With The CW blurring the line between Green Arrow and Batman, the DC Rebirth is showing how they're opposites - and why it's so important.
By now, anyone watching Arrow has likely heard or taken part in a comparison between the TV hero and Gotham’s own vigilante: both scarred millionaire playboys, both donning masks and false voices to fight crime, and each realizing a life split in two can’t be a happy one. In all honesty, the comparisons didn’t even begin as a criticism; for many, Arrow was the Batman TV show that Warner Bros. would never allow to be made with such a high-profile character reserved for the big screen. But swap out Bruce Wayne for Oliver Queen, and proceed.
That in itself is more in keeping with the character’s roots than casual viewers might actually realize, since Green Arrow was created as a direct ripoff of Batman to begin with. Sure, he took his uniform and weaponry (and crusade) from Robin Hood, but with a sidekick, an Arrow Car, and an Arrow Cave, the similarities were hard to miss even as the first stories were being published. We’re not saying that the original creative teams would copy famous “Batman” stories, or steal villains outright, but as the two non-super-powered costumed vigilantes fighting evil with the Justice League, Green Arrow and Batman had more in common on the surface than readers could ever overlook.
But as Arrow began lifting more and more characters and arcs from the “Batman” mythology – relying most heavily on his Rogues Gallery, and even casting Oliver in Bruce Wayne’s role in Ra’s al Ghul’s master plan – the comparisons turned to criticism, accusations, and(admittedly clever) contempt. So as The CW show went on its summer break, there was no better time for the “Green Arrow” comic series, itself having taken some visual and character cues from the successful TV show, to remind readers of who Oliver Queen really is – and more importantly, why fans loved him in the first place.
