Symbolically, a villain should oppose everything a hero represents. Superman is a physical powerhouse who uses his abilities to help other people. Contrastingly, Lex Luthor is a mental dynamo who uses his gifts according to his own greed. Green Arrow has never really had a supervillain who was his equal and opposite. However, there’s a new bad guy in Star City whose actions seem ready to test both the Emerald Archer’s abilities and his temper.
Written by Chris Condon, with art by Montos, Green Arrow #25 finds Oliver Queen and Roy Harper together again. The former mentor and sidekick bonded over a battle with longtime enemy Count Vertigo. However, the night was not yet over for Arsenal.
As Roy Harper was leaving Green Arrow’s apartment, he encountered several unhoused people who were suffering physically. The final one Roy found was coughing up blood and still had an arrow stuck in his chest. Roy was then confronted by a costumed archer, who referred to his victims as “pitiful things.”
The issue ends with Roy Harper being shot with one of the killer’s special hypodermic arrows. The drug it contains, dubbed Crimson Sand, is quite lethal and very painful. The masked archer introduces himself as the Crimson Archer, before leaving Roy for dead.
Crimson Archer is everything Green Arrow and Arsenal are not
While his motives are not yet clear, Crimson Archer clearly has a deep disdain for the unhoused. However, it is not enough for him to kill the downtrodden and needy. He also has to mask their deaths as drug overdoses. This is not to cover his tracks, however, but to further dehumanize his victims, painting them as addicts not worth saving. This stands in opposition to Green Arrow and his role as a modern day Robin Hood who fights for those in need.
The Crimson Archer is also established as a worthy archenemy for Roy Harper. Visually, his costume seems to be a dark parody of Arsenal’s. However, the former Green Arrow sidekick is also a recovering heroin addict. This adds insult to injury in the Crimson Archer’s attack on Roy Harper. It also insures that the Emerald Archer will be even angrier once he hunts down the Crimson Archer.
Green Arrow #25 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
