If Eric Wrote Green Arrow

The rumor mill is already grinding its grist. I don't care to speculate on whether DC has really removed writer JT Krul from Green Arrow, but I do know that the book has delivered one of my biggest disappointments of the DC relaunch so far (please, Blackhawks, don't let me down!).

I also know that a character with such a specific combination of political beliefs and economic status and who draws his inspiration so heavily from Robin Hood should not be squandered as another vanila-flavored superhero.

Instead, why not position him as Robin Hood, or a uniquely 21st century version thereof, redistributing technology instead of riches? The New 52 have already started building towards a superhuman arms race, with Cadmus, S.T.A.R.Labs, N.O.W.H.E.R.E., S.H.A.D.E and others (we've not really heard from LexCorp, yet) positioning themselves as major players. Perhaps Green Arrow, recognizing that this technology they're cultivating could just as easily cure cancer as it could level cities, could be a thorn in the sides of them all.

As Oliver Queen, Green Arrow is already in a position to launder whatever weird technology he manages to acquire through artifice, espionage or theft, and to distribute it to the masses.

Just thinking out loud.


(Eric occasionally writes his own comics, and posts them at www.ericpalicki.com)

Green Arrow #1 - Eric's Review

When asked to name a superhero with a billionaire alter-ego who uses an array of quirky gadgets to fight crime, even casual readers, or those who don’t read comics at all, can probably name at least two. It’s a well-worn trope, and so any new -- or at least, new to new readers -- character ought to have some greater hook to establish him as something other than another Batman or Iron Man.

Green Arrow is a character with a rich history and writer J.T. Krul introduces nor reestablishes none of it here. There’s no mention of his secret origin or his famously progressive politics. Krul and veteran artist Dan Jurgens have even removed Oliver Queen’s goatee and mustache, which were directly inspired by Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood and would’ve given new readers a shorthand explanation of the sort of character Green Arrow was intended to be.

Instead, Krul and Jurgens deliver a vanilla-flavored superhero story in which Green Arrow apprehends a trio of villains who have no clear motivation but codenames that match their super powers. With so little at stake, it’s impossible to care about what happens next. And being boring is a far greater sin than being bad.