There is much to react to in the New History of the DC Universe: inclusions that laudable, regrettable, tragic, and absurd.
But not much that is as laugh-outloud funny as this is:
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| One of these things is not like the others. |
Like most decent people, I ignored the whole "Leviathan" crossover, knowing full well that its after-effects on continuity would be zilch. But, as a result I sadly missed the fact that it included Green Arrow among "the world's sharpest detectives".
Tee hee.
Ollie may be the world's sharpest archer (or just have the world's sharpest arrows), but as I have noted here repeatedly "Ollie is no detective". I'd like to think he just overheard something about this group and decided to add himself to it whether he was up to snuff or not.
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| Just as he did with the Justice League of America. |
Batman and Robin? Obvs. The Question? Makes sense; like Lois Lane, he's an investigative reporter, besides it's built into his name and his whole schtick. Manhunter, a crusading D.A., who also covered the "Mark Shaw" angle of it all. Plas, whom foolish writers dismiss as a goofball, was (and may still be) an FBI agent for most of his comics career. But... Green Arrow?
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| The ability to use a calendar does not make you a detective. And it doesn't take a detective to know when Hal Jordan messes up. |
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| He never even noticed his ward had become a junkie. Really now. |
I suppose the rationale was that the Leviathan thing was a big conspiracy and Ollie is the kind of person who goes for that sort of thing, but... yeah, no, the Question has that angle covered.
If that group really needed a seventh, there are innumerable better or more natural choices. If you just needed a Real Detective, you had Tim Trench, Slam Bradley, Jason Bard, Jonny Double, The Human Target, et al. If you needed a "super-" detective you had the Elongated Man, Detective Chimp, Sam Simeon, et al. If you needed another A-lister besides Batman, there was Flash, Martian Manhunter, or even Hawkman.
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| I'm not sure Hawkman would have been my choice, but there is precedent, and at least one version of him IS a police officer. |
I can only assume Ollie was chosen by default. They DIDN'T want someone too super-powerful (Plas doesn't really count and neither does Manhunter, because I mean "super powerful enough to give the group too much of an advantage"). They wanted a "street level" investigative team, with enough of an anti-authoritarian bent to get their hands dirty but enough clout to cover their keisters.
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| And if you're trying to keep things quiet, Hawkman isn't your first choice. |
7 comments:
The Human Target would have been a really good choice; a master of disguise could always come in handy.
In the Bronze Age, Ollie was an investigative journalist, but that's kind of a stretch in the modern era. And of course, Lois Lane renders him completely irrelevant in that department.
I had to laugh at Ollie calling Hal out. Has he been binging on "Encyclopedia Brown" adventures? "Encyclopedia Queen drummed his fingers on the gasoline can contemplatively, while Sally Lance stared at Bugs Jordan menacingly. At last he said triumphantly: 'You may have convinced the Guardians you're an honest man, but Diogenes couldn't find you with a lantern of ANY color.'
"How did Encyclopedia know Bugs was lying?"
- HJF1
"In the Bronze Age, Ollie was an investigative journalist". Wow, I missed that month! Was that before or after Ollie, the man capable of alienating everyone in the JLA with his attitude, was a Public Relations consultant?
Maybe 1980-1981, when GA was featured in "World's Finest". Mind you, he was mostly reporting small-time corrupt developers and the like, and was closer to a columnist than an investigative reporter. As stated, whatever talent he brings to the table is rendered fully redundant by Lois Lane.
- HJF1
I actually read this and have no recollection of it, so I guess that tells me everything I need to know about the storyline. I did go check on Ralph and Sue's status -- apparently they are alive again, which meets with my approval. Back on topic, though, it's weird that DC constantly contorts Ollie into various roles, considering his most widely-known depiction (on TV's Arrow) is an ass-kicker, not a deep thinker. I'm generally reluctant to say "hey, do it like they did on [this other media]" but maybe they should lean into that a little?
You know, Bryan, ya got me thinking. I like the framing of Ollie as the guy with the big social conscience, who doesn't look at things in black and white. The problem is, he serves no useful purpose doing that in the Justice League. Who exactly are his foils, Superman and Wonder Woman? They're both known for being incredibly humane even to villains. Batman? Ollie wants to BE Batman.
If Ollie's not useful in the Justice League, where would he be useful? What team or setting would allow him to contribute something of value with that attitude? And what I come up with is, a more benign alternative to the Suicide Squad. Find some villains or grey-area adventurers who are at least willing to work for that dreamy Bruce Wayne; Ollie could be the team captain and the guy who keeps them on the straight and narrow.
Batman had his Outsiders team 40 years ago, and in the new 52 Ollie was part of a new more different Outsiders. So this almost has roots.
- HJF1
I really like the idea of Ollie and the Outsiders. It makes more sense than Batman doing it, as long as Ollie is rich again and can bankroll it. A more proactive approach to justice would fit Ollie just fine. "You have failed this [insert city/state/country/region here]."
It occurs to me that classic liberal Ollie would be a sucker for, some people turn to crime because of lack of opportunities, so make them a better offer using their talents non-criminally.
I like to imagine Ollie financing the whole operation, while Green Arrow gripes about "that fat-cat Oliver Queen trying to buy his way into heaven with good deeds". And the various criminals are all, "but ... you're Oliver Queen, right?" And he keeps denying it but they're all "dude, you're totally Oliver Queen."
In the "Injustice" comic, Ollie and Harley Quinn had a pretty good rapport; his grumpy good intentions played well against her flightiness. (Google for "injustice green arrow harley quinn" if you want to see some scans.) She'd be a fine ongoing irritant to Ollie.
- HJF1
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