Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: arrow, Batman, cw, entertainment, oliver queen, television

The GreenBat or The BatArrow?

By Kevin Carter

SPOILERS!

The CW's hit show Arrow has really taken superhero theme by storm. It's become one of the most well known shows on TV in the last few years and for good reason. One of my favorite things about Arrow is how well the creators are able to balance the flashbacks with the present day events. It's really cool how we as an audience are still learning more and more about Oliver's time on (and off) the island before he officially returned to Star City. I definitely enjoyed the Constantine cross over and how with this season we're diving into the realm of magic a little more than we've seen in the past. I am very curious about what villains the writers decide to use in the next season, but i'm trying not to get ahead of myself.

Now, my title does kind of suggest what I wanted to talk about today with you guys and it's something I'm just a little worried about. It's also something I want to know your opinions about as well. Obviously like many others I follow The Flash and Arrow on facebook and other social media because I enjoy seeing the photos from the set and getting a kind of inside look at the actors having fun with the show. I saw one comment that got me thinking though. A viewer was expressing his frustration with the fact that Arrow seems to be dipping into some Batman-esque concepts. Let's just take this current season for example because this season we've seen a lot of character progression and development. So far we've seen Thea battling with her bloodlust as a result of the Lazarus pit resurrecting her (still kind of disappointed they didn't let her character die, it would have been a good twist I think). Now she's sort of becoming this person who still hasn't come to terms with the idea that you don't always have to kill in order to serve justice (let's face it, if superheroes just killed all their enemies we'd have considerably less reading material). That reminds me a little bit of Damien, Batman's estranged son and one of his sidekicks. Due to the fact that Damien's mother is Talia and his grandfather is Ra'z Al Ghul, he wasn't exactly taught how to be nice. Because of his training as an assassin, he has many issues with the way Batman runs his show in Gotham and many times will disobey Batman's one golden rule. Let's also not forget to mention that Thea's bloodlust is a result of time spent in Nanda Parbat. Also, Thea is now related to the newest Demon King and he just so happened to train Thea in the best methods for killing people. Now it could be a major coincidence, but I really doubt that.

With the midseason premiere come and gone and the latest news of Felicity's condition after being ambushed by Darhk, I'm starting to see a very strong connection with Batman's Oracle. Felicity is Team Arrow's token hacker/damsel-in-distress/constant crier, but she's now wheelchair bound due to being shot in the back. So she's basically Oracle at this point. Of course we also have a detective and captain of the local PD who helps out our friendly neighborhood vigilante who's daughter just so happens to be a Vigilante as well. Now we have two characters who fit Barbara Gordon's cookie cutter image. Last but not least, we can't leave out Oliver Queen. The creators have done a great job of giving him a unique back story, they had to make sure at least one parent dies in the beginning because than it just wouldn't make sense for him to be a hero. That's not my issue though because than I'd have to have an issue with a lot of different superheroes and I'm not sure I have the energy for that. Oliver does, however, pose a striking resemblance to the Dark Knight. They're both brooding, they both have the golden rule, they both have a borderline psychotic relative who likes to kill a little bit too much, they both have a female hacker who happens to be in a wheelchair, and they both are (were, in Oliver's case) billionaires who owned large corporations at some point in time. Cookie cutter doesn't even cover it. Now I know that the Green Arrow character was first created as a kind of rip off of Batman, but this show has been doing good with originality, the writers just need to start making that transition from gloomy and brooding Oliver to snarky and sarcastic Oliver.

With all of that being said, I still enjoy the show a lot along with The Flash! I recently watched The CW's latest show Legends of Tomorrow, that first episode was pretty interesting. Anyways, that's my bit for the night, I hope you're all having a good weekend, and for those of you who are caught in this blizzard please stay off the roads and be safe!

Talk to me on Twitter @KevinCarter9!

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