Let’s talk about Green Arrow.
You know him, some of you might love him. I know I do.
But there’s something peculiar about Green Arrow in relation to adaption and content. That being that he’s sometimes just a colour swap of Batman.
Now this is not a new phenomenon, from the Arrow-Car and Cave to the Arrow Signal, the linkage between the two heroes is strong.
Creators have noticed this, during Smallville’s run the writers were barred from using Bruce Wayne as a regular cast member, so they pivoted and filled in that blank with another rich billionaire playboy/hero:
Oliver Queen.
The CW show Arrow also played with this adapting certain Batman stories, villains and ideas and tailoring them back to the Emerald Archer.
Where does this come from?
Well, personally, I think it has to do with the late Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ runs on both those characters.
The O’Neil/Adams runs are like twins in many regards. The showrunners of Arrow highlighted this with the stories they adapted from Batman being from this very era. The transplant worked pretty well.
Of course there have been many different voices in both hero’s lives—
But the voice of that James Bond in a Cape and that Down to Earth Archer is not far off.
So why does this matter?
Green Arrow’s a back-up Batman, what’s the big deal?
Well reader, I’d like to posit that this is a fantastic thing!
Batman is many many things, he’s an incredibly versatile hero. A hero this multifaceted who can be at once jolly and jovial and then dark and dramatic, and all shades in between is begging for a contrast.
For a foil.
That is what Green Arrow can be. A foil to Batman.
For those who don’t know, a foil is a term used for a character who is similar to the protagonist (or another character) but has a single or several distinct differences that serve to highlight the divide.
Luke and Anakin Skywalker, The Fool and King Lear, etc. etc.
Green Arrow, as he’s been traditionally characterised, is very much like Batman. But is firmly kept in the realms of the street level. As Mike Grell made note of in his run of Green Arrow, he’s an Urban Hunter.
Batman may fight Gods on occasion, survey the Earth from the Watchtower, but Green Arrow is busting human trafficking rings and skewering local warlords.
This is a grave difference between the two, and that’s fascinating!
You can so easily see where these men’s paths diverged:
Batman fundamentally is supposed to be something akin a Demon, something you see at the corner of your eye. If Green Arrow’s an Urban Hunter, Batman is an Urban Legend.
Perfectly exemplified by this piece by Caspar Wijngaard.
Green Arrow meanwhile, there is no illusion that he is a man. He is a vigilante. He is human. That is a choice made.
This is where we bring up the obvious:
Green Arrow’s Modern Day Robin Hood.
And with that, there is a visual connection to having him be undeniably a swashbuckling hero. A dashing rogue.
From the grounded hooded Mike Grell look to the classic clean shaven feathered cap lad.
When compared to The Batman, there’s an element of weakness to him. The Batman has no limits. Bruce Wayne does, but The Batman… not so much. The Green Arrow is still understood to be a man, a VERY skilled one, but just a man.
I hope you see what I’m getting at, the dialogue between these two similar characters can be grounds for fertile investigation into both.
They’re like brothers in a way.
Very close, with a lot of the shared DNA, shared ideas and shared upbringings, but they both a very distinct and individual way of dealing with it.
That is to say…
They make each other better.
Thank You for Reading.