The Green Arrow is one of DC’s most consistently underrated superheroes, no thanks to his earlier depictions placing him as a more gimmicky, inferior Batman substitute. But beginning just ahead of the Bronze Age of Comics, Neal Adams gave him a much-needed makeover, giving him his signature goatee and newer costume while, appropriately, working alongside Batman in The Brave and the Bold. But it’s been 57 years since then, and Green Arrow as a series has undergone plenty of transformations, reinventions, with his perhaps most radical change yet having arrived in Absolute Green Arrow.

Admittedly, this latest transmutation of the Green Arrow legend is entirely on purpose with the Absolute Universe, although his particular story helmed by Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque has created an undeniably thrilling mystery this time around. Rather than the significantly less well-funded Bruce Wayne or timing of Kal-El’s landing in Kansas, this origin story, rather than having Oliver Green survive a different origin scenario than Starfish Island, has him not survive at all, with an entirely unknown masked archer donning his motifs and mission. The Green Arrow, or Longbow Killer, is seemingly standing in as Oliver Queen’s replacement, with the biggest mystery being who is under the hood this time around.

4 Issues In, And The Green Arrow’s Identity Is DC’s Most Tantalizing Summer Mystery

Truly living out its best Slasher Summer imaginable, Absolute Green Arrow has been on an astounding sales run, often only behind Absolute Batman for overall comics sold across the market. This is thanks in large part to the strength of its writing, visceral combat visuals, and its central mystery which is increasingly eroding any delusional faith in Queen surviving his initial fate of washing ashore with his head bashed in by Hawkman. Killed ahead of his attempt to properly bring Jubal Slade to justice, his ex-girlfriend Dinah Lance was even plagued by visions of Queen, afflicted with similar Miraclo traits as those of Absolute Solomon Grundy, only for issue #4 to leave little room for doubt.

The sight of Oliver Queen’s dismembered remains dug from his grave as a particular Hail Mary pass for Hector Hammond’s research goals of immortality meant one thing: the Green Arrow Killer stalking Star City’s elite is undoubtedly Oliver Queen’s replacement. Multiple suspects have been thrown around, and now with the masked slasher having one hand poetically chopped off only after recently severing Hammond’s, the Green Arrow will hardly stay a mystery for much longer.

The Green Arrow Killer’s Identity Will Be Revealed This Fall

After a thrilling four issues of Absolute Green Arrow, theories are beginning to progressively get ruled out, suspects are being whittled down, and the identity of the Green Arrow Killer is suggesting more than one candidate for Oliver Queen’s “clone”. Taking on his passion for archery and overall mission to a bloody extreme as his city’s corrupt wealthiest citizens are cut down one-by-one, this copycat was suspected to be one of three people: Roy Harper, Mia Dearden, or Tom Hallaway. Put in other terms, that’d be any other DC universe’s Arsenal, Speedy, and Spider, three archery-themed fighters with various connections to Queen and GreenArrows Trading.

However, recent revelations are beginning to make certain connections unlikely, unless the Green Arrow Killer has been a moniker adopted by all three. Hallaway has fallen victim to Dr. Iker’s Moreau-esque experiments, losing the feeling in his legs and having six hands grafted to his torso, as a twisted nod to the spider emblem on his head. Dearden has apparently gone into hiding, and doesn’t seem to bear a matching physique to the killer; not that comics haven’t found a way around that before. Harper seems a legitimate candidate, especially as he slipped away conveniently before the Green Arrow Killer resurfaced, so Dinah may need to check for both of his hands in their next encounter.

Beyond even that, from theories about Hawkman carrying out a brutal penance for serving a corrupt cause resulting in Queen’s death, to fringe possibilities like resentful bodyguards or other noteworthy canonical archers like Malcolm Merlyn already in the series, the possibilities are still noteworthy for now.

There’s still room to speculate that Queen’s DNA or brain were salvaged somehow, with the killer possibly bearing his posthumous vengeance quest. After all, a vengeful, rejuvenated but corrupted Queen was possibly foreshadowed in Lance’s vivid dream sequence where Queen is shown with a similar condition as Grundy’s; wearing a mask would certainly keep a lower profile than the Resident Evil G-Virus-style disfigurement. With Absolute Green Arrow’s confirmation of expanding from six to 12 issues for its run, the ultimate reveal is confirmed only to set up the stage for the next chapter of its stars in the Absolute Universe, so there’s promise of the excitement only growing in the months to come.

Created by

Mort Weisinger, George Papp

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Green Arrow