Green Arrow (Connor Hawke)
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| Green Arrow | |
 Connor Hawke, by Derec Donovan |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Green Arrow vol. 2, #0 (1994) |
| Created by | Kelley Puckett Jim Aparo |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Connor Hawke |
| Team affiliations | Justice League heir to the Queen fortune |
| Abilities | Master archer Master martial artist |
Green Arrow (Connor Hawke) is a DC Comics superhero. Created by Kelley Puckett and Jim Aparo. Connor is the son of Oliver Queen, the original Green Arrow, and his former girlfriend Moonday "Sandra" Hawke. Connor Hawke first appeared in Green Arrow (volume 2) #0 (1994).
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[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Meeting Ollie
Connor Hawke met Oliver Queen after Ollie came to stay at the ashram where Connor had been studying for some years. Ollie had previously retreated to the ashram decades before, looking for peace after accidentally killing a criminal (in The Flash [2nd series] #217). Ollie returned to the ashram under similar circumstances, haunted by the thought that he had killed his former best friend Hal Jordan, who, at the time, was involuntarily serving as the host of the supervillain Parallax. Thanks to Connor, who was a big fan of Green Arrow, Ollie was able to regain a semblance of inner peace and venture out into the world again, especially after numerous attempts on his life had been made.
Connor decided to journey with Ollie, and created a costume similar to his. Connor served as Ollie's sidekick, also meeting with Eddie Fyers, the former federal agent that acted as a form of counsel for Ollie. It was during this time that Ollie learned about his connection to Connor (albeit from the ghost of Hal Jordan): Connor was Ollie's son, conceived during Ollie's college years - a truth that Eddie Fyers had already deduced. Ollie didn't take it well and stormed off, agreeing to go undercover in an eco-terrorist group called the Eden Corps for the government. The mission turned out to be fatal for Ollie, as his arm was connected to a bomb in a plane that was headed for Metropolis. Rather than endanger Metropolis, and refusing to allow his arm to be amputated, he sacrificed himself to let the bomb explode away from the city. With his father dead, Connor decided to take up the mantle of Green Arrow and continue his hero's work.
[edit] The new Green Arrow
Connor continued to travel with Eddie, accompanied at times by Connor's martial arts mentor Master Jansen. Connor tried to find his place not only in the hero world, but also in the legacy of Green Arrow. Akin to the friendship between his father and Hal Jordan, Connor became quick friends with the new Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, who himself was struggling to live up to a legacy. Connor also met Black Canary (Dinah Laurel Lance), Ollie's former and longtime romantic interest, who gave him one of Ollie's old bows, which Connor would use from then on (though the news that Ollie was dead had sent Black Canary, who was already suffering from a string of misfortunes – loss of income from the destruction of her florist shop and the loss of her superhuman ability – into a despair, it was finally ended by her association with Oracle and she was Oracle's agent by the time she finally met Connor).
Besides making other friends such as Robin (Tim Drake), he also made significant enemies in the fighting world, including the Silver Monkey, an assassin and member of the Monkey Fist martial arts cult. Their first encounter resulted in a decisive loss for Connor, which was also filmed and sold underground. Connor's close win in a rematch resulted in a loss of face for the Monkey Fist cult and set Connor on a path that would bring him face to face with Lady Shiva, said to be the deadliest assassin in the world. During the Brotherhood of the Fist storyline, the Monkey Fist schools attacked various world-class martial artists attempting to prove their worthiness and skill after having been dishonored by the Silver Monkey's loss. Under the alias "Paper Monkey," Shiva arrived in Gotham City where Connor had allied with Batman, Nightwing, and Robin. Shiva's final opponent was Connor, who was the prime target of the Monkey Fist. Though a close and taxing contest, Shiva was the victor, with Connor unconscious and defenseless. Thankfully, Shiva's old pupil, Robin (Tim Drake) who had saved her life during a previous encounter, asked her not to kill Connor, trading a life for a life. After warning Robin that using the favor now meant she would challenge and kill the boy wonder when he was older, she refrained from killing Connor and departed. Batman warned Connor that he would be perceived as surviving a battle with Shiva through his own skill and would therefore be a possible target for any fighters building their way up to a battle against her.
Connor also applied for membership in the JLA, replacing his father. On the date of his second interview, he singlehandedly saved the League from the hands of the Key, defeating the Key's robots by using his father's old trick arrows after the Key had destroyed his own. In the end, he knocked out the Key using his father's trademark boxing glove arrow, and was accepted as a member of the JLA.
He would later be used by Batman as a "traitor" in the League in a ploy to defeat Lex Luthor's Injustice Gang. Connor left the League afterward, feeling he was better suited for the street-level work and out of his element in the epic adventures of the Justice League, although he did remain on reserve status. He and Eddie returned for a time to the ashram where Connor was raised, although they both often returned to the outside world, aiding Robin at one point when his Brentwood Academy roommate had been attacked by a demon, and again when Robin, Spoiler, and Batgirl were attempting to protect Robin's father from an ancient cult.
[edit] Return to action
When Ollie returned from the dead, Connor left the ashram and tracked him down. After Connor managed to save his father from the evil wizard Stanley Dover- a 'blood seal' had been placed around the house that meant that only someone related to anyone in the house could get in- Connor and Ollie moved in together in Star City. The two live with Mia Dearden, a runaway that Ollie has taken in and trained as his new sidekick Speedy. Since returning to the superhero life, Connor has been wounded seriously twice, once by the villain called Onomatopoeia and once by Constantine Drakon, but he continues in his hero role. He is the voice of reason for Ollie, and the two have since formed a real father-son relationship. During his recovery from Onomatopoeia's attack, Oliver Queen and his former sidekick Roy Harper went on a trip across the country recovering old possessions. One of them was an old photograph which revealed that Oliver had been present at Connor's birth, but later ran from the responsibility of being a father. Oliver kept this fact from his son. However, Connor already learned the truth years ago from his mother, and has already forgiven him without Ollie's knowledge.
[edit] "One Year Later"
After the events of Infinite Crisis, Connor is revealed, in Teen Titans vol. 3, #34 (2006), to be on an island with Mia Dearden and Oliver Queen as Ollie trains for his return to Star City.
In November 2006, Connor starred in his own six issue mini-series, entitled Connor Hawke: Dragon's Blood. It was written by Chuck Dixon with art by Derec Donovan. Dixon stated, "A big surprise leads to major changes in Connor's life, particularly as it relates to his father." [1].
At the end of Tony Bedard's Black Canary miniseries, Connor takes Dinah's adoptive daughter Sin to a safe location at Oliver's request. After the wedding of Oliver and Black Canary, Connor resumes the mantle of Green Arrow after it is believed that his father has once more been killed. Along with Dinah and Batman, Connor is one of the few people who believes that Ollie is still alive. His suspicions are confirmed when it is revealed that Ollie is being held captive by the Amazons, and Connor and Dinah decide to stage a rescue attempt. Following the rescue of Ollie, as the family is reunited, Connor is shot through the chest by an unknown assailant. After taking Connor to the hospital, Ollie learns from Mia that Connor already knew of his father's abandonment. The doctors and Hal Jordan are able to save his life, but the bullet was coated with a devastating toxin, leaving Connor in a persistent vegetative state that he may never emerge from. Oliver is devastated by the knowledge that his son may never wake up and that Connor had forgiven him years ago. He vows never to leave his son again.
However, after Oliver and Dinah return home from getting married (the first marriage being void, with an imposter posing as Ollie), the nurses tending to Connor are found dead, with Connor himself missing. Oliver begins a quest to find his missing son.
[edit] Ethnicity
Connor is of mixed Asian, African, and European heritage (his mother was half black and half Korean, and his father Ollie is white), and was originally depicted with Asiatic features, dark skin, and fair hair and eyes. However, when the Green Arrow series was rebooted, the character design was changed to have European features and light skin, even though a childhood picture in the later Archer's Quest storyline depicted him with dark skin. Connor's original features were later restored with Dixon's Dragon Blood miniseries. He now appears to have Asian American facial features.
[edit] Parentage Confusion
There has been some confusion in recent years about the identity of Connor's mother. Throughout the later issues of the first Green Arrow series written by Chuck Dixon, Connor's mother was identified as Moonday Hawke; a flighty ex-Hippie, who had reportedly been one of many conquests for a young Oliver Queen. Moonday played a frequent supporting role in the series, often requiring rescue due to the machinations of her husband - an arms dealer named Milo Armitage, who would be a frequent foe of the new Green Arrow.
Shado, an assassin who also mothered a child with Oliver Queen, is often incorrectly identified as Connor Hawke's mother. One reason for this is because of a Wizard Magazine issue, which incorrectly identified Connor's first appearance in comics being in Green Arrow vol. 2 #24. While this was the first appearance of Shado's infant son (who was later revealed to be named Robert), Connor appeared as a man in his early-twenties in Green Arrow vol. 2 #0. Both Robert and Connor were seen together, many years apart in age, in Chuck Dixon's 2007 Dragon's Blood miniseries.
The issue has been further confused by Birds of Prey #109, in which Barbara Gordon incorrectly identifies Shado as Connor Hawke's mother when running down a list of women whom Oliver Queen "cheated" on with long-time girlfriend Dinah Lance. Writer Tony Bedard has acknowledged this as "just a good old fashioned fuck-up on my part." [1]
[edit] Powers and abilities
Connor possesses no powers; he is merely an expert archer (although not the natural his father is). Due to his influence[citation needed] most of the "arrow team" has begun to use regular pointed arrows consistently. However, they will still engage in use of trick arrows when needed.
Due to Connor's training in the ashram, he can mimic fighting styles that he witnesses, though this is a learned skill and not a metahuman power. Writer Chuck Dixon used the Brotherhood of the Fist storyline to establish Connor as being among the best hand to hand combatants in the world. One Year After Infinite Crisis, Connor furthered his training, and like his father and Mia, is able to wield a sword proficiently.
According to the 2007 miniseries, "Connor Hawke: Dragon's Blood", Connor has possibly received some measure of immortality, enhanced strength, and speed by bathing in the blood of a dragon. However, no mention of this has been made since the mini-series.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ [Wizard #177]
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