Green Arrow (Oliver "Ollie" Queen) is a DC Comics superhero. Created by Mort Weisinger and Greg Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 (1941).

Dressed like Robin Hood, Green Arrow is an archer, who invents arrows with various special functions, such as a glue arrow, a net arrow, a punching glove arrow, etc. Originally, most of his other traits were borrowed from Batman. Like the caped crusader, Green Arrow was a millionaire, mentored a young sidekick (Speedy) and policed a fictional metropolis (Star City).

Throughout his first twenty-five years, Green Arrow was not a significant hero. But in the late 1960s, after he lost his fortune, writers gave him the unique role of streetwise crusader for the working class. 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.

Inspirations
The Green Arrow character was inspired by a few different sources, including Edgar Wallace's The Green Archer (and the 1940 Columbia Pictures serial of the same name based on the novel) and Fawcett Publications' earlier archery-themed hero Golden Arrow. Green Arrow was also obviously created as an archery-themed version of the earlier character Batman, as several similarities between the two characters can be spotted, especially in Green Arrow's earlier incarnation: Green Arrow has a teenaged sidekick named Speedy just as Batman has Robin; Green Arrow and Batman are both millionaire playboys in their secret identitites; Green Arrow has an Arrowcar and an Arrowplane similar to Batman's Batmobile and Batplane; while Batman is summoned to police headquarters by the Bat-signal, Green Arrow is summoned by the Arrow-signal. The Arrowcar is yellow in color and shaped reminiscent of the land-speed record holder of the 1920s, the British Golden Arrow.

Publishing history

Beginnings
Created in 1941 by writer/editor Mort Weisinger and artist George Papp, who remained with the series for almost twenty years, Green Arrow and Speedy first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 (cover-dated November 1941).

Incidentally, another Mort Weisiner-created character called Aquaman also appeared for the first time in that issue, and these two back-up features continued to run concurrently in More Fun Comics until the mid-1940s, and then in Adventure Comics from 1946 until 1960. Green Arrow and Speedy also appeared in various issues of World's Finest Comics until issue #140 (1964). The Green Arrow and Speedy feature was one of five back-up features to be promoted in one of the earliest team-up books, Leading Comics.

Green Arrow was one of the few DC characters to keep going after the Golden Age of Comic Books. The longevity of the character was due to the influence of creator Mort Weisinger, who kept Green Arrow and Aquaman as back-up features to the headlining Superboy feature first in More Fun Comics and then Adventure Comics. The Green Arrow and Speedy feature had a relatively undistinguished publishing history, though the main exception in this period was a short run in 1958 by Jack Kirby.

After the last original Green Arrow and Speedy features in the early 1960s, Green Arrow was made the first non-charter member of the Justice League of America, a team which guaranteed the character's being continually featured, in some way or another, continuously until 1998.

Neal Adams and Dennis O'Neil

Green Lantern #76, April 1970. Art by Neal Adams.In 1969 artist Neal Adams decided to update the character's visual appearance by giving him a goatee beard and costume of his own design. Inspired by Adams' redesign, writer Dennis O'Neil followed up on Green Arrow's new appearance by completely remaking the character's attitude in the pages of Justice League of America #79 (cover-dated November 1969), giving his personality a rougher edge like that of Marvel Comics' archery-themed hero Hawkeye. This revision was explained by having Oliver Queen lose his fortune and become an outspoken and strident advocate of the underprivileged in society and the political left wing. For instance, he once saved a child's dog playing in a railyard, but instead of satisfaction, he brooded on the larger problem of how the poor child apparently had nowhere else in the city to play safely. In short, he became a kind of superheroic hybrid between Robin Hood and Abbie Hoffman. In addition, the Green Arrow began a long running romantic relationship with The Black Canary (Dinah Lance). As a member of the Justice League, he became an argumentative figure who often acted as the team's political conscience.

In the early 1970s, he became a co-feature with Green Lantern in the latter's series in an acclaimed, but shortlived series of stories by O'Neil and Adams that dealt with various social and political issues in which Green Arrow spoke for the liberal argument (thus a voice for O'Neil himself) while Green Lantern was an establishment figure, half-heartedly serving the conservative viewpoint. Oliver Queen convinced Hal Jordan to see beyond his strict obedience to the Green Lantern Corps, to help those who were neglected or discriminated against. The duo embarked on a quest to find America, witnessing the corruption, racism, pollution, and overpopulation confronting the nation. Denny O'Neil even took on current events, such as the Manson Family cult murders, in issues #78-79 ("A Kind of Loving") where Black Canary falls briefly under the spell of a false prophet who advocates violence.

Later in the series, Oliver Queen would land a job as a newspaper columnist, which allowed him to articulate his political beliefs in a more public field. It was during this period that the most famous Green Arrow story of all time appeared, in Green Lantern #85-86, when it was revealed that Speedy was addicted to heroin. In his zeal to save America, Oliver Queen had failed in his personal responsibility to Roy Harper -- who would overcome his addiction with the help of Black Canary. This story prompted a congratulatory letter from the mayor of New York, John V. Lindsay. Unfortunately, the series did not match commercial expectations because of its mature topics. After a brief wrap-up as a feature in "The Flash," the Green Arrow/Green Lantern partnership returned to more traditional superhero storylines.

In 1984 Green Arrow appeared for the first time in his own comic book, a four issue miniseries of murder and betrayal that established potential for a full series.

Mike Grell to Chuck Dixon

Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters #1, the gritty redefinition of the Green ArrowIn 1987, the character was changed once more in Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, written and illustrated by Mike Grell, who had previous experience dating back to Green Arrow features in "The Flash." In this three-issue prestige format mini-series, Green Arrow abandons gadget arrows and fights crime in Seattle, Washington, where he now lives with Black Canary. The series took on a more gritty, violent, and urban tone, befitting the series' mature audience label. While fighting drug runners, Oliver Queen encounters the enigmatic Japanese archer, Shado, whose family suffered in a World War II internment camp. While uncovering the connection between the drug operations and Shado's quest for vengeance, Green Arrow is also forced to kill a murderer to save Black Canary. Shado and Green Arrow join forces against the criminals, later becoming occasional allies and lovers.

The Longbow Hunters mini-series led to a long-running regular series (Green Arrow), which Grell wrote for 80 issues. Grell tried to redefine Oliver Queen as a realistic and flawed character, purging the series of any superhero characteristics. This incarnation of Green Arrow would still team up occasionally with Batman (as in the excellent graphic novel Poison Tomorrow) but his past with the Justice League rarely came up. Dinah Lance remained Oliver Queen's domestic partner for most of the series, although she lost her 'sonic scream' ability during her ordeal. Green Arrow even lost his mask a couple of issues into the regular series when he learned it no longer obscured his identity.

The Green Arrow series dealt largely with serial killers, terrorists, and street gangs, with Oliver Queen sometimes working with Seattle Police Lieutenant Anderson, who sometimes resents Green Arrow's penchant for vigilante justice. During one story-line, Green Arrow wounds a teenager with a paintball gun, thinking him a criminal. This near-tragedy forces a crisis intervention from Hal Jordan, who rallies his depressed friend. Another notable episode involves Oliver Queen's framing for a terrorist bombing, which destroys his heroic reputation until he is given a presidential apology. During his disgrace, Queen travelled across Great Britain, Europe, and much of Africa before returning to Seattle.

During The Longbow Hunters, Green Arrow fell afoul of renegade CIA agent Greg Osborne, who begins to monitor Oliver Queen's activities. At first, mercenary Eddie Fyers is introduced as Oliver Queen's adversary, but he becomes a companion of necessity when Green Arrow is forced to leave Seattle. This event is accelerated when Dinah Lance discovers Shado has had Oliver's unnamed son. When she catches Oliver kissing their houseguest, Marianne (who had a long case of hero worship for Green Arrow), Dinah permanently breaks off their relationship. Mike Grell's departure also signified the end of the series' mature rating, and Green Arrow's eventual return to the DC Heroes mainstream in the Crossroads miniseries.

Connor Hawke

Connor Hawke and Oliver Queen. Art by Matt Wagner.Under later writers, such as Kelley Puckett, Kevin Dooley, and Chuck Dixon, some superheroic elements of the DC Universe were re-introduced, such as Hal Jordan's transformation into the villainous Parallax. In the 1994 Zero Hour storyline, Green Arrow was forced to kill his former comrade in order to save the universe. Puckett introduced a young monk named Connor Hawke, who teamed up with Green Arrow and Eddie Fyers. Eventually, Connor discovered that Oliver Queen was his father. During the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series, Oliver Queen once fled to a meditational retreat after killing a criminal in Star City. Evidently, Green Arrow fathered yet another child after conveniently having yet another undisclosed affair.

In 1995, Dixon and other DC editors decided that Oliver Queen's storytelling possibilities had been exhausted, and he died in Green Arrow #100-101, triggering an explosion that would have destroyed Metropolis. This death scene pays tribute to Frank Miller's graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns, an alternate Batman adventure where Oliver Queen resurfaces as a hard-bitten old revolutionary missing one arm. Never on the best of terms with Queen, Superman intends to rescue Green Arrow by removing his arm, but Ollie refuses to let him, thus bringing about his apparent death.

Like many DC superheroes in the mid-1990s, the "old" Green Arrow was immediately replaced with a young successor, in this case, Connor Hawke. Chuck Dixon, Green Arrow's writer during this period, explored Connor's difficulty adjusting to the world after spending years in an ashram. In marked contrast to his father, Connor was awkward around the opposite sex, sparking some misdirected fan questions as to his sexual orientation. Dixon also tried to resurrect the traditional parternership of Green Arrow and Green Lantern, who had also been recently replaced (by Kyle Rayner). Moreover, Green Arrow II became an active member of the Justice League, using some of his father's old gadget arrows to some advantage against more powerful foes. Connor Hawke starred in the series (as "Green Arrow II") from issue 102 until issue 137, when it was canceled in 1998.

The 21st century

Cover to Green Arrow #1 (2000). Art by Matt Wagner.In 2000, Oliver Queen was revived in a new Green Arrow series, written by Kevin Smith and illustrated by Phil Hester and Ande Parks. Smith's storyline returned the character to life from a point before the Mike Grell period which includes his use of gadget arrows, although the world around him still reflected the changes that had taken place — for example, the introduction of Wally West, Kyle Rayner and Connor Hawke to replace Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, and Queen himself, respectively. Smith's fifteen issues were followed by a story arc by Brad Meltzer, who in 2002 handed the title over to Judd Winick. Hester and Parks remained as the art team throughout these changes.

One of Winick's most-publicized innovations was to reveal that Mia Dearden, a former prostitute unofficially adopted by Green Arrow during Kevin Smith's run, had 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, or for being overly didactic. Winick argues that his writing range is wider than simple liberal propaganda, 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." [1]


Other media depiction
With the new found popularity of the O'Neil/Adams version, the once ignored character began to attract some interest in televised adaptations, as well as the collectible toy market.

The first television appearance was a single guest spot in an episode of the original 1973 incarnation of The Superfriends where his politics became irrelevant, given the nature of Saturday morning cartoons format and timeslot. In "Gulliver's Gigantic Goof," Green Arrow rescues his fellow superheroes, who have become shrunk by a mad scientist. He also swore oaths such as "By Robin Hood's Bow," and in short, conformed to the bland characterizations of his fellow Superfriends.

During the 1970s, Mego Enterprises commissioned the first Green Arrow doll as a part of its DC Superheroes line, which still features as a collectible. Since then, several action figures and models have emerged during the 1980s and 1990s, appealing to the Emerald Archer's moderate fanbase. For a brief period, a Green Arrow television series had been bruited about in the late 1980s. This series would have likely been based upon the Longbow Hunters incarnation of Green Arrow, based in Seattle. But after Mike Grell's Jon Sable pilot episode failed on ABC in 1988, nothing came of this proposal.


Green Arrow, as depicted in Justice League Unlimited.A more faithful and mainstream portrayal is used in the animated television series, Justice League Unlimited. In this version, his strong political convictions (and his sometimes irreverent advocacy of them) are key reasons the Justice League insists on recruiting him as a populist voice of the team, although it took an alluring encounter with the Black Canary to finally persuade him. In addition, Queen is still a billionare, having sold his company to devote to his volunteer and activist activities exclusively.

Trivia
Oliver Queen bears an uncanny resemblance to the Warlord (Travis Morgan), who was created by Mike Grell, and Deathstroke the Terminator. Deathstroke, however, is missing one eye, and both Warlord and Deathstroke have white hair, while Green Arrow is blond. Furthermore, Green Arrow fans have also drawn some interesting comparisons between Oliver Queen and Mike Grell's original character, Jon Sable, another trouble-shooter for hire, who possesses Olympic-level archery skills. During the Mike Grell run, The Warlord appeared in Seattle leading to a few cases of mistaken identity, (and thus a rather perturbed Warlord). During the Crossroads miniseries, Oliver Queen is also mistaken for Deathstroke the Terminator.

Secret origins
Green Arrow has had several official "secret origins" attributed to his character, but most versions agree that Oliver Queen began as a wealthy playboy who lived like Robinson Crusoe on a semi-deserted Pacific island, after having been washed overboard during an ocean cruise. Forced to hunt for survival, Queen developed his natural archery skill to a peak level. When criminals (originally pirates, but later changed to drug-runners) came to the island, he captured them and returned to civilization. Green Arrow's code against outright killing is established firmly, with the development of trick arrows to subdue or outwit opponents. Perhaps the most mature origins tale came from Mike Grell's four-part 1992 miniseries, Green Arrow: The Wonder Year. Grell portrayed Oliver Queen as a thrill-seeker who inherits his family business at a very young age. Changed by his sojourn on the island, Ollie decided to take up crimefighting as a means of rebelling against his responsibilities. During his first adventure in Star City, Oliver Queen meets an old flame, Brianna Stone, a former college radical who warns him if he continued to carry his bow, he would one day have to use it for real. Grell's miniseries also established Queen's attraction toward dangerous women.

During his early days, Oliver Queen also befriended a boy living with a Native American tribe, Roy Harper, whom he nicknames Speedy because he collared a criminal before Green Arrow could. Roy Harper eventually becomes Ollie's adopted son, as well as Green Arrow's sidekick.