Warning: Spoilers for Green Lantern/Green Arrow: The World's #1 Best SpecialHowever Green Arrow faced many villains over the years, he never managed to find his own iconic rival, but he came close to Deathblow. That said, their first meeting has never really been explained – until now. Fans will finally get to see the first confrontation between the two that would begin a decades-long rivalry.
Green Arrow and Green Lantern seem like the perfect match, and it looks like DC agreed considering they both starred in the iconic Heroes that are difficult to travel story by Dennis O'Neil, Neal Adams, Mike Grell and Dick Giordano that followed the two characters traveling across America together. This story became so popular that DC decided to revisit it with Green Lantern/Green Arrow: the best special in the world #1 by Jeremy Adams and Lucas Meyer.
This special one-shot is not only a return to one of the best moments in these characters' history, but it also reveals one of the first times Green Arrow and Green Lantern faced off against Deathstroke. Although Deathstroke is not a recurring Green Lantern villain, Green Arrow has faced him several times and developed something of a history with the one-eyed mercenary.
DC finally reveals Green Arrow and Deathstroke's first meeting in a new The best in the world Special
Green Lantern/Green Arrow: the best special in the world #1 by Jeremy Adams, Lucas Meyer, Marcelo Maiolo and Lucas Gattoni
Being a mercenary, Deathstroke doesn't really care who he fights; as long as the money is good, he'll go after whoever he has to – which is why he's faced off against heavy hitters like Flash, Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow. Although he is primarily a villain for the Titans, specifically Nightwing, he has fought Green Arrow quite a bit over the years. It got to the point that they could easily be considered rivalsbut the exact context of the first meeting has not been explored before. This new issue will cover one of the first times Green Arrow actually faced Deathstroke, which would later become a regular fight for Ollie.
It's true that Green Arrow doesn't have the connection to Deathstroke that a character like Nightwing does. However, they still had some pretty unpleasant encounters with each other. Right after the entire DC line One year later story arc after Infinite Crisis, Deathstroke was hired to kill the mayor of Star City, who was none other than Green Arrow. In response, Green Arrow sought out Deathstroke's master, Natas, and learned everything he could from him. With these developments, the two characters have a much deeper connection than someone like Batman has with Deathstroke, for example.
Green Arrow studied under the same mentor as Deathstroke, connecting them forever
An attempt to understand Deathstroke's murderous mind
When most fans think of Green Arrow, they think he's just a guy who knows how to use a bow. But he is also a master swordsman, a skill he learned specifically from Natas and later used to defeat Deathstroke when he returned to his city. On the surface, it's easy to think that Green Arrow and Deathstroke have no connection, but they've been fighting for a long time and have a surprisingly deep rivalry – much deeper than one might imagine. Now readers are finally seeing one of their first dates and exactly how from Green Arrow rivalry with Deathblow started.
Green Lantern/Green Arrow: the best special in the world #1 is available December 18, 2024 from DC Comics!