[Meeting…] Green Arrow

If there is one thing that television can do more quickly and effectively than a book or a comic, it is popularize something. We are currently experiencing a kind of superhero era in film and television and that has caused many people to become followers of characters about whom they have never read anything at all. Needless to say, the audiovisual interpretation of the characters is not always identical to that of the comic, so it may be that if one day you dare to take the step and read a story about your favorite character, you will find that what you like is not the real character, but the version created for television.

In this article I am going to talk about Green Arrow, a classic DC Comics character, who despite having been secondary for many years, has managed to remain in the pages of comics where many others have been quickly forgotten.

In case someone doesn't know very well who I'm talking about, I will explain that Green Arrow is a normal and ordinary human, who is dedicated to fighting crime using a bow and arrows as his main weapon, many of which have special mechanisms to trap, distract or stun his enemies.

From Bat-Green Arrow to social superhero

The original Green Arrow from the 40s had two clear inspirations, one of them Robin Hood and the other was nothing more and nothing less than batman. Like Batman, Green Arrow was a millionaire who after hard training decided to fight crime helped only by his young apprentice (Speedy). To do so, he had vehicles such as helicopters or cars, a cave as a base of operations and a signal so that they could warn him. In a way, not only did the writers not hide Batman's influence, but they they played with it, since Green Arrow himself said he was inspired by the defender of Gotham when developing his superhero career.

Like many other DC Comics characters, Green Arrow had a reboot in the 60s. Although this was less pronounced than that of other characters, it was the first step to show a new Green Arrow who would little by little win over the public.

The first sudden change that Oliver Queen underwent was the loss of his fortune, definitively turning him into a man of the street. That real closeness to the world around him made him pay more attention than ever to the city where he operated, Star City, where (as in all large cities) there was a high number of people without resources who ended up taking drugs, prostitution and living in poverty.

In this stage Green Arrow and his best friend Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) toured deep America, seeing people's problems that other superheroes don't seem to want to see, like marginalization or racism. Some problems such as drugs and how easy it can be to fall into them were frequently discussed in the pages of this character, especially since his companion Roy Harper (Speedy) ended up becoming an addict, which gave us one of the most daring covers in the history of superhero comics, where Speedy could be seen taking drugs. I am not exaggerating if I say that this situation marked a before and after in superhero comics, as it was one of the stories that forced the renewal of the obsolete (and unnecessary) Comics Code, the code that regulated and censored the content of comics implemented years ago.

From that moment on, Green Arrow became a very close character for the public, since he not only dedicated himself to building places to help people in unfavorable situations and trying to give a better future to the young people of his city, but he even got into politics to try to get rid of corrupt politicians and the companies they served, thus managing to move Star City forward while increasing the social rights of its inhabitants, even though these were somewhat controversial, such as allowing homosexual marriage.

Despite the kindness he gave to the underprivileged and his strong friendship with Hal Jordan, this new Green Arrow He had a much harsher character. and unpleasant than the original from the 40s, which led him to inevitably clash with other similar characters, such as Batman (whom on more than one occasion he has called a cheap Dracula) or Aquaman (accusing him of being a fascist for not governing Atlantis under a democracy) and to be known for being one of the most critical heroes with the decisions made by the Justice League, a team of which he has been a part on many occasions.

Death, succession and return

At one point, Hal Jordan ended up going crazy and became a serious threat to Earth, to the point of kill his fellow Green Lantern Corps and lay waste to his own city. Oliver had to make the decision to end his best friend for the good of everyone, something that marked him irreparably. Shortly after, the archer died in an explosion while on a plane, after refusing to lose his arm, which had been trapped in a bomb.

When Hal Jordan came back to lifeAfter purging himself of his sins, he managed to bring his best friend back, although not in the best conditions. At that time it already existed a new and young Green Arrow who, far from being one of the original's assistants, was his own son (which Oliver never cared about and we could say that he was even unaware of its existence to a certain extent). The return of Oliver gave us the possibility of seeing two generations of Green Arrow working together, something that did not turn out to be as good as it seemed, since the personalities of both were tremendously different, which caused the occasional argument between father and son, especially when Oliver decided to break the law or his code of conduct in certain situations.
In that sense, Green Arrow was once again more human than many other better-known heroes, since Instead of being unfazed by the calamities caused by villains, Oliver was affected, hasta el punto de llegar a matar a sangre fría a modo de venganza tras la pérdida de algún ser querido, algo poco heroico, pero muy comprensible. Su accidentado romance con Canario Negro también nos dejó algunos momentos muy humanos y curiosos, como ver al arquero sufriendo la crisis de los 40.

Conclusion and Recommendations

A día de hoy seguro que muchos conocen a este personaje, sobre todo por su aparición en Smallville y su actual serie Arrow, para la cual los guionistas no dudan en usar historias y personajes de Batman (haciendo un homenaje involuntario al Green Arrow de los años 40).
Sin embargo tal y como he contado, la mejor parte de este personaje se encuentra en el papel, donde vemos un superhéroe de izquierdas, protector de los derechos sociales, defensor de los desfavorecidos y tremendamente crítico y provocador cuando se trata de lidiar con otros superhéroes o seres poderosos como políticos y empresarios.

Si queréis leer algo de este personaje, lo tenéis fácil pues no solo aparece en los cómics de la Liga de la Justicia, sino que también ha tenido sus propias colecciones. Si buscáis algo que muestre al personaje en su vertiente más humana podéis echarle un vistazo a la miniserie Un Grito de Justicia, aunque sinceramente, quizás la mejor lectura que hay en ese sentido es el crossover Green Lantern/Green Arrow.