How To Write Green Arrow

My biggest complaint with Arrow is that they've never gotten the actual character of Oliver Queen right, he's always been just a Batman clone. But to be fair to the show, that's kind of where Green Arrow started from, he was just a green Batman, he didn't have any powers, fought street crime, had a young plucky sidekick in red, had a damn Arrow cave (Seriously, that doesn't make any sense) he was a total Batman rip-off. But in the show and the comics they eventually wised up and wrote him to be the optimistic, one line spouting, old fashioned crime fighter we all know and love. Okay maybe the show isn't there quite yet, but they're on the right path.

Regardless let's actually talk about Green Arrow (AKA Oliver Queen) as a character and how he should be written, and it can all be summed up in one phrase: "I just help the little guy". That's it, that's who Green Arrow is as a person, he's someone who doesn't feel comfortable sitting in a spaceship above the Earth, he prefers to roam the streets of Star City, put a face to the people he's saving, reminding him every day what he's fighting for. One of my favourite moments of this is in the comic"Straight Shooter" he sees a homeless man eating out of the garbage and offers to buy him a meal in a diner. That's not something Wonder Woman or Martian Manhunter would do, but for him he sees it as his duty, he doesn't see himself as better than anyone else, and not in a Superman way where he feels the need to constantly prove it, but he's been in their situation, he's been everywhere from spoilt millionaire to homeless man to stranded on a deserted island. Which leads me to my next point, his role in the Justice League. Like i said he's not comfortable sitting in a space station watching over everyone like he's better than us, he's there to keep the Justice League honest, to remind them of what they're fighting for and is the left-wing freedom fighter with a rebellious attitude towards the system.

Unlike Batman who has no fear, Oliver Queen does experience fear, he is terrified of the Justice League and how much power they have, not just over the world but over him, if they ever forget their place then he won't be able to stop them. But that doesn't mean he turns away and runs, one of the true signs of a hero isn't one that has nothing to fear, but one who fights what they fear, no matter what. Like in Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year One *Spoilers* when Green Arrow was forced to fight Superman, he knew he was going to die but it didn't stop him, he fought for as long as he could, never showing Superman some leniency, not that he needed it because Oliver had no chance against him, but every second counted. Even after Superman killed him, Batman said it himself, "he was the best of us" and that's true, not in power and not always in ideals, but in honesty and in bravery, yes he may be grumpy as hell and not always play well with others but his heart is in the right place and more than anyone, remembers what he's fighting for. Something else I like about Green Arrow is his perspective on killing, i've always said, I don't mind if a superhero kills unless it's part of their character like Superman or Batman. Which is why I love Green Arrow's stance, he's not going to actively go out and kill the bad guys, but when pushed into a corner, he's not afraid to take a life if he has too, i've always respected that in him, not to say i encourage superheroes killing, but knowing that sometimes they have to is refreshing.

Then there's his relationship with Black Canary (AKA Dinah Lance), one of the best couples in all of DC Comics, hell, in all of comics. The key word i would use to describe these two is "challenging" they are constantly challenging each other, debating who's the strongest, who's the smartest, who's more liked. Have you ever had a debate over who would win in a fight *blank* or *blank*, yeah these two would have that argument with each other constantly. But i mean, it's obviously Black Canary, I know, you know it, she knows it and Green Arrow knows it, he would never admit it to her face, but he knows it and he loves that about her.

So to sum up, Green Arrow is honest, he's humble, he's grumpy, he's old but he's a hero.

-Danny