Oliver Queen

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Oliver Queen is a wealthy businessman and owner of Queen Industries, using his public status as a celebrity in Star City to conceal his identity as Green Arrow. He is partly inspired by Robin Hood, fighting crime with his archery skills in Star City and Seattle. As a member of the Justice League, he is recognized as the world's greatest archer, also competent as a swordsman and martial artist. He deploys a range of specialty arrows with functions including glue, explosive-tipped, grappling hook, flash grenade, tear gas, and even kryptonite arrows for special situations. Green Arrow enjoyed moderate success in his early years, becoming the cover feature of More Fun Comics, but never enjoyed greater popularity throughout his first twenty-five years. In the late 1960s, writer Denny O'Neil, inspired by Neal Adams' dramatic visual redesign, chose to have him lose his fortune, giving him the role of a streetwise crusader for the working class and the disadvantaged. In 1970, he was paired with Green Lantern in a ground-breaking, socially conscious comic book series that tackled racism, poverty, and addiction head-on. Since then, most writers have taken an urban, gritty approach to the character. Oliver Queen was killed off in the 1990s and replaced by his son Connor Hawke, who proved less popular. The original Oliver Queen was resurrected in the 2001 "Quiver" storyline by writer Kevin Smith. In the 2000s, the character featured in bigger storylines focusing on Green Arrow and Black Canary, including The Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding and Justice League: Cry for Justice, prior to the character's relaunch alongside most of DC's properties in 2011.

In Their Own Story

Green Arrow first appeared in More Fun Comics No. 73 (cover-dated November 1941), illustrated by artist George Papp. When Mort Weisinger created the character, aside from 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, including Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy, his use of an Arrowcar and Arrow-Plane for transportation, an Arrow-Cave as his headquarters, his alter ego as a wealthy playboy, an Arrow-Signal to summon him, and a clown-like arch foe named Bull's Eye, similar to Batman's arch-foe the Joker. 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 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 in an acclaimed series of stories by O'Neil and Adams dealing with social and political issues. 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 Black Canary. This story prompted a massive public reaction, including a congratulatory letter from the mayor of New York, John Lindsay.

Reader's Guide

Green Arrow began as a back-up feature in More Fun Comics, but within four months he and Speedy replaced Doctor Fate and the Spectre as the cover feature. They appeared in More Fun until issue No. 107 (January 1946), 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). 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, launched with Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters. In live action, the character 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, with the title character portrayed by Stephen Amell, launching several spin-off series and becoming the starting point for a shared television franchise called the Arrowverse. Green Arrow was not initially a well-known character outside of comic book fandom, having appeared in a single episode of the animated series Super Friends in 1973. In the 2000s, he appeared in animated series including Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, The Batman, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

Did You Know?

• Green Arrow first appeared in More Fun Comics No. 73 on September 19, 1941, the same issue that debuted Aquaman.
• His real name is Oliver Jonas Queen, a wealthy businessman and owner of Queen Industries.
• Green Arrow was partly inspired by Robin Hood and a movie serial called The Green Archer, based on the novel by Edgar Wallace.
• In Green Lantern (vol. 2) #85–86, it was revealed that Green Arrow's ward Speedy was addicted to heroin, prompting a congratulatory letter from the mayor of New York, John Lindsay.
• Oliver Queen was killed off in the 1990s and replaced by his son Connor Hawke, but was resurrected in the 2001 'Quiver' storyline by writer Kevin Smith.