Green Arrow is a hero that often gets looked down upon. People see Green Arrow and ask what he can do that Batman can't? Besides the archery he's outclassed in every category. They're both peak humans, and sure Green Arrow has trained with dozens of martial arts masters, but Batman's training is better. Yes, Green Arrow has a team of inventors working for him, but Batman has all of Wayne Enterprises. It leads to people asking, why do we need Green Arrow?
First, Green Arrow is tenacious and spontaneous. Batman rushes to save people from muggers and carjackers, sure. But, when it comes to a major villain he always takes his time and does his research before he goes after them and comes up with a brilliant plan. Green Arrow is different, he rushes into situations with no plan. It doesn't matter if it's Brick or random robbery. He puts his entire life on the line every time because he'd rather die, than let others die because of his actions, unlike Batman.
You may think I'm just taking the chance to make fun of Batman, but I'm not. Badman proves to be the opposite of Green Arrow in many ways. For instance, when Jason Todd died, Batman reluctantly soon took on another apprentice in Tim Drake. When Tim Drake seemingly died, Batman moved on to Duke Thomas. Batman has no problem moving on when one sidekick becomes inactive for one reason or another. Green Arrow cares about his sidekicks. When Roy Harper was discovered using heroin, that was it. Green Arrow didn't take another side kick for decades. Literally it took decades before he accepted Mia Dearden and even then he only allowed her at the constant insistence from his son Connor. Even after accepting her he didn't allow her on some missions. He shows time and time again that he cares about people, not only around him, but the people he protects as well.
Even with all that, he's still a genius. Oliver rushes in with no plan but he's always calculation and has been praised by other heroes on his ability to adapt to any situation. While he often rushes in there are times he's proven that he has the ability to create strategies as well as others. On one occasion, while serving as mayor he lured Deathstroke to his office in an assassination attempt, only to evade him as Oliver, return as Green Arrow and trap him in a hidden pit and leave him surrounded by the military. Other events such as Identity Crisis where he was able to erase the minds of villains as well as subdue and have Batman's mind erased as well. He showed his skill by keeping this hidden right below the noses of the core Justice League, on their grounds, for years. Even when caught red handed he managed to escape without any of them knowing. While in some depictions he has a small team to create his trick arrows, in many he's shown to create them himself.
But, there's one main reason Green Arrow is important, to the entire hero universe, he's just a normal person. I know you're saying heroes like Batman and Question are just normal people as well. But, sometimes in their arrogance they tend to forget that. Batman went toe to toe with Darkseid, showing no fear because he was confident he could win. The Question has interrogated some of the strongest beings on Earth and now views himself as a supernatural entity in the Trinity of Sin. They view themselves beyond that of an average hero, and that's why Green Arrow is important.
He reminds them that at the end of the day, they're gods among men. Sometimes they forget that to the average person, they're scary. Shazam could easily be Black Adam. What if Batman decides he wants to be Owlman. These heroes are only different than the villains they fight because of which side they're on. They can forget how powerful they are compared to us, and in that struggle, they tend to forget about the normal people. That's why Green Arrow is important. In Justice League Unlimited he states, "I don't belong up here, fighting monsters and supervillians. I just help the little guy and a big club like this, you tend to forget all about him."
He doesn't bring some incredible skill to the table that other heroes can't fill. He brings a heart and a conscience. Something that other heroes tend to forget when taking on terrorist like The Joker, world powers like Lex Luthor, masterminds like Max Lord and so on. But, at the end of the day Green Arrow is taking on mob bosses like Brick, he's taking on drug lords like Count Vertigo. Green Arrow is there to remind heroes to care.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
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