Arrow
Before you, Reader, take any more steps further in this review, know this: the Green Arrow has been my favorite superhero since I was eight years old. When all the other kids would play superheroes on the playground, they’d all assume the roles of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, etc. and I’d play Green Arrow. Suffice it to say, I had to explain I wasn't making up my own superhero every time.
The Emerald Archer made his debut during the middle of the Golden Age of Comic Books, and has remained a reoccurring character ever since. The first time I encountered Green Arrow was in the “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” series, dug up from my dad’s massive crate of old comic books. Notable for being a crossover series that actually lasted for more than one issue, “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” featured a fascinating more political take on the tried-and-true superhero duo started by Batman and Robin. Green Lantern was a super-powered space-cop, with a rigid personality and a conservative outlook, while Green Arrow (real name Oliver Queen) was a (comparatively normal) bow-wielding vigilante, with a street-wise quip for every situation and strongly liberal ideals. Despite its popularity, “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” was cancelled by DC Comics after only a few years of publication, much to my chagrin thirty years later.
Then, after years of declining his declining comic sales, being a minor (but reoccurring) character in the Justice League and Smallville television shows, and being dead for nearly a decade, Oliver Queen (Green Arrow’s secret identity) made his fateful return to television in the new series Arrow by CW.
And what a return it was! Building off of the more gritty and realistic take on superheroes started by Batman Begins, Arrow takes place in a new version of Green Arrow’s home turf, Star City (called Starling City in the show). And it’s not just the city which that has undergone a revamp, Starfish Island (where Oliver Queen becomes Green Arrow) has become Lian Yu, making a transition from deserted island to Chinese prison. All in all, the pulp-to-grit transition is pretty standard of the last decade in the genre.
But on to the less nerdy section of the review, Stephen Amell’s version of Oliver Queen is exactly what the doctor ordered. The god awful goatee and mustache are gone (although there is still some stubble), and Green Arrow is back to being a hunted vigilante rather than mayor of his local city. He’s not as politically active as he used to be, but in today’s polarized and stagnant political scene maybe that’s a good thing.
The impression I've gotten from Arrow is that the writers, producers, and actors take their work as an actual show, rather than the newest superhero entry (something Agents of Shield could really learn from). The island Oliver Queen was banished to for five years acts as an unfolding plot point which has an actual effect on his life, rather than just another bullet point for his character bio. It also opens up some character depth, and even some social commentary (since Oliver doesn't know anything that happened between 2007 and 2012, missing both large events like the 2008 Presidential Election, and pop culture fads like Jersey Shore). Arrow isn't just a show for superhero nerds like me, it’s a show that almost anyone can get into.
Before I wrap up this review, there’s a minor footnote I’d like to discuss. Unlike almost every other superhero (with the exception of the Punisher, of course), Arrow’s Oliver Queen kills criminals. It’s obvious he goes to great lengths not to, but the fact remains that he does. This is very atypical for this sort of genre, but it’s somewhat understandable. Green Arrow in the comic books would use silly things like “trick arrows” to ensure there were no fatalities in his enemies. That wouldn't fit into the new sort of persona that he’s put on for Arrow; when Oliver delivers his blood chilling line to his foes: “You have failed this city,” it would be pretty anti-climactic to have them then be KO’d by a boxing-glove arrow.
Overall, Arrow stands on its own both as an independent work and as a re-skin of a classic Golden Age superhero. It comes highly recommended from me, a nitpicky television nerd and a life-long superhero geek.
Before you, Reader, take any more steps further in this review, know this: the Green Arrow has been my favorite superhero since I was eight years old. When all the other kids would play superheroes on the playground, they’d all assume the roles of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, etc. and I’d play Green Arrow. Suffice it to say, I had to explain I wasn't making up my own superhero every time.
The Emerald Archer made his debut during the middle of the Golden Age of Comic Books, and has remained a reoccurring character ever since. The first time I encountered Green Arrow was in the “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” series, dug up from my dad’s massive crate of old comic books. Notable for being a crossover series that actually lasted for more than one issue, “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” featured a fascinating more political take on the tried-and-true superhero duo started by Batman and Robin. Green Lantern was a super-powered space-cop, with a rigid personality and a conservative outlook, while Green Arrow (real name Oliver Queen) was a (comparatively normal) bow-wielding vigilante, with a street-wise quip for every situation and strongly liberal ideals. Despite its popularity, “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” was cancelled by DC Comics after only a few years of publication, much to my chagrin thirty years later.
Then, after years of declining his declining comic sales, being a minor (but reoccurring) character in the Justice League and Smallville television shows, and being dead for nearly a decade, Oliver Queen (Green Arrow’s secret identity) made his fateful return to television in the new series Arrow by CW.
And what a return it was! Building off of the more gritty and realistic take on superheroes started by Batman Begins, Arrow takes place in a new version of Green Arrow’s home turf, Star City (called Starling City in the show). And it’s not just the city which that has undergone a revamp, Starfish Island (where Oliver Queen becomes Green Arrow) has become Lian Yu, making a transition from deserted island to Chinese prison. All in all, the pulp-to-grit transition is pretty standard of the last decade in the genre.
But on to the less nerdy section of the review, Stephen Amell’s version of Oliver Queen is exactly what the doctor ordered. The god awful goatee and mustache are gone (although there is still some stubble), and Green Arrow is back to being a hunted vigilante rather than mayor of his local city. He’s not as politically active as he used to be, but in today’s polarized and stagnant political scene maybe that’s a good thing.
The impression I've gotten from Arrow is that the writers, producers, and actors take their work as an actual show, rather than the newest superhero entry (something Agents of Shield could really learn from). The island Oliver Queen was banished to for five years acts as an unfolding plot point which has an actual effect on his life, rather than just another bullet point for his character bio. It also opens up some character depth, and even some social commentary (since Oliver doesn't know anything that happened between 2007 and 2012, missing both large events like the 2008 Presidential Election, and pop culture fads like Jersey Shore). Arrow isn't just a show for superhero nerds like me, it’s a show that almost anyone can get into.
Before I wrap up this review, there’s a minor footnote I’d like to discuss. Unlike almost every other superhero (with the exception of the Punisher, of course), Arrow’s Oliver Queen kills criminals. It’s obvious he goes to great lengths not to, but the fact remains that he does. This is very atypical for this sort of genre, but it’s somewhat understandable. Green Arrow in the comic books would use silly things like “trick arrows” to ensure there were no fatalities in his enemies. That wouldn't fit into the new sort of persona that he’s put on for Arrow; when Oliver delivers his blood chilling line to his foes: “You have failed this city,” it would be pretty anti-climactic to have them then be KO’d by a boxing-glove arrow.
Overall, Arrow stands on its own both as an independent work and as a re-skin of a classic Golden Age superhero. It comes highly recommended from me, a nitpicky television nerd and a life-long superhero geek.