Although Mike Grell’s extensive eighty issue run was coming to an end, he still had more stories to tell involving Green Arrow. Most, if not all, point out Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters (read my review of it here from the very beginning) as the best part of the Grell run, which was the miniseries that continued into the Green Arrow (vol 2) title and I certainly agree with that. However, some forget that there was another miniseries which was released in early 1993, some months before Green Arrow (vol 2) 80 was released. That miniseries was known as Green Arrow: The Wonder Year, which was a retelling of Green Arrow’s origin and some of his earliest cases. I’m sure we all know the original origin of the archer, Oliver Queen, a boring millionaire, falls off of a boat in the ocean one night, but finds shelter on the land of Starfish Island. As Oliver was all alone, he begun to train with a badly made bow and after becoming a master in the field, he managed to get off the island by escaping in a ship belonging to criminals. Then, Oliver headed back to Star City, where he decided to fight crime by becoming Green Arrow. Obviously, parts of that story are incredibly silly and vague and due to that, the tone of the origin doesn’t fit Grell’s rather gritty and dark interpretation of the character. Because of that, Green Arrow’s origin is changed, for the first time, but not the last…
Green Arrow: The Wonder Year 1-4 was published from February to May 1993, on a monthly basis. While the story is pencilled by Mike Grell, it features inks and finishes by Gray Morrow and lastly, I have read this miniseries in the latter half of the Green Arrow: Old Tricks trade paperback.
THE PLOT
One night on a yacht, billionaire Oliver Queen meets his idol, Howard Hill, who speaks to him about archery. Then, Oliver, who is drunk, heads to the back of the yacht to vomit, but instead, he falls into the ocean and is left behind. Oliver manages to swim to a place named Starfish Island, where he trains with a bow and arrow to hunt for food. Days later, Oliver finds some marijuana consumers on the island, who Oliver forces to take him back to his home on Star City on their boat. Some time after, Oliver speaks with his butler, Wilson, about how he has lost his interest in money and business due to his primitive time on Starfish Island. However, Wilson warns Oliver that people in his company, Queen Industries, want Oliver to lose control over his company as they see him as a liability. Some time later in a Queen Industries board meeting, Oliver is bored, and the members of the board don’t want him there. Later on, in his office, Oliver’s secretary tells him that he has been invited to attend a fundraiser for the Democrat James Reynolds (a serious opposer to the Vietnam War), who is running for Congress. After Oliver tells his secretary that he will be attending the fundraiser, she reminds him that a costume shop wants to know when Oliver will give them back his Robin Hood costume, which he tells her that he will drop it off later. At the fundraiser, Reynolds speaks about his opposition to the war, which bores Oliver to the point where he doesn’t bother listening to Reynolds. Suddenly, Oliver notices a sniper climbing to the top of a nearby building, causing Oliver to think the sniper will try to kill Reynolds. Oliver manages to escape from the event and as Green Arrow, he diverts the bullet away from Reynolds by using an arrow. Although the sniper got away, Reynolds thanks Oliver gratefully and introduces him to his girlfriend, Kelli Harris, who Oliver seems to recognise. On the news that night, reports speak of the attack and explain how Oliver, who they are naming Green Arrow, stopped the assassination of Reynolds, who has confirmed that he is running for the presidency of the USA. Meanwhile, through a phone, Kelli speaks to the sniper, who she hired to kill Reynolds, but she is angry that he failed. Then, Green Arrow arrives, who calls Kelli
by her real name, which is Brianna. She then recognises Green Arrow as Oliver and the two kiss.
While the news continues to report on Reynolds, Brianna speaks with Oliver, who explains what has caused him to become Green Arrow. He explains that after coming back from Starfish Island, he grew tired of being rich and decided to attend a fancy-dress party for charity, where he dressed as Robin Hood. However, when he was out on the balcony, a thug in the room named the Gooch tries to steal money from the charity box by taking a hostage. However, the Gooch heads out onto the balcony, where he is taken out by Oliver using numerous trick arrows. This then caused Oliver to fight crime. After hearing the story, Brianna and Oliver begin to reminisce about the past and how they both met on a college trip bus. Brianna discovered that Oliver was a capitalist and as she was more liberal, the two began to have a political debate. Back in the present, Oliver explains to Brianna that his right-wing beliefs died after the murders of the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luthor King Jr. Oliver then explains that he knew that Brianna started an underground communist movement, consisting of undercover CIA members. Brianna then explains to Oliver that after the movement failed, she named herself Kelli Harris to speak to congress, meeting Reynolds in the process. Brianna then criticises Oliver’s decision to turn to vigilantism and that he looks like a joke and has become a caricature. Oliver then tells her that he knows that she arranged the assassination attempt on Reynolds to put him into the spotlight, causing him to run for the presidency. Oliver then leaves Brianne, telling her that even as Kelli Harris, she still risks being seen as a communist and that there are no limitations on justice for murder.
Back in the office, Oliver is furious with his secretary as she returned the Robin Hood costume back to the shop it came from. Oliver then phones up the costume shop, but they tell him that all of the Robin Hood costumes are out due to the popularity of Green Arrow. Oliver then convinces the shop to make a new custom Robin Hood costume by bribing them with money. In Reynolds home at night, he speaks to Kelli about his doubts about running for presidency due to the assassination attempt on his life among other things. However, Kelli comforts him and tells him that people will be interested in what he will have to say. Meanwhile, Oliver picks up his custom Green Arrow costume from the shop and phones Kelli (or Brianna as she is also known as), who asks Oliver what he is going to do about her assassination attempt on Reynolds, to which Oliver says he hasn’t decided yet. However, later on, Reynolds is driven in a limo to meet the press, but suddenly, the limo explodes, killing everybody inside, including Reynolds. While the news reports on this tragic death, the campaign team for (continues after image)
Reynolds looks for Kelli as she has to replace Reynolds as candidate for presidency. However, Kelli/Brianna has gone missing, but luckily, Green Arrow finds her in an abandoned building. Oliver tells Brianna that he believes that the persona of Kelli dies tonight, but he tells her that he knows that she rigged the limo to explode and kill Reynolds. Although Brianna tells Oliver that she was meant to be in the limo as well, he counters that by telling her that he knows that she rigged a van to explode outside of the biochemical research lab at their university campus years ago, resulting in the death of the janitor, which Brianna claims was an accident. Oliver then tells her that she destroyed the biochemical research lab in protest to bring about a change, which didn’t happen. Green Arrow then gets the truth out of Brianna about who was the sniper that tried to kill Reynolds, which she reveals was Del Zoukas, who Oliver remembers from his university days. However, before Oliver can even think about what to do with Brianna, he notices somebody outside. That person then fires a rocket into the building…
Using a golf ball arrow, Oliver causes the rocket to explode before it hits the building, saving himself and Brianna. However, the building is on fire and although the two of them escape, Oliver refuses to take out their attacker by killing him. The attacker escapes the scene, causing Brianna to get angry with Oliver, who constantly tells her that he is not a killer. Brianna tells him that he will be some day. After retrieving supplies and arrows from Oliver’s apartment, he and Brianna head to a cabin, where she phones Zoukas to tell him that somebody is after him due to his connection with the lab bomb at the university years ago. Brianna then tells Zoukas to meet her near the lake near the cabin. While Oliver and Brianna wait for Zoukas to arrive, the two confess their love for one another. Some time later, armed men arrive at the cabin, but luckily, Green Arrow takes them out with some help from Brianna. Oliver then discovers that the armed men are from the FBI and then, Zoukas arrives at the scene on his own with a gun, which he points at Oliver and Brianna. Although Zoukas admits that he has been part of the FBI since Brianna created her communist group, Green Arrow claims that he has known this for some time. Green Arrow then deduces that Zoukas and the FBI had tampered with the bomb that Brianna placed at the university campus years ago, resulting in a bigger explosion, killing the janitor, meaning that the public would condemn the communist group, who are strongly opposed to the Vietnam War. Unfortunately for the FBI, the janitor was killed and Zoukas decided to help Brianna, who was in hiding after the explosion. Due to that and the fact that Brianna could risk getting her background leaked to the public after the death of Reynolds, Zoukas attempted to kill Brianna. Although this failed, Zoukas revealed that he has rigged the cabin full of explosives, which will kill Oliver and Brianna. Then, Oliver delivers a shock to Zoukas when harsh lights turn on and it turns out that a recording crew have been filming the conversation live, meaning that Zoukas has been found out. Swiftly, Oliver takes out Zoukas, leaving him for the authorities. Afterwards, Green Arrow tells Brianna that her fate is in her own hands, but she will have to make up for it someday. As Oliver walks away, Brianna walks into the cabin and activates the explosives, killing herself while Green Arrow screams her name.
MY THOUGHTS
Although the story may not be as masterful or great as Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters (which are admittedly huge shoes to fill), I still think this story is pretty great and it features as a great character piece for Oliver Queen. In fact, that is the best part of the story. In fact, I’ll cover that before I get to the plot, but first, some background information! Before writer Dennis O’Neil reimagined the character of Green Arrow (who was created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp for More Fun Comics 73 (1941), Oliver Queen was pretty much a regular man without a character and Green Arrow was just a Batman clone with a bow, not to say that those early stories by great creators like Jack Kirby are bad, but the character was definitely lacking. But then, a character without character was given one by Dennis O’Neil. Whether it be in Green Lantern/Green Arrow or Justice League of America (vol 1), Oliver Queen and Green Arrow become one and the same. They became much more gritty, serious, liberal and most importantly… bearded. Anyway, this actually meant that Green Arrow had a character and The Wonder Year story adds to that excellently with detailed character developments. Before he is stranded on Starfish Island, Oliver is very much right wing, for the war in Vietnam and probably voted Republican. However, after coming (continues after image)
back to Star City, Oliver now knows what it is like to fight for his life and that makes him feel bored with money and wealth, meaning that over time, he becomes a lot more left wing and liberal, which is the character we tend to see in the “present day” Green Arrow stories. I think this change in character is great as the whole story features on the Green Arrow before he gets the beard if you like, resulting in the early Green Arrow actually having a character, as opposed to how he was from the 1940s to late 1960s. This is of course very much needed for this story because like in many other of Grell’s stories, they tend to be character based and Green Arrow is full of it here. The plot itself is very good as it deals with a variety of topics and tones, mainly all political based. Issue one of the stories focuses on Green Arrow’s origin, but it also features some great character moments, most notably Oliver ignoring the speech by James Reynolds. Again, this reflects his character change as we clearly see him bored and that lust for power which he has before Starfish Island is gone. The same goes for the board meeting, which he is bored sitting through. However, when Reynolds is nearly killed, that is when the plot of the story really gets going as it become a detective story and we want to know who the killer is. But, ironically, the best thing about that part of the story is the fact that we find out who is trying to kill Reynolds, which is his girlfriend, Kelli, most suitably called Brianna. The reason I like this addition to the story is because instead of wondering who the killer is, we are more concerned with the motives and the reasons behind the assassination attempt. Throughout the story, particularly the second issue, Brianna remains a constant mystery. We learn some background information about her and how she met Green Arrow, again, adding some great character moments that develop further through time. However, once we learn that Brianna is clearly part of a far-left movement and when we begin to hear about her bomb attack on the university that she used to attend, we can begin to connect the dots to work out what is really going on. Of course, we get another twist when Reynolds is killed, which seriously adds a new tone to the story. Beforehand, only one assassination is attempted on Reynolds life, but when he dies, it comes across as a shock as it sort of comes out of nowhere, particularly after the first assassination attempt was prevented by Green Arrow. Although the involvement of the FBI does seem out of place at first, it makes a lot more sense when you discover the true story from Zoukas. Basically, it is an FBI plot sparked by the government, who are for the var in Vietnam and due to that, they want to turn the public against organisations and pressure groups that want the war to end. It may seem devious… no… it is devious, but it just makes a lot of sense and I think it satisfyingly explains the reasoning for why Zoukas had to kill Brianne. This links to one of my favourite parts of the story, which is the ending. Brianna flat out kills herself, but the more you read
parts of the story, it becomes more and more obvious that she has to die, otherwise the story will feature a conclusion and aftermath that is not at all reflective with the current Green Arrow (vol 2) being published at the same time. In fact, I think that we should have seen the scene that followed the end of issue four, just for another reaction from Oliver as I think that this also could have created a decent piece of character development. Apart from that, I think every single scene featuring Green Arrow is excellent, such as the fancy-dress party, which has some fun and enjoyable references to other heroes in the DC universe. Plus, it also shows us Oliver’s first case as Green Arrow, which we obviously needed to see. Also, another great aspect of the story is the change in Green Arrow’s clothing. This may sound strange, but what I mean is that at the start of the story, Oliver is in a costume very similar to the one he had in the original golden age comics, but by the end, he has the costume that featured heavily in Green Lantern/Green Arrow, which fits a more grittier character for the archer (that being said, f*ck knows why Oliver wears a fake beard when he is Green Arrow in the latter part of the story).
If it wasn’t obvious enough, I think that the first three issues of this miniseries are excellent, but the story falls short a bit with the fourth and final part. This is due to the character of Zoukas, who just appears out of f*cking nowhere and we just seemingly have to accept him. I mean, I think his character should have at least turned up in the flashbacks in issue two, just to make us more aware of his character and who he is. Here, in the final version, he feels too much like a late and final addition to the story. Also, he is partly responsible for Brianna killing her boyfriend and as he is working for the CIA, why did he decide to help out Brianna after she set off the explosion at university. The FBI clearly want Brianna dead and as Zoukas was always working for them since the very beginning, why didn’t he just kill her. Speaking of Brianna am I the only one who finds that his communistic plot to end the Vietnam war too confusing and messy. Her boyfriend, who she killed seemingly just to get some sympathy with his views to stop the war, could have become President of the United States of America, but instead of letting him campaign to become the leader of the free world, she just decides to kill him. I think that the story could have been much better if Brianna had no involvement with the death of Reynolds, but it could be the FBI and Zoukas, which would have made for an interesting story.
Lastly, the art by Mike Grell and Gray Morrow is pretty good. As usual, Grell tells the story using his art excellently and the storytelling is incredibly visual and detailed. The inked finishes by Morrow look great most of the time, with some excellently lit panels that really take drama into account. There are times in the story where it can look a bit messy, with little scratchy lines being present a lot of time and areas where crosshatching is present, but isn’t needed, particularly in the background of some panels, but while it is a shame that Grell couldn’t paint this story over pencils, the inks by Morrow are good and interesting, certainly better than Grell inking himself in the 1990s, that’s for sure.
VERDICT
Overall, Green Arrow: The Wonder Year isn’t really a revised origin for Green Arrow, but more of a character piece for the archer the covers some of his earliest cases. The plot itself is great and while it does have some flaws, particularly in the latter portion of the story, it features some exceptional character moments, especially for Green Arrow. Also, thanks to Gray Morrow, the art looks incredibly presentable, interesting and nice to look at. The great thing about this story is that it features many great moments and there are hints to the main series, which is set years after this story, especially when Brianna tells Oliver that he will have to kill somebody some day (a foreshadowing of Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters 2). This story feels like the perfect bookend to Mike Grell’s Green Arrow saga, which certainly changed the character for a generation.
Story: 8.5/10
Art: 8/10
Highlighted Character: Green Arrow (Oliver Queen)
Next Review: Animal Man: Nature of the Beast (Animal Man (vol 1) 1-9). Written by Grant Morrison with art by Chas Truog, Doug Hazlewood and Tom Grummett. Expected to be published by 08/09/2019.
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