The ‘Green Arrow’ aka Oliver Queen has been a main stay in the DC comic’s universe since his 1941 debut but has only recently made the transition into mainstream audience viewing with the character appearing in The CW’s Arrow and Smallville. In this series of editorials, I will look at a variety of actors playing the same superhero role across different TV shows and films. I thought I would start small and see how the Green Arrow has fared on TV.
Arrow (2012 – present); Stephen Amell
Since its debut last year, Arrow has been a hit with fans and critics alike but is this down to leading man Stephen Amell’s portrayal of the playboy turned crime fighter? Well, er kinda. The show takes inspiration from the gritty realistic tone set by The Dark Knight film series which works wonders for a character like arrow. Amell, in my opinion, plays a remarkable Green Arrow but I cannot help feel that he lacks a certain charisma in his take on Oliver Queen. Queen is one of the womanisers of the DC world and this just isn’t felt in Arrow due to his tangled relationship with Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy). The effects of Oliver’s five years stranded on an island are felt through out the whole show and in Amells’ performance. Likewise in the comics, Green Arrow was changed by his experience and this shaped him to be a better person. In Arrow, Oliver caries around the baggage of his time and still tries to put on a brave face for his family and friends and this makes his friendly and flirtatious personality seem forced at times and unnatural. One of Arrows strengths is its diverse supporting cast. The show dives deeper into the Queen family and I find this relationship of lies and mistrust interesting to watch. Diggle (David Ramsey) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) Arrow’s sidekick and tech whiz are one of the shows gems. They act as a sort of mini-team aiding the ‘hood’ in missions in Starling City and Felicity provides the comic relief whilst Diggle has his own interesting story lines, especially with Deadshot. Arrow has also really fleshed out Oliver Queen’s origins as the Green Arrow, which is important in understanding the character. One of my favourite characters in Arrow is Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) and I look forward to him becoming the Red Hood. Overall, Arrow is an amazing adaption of the comics and includes many villains and characters from the books but with a no powers sort of rule. I think Arrow could benefit with some super powered characters but who knows what the future of the show holds.
Smallville (2001- 2011); Justin Hartley
The Green Arrow first appeared in Smallville’s Sixth season episode ‘Arrow’ funnily enough. Smallville has been heavily criticised for years for its portrayals of DC comic’s characters but I think Justin Hartley brought life to Oliver Queen. Hartley played Queen in a lighthearted tongue in cheek manor and could also tackle Olivers darker side including a drinking problem . This captured the essence of Queens’s personality brilliantly. Oliver dated many women in the show including a well-done relationship with Lois Lane. Yes, his relationships didn’t stick to the comics with him ending up married to Chloe Sullivan but they were fun and romantic to watch unlike Arrows heavily saturated ‘romance’ with Laurel Lance. Smallville also gave the Green arrow a costume similar to the comics and actually referred to him as green arrow! Green Arrow had a range of trick arrows and tech ala comics. Smallville was a superman show primarily but there were a few episodes dedicated to the character of green arrow with one in particular featuring the dark archer. In Smallville, Oliver’s family were dead and very few characters from the Arrowverse appeared which is unfortunate. Green Arrow appeared as a founder of the Justice League and featured in many team up stories, which would be good to see in Arrow. Where Arrow really develops his crime-fighting counterpart, Smallville lacks much development and Hartley didn’t suit up as much as I’d like. On the other hand, Smallville did succeed in developing Oliver Queen, something Arrow should do more of. To conclude this part, Hartley played an excellent Oliver Queen but in the Green arrow department, he sadly lacked development and was often used as an occasional sidekick.
The Future
Could we see arrow shoot from the small to silver screen, well its possible. With increasing talk of an uber TV/Movie verse, I would not be surprised to see Arrow on the big screen. Should it be Stephen Amell or another actor? I would love too see Amell joining Affleck and Cavil to save the world, but do you?
So who wins?
Well both really! Arrow has developed an outstanding action packed show with some superb story lines and a great Green Arrow and Smallville has created the perfect Oliver Queen in my eyes and I know many will disagree with that but its just my opinion.
Thanks for reading, the grammar and structure might be a bit off but I’m just starting to write and please comment who your favourite GA is and what you’d like to see come next.