Green Arrow

Originally introduced as not much more than a mix of Robin Hood and Batman, the Green Arrow was one of dozens of heroes who debuted during the Golden Age of comics. Like his hero Robin Hood, millionaire playboy Oliver Queen dressed in a classic medieval style archer costume, and had a ward, Roy Harper, who was his sidekick Speedy. Aside from being a billionaire hero and having a teen sidekick, almost everything about Green Arrow seemed influenced by Batman—had had an Arrow Cave, an Arrow Car, and there was even an Arrow Signal made to summon him. Together, Green Arrow and Speedy were members of the wartime Seven Soldiers of Victory.

His origin story, however, was different than the Batman’s. Originally, Oliver Queen was a museum curator and an archeologist, whose area of expertise was Native American cultures and hunting techniques. One day, his museum was burned down by criminals, so a newly lost Queen ends up travelling to a place called Lost Mesa to search for more artifacts. Once there, Ollie finds young Roy Harper, the survivor of a plane crash that killed his parents. Luckily, the Harper family’s Native American friend Quoag also survived the crash, and he winds up teaching Harper archery and other survival skills. Unfortunately, Ollie’s been followed by criminals who believe he can lead them to hidden Native American treasures. They wind up killing Quoag, so Ollie and Roy use their archery skills to fight these criminals, and begin their careers as Green Arrow and Speedy.

Although an imperfect man, prone to make mistakes in his personal life probably more than most other costumed crusaders, the Green Arrow is nevertheless on the greatest heroes in the entire DC Universe. Whether fighting solo, with his paramour the Black Canary or with his fellow heroes of the Justice League, the Emerald Archer is one hero anyone would be lucky to have their back.