The Pull List 7: Like Batman, but with brighter colors...and trick arrows.

Oliver Queen is an orphan who grew up to fight crime as the Green Arrow, a billionaire playboy who uses his fortune to become a superhero – able to fight the most powerful super-villains in the universe with nothing but a bow and arrow. JT Krul will write GREEN ARROW #1 with art by superstar artist Dan Jurgens. The cover to issue #1 is by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund.

Green Arrow
Writer: J.T. Krul
Artist: Dan Jurgens

Dan Jurgens not drawing Booster Gold anymore makes me very, very sad. So this comic needs to be good. I got a little busy around the time they relaunched Green Arrow, so I have no idea if J.T. Krul is any good or not. (If you are...sorry for doubting.)

Anyways. That origin....is just a little different from what I'm used to. I'm guessing this is one of our first "seriously revised" characters that we'll be hearing about. Oliver Queen used to be born into money, and eventually he gave it all away as he took on an ultra-liberal political stance.

...To be honest, if they got rid of that? I'm happy. It's not nearly as unique and groundbreaking as it was when they did it back in the 70's. Ultra-liberals are a dime-a-dozen now, and this is COMING from someone who is, mostly, a liberal. Take the politics out of that character, get him back to his superhero roots. If some small amount of that remains, great--but him giving away his fortune wasn't ever a good idea. A rich philanthropist superhero can always do more WITH his money than a broke superhero can do without it.

The real question is what kind of tragedy can occur to someone who appears to have had a silver spoon in his mouth for the majority of his life, that would push him to dress like Robin Hood and fight crime? And the second question is, how does this change how Oliver Queen operates?

Should we look to Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which had Green Arrow as basically a Batman clone (he sort of is) but with arrows and without all the darkness? That would actually be sort of fun to read. Or will they be doing something completely different with the character?

Actually, I have all sorts of questions about Green Arrow, who had quite the extensive background as far as characters like him. Connor Hawke*, the second Green Arrow, Speedy his sidekick, and Red Arrow his original sidekick...dude had quite the superheroic entourage? Are they all gone? It's a valid question which I think I know the answer to, but it's whatever. I'm just hoping someone can generate proper interest in this character again.





*Connor Hawke was awesome, and his existence by itself almost necessitates a 90's DC Earth. All jokes aside. I love those characters, and it'd be a shame for them to just go.