We all know and love the story of Bruce Wayne aka Batman but whose story is better? Batman or The Green Arrow? Although Batman’s story has been told far more often than most superheroes, is it possible that there is a better origin story out there? There aren’t many characters who can compare to the Big Bad Bat but one of the most similar characters is The Green Arrow aka Oliver Queen. Over the years we have had seven live-action Batmen, but only a handful of Green Arrow’s. No one told Oliver’s story better than the CW’s ‘Arrow.’
Both Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen come from old money and inherit their family companies which they use to fund their vigilantism. Both of them attempt to conceal their true identities by keeping up the charade of an immature, privileged playboy. Although these characters have several differences, there is one vital detail that sets them apart. Batman doesn’t kill but The Green Arrow does. Sure, there may be comics and some alternate universes where Batman has killed but for now, let us focus on the most familiar adaptations where he sticks to his original code. Batman’s only rule is that he will never take another human being’s life, but Green Arrow is solely worried about surviving.
Although Oliver may not sound like much of a hero after knowing that he kills, it makes sense given his backstory. Prior to returning to Starling City, Oliver Queen was shipwrecked onto what appeared to be an isolated island, but he quickly learned that he wasn’t alone. After his ship went down, he managed to get onto a life raft with his father and one other person. After floating around at sea for a significant period of time, his father realized that there was only enough food and water for one of them to survive. After this realization, he decided to sacrifice the men they were with along with himself. He committed a murder-suicide right in front of his son so that he could have a chance to survive. After washing up to shore Oliver is almost immediately shot with an arrow and captured. He is then thrust into chaos and forced to adapt to survive. He has very little time to comprehend what is happening, but his instincts kick in and he recognizes who and what the dangers around him truly are. At first glance, he may have appeared as an unintelligent, immature playboy, who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. However, he quickly discovered his potential to become the hero we know as, The Green Arrow.
Although the original mission was solely to escape the island known as, Lian Yu, it became more about surviving on a daily basis as new threats emerged. Oliver made a few friends along the way but unfortunately there always seemed to be more enemies to outnumber them, making them the underdogs. Since Oliver and his friends were always at a disadvantage, they had to train harder, fight harder, and be smarter than their adversaries if they were to survive this purgatory. Fortunately, he met several amazing fighters during his time on Lian Yu such as Yao Fei, who was his first mentor, his daughter, Shado, and Slade Wilson who inevitably became Deathstroke. All three mentors were highly skilled in combat and some were able to train him to become an expert marksman in archery. Every day on that island was a physical and emotional struggle. With each day that passed it felt more and more likely that he would never be able to return home. He was forced to kill to survive and he started to feel like he was someone else, like he was something else. He feared that he was losing a grip on his humanity and becoming a monster. He was afraid if he came home as the new person he had become that he might bring his shadow of darkness with him and that it might spread to those that he loved.
Eventually, Oliver managed to escape Lian Yu with the help of his new friends and allies but there were some casualties along the way. In the CW adaptation of, Arrow, we learn throughout the series that he was not actually stranded on Lian Yu for the entirety of the five years he was gone. At one point he was recruited by Amanda Waller, the director of A.R.G.U.S., after she saw his potential to be used as a weapon for the sake of the United States. Oliver did not want to accept her offer but Amanda Waller, being ruthless as usual, found a way to corner him into doing what she wanted. She threw him back onto Lian Yu for a mission because she knew he was the one person who was familiar with the entire island. She also forced him into joining a mission in Hong Kong where she attempted to bring out the worst in Oliver to achieve her goals by any means necessary regardless of the effect on his humanity.
As a child, Bruce Wayne was forced to bear witness to the murder of both his mother and his father. Something like that is enough to traumatize anyone, regardless of their age. The only parent he had left was his Butler, Alfred. Alfred raised Bruce as if he were his own son but no matter how well Alfred treated him, it was never enough to move on from the past. The murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne haunted Bruce and led to him wearing a cape and cowl. As someone who witnessed a murder, he vowed to protect the innocent from suffering the same fate. He made it his life’s work to protect the citizens of Gotham from any and all crimes in an attempt to cleanse the city he grew up in. Knowing how severely taking a life can affect someone, he created and maintained a code that consisted of one significant rule…absolutely no killing under any circumstance. He believes that a code like that is what separates him from the criminals.
The Dark Knight may have a code for not killing anyone regardless of their crime, but he took it upon himself to seek out training to prepare to fight the criminals of Gotham. He literally asked to become a weapon to prevent others from losing the people that they love and created a persona to strike fear into the hearts of Gotham City’s worst. The Emerald Archer had no choice in the matter. He did not seek out danger or training of any kind. He was shipwrecked, forced to watch his father commit a murder-suicide to give him a better chance to survive, and washed up on shore only to be shot with an arrow and captured. He had to adapt to his environment right off the bat…or die. He was captured and tortured more than once and by more than a few different threats. The more he was tortured and tested, the more he discovered what kind of person he truly was. You could argue that the Green Arrow is technically a murderer after he starts crusading around Starling City shooting people full of arrows upon his return, but it makes complete sense given his backstory. Ollie may start off having no issues taking a life, but as the series progresses, he begins to regain more and more of his humanity once he starts to let people into his life again such as Diggle, Felicity, Mia, and others. He is constantly trying to improve the person he is and never gives up hope. Batman may be a hero and have a stronger moral compass than the Green Arrow, but Oliver Queen has had more than his fair share of struggles which creates a more compelling backstory and redemption arc overall.
