Green Arrow in other media

Green Arrow, a DC Comics superhero, has appeared in media other than comic books over the last thirty five years, including animated shows, live action productions, and video games.

Animation

The first television appearance of Green Arrow was a single guest spot in an episode of the original 1973 incarnation of "Super Friends". He was voiced by Norman Alden.

Green Arrow is a recurring character in the animated television series "Justice League Unlimited" and was the first new hero introduced in the revamped series in the episode "Initiation." In this version, Queen is reluctant to join the League as he believes that being associated with a group that tends to focus on extra-normal threats will distract him from his primary goal: protecting "the little guy." However, his strong leftist political convictions ("I'm an old lefty" from the episode "Flashpoint") and his sometimes irreverent advocacy of them are key reasons the Justice League insists on recruiting him as a prominent voice of the team. Queen is still a billionaire, having sold his company to devote to his volunteer and activist activities exclusively, and develops a strong romantic attachment to Black Canary over the course of the series. Speedy makes one appearance during the show in the episode "Patriot Act". While Queen refers to Speedy as his "ex-sidekick," Speedy prefers the term "ex-partner." He was voiced by Kin Shriner.

Green Arrow made a cameo appearance in the Season 4 finale of "The Batman", "The Joining" along with Green Lantern, Hawkman and the Flash. The Green Arrow's appearance is reminiscent of his 1970s comic counterpart. The character made a full appearance in the season five episode "Vertigo". This version of Green Arrow is motivated largely by a desire for revenge against Count Vertigo, a former employee who used technology stolen from Queen's company to strand him on a desert island. He was voiced by Chris Hardwick.

Green Arrow will appear in "". His design resembles his Golden Age interpretation. James Arnold Taylor will voice him.

Live action

Television

Green Arrow made his first direct appearance as a young Oliver Queen near the end of the episode "Sneeze" of the sixth season of the Superman series "Smallville". Played by Justin Hartley, Green Arrow was on the show for seven episodes. Lois Lane was his love interest during his appearances. As in the comics, he is known as "Ollie" to his friends. After a rough start, he becomes a trusted ally and friend of Clark Kent by his last appearance. Green Arrow retains his many unique arrows and demonstrates expert archery skill, along with skilled use of a crossbow. Green Arrow also makes extensive use of an adapted Hoyt Compound bow, shot using fingers, rather than an archery tab or release aid, although his gauntlets serve as both a shooting glove and an armguard. He returned in Season Seven for the episode "Siren" and will return in Season Eight as a series regular. Season Eight sees Oliver discover it was Lionel Luthor who murdered his parents, and also shows flashback sequences to his desert island origin story.

Movie

David Goyer and Justin Marks penned a script for a movie starring Green Arrow originally called "Super Max". On June 5th, 2008, the film was retitled "Green Arrow: Escape from Super Max". The reported storyline is that the hero (framed for a crime he didn't commit) must escape a high security prison filled with B and C list villains and rogue superheroes.

MTV recently posted an interview with Marks on its site. In it, he says the following:

"It's a very, very awesome prison. I majored in architecture in college, and design is how I actually started in. For 'Super Max,' designing that prison, it had to be the kind of thing that was a character in and of itself," Marks said. "We're in a world where instead of just trying to contain a guy who's really big, you're trying to contain a guy who can — in the case of Icicle — who can freeze things. What kind of a cell would a guy like that need in order to have his powers neutralized? So to escape from Super Max they have got to go through the most elaborate heist we've ever seen, involving superpowers. Because the prison itself kind of has superpowers!" He added that Black Canary won't be making an appearance in the film, and that it will include cameos from the Riddler, Lex Luthor and the Joker. It is unknown if this film will have any continuity ties with "Superman Returns" or "The Dark Knight", the latter being very unlikely since Nolan's Batman universe hasn't shown any signs of being populated by superhumans.

Video games

* "Justice League Task Force" Sega Genesis/Super NES fighting game (this Green Arrow being Oliver Queen).
* Green Arrow is an unlockable character in the 2006 video game "Justice League Heroes" voiced by Ralph Garman. He can be unlocked by paying 76 orange shields on the menu screen.

References