Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), the same issue that debuted Aquaman. His real name is Oliver Jonas Queen, a wealthy businessman, owner of Queen Industries, and a well-known celebrity in Star City. He uses this position to hide the fact that he is Green Arrow. Partly inspired by Robin Hood, Green Arrow is an archer who uses his skills to fight crime in his home cities of Star City and Seattle, as well as alongside his fellow superheroes as a member of the Justice League. The world's greatest archer, as well as a competent swordsman and martial artist, Green Arrow deploys a range of trick arrows (in contemporary times, they are referred as "specialty arrows") with various special functions, such as glue, explosive-tipped, grappling hook, flash grenade, tear gas, and even kryptonite arrows for use in a range of special situations.
Green Arrow enjoyed moderate success in his early years, becoming the cover feature of More Fun, as well as having occasional appearances in other comics. Throughout his first twenty-five years, however, the character never enjoyed greater popularity. In the late 1960s, writer Denny O'Neil, inspired by the character's dramatic visual redesign by Neal Adams, chose to have him lose his fortune, giving him the then-unique role of a streetwise crusader for the working class and the disadvantaged. In 1970, he was paired with a more law and order–oriented hero, Green Lantern, in a ground-breaking, socially conscious comic book series.Green Lantern (vol. 2) No. 76 (April 1970) through 89 (April/May 1972) Since then, he has been popular among comic book fans and most writers have taken an urban, gritty approach to the character. Oliver Queen was killed off in the 1990s and replaced by a new character, Oliver's son Connor Hawke. Connor, however, proved a less popular character, and the original Oliver Queen character was resurrected in the 2001 "Quiver" storyline, by writer Kevin Smith. In the 2000s, the character has been featured in bigger storylines focusing on Green Arrow and Black Canary, such as the DC event The Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding and the high-profile Justice League: Cry for Justice storyline, prior to the character's relaunch alongside most of DC's properties in 2011.
Green Arrow was not initially a well-known character outside of comic book fandom: He had appeared in a single episode of the animated series Super Friends in 1973. In the 2000s, the character appeared in a number of DC television properties, including the animated series Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, The Batman and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. In live action, he appeared in the series Smallville, played by actor Justin Hartley, and became a core cast member. In 2012, the live action series Arrow debuted on The CW, in which the title character was portrayed by Stephen Amell, and launching several spin-off series, becoming the starting point for a shared television franchise called the Arrowverse.
Publication history Beginnings, 1941–1968
Green Arrow and Speedy first appeared in More Fun Comics No. 73 (cover-dated November 1941), which was illustrated by artist George Papp. When Mort Weisinger was creating the character, aside from the obvious allusions to Robin Hood, he took inspiration from a movie serial, The Green Archer, based on the novel by Edgar Wallace. He retooled the concept into a superhero archer with obvious Batman influences. These include Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy, his use of an Arrowcar and Arrow-Plane for transportation, his use of an Arrow-Cave as his headquarters, his alter ego as a wealthy playboy, the use of an Arrow-Signal to summon him, as well as a clown-like arch foe named Bull's Eye, similar to Batman's arch-foe, the Joker. His and Speedy's first origin stories were told in More Fun Comics No. 89.
Green Arrow began as a back-up feature in More Fun Comics, but within four months the Green Arrow and Speedy replaced Doctor Fate and the Spectre as the cover feature. In Superhero Comics of the Golden Age, Mike Benton writes that "their front cover star status was probably due to Speedy's appeal – teenage sidekicks were the current rage." They were also given a spot as one of five back-up features to be promoted in one of the earliest team-up books, Leading Comics, starting with issue No. 1 (Winter 1941). They appeared in More Fun until issue No. 107 (January 1946), and then moved to Adventure Comics from No. 103 (April 1946) to No. 269 (February 1960). Green Arrow and Speedy also appeared in various issues of World's Finest Comics until issue No. 140 (March 1964).
He was one of the few DC characters to keep going after the Golden Age of Comic Books. His longevity was due to the influence of creator Mort Weisinger, who kept him as a backup feature to the headlining Superboy, first in More Fun Comics and then Adventure Comics; since Superman-related titles were all but guaranteed success during this period. Green Arrow endured the 1940s and 1950s relatively unchanged, unlike most of his Golden Age contemporaries. As a result, he avoided being revived and "re-imagined" for the Silver Age, as the Flash, Green Lantern, and others were.
Aside from sharing Adventure Comics with him, issue No. 258 featured an encounter between a younger Oliver Queen and Superboy. The Green Arrow and Speedy feature during this period included a short run in 1958 written by Dick and Dave Wood and drawn by Jack Kirby. For much of this period, Green Arrow's adventures were written by France Herron, who was the character's primary scripter 1947–1963.France Herron entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.
Neal Adams and Dennis O'Neil, 1969–1983 In 1969, artist Neal Adams updated the character's visual appearance by giving him a Van Dyke beard and costume of his own design in The Brave and the Bold No. 85 (August–September 1969). Writer Dennis O'Neil followed up on Green Arrow's new appearance by completely remaking the character's attitude in Justice League of America #75 (cover-dated November 1969), having Oliver Queen lose his fortune and become an outspoken advocate of the underprivileged and the political left wing. The story also turned teammate Black Canary into a love interest for Queen.
In the early 1970s, Green Arrow became a co-feature with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) in an acclaimed series of stories by O'Neil and Adams that dealt with various social and political issues. The two co-stars served to represent contrasting socio-political viewpoints: Green Arrow spoke for radical change while Green Lantern was an establishment liberal figure, wanting to work within existing institutions of government and law. Queen convinces Jordan to see beyond his strict obedience to the Green Lantern Corps, to help those who were neglected or discriminated against. O'Neil explained: "He would be a hot-tempered anarchist to contrast with the cerebral, sedate model citizen who was Green Lantern." The duo embark on a quest in a beat-up pickup truck to "find America", along the way witnessing the problems of corruption, racism, pollution, as well as overpopulation confronting the nation. One story (in issues #78-79) was even widely interpreted as an allegory for the Manson Family cult murders, though O'Neil has emphasized that the story was about the authoritarian left and not Manson.
In Green Lantern (vol. 2) #85–86, it was revealed that Green Arrow's ward, Speedy, was addicted to heroin. Speedy overcame his addiction with the help of the Black Canary. This story prompted a massive public reaction, including a congratulatory letter from the mayor of New York, John Lindsay. However, Green Lantern sales had been in a major decline at the time Green Arrow was brought on as co-star, and the O'Neil/Adams stories failed to revive them. Green Lantern was canceled with issue No. 89 (April/May 1972), and the climactic story arc of the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series was published as a back-up feature in The Flash No. 217 through No. 219. In sharp contrast to the socially-relevant tales which preceded it, this story centered on emotional themes, with Green Arrow struggling to deal with the guilt of having killed a man. Afterwards Green Arrow appeared in solo stories run as backups in Action Comics, starting with No. 421. Elliot S. Maggin, who had made his comics debut with a Green Arrow story published in Green Lantern (vol. 2) No. 87, was Green Arrow's writer for the next several years.
In 1976, the Green Lantern/Green Arrow title was re-launched, without the socially conscious themes of the original series, with O'Neil writing and Mike Grell drawing. After the title moved to solo Green Lantern stories, solo Green Arrow stories appeared in World's Finest Comics. In his solo series, Oliver landed a job as a newspaper columnist, which allowed him to articulate his political beliefs in a more public field. In World's Finest No. 255 (1979), Queen unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of Star City.
In May through August 1983, Green Arrow appeared for the first time in his own comic book, a four issue limited series.Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 201: "The Battling Bowman fought his way into his own four-issue miniseries at long last, thanks to writer Mike W. Barr and artist Trevor Von Eeden." This miniseries introduced a running rivalry between Green Arrow and the supervillain Count Vertigo.
In 1985, the Earth-Two Green Arrow died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, still wearing red boots and gloves. The Golden Age Earth-2 character had been retconned as a time-lost member of the original Seven Soldiers of Victory superhero team, recovered by the Justice League and Justice Society. After the Crisis, the Earth-Two Green Arrow and Speedy were retconned out of existence altogether, given the end of DC's former multiverse.
Mike Grell's reinterpretation
In 1987, DC Comics launched the character into a new ongoing title as part of their mature audience comic line. Written and illustrated by Mike Grell, the revamp was launched with Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters miniseries.Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 229: "Writer/artist Mike Grell introduced a Green Arrow for the modern comic book reader in the three-issue prestige format Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters." In this three-issue prestige format limited series, a routine adventure against a group of drug runners led to tragedy as the Black Canary was captured and brutally tortured. In response, Oliver murdered his girlfriend's attackers. The miniseries also introduced the enigmatic female Japanese archer, Shado, whose family had suffered in a World War II internment camp. Shado later raped Oliver"Here There be Dragons, Part Three" in Green Arrow vol. 2 #11 published December 1988 and became pregnant by him, producing a son named Robert after his father."Blood of the Dragon, Part 1: Uchiokoshi" in Green Arrow volume 2 issue 21 published August 1989