Warning! Spoilers ahead for Green Arrow #16!Everything Green Arrow Has been rebuilding for the last year was destroyed with the two words he hoped he would never have to hear. The scales fell from Team Arrow’s eyes after seeing the extent of Oliver Queen’s shocking new life choices.
Amanda Waller has gone all-in in an effort to take down the DC Universe’s meta-human population. In a moment that surprised every member of his family, Oliver decided to work with her, going so far as to reject his superhero identity. Now Green Arrow faces his family for the first time since his turn to the dark side, and they only have one thing to say to him.
Green Arrow’s team calls him a fascist
Oliver Queen is called the very thing he once fought
in Green Arrow #16 By Joshua Williamson, Amancay Nahuelpan, Sean Izaakse, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Troy Peteri, Waller’s side is starting to lose when the heroes start mounting a proper defense. She scrambles to assemble all her forces, but Green Arrow and her multiversal soldier Bright are in the middle of a fight on a cargo plane heading straight for the Hall of Order. Team Arrow is also there as Queen manages to save Arsenal’s daughter Leanne from the cyborg villain. Connor Hawke teams up with his father And the two Green Arrows fight side-by-side to defeat Broad.
Green Arrow offers no explanations and has every member of Team Arrow arrested by Waller’s Task Force agents.
Bright tells the duo his true origin, revealing that he was from Earth-3 and once a hero known as White Lantern, who was betrayed by his world version of Green Arrow. Tired of the multiverse and Bright’s presence, Connor and Oliver unleash a wave of arrows at their opponent and manage to knock the villain off the plane (although Oliver is sure Bright will survive the fall). Team Arrow manages to land the plane right outside the Hall of Order and Green Arrow tells Connor how proud he is to see him take Oliver’s mantle.
The rest of the family turn on Oliver, asking what’s going on with him and why he’s working with Amanda Waller of all people. Green Arrow offers no explanations and has every member of Team Arrow arrested by Waller’s Task Force agents. Oliver ordered his family taken to the Hall of Order for processing and to send them to Waller’s island prison Gamorra as soon as possible. As the heroes are leading away, a betrayal and hurt Speedy looks back at Green Arrow hurling insults at him, including “You succeed!“.
The Green Arrow family says what every fan has been thinking
Oliver’s new path goes against his leftist principles
Fans of the Emerald Archer know that he’s been one of the DC Universe’s most socially conscious heroes for decades. Comic book icon Dennis O’Neil infamously elevated the Queens character by writing Green Arrow as a more leftist character. The “Hard Travelin’ Heroes” era of Green Lantern / Green Arrow Showed the principles of Oliver when he crusaded against corrupt businessmen and other people who use the disenfranchise. Green Arrow’s more left-leaning beliefs have remained a constant For the past few decades.
Don’t miss O’Neil’s classic run on The Emerald Archer Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard Travelin’ Heroes.
But while taking a stand against big business and corrupt rulers was Oliver’s cause, he shocked the world when he agreed to start working with Amanda Waller. Waller intentionally kept Team Arrow separated as a means of manipulating Oliver and unfortunately it worked. When Green Arrow confronted Waller, she revealed that she was preparing for a war against metahumans and needed someone she could trust on her side. Waller promised that if Oliver worked with her, his family would remain whole and safe And surprisingly enough, Green Arrow agreed.
…Oliver told them all that he was no longer Green Arrow and that he ‘believed’ in Waller.
To his credit, Green Arrow told his family that he was simply working a long connection against Waller. However, things changed dramatically at some point and Green Arrow had a new task force agent costume. After putting on a great show for Arsenal, Cheshire and Lyon, Oliver tells them all that he is no longer Green Arrow and that he ‘believes’ in Waller. While Team Arrow is ordered to stay on Arrow Island, Green Arrow went to work alongside Waller’s all-amazo team Task Force VIIWhich drains almost every hero on Earth of their powers.
Green Arrow’s family didn’t trust him anymore
They finally reunited only to fall apart
As shocked as Team Arrow is at Green Arrow, the truth is that Oliver is likely working Against Amanda Waller. He went off on his own, collecting relics such as time travel gear and a contingency once given to him by Martian Manhunter. Although the extent of his plans have yet to be revealed, it’s a safe bet that Green Arrow is just playing Waller and doing what he has to to stop her from winning at Absolute power. But even if he is not a traitor, It’s clear that Green Arrow has destroyed the trust his team had in him.
… Everything Oliver did by hiding his true intentions fell into the same pattern of behavior.
The Green Arrow Series followed Oliver as he rebuilt his family and forced the hero to confront the mistakes of his past. He realized the value of family and how important people are to him. And while he may have intended to protect Arsenal, Speedy, Connor, and everyone else on Team Arrow, all Oliver did by hiding his true intentions was to fall into the same behavior. But unlike previous times, this is much worse because Green Arrow actively participated in an attack on the superhero community of the entire DC Universe.
Fans who have taken a look at solicitations for future Green Arrow Titles may have noticed that Oliver seems to have some solo adventures lined up. But that’s not exactly a shock, considering just how hurt his family is portrayed here. Yes, Oliver can do what he thinks is right, but Green Arrow’s decision not to tell his family what is going on has earned them their hurt and disapproval. They might even be disbanded over it, or at the very least, Keeping Green Arrow at a distance until they can find it in them to forgive him.
Can Green Arrow get back into his team’s good graces?
Oliver Queen loses his family
Green Arrow fought like hell to get his family back and he broke a lot of rules to keep them safe during absolute power. But no matter his intentions, Team Arrow has every right to feel angry with him. Oliver probably knew when he decided to work with Waller that there was no good option, but that he would rather have his family hate him and be alive than what Waller had planned. hope, Green Arrow Will find a way to make his family see him as something other than a fascist.
Green Arrow #16 is available now from DC Comics.
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