Its official; if you're going to put together a team of superpowered individuals, you're going to need a guy with a bow and arrows. Marvel has Hawkeye, and DC has Green Arrow, oddly enough these lesser heroes-at least compared to their teammates-have gotten a lot of public attention thanks to television and films. So with two archers owning screens I'm sure some people may be asking, "What's The Difference".
Mort Weisinger took inspiration from Edgar Wallace's novel "The Green Archer" when he created Green Arrow back in 1941. At first, Green Arrow was painfully similar to Batman as he had his own sidekick named Speedy, an Arrow-Car, an Arrow-Jet, an Arrow-Cave, an Arrow Signal, his archenemy was a clown-like criminal, and his alter ego was a billionaire playboy. Oliver Queen was a billionaire who became stranded on an island for five years, over time he learned how to survive in the wild, and he made a bow for hunting. When he returned to Star City, Queen became the crime fighting archer known as Green Arrow, using the skills he had picked up on the island. For many years Green Arrow was "diet Batman", but when Neil Adams and Dennis O'Neil got through with him in 1969, the character went through a physical and personal change that would far separate him from Batman. By this time, Oliver Queen/Green Arrow had lost his fortune and became an outspoken advocate for the underprivileged. He was a political left wing who opposed big business and stood up for equal rights in a time when comic books didn't often touch the subject. In 1970, Green Arrow was paired up with Green Lantern in a shared comic series. Green Lantern was the contrast to Green Arrow as he was a man of the government, a man who took orders from his alien superiors, and a man who depended on superpowers to aid him in crime fighting, Green Arrow on the other hand made it his mission to travel the country with Green Lantern and show him how the people of Earth have been moving on since his adventures in space. It was during this series that Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy would be revealed to be a heroine addict. This further tackled the real-world struggles Green Arrow stories told. This version of Green Arrow remained the standard for many years before CW's "Arrow" television show reshaped the character and influenced the comics to take a different direction. Always the voice of humanity, Green Arrow has been a constant second-tier member of the Justice League, his most prominent love interest is Dinah Lance/Black Canary, and he is well known for his creative trick arrows, the boxing glove arrow being the most infamous.
Stan Lee-praise be thy name-and Don Heck created Hawkeye as a villain for Iron Man back in 1964, but in 1965 he reformed and became a member of The Avengers with fellow former criminals Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch. Clint Barton and his brother were both orphans adopted by a circus group, they were taught in archery and performed in the circus with Clint taking the name Hawkeye. He was bullied into being a member of The Circus of Crime, which is where his criminal career began, but after witnessing his then love interest Black Widow become injured during a fight with Iron Man, Clint decided to be a crime fighter. Early on, Hawkeye often fought with his fellow Avengers, but came to respect and admire them as friends. While his affections have jumped from characters like Black Widow, to Scarlet Witch, to Spider-Woman, his main love interest has always been Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird, who he had both married and divorced. Hawkeye has also taken on different mantles, once using Hank Pym's size-altering particles to become Goliath, he also became the mysterious Ronin after coming back to life and allowing a young fan named Kate Bishop to be the new Hawkeye. When he returned to the Hawkeye role, he had no issue sharing the name with Bishop. His most recent achievement was being the leader of The Secret Avengers. Along with his exceptional acrobatics, sword-fighting skills and master archery, Hawkeye is also considerable strong. He uses a bow string that takes 250 pounds of force to pull back. Like Green Arrow, Hawkeye has a number of trick arrows to suit the situation, but his most impressive skill is his ability to "turn anything into a weapon" as he's used miscellaneous items as perfectly precise projectiles, his own nail clippings being the whackiest.
Green Arrow is a do-no-wrong voice of the common man. Hawkeye is a petty criminal making up for his mistakes. These two character walk the same road when it comes to their skills, but live vastly different lives. Someone like Hawkeye isn't afraid to put someone down, with the kind of tools he carries its not surprising. Green Arrow will vocally oppose unjust killing just as quickly as he'd oppose contamination of the environment or tax cuts for the upper class. They are both admirable characters for the themes they represent, in any other context these two wouldn't fall into the same category. It just goes to show you that in a world of masked men, sometimes your choice of weaponry can be the thing you're best known for. Thanks for reading!
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Stan Lee-praise be thy name-and Don Heck created Hawkeye as a villain for Iron Man back in 1964, but in 1965 he reformed and became a member of The Avengers with fellow former criminals Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch. Clint Barton and his brother were both orphans adopted by a circus group, they were taught in archery and performed in the circus with Clint taking the name Hawkeye. He was bullied into being a member of The Circus of Crime, which is where his criminal career began, but after witnessing his then love interest Black Widow become injured during a fight with Iron Man, Clint decided to be a crime fighter. Early on, Hawkeye often fought with his fellow Avengers, but came to respect and admire them as friends. While his affections have jumped from characters like Black Widow, to Scarlet Witch, to Spider-Woman, his main love interest has always been Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird, who he had both married and divorced. Hawkeye has also taken on different mantles, once using Hank Pym's size-altering particles to become Goliath, he also became the mysterious Ronin after coming back to life and allowing a young fan named Kate Bishop to be the new Hawkeye. When he returned to the Hawkeye role, he had no issue sharing the name with Bishop. His most recent achievement was being the leader of The Secret Avengers. Along with his exceptional acrobatics, sword-fighting skills and master archery, Hawkeye is also considerable strong. He uses a bow string that takes 250 pounds of force to pull back. Like Green Arrow, Hawkeye has a number of trick arrows to suit the situation, but his most impressive skill is his ability to "turn anything into a weapon" as he's used miscellaneous items as perfectly precise projectiles, his own nail clippings being the whackiest.
Green Arrow is a do-no-wrong voice of the common man. Hawkeye is a petty criminal making up for his mistakes. These two character walk the same road when it comes to their skills, but live vastly different lives. Someone like Hawkeye isn't afraid to put someone down, with the kind of tools he carries its not surprising. Green Arrow will vocally oppose unjust killing just as quickly as he'd oppose contamination of the environment or tax cuts for the upper class. They are both admirable characters for the themes they represent, in any other context these two wouldn't fall into the same category. It just goes to show you that in a world of masked men, sometimes your choice of weaponry can be the thing you're best known for. Thanks for reading!
Facebook: The Panel Biter
Twitter: @ThePanelBiter
Podbean: Panelbiter.podbean.com
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