When Mort Weisinger and George Papp created Green Arrow for DC Comics in 1941, the character was a pretty shameless knockoff of Robin Hood and Batman. Green Arrow had an Arrow-cave, an Arrow-signal, a suspiciously Robin-like sidekick named Speedy, and even an alter-ego as a millionaire playboy. Subsequent Green Arrow writers and artists eventually gave the character a more distinct identity and ideology.
But some of the Batman influences remain in The CW’s Arrow, which raided several minor Batman adversaries in its early seasons to beef up an otherwise unimpressive roster of villains. Even Arrow Season 3’s big bad, Ra’s al Ghul, is better known as one of Batman’s archenemies.
While making an appearance at Heroes & Villains Fan Fest, Arrow star Stephen Amell was asked who would win if his character fought Batman. “Me,” answered Amell. “What do you want me to say? Well, Batman’s more experienced and his costumes cooler, and Arrow’s just a ripoff, so Batman would win for sure. No, I would win, absolutely.”
It’s good to have self-confidence, and the Arrow TV series essentially treats Green Arrow as if he was the Batman of that world. Despite the restrictions that keep Batman and Superman from appearing in The Flash and Arrow, there have been small hints that Gotham City exists in that universe. Tara Strong provided Harley Quinn’s voice in a small cameo in Arrow Season 2, but a full guest appearance for Harley Quinn was nixed by the powers-that-be. The rest of the Suicide Squad was also written out of Arrow to help pave the way for the Suicide Squad movie.
But that hasn’t stopped fans from wanting more Batman villains on Arrow. Amell was also asked if the Joker could appear on his series. He replied “Well, I mean, the short answer is yes, of course. Within the DC Universe, if they are in the DC Universe, if you were to ask if Iron Man could come to Arrow, I would be like, ‘Well, no, probably not.’”
“But of course, The Joker could come to Arrow, Batman could come to Arrow, Superman could show up on The Flash,” continued Amell. “There’s a whole myriad of options because again DC and WB have a slate of films coming up, and those films happen, and maybe Arrow’s still around when they’re done. Or maybe there’s a change and people are just like, ‘You know what, let’s invest in something that’s doing well for us.’ So you never know.”
Who do you think would win in a fight between Amell’s Green Arrow and Batman? Or for that matter, who do you like in a battle between Green Arrow and the Joker?
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