The latest issue of Green Arrow sees another hero donning Oliver Queen’s hood and wielding his bow as part of an effort to save the billionaire’s life. Ironically, this comes at a time when there is a big mystery regarding a new Green Arrow on Arrow, with that character not taking up Oliver Queen’s cause and costume on the television show.
Recent issues of Green Arrow have seen Oliver pitted against a new vigilante called The Citizen. Previously targeting white-collar criminals who had bribed the police to escape justice, The Citizen’s efforts took a more revolutionary approach when he abducted a slum lord…and beheaded him with a guillotine after putting the man’s fate to a social media vote. When Oliver Queen became The Citizen’s next target for killing a young woman while drunk-driving and was abducted, somebody else had to save the day as the Green Arrow to protect Ollie’s life and secret identity.
Related: Green Arrow Shows How The Black Canary Romance is Done
As Green Arrow #47 opens, Oliver Queen is trapped in an electric chair as The Citizen broadcasts to his followers, calling out Green Arrow for protecting the lives of one-percenters like Queen. Suddenly, the signal of the broadcast and the power to the chair is cut off, thanks to a carefully released EMP Arrow shot by a figure who looks like Green Arrow, save for a mask completely concealing their face under the hood.
The figure easily knocks out The Citizen, revealing herself to be Green Arrow’s girlfriend, Dinah Lance (aka Black Canary) under the mask.
There is some irony in this story, given the current storyline on Arrow, where a new Green Arrow has begun protecting Star City following Oliver Queen’s incarceration earlier this year. The mystery of the new Green Arrow’s identity has been a major plot point of Arrow‘s seventh season, and one early theory suggested that Black Siren – the evil alternate-Earth version of Laurel Lance – might have taken up Green Arrow’s mantle in a bid for redemption. This theory was later disproved by the episode “Due Process”, which confirmed that none of the main cast of Arrow were masquerading as the new Green Arrow.
Sadly, those Arrow-heads hoping to see Black Siren donning Green Arrow’s hood were disappointed. Still, Black Canary fans can take heart and know that their favorite heroine is still kicking butt and taking names in the pages of Green Arrow. Following this issue, it is clearer than ever why Oliver Queen says he “can’t live without his Pretty Bird… literally.”
Green Arrow #47 is now available from DC Comics.
