Are you a fan of Green Arrow's protege? Well, here are One Dozen Roy Harper Facts!
1. Roy Harper was raised by a Navajo medicine man named Brave Bow. Under his wing Roy became an excellent archer and when Brave Bow died and Green Arrow legally adopted Roy, his archery earned the name "Speedy". Similar to the Arrow Signal, the Arrow Cave, and the Arrowmobile, Speedy was an element of the early Green Arrow books used to replicate the success of Batman.
2. Alongside Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl, Speedy was a founding member of The Teen Titans and remained an on-and-off member during the 80's. The character has made constant reappearances in multiple incarnations of The Titans and The Titans over the years.
3. Following his time as Speedy, Roy would also use the name "Arsenal", this name was inspired by Roy's ability to adapt and improvise in battle by using a multitude of objects as projectile weapons. In the mid-2000's he'd pick up the name "Red Arrow". During Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman's creation of that era's Justice League they picked Roy over Green Arrow because of the experiences Roy had been through and how well-adjusted he had become. Hal Jordan/Green Lantern (essentially Roy's uncle) and Dinah Lance/Black Canary (essentially his mother) give Roy a costume made by Green Arrow which was a red version of the Green Arrow costume. With the blessing of his mentors Roy became Red Arrow.
4. Roy's most infamous act was being outed by Hal Jordan as a junkie. Roy had been taking heroine behind Green Arrow's back. This story reflected the growing issue of drug-use by teenagers during the 1970's. Green Arrow disowned Roy and refused to speak to him until he got help. Roy's issues with drug use have popped up now and again, but in 2011's New 52 this addiction was switched with alcohol addiction much to reader's resentment. In 2017, it was switched back to heroine.
5. Roy Harper's team memberships have included The Teen Titans, Nightwing's Outsiders, The Justice League, The Seven Soldiers of Victory, The Titans, The Outlaws, and he served one mission with The Suicide Squad.
6. As a young adult Roy had fallen in love with the assassin Cheshire and accidently got her pregnant. She would later escape arrest from Roy and Nightwing and leave Roy their daughter Lian. While being a member of The Titans, Roy was a single father and often depended on the other Titans to help him raise Lian. During the event "Cry For Justice" all of Star City is destroyed by the actions of a lame D-list villain known as The Electrocutioner. One of the many people to die during this was Lian-who was about five years old. In addition to her death, Roy's arm was also cut off by Prometheus and he was poisoned. In the wake of all this, Roy received a cybernetic arm from Cyborg and relapsed into his addiction.
7. Roy's fall from grace left many fans upset with the mistreatment. Knowing this, Greg Weismen tried something different with Roy in his animated series "Young Justice". In the second season of "Young Justice" Roy becomes a sloppier and more self-absorbed superhero because of his search for the real Roy Harper. The Roy Harper of season one is actually a clone created to join The Justice League and infect them with mind-control technology. This Roy also has a child with Cheshire and goes by the name Red Arrow. When he finds and frees the original Roy Harper, he finds the origin hasn't aged past sixteen, is missing an arm, and suffers from severe mental issues. The original Roy becomes Arsenal, sports a cybernetic arm, and has a more Punisher-style of crime fighting. He eventually leaves Young Justice and leads his own team of young heroes. This was Weisman's way of splitting the difference between the edgier version of Roy and the most sympathetic version.
8. In ComicsAlliance's 2013 "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comic Books" Roy Harper was ranked number 50.
9. In an issue of "Red Hood & Outlaws" it was revealed during Roy's time away from Green Arrow he'd use his access to Queen Industries to steal superhero equipment and fight crime on his own. He was also taken in by Killer Croc in the sewers of Gotham City where Croc had been watching over teenage runaways and guiding them back to society.
10. A year after Roy's creation, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created Jim Harper as The Guardian. Jim was a police officer in Metropolis who decided to take the law into his own hands by becoming a vigilante, he wielded a badge-shaped shield, and was basically Joe and Jack's way of writing Captain America stories without Marvel's involvement. It was established that Jim was Roy's uncle. In 1976, a friend of Roy Harper and The Teen Titan named Mal Duncan became the next Guardian.
11. In 1967's animated series "The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure", The Teen Titans would appear in shorts between the two title characters. This version of the team included Aqualad, Wonder Girl, and Speedy. Speedy took the place of Robin due to the TV rights for Batman and Robin being in tanglement with the success of the 1960's Batman TV show with Adam West and Burt Ward.
12. In the "Teen Titans" animated series Roy Harper appears as Speedy, serving as a rival to Robin and member of The Titans East. Coincidentally, Roy would also appear as Speedy in an episode of "Justice League Unlimited" beside Green Arrow. In this appearance his costume is exactly like the one in the Teen Titans cartoon, leaving many viewers confused due to both cartoons not existing in the same universe. For more on this read "What If The Teen Titans..." which explores the possibility of the two shows secretly being connected.
Thanks for reading!
6. As a young adult Roy had fallen in love with the assassin Cheshire and accidently got her pregnant. She would later escape arrest from Roy and Nightwing and leave Roy their daughter Lian. While being a member of The Titans, Roy was a single father and often depended on the other Titans to help him raise Lian. During the event "Cry For Justice" all of Star City is destroyed by the actions of a lame D-list villain known as The Electrocutioner. One of the many people to die during this was Lian-who was about five years old. In addition to her death, Roy's arm was also cut off by Prometheus and he was poisoned. In the wake of all this, Roy received a cybernetic arm from Cyborg and relapsed into his addiction.
7. Roy's fall from grace left many fans upset with the mistreatment. Knowing this, Greg Weismen tried something different with Roy in his animated series "Young Justice". In the second season of "Young Justice" Roy becomes a sloppier and more self-absorbed superhero because of his search for the real Roy Harper. The Roy Harper of season one is actually a clone created to join The Justice League and infect them with mind-control technology. This Roy also has a child with Cheshire and goes by the name Red Arrow. When he finds and frees the original Roy Harper, he finds the origin hasn't aged past sixteen, is missing an arm, and suffers from severe mental issues. The original Roy becomes Arsenal, sports a cybernetic arm, and has a more Punisher-style of crime fighting. He eventually leaves Young Justice and leads his own team of young heroes. This was Weisman's way of splitting the difference between the edgier version of Roy and the most sympathetic version.
8. In ComicsAlliance's 2013 "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comic Books" Roy Harper was ranked number 50.
9. In an issue of "Red Hood & Outlaws" it was revealed during Roy's time away from Green Arrow he'd use his access to Queen Industries to steal superhero equipment and fight crime on his own. He was also taken in by Killer Croc in the sewers of Gotham City where Croc had been watching over teenage runaways and guiding them back to society.
10. A year after Roy's creation, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created Jim Harper as The Guardian. Jim was a police officer in Metropolis who decided to take the law into his own hands by becoming a vigilante, he wielded a badge-shaped shield, and was basically Joe and Jack's way of writing Captain America stories without Marvel's involvement. It was established that Jim was Roy's uncle. In 1976, a friend of Roy Harper and The Teen Titan named Mal Duncan became the next Guardian.
11. In 1967's animated series "The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure", The Teen Titans would appear in shorts between the two title characters. This version of the team included Aqualad, Wonder Girl, and Speedy. Speedy took the place of Robin due to the TV rights for Batman and Robin being in tanglement with the success of the 1960's Batman TV show with Adam West and Burt Ward.
12. In the "Teen Titans" animated series Roy Harper appears as Speedy, serving as a rival to Robin and member of The Titans East. Coincidentally, Roy would also appear as Speedy in an episode of "Justice League Unlimited" beside Green Arrow. In this appearance his costume is exactly like the one in the Teen Titans cartoon, leaving many viewers confused due to both cartoons not existing in the same universe. For more on this read "What If The Teen Titans..." which explores the possibility of the two shows secretly being connected.
Thanks for reading!
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