Oliver Queen

**Oliver Jonas Queen**, also known as **Green Arrow**, is a fictional character and hero in comic books published by the American company DC Comics. He first appeared in *Adventure Comics* #250 (July 1958), but his first appearance in *Swamp Thing* comics was in *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2, #24 (May 1984). He was created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp.

## History

As a young child, Oliver idolized his hero Robin Hood and was said to be a natural archer, frequently practicing with his bow and arrows. He was mildly traumatized the first time he accidentally killed an animal, but when his mother and father were mauled by lions in a tragic safari accident his hesitation to shoot cost them their lives.

Afterwards he was raised by his uncle and eventually inherited the family fortune and business. Queen grew into a rich, thrill-seeking, and drunken playboy with no real sense of responsibility or direction in his life. Everything changed when he fell off his boat in the middle of the ocean and washed ashore on the remote isolated Starfish Island, clutching a bow – a memento from a Robin Hood movie – which he had used to keep himself afloat, where he was completely stranded. During this time spent without food or shelter, Queen developed his skills as a hunter to survive and gained mastery over his bow. Having previously taken everything in his life for granted, this experience taught him self-reliance and made him into a man. His second test of new character was the discovery of drug smugglers on the island run by the ruthless international crime lord China White. Using his new skills, he attacked and destroyed their heroin operation, then delivered them to the authorities before returning home. Realizing that he had found his destiny, he chose to use his abilities and resources as a crime-fighter. With a nickname coined by the press, he made it his mission to protect Star City. He took his cue from Batman and built his own "Arrow Cave", complete with an "Arrowcar" and allegedly a yellow submarine. He and Speedy fought with trick arrows that were designed to be non-lethal.

## Powers and Abilities

### Abilities

* **Acrobatics:** He has displayed on many occasions that he is an expert in acrobatics, and often uses this skill while evading enemy fire.
* **Archery:** Oliver Queen is perhaps the finest archer ever known. He claims to be able to shoot 29 arrows per minute. He has a wide-variety of trick arrows, ranging from bola arrows to time-bomb arrows to his infamous boxing-glove arrow. In recent years he has used these arrows sparingly, preferring the time-tested simple arrow. Green Arrow has shown the ability to shoot an arrow down the barrel of a gun, pierce a drop of water as it leaves a tap, and shoot almost any part of the human body; although he aims only to wound and not kill when he shoots. He once shot two arrows down two different gun barrels while upside down, in mid-flip while somersaulting off a building.
* **Aviation:** He used to own and fly his own airplane called the Arrowplane. He still has some skill in flying different types of planes.
* **Cooking:** Green Arrow's Chili is one of the hottest foods on the planet.
* **Firearms:** Although not his preferred weapon, Oliver is very skilled in the use of firearms. He has displayed great accuracy with handguns and machine guns. He was even told by Deathstroke that he handles himself well with firearms.
* **Hunting:** Archery is by far Oliver's preferred method of hunting, however, the ability to hunt comes from years of training, patience and survival. He is proficient enough in hunting to pursue a cougar without it ever noticing.
* **Martial Arts:** He is proficient in several forms of hand-to-hand combat including Judo, Kickboxing and Karate. Proclaimed as a martial arts master, he has shown the ability to take on seven people at once. He spent several months dedicated to making himself a better fighter and trained with many of the world's finest martial arts teachers and even went through training from Natas, the same person who trained Deathstroke.
* **Eskrima**
* **Judo**
* **Kickboxing**
* **Karate**
* **Peak Human Condition:** Oliver spent a fortune to hire the world's foremost martial arts masters to train him until he was in peak physical condition.
* **Politics:** Ollie ran for office and became the mayor of Star City for a significant amount of time. He has since resigned from being the mayor and has continued to lean on political issues from time to time.
* **Stick Fighting:** Oliver has shown to be a highly skilled stick fighter, as displayed when he gained the upper hand in a fight with Arsenal, while using one of his Eskrima sticks.
* **Survival**
* **Swordsmanship:** Ollie is also very proficient with a sword, though it is not his preferred weapon of choice. He has beaten Jason Todd in a sword-fight and has deflected an incoming arrow with the sword he carries.
* **Throwing:** Oliver is a master marksman and possesses great aim with projectile objects such as darts, in addition to his skill in archery.
* **Weaponry:** Oliver is proficient in the use of an array of weaponry, including archery, sticks, and various bladed weapons.

## Paraphernalia

### Equipment

* **Custom Bow**
* **Quiver**

### Transportation

* **Arrowboat**
* **Arrowcar**
* **Arrowplane**
* **Arrowsub**
* **Jetpack**

### Weapons

* **Katana**
* **Trick Arrows:** During his Hard Traveling Heroes days, Ollie wore three quivers holding thirty arrows each.

## In other media

*Main article: Green Arrow in other media*