When Arrow was first announced, I will fully admit that I was skeptical. Green Arrow has always been a lesser version of Batman and only really works when he is in opposition to other heroes. Cranky old liberal Green Arrow is a riot and fun to watch. Young, attractive, bad actor could never make me like Oliver Queen.
Fortunately, Stephen Amell is not a bad actor and the show has created a great DC Universe – something I didn’t think could happen outside of a Superman or Batman TV show.
First, let’s talk about Stephen Amell and how awesome he is.
Sure, he works out like a superhero, but what makes Amell so awesome is how much he has embraced the role. His Facebook page is filled with comic book jokes, signal boosts for charities, and pics of his family. He interacts with his fans and seems to really appreciate the love he’s getting. I realize that it may be just a really good publicist or team of publicists working on his image, but it really feels like he is happy doing what he’s doing.
Beyond his image, he’s a perfect Oliver Queen. As a young man, Ollie is tortured, haunted, and torn between violence and heroism. Amell could easily play the part as whiny and unsure, but he is commanding in the role and he nails the moral ambiguity.
As awesome as Ollie is, his supporting cast is just as fantastic and the universe has really grown over two seasons. Diggle is a fantastic partner on the show to the point where he has been introduced in the comics. Roy Harper is a bit weak, but he’s by no means obnoxious. Huntress seemed out of place when she first appeared, but her chemistry with Ollie really made the Batman supporting character fit with Arrow really well. Black Canary, the League of Shadows, Deathstroke, Amanda Waller – all have been introduced on the show and all have worked really well.
Hell, they made lame D-grade villain Count Vertigo into something interesting!
And I never thought we’d ever see a Flash tv series ever again, but here we are and that’s all because of Arrow.
For all of the complaints about the WB movie franchises, they have developed something really wonderful on TV. But, I think I can explain that.
People have strong opinions about what can be in Batman and Superman movies. I’ve already attacked Dark Knight Rises for not being a Batman movie, and I’ve not written a review of Man of Steel but the short version is that I liked it but I get why you don’t. They are two characters who are very definite. But Green Arrow is nebulous. He can be a lot of different things because no one would put him as their favorite superhero (and don’t be that person who comments below and is all “I’ve always loved Green Arrow” because no you don’t and you’re not impressing anyone).
Yes, Arrow borrows a lot of characters from the Batman-mythos because Green Arrow’s rogues gallery isn’t as defined, but this isn’t a show about a lesser Batman. It’s about a man trying to clean up his city and learning that he is far from perfect. There’s no manual for what he’s doing and he makes a lot of mistakes, but that’s what allows him to grow.
We don’t want to see Batman fail. We want a confident, perfect Batman.
But, we can see Ollie fail. We can see him kill and then realize that he shouldn’t. That can’t be on a Batman series because Batman doesn’t kill. Ever.
So, I may have been skeptical of the show and I may have ranted about it when it first started, but somewhere along the way, it won me over. It’s more than I ever expected and I love it.
