5 #3) Oliver had made his assistant Adrien his proxy at Queen Industries, so Emerson forced him to sign over veto power to her, further weakening his grasp on the company he was born into. (Green Arrow v5 #5) Meanwhile, an assassin called Blood Rose and her companion Midas had staked a claim on the Seattle waterfront, taking control of its gangs. She had also targeted the billionaire Oliver Queen for death, unaware that he was the same Green Arrow that had been interrupting her gang activities. (Green Arrow v5 #4) At their first encounter, she was injured, making her mysterious protector worry for her. Midas was once a scientist, working on a method for using bacteria to dispose of toxic waste. He was seduced by a misinformed undercover eco-terrorist, who caused an explosion that - when caught in the blast - turned Midas into a monster. He had become a man made almost entirely of toxic waste. His only comfort was Blood Rose, and as revenge for her injury, Midas decided to kidnap Adrien in order to lure Oliver out. (Green Arrow v5 #5)

Some time later, Oliver learned via the newspaper that Emerson had sold Queen Industries to a rival called Stellmoor Industries. When confronted, Emerson explained that he lost Queen Industries because he was too focused on keeping Oliver on track with Q-Core. He explained that Oliver had never been ready to accept the Queen legacy. Before Oliver could question that, one of his own arrows crashed through the window, and killed Emerson. A line attached to the arrow yanked Emerson's body out, and down onto the street, attracting the authorities' attention, and placing blame for the crime on Oliver. Hoping to escape to Q-Core to regroup with Naomi and Jax, Oliver was horrified to see the building explode with his friends inside, just after receiving a cryptic message suggesting that they had been forced to do something. Frightened, Oliver suited up in one of his safe-houses, and emerged to find himself at the mercy of a superior bowman calling himself Komodo, who claimed that Oliver had squandered his destiny. Oliver's life was saved at the last by a stranger called Magus, who claimed that Oliver was never supposed to have left the island he was stranded on. (Green Arrow v5 #17) In order not to be found, Oliver hid in a shipping container, and woke to find a note from Magus urging him to go to the Black Mesa in Arizona. Meanwhile, Oliver begged Steve Trevor and the JLA to keep the heat off of him for 48 hours, to clear his own name. For help, Oliver sought out an ex-employee named Henry Fyff who was fired for stalking Naomi. Together, they returned to Queen Industries, where Oliver snuck into Emerson's office and discovered a secret room. In it, he discovered a photo showing his father with Emerson and another man on the beach of the island on which he was stranded for a year. Magus appeared, warning Oliver to go to Black Mesa for answers, before Komodo killed him, and offered a cryptic hint about something called the Outsiders. It was too late for Oliver to leave, though, as the police soon arrived. He attempted to rappel out through the still broken window, but Komodo cut the line, and he found himself plummeting to the ground. (Green Arrow v5 #18)

Though he survived the fall, the run-in with the police at the office made Green Arrow a wanted man. Unbeknownst to Oliver, Naomi had been kept alive, watched by Komodo's young but cruel daughter Emiko. She was forced to watch as Komodo caught up to Oliver and beat him within an inch of his life, while he admitted that it was he who murdered Robert Queen. Despite his weakness, Oliver managed to regain the upper-hand, until Emiko herself appeared, and saved her father with her own archery skills. As they escaped, Oliver passed out from the pain and blood loss of being pierced by several arrows, leaving Henry to rescue him. (Green Arrow v5 #19) Komodo belonged to a group called the Arrow Clan, and his superiors were angered to learn that Oliver Queen still lived, warning him to complete his task, or return to Prague. Meanwhile, Henry discovered from the Q-Core feed that Naomi was still alive, and woke Oliver to tell him. Following the clues, Oliver determined that she was being held at the Queen Family Mausoleum, and set out, despite the fact that his wounds hadn't healed. When he found her, she had been rigged with explosives, and he left Henry to defuse them while he chased down Komodo. In their fight, Oliver thrust an arrow into Komodo's eye, but before he could unmask him, he threw a smoke-bomb and escaped. Naomi, freed of the explosives, insisted that she help Green Arrow as vengeance. Finally heeding Magus' advice, Oliver travelled to Black Mesa, where he was stopped on the highway by a sheriff, and knocked unconscious. He woke in the desert with nothing to his name and nothing to survive on. (Green Arrow v5 #20) After days of starvation and wandering, Oliver finally discovered Magus' tent. The man offered answers in the form of a hallucinogenic, giving Oliver visions of the past. His father had been obsessed with finding the home of the Arrow Clan, and had brought Emerson and his friend Simon Lacroix on a journey to find it. His obsession had left his company and family floundering, and bothered Emerson greatly. Magus appeared to Oliver in the hallucination, explaining that the Arrow Clan was just one of several clans from which the leaders were chosen to become members of an elite circle called the Outsiders. Each clan had a totemic weapon, and each leader wielded that weapon, which was said to imbue true enlightenment. Simon Lacroix had learned of this, and killed Oliver's father in order to make himself the leader of the Arrow Clan, following Oliver's own failure to follow in his father's footsteps. In fact, it had been Emerson who arranged to send Oliver to the island with nothing but a bow in order to force him to be ready for Komodo's eventual challenge. After coming down, Oliver met with a man called John Butcher, who was leader of the Axe Clan. Magus warned that the pair would have to trust each other if they intended to bring down the Outsiders. In accordance with a vision of a three-headed dragon that Oliver saw, Magus advised him to seek out the second dragon in the eastern European country of Vlatava. With this in mind, Oliver returned to Seattle, giving up any hope of running Queen Industries, and deciding to fight against corporations as a street-level vigilante. (Green Arrow v5 #21)

Overview

Personality and attributes

As a vigilante, he operated in the guise of the masked hero known as the Green Arrow. (More Fun Comics v1 #73) At one point, he went in disguise where he operated under the name of Ollie the Croaker. (More Fun Comics v1 #106) In one instance, he took a masked identity of a villain where he went under the name of Swashbuckler. (Justice League of America v1 #173)

As a child, he was given his first bow and pretended to be Robin Hood where he fired it on instinct. This saw an arrow accidentally hitting and killing a rabbit with this horrifying the young Oliver who never wanted to pick up a bow again. This affected him in later years as he refused to kill animals during a hunting trip with his family. (Green Arrow Secret Files and Origins v1 #1) From a young age, he learnt that the bow and arrow could be used to protect the innocent from the ruthless without inflicting injury. (World's Finest v1 #82)

He had lacked killer instincts which this the reason why he did not engage in hunts as a child. This also impacted him in his life as the head of a corporation as he came to run it into the ground. (Green Arrow Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

According to one account, his parents were Robert Queen and Moira Queen with two having married during World War II. His father was said to had been a naval officer in the Pacific and was the founder as well as CEO of Queen Industries. (Green Arrow Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

It was said that he never liked to talk about his parents as he felt responsible for their deaths. Oliver would not say much about his grandparents as they left when he was just a child. (Green Arrow Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

An affair between Robert Queen and Shado resulted in Oliver Queen having a younger half-sister named Emiko Queen. (Green Arrow v5 #22)

The Queen family was said to had been from old money and were descendants of of Sir Robert Queen, the Earle of Dornee who was a hot-headed Scottish chieftain that was rumoured to had been the offspring of Robin Hood. (Green Arrow Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

Powers and abilities

In terms of martial arts, he was known to had learnt Judo and came to have lightning fast tackles. (Adventure Comics v1 #165)

From a young age, he came to learn archery from a skilled Sioux Indian named Little Otter. (World's Finest v1 #82)

As the Green Arrow, he was regarded as a wizard archer capable of shots at incredible speed. (More Fun Comics v1 #73)

Oliver later wanted to improve his fighting skills and called grand masters in the art of physical combat and teachers willing to impart their skills to others. Each had their own set of skill and specialty with training noted to had been particularly hard. However, he came to find that these mentors were all righteous people and he wanted more than that in order to prepare him for his foes. This led to him seeking out Natas who was a master assassin that had taught Deathstroke. (Green Arrow v3 #66)

It was said that he had invented a thousand and one different trick arrows. (Adventure Comics v1 #256) The first was the arrowline that was born of necessity to save a person's life after falling into the river where he tied a rope to an arrow that he fired to save a person. (World's Finest v1 #82)

Whilst stranded on Starfish Island, he first came to create the concept of trick arrows where the shafts allowed him to customise them for any purpose. The first trick arrow he created was the rope arrow that had a rope tied on one end and which Oliver used initially to help him catch fish. Through experimentation, he began to create new types of trick arrows such as drill arrows where the arrowhead could drill through a target. Another type was the flare arrow that he used to signal the police and that he used to alert the authorities that he captured some criminals. (Adventure Comics v1 #256) Another boomerang arrow allowing it to complete a full circle in flight. (World's Finest v1 #82)

Originally, he crafted his costume as a form of camouflage that helped him hunt for small game when he was stranded on Starfish Island. (Adventure Comics v1 #256)

He was capable of disguising himself in order to hide his true identity and to go undercover. (More Fun Comics v1 #106)

In his secret garage, he once maintained the Arrowplane that was regarded as the fastest car on wheels with it being a superstreamlined racer capable of amazing speeds. A powerful catapult located beneath the sat was capable of propelling him high in the air in order to reach top floors in a building. (More Fun Comics v1 #73)

He was once part of a club of archer-themed superheroes known as the Green Arrows of the World. (Adventure Comics v1 #250)

It was known that his father was the founder of Queen Industries. Initially, it was responsible for construction work but over time it expanded into rocket program and provided composite material for experimental aircraft. (Green Arrow Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

The headquarters had an Arrow Workshop with its own auxiliary power supply. (Adventure Comics v1 #165)

Notes

• The Oliver Queen Green Arrow was created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp where he made his first appearance in More Fun Comics v1 #73 (November, 1941).

Alternate Versions

• In Flashpoint: Green Arrow Industries v1 #1 (2011), an alternate version of Oliver Queen appeared in the altered timeline of the Flashpoint. This version was the head of Green Arrow Industries that were a major military contracting company.

In other media

Television

• In Justice League Unlimited, Green Arrow appeared in the setting of the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe where he was voiced by actor Kin Shriner.
• In Smallville, Oliver Queen appeared in the setting of the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Justin Hartley.
• In Arrow, Oliver Queen appeared in the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse where he was portrayed by actor Stephen Amell.
• In Justice League Action, Green Arrow appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Chris Diamantopoulos.
• In Stargirl, Green Arrow was referenced in the setting of the live-action television series in the episode "Brainwave". Pat Dugan showed a photo of him when he was among the members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.

Films

• In Justice League: The New Frontier, Green Arrow made a cameo appearance in the setting of the animated film adaptation in a non-voiced role. This version was shown to resemble the characters Golden Age version.
• In Injustice, Green Arrow appeared in the setting of the animated-action film adaptation where he was voiced by actor Reid Scott.

Video games

• In Infinite Crisis, Green Arrow appeared as a playable champion in the setting of the MOBA video game where he was voiced again by actor Alan Tudyk.
• In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Green Arrow appeared in the setting of the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor Alan Tudyk though an Arrowverse skin of the character was voiced by actor Stephen Amell.
• In Injustice 2, Green Arrow appeared as a playable character in the setting of the fighting video game sequel where he was voiced once again by actor Alan Tudyk.

Appearances

• More Fun Comics v1: (1941)
• Adventure Comics v1:
• Leading Comics v1:
• Justice League of America v1:
• Green Arrow v1:
• JLA v1:
• Green Arrow:
• Justice League: Cry for Justice v1:
• Justice League v2:
• Justice League of America:
• Green Arrow:
• Justice League:
• Stargirl Spring Break Special v1: (2021)

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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