Superhero comics have been political from the get-go, however some heroes are extra open about their political leanings than others. Because the Seventies, the DC hero most carefully related to politics — liberal politics specifically — is Oliver Queen, the unique Inexperienced Arrow.
As soon as little greater than a pro-capitalist Batman knockoff, it was Inexperienced Arrow’s outspoken, uncompromising (generally too uncompromising) political views that lastly let the character discover his area of interest. (The goatee additionally helped.) Most notably, throughout Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’s iconic run on Inexperienced Lantern/Inexperienced Arrow, Ollie brashly stood as much as the rich and immoral within the identify of defending the poor, the surroundings, and nearly anybody and anything that society deemed nugatory.
I’m glad to report that Chris Condon and Montos, the artistic staff behind the present Inexperienced Arrow collection, are persevering with this hallowed custom.
The “Fresh Water Kills” storyline started on the finish of Inexperienced Arrow #17 in October 2024, with the homicide of a businessman with a shady previous. Particularly, he was accused of constructing a housing challenge known as Freshwater on prime of a poisonous waste dump. The residents inevitably began getting sick and dying, whereas the businessman and others related to the challenge bought away scot-free — till years later when the Freshwater Killer confirmed as much as precise grotesque vengeance. Or is it justice?
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This storyline fits the present political local weather in methods the creators each meant and couldn’t have foreseen. For instance, Challenge Nineteen gave us this unbelievably well timed change between GA and Benítez, one of many cops assigned to the case, in regards to the homicide of a senator:
GA: “You protect the world from interstellar monsters and goons in pajamas…but the real crooks are duly elected. How do you fight that?”
Benítez: “Not by killing…”
GA: “No? Pin folks down long enough, they start to wonder if they even have a choice.”
Benítez: “So, what, you’re saying he deserved it?”
GA: “I’m just saying what goes around sometimes comes around, that’s all. It’s the universe’s way of saying you can’t get away with causing misery for profit.”
This problem got here out in December, the identical month that the UnitedHealthcare CEO, throughout whose tenure the corporate was sued for utilizing AI to disclaim care to aged sufferers, was shot on the street.
As he delves deeper into the killings, Inexperienced Arrow’s antipathy for highly effective males who use their affect to shore up wealth at everybody else’s expense is each unsurprising — in an interview, Condon repeatedly cites the O’Neil/Adams run as direct inspiration for “Fresh Water Kills” — and refreshing. He isn’t far more affected person with the police, calling them out for his or her callous dealing with of the case. On the similar time, he should additionally grapple along with his personal position (as but unclear) in driving the killer to such determined actions.
I’ve finished my greatest to keep away from spoilers right here, because the storyline remains to be ongoing. All I’ll say is that is precisely the form of story that Inexperienced Arrow — a “radical,” in Condon’s phrases, who is devoted to sticking up for extraordinary individuals — must be embroiled in, given what actual life appears like in the mean time. Oliver Queen is at his greatest when all the pieces else is at its worst. I stay up for seeing how he makes his nook of the fictional universe a little bit bit higher.