Roy Harper (comics)

Roy Harper

Roy Harper as Red Arrow.
Incentive variant cover to Justice League of America vol. 2 #11. Art by Gene Ha.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance as Speedy:
More Fun Comics #73
(November 1941)
as Arsenal:
The New Titans #99
(July 1993)
as Red Arrow:
Kingdom Come #2 (June 1996) (alternate)
Justice League of America (vol. 2) #7 (May 2007) (mainstream)
Created by Mort Weisinger
George Papp
In-story information
Alter ego Roy William Harper Jr.
Team affiliations Teen Titans
Justice League
Suicide Squad
Checkmate
Outsiders
The Outlaws
Partnerships Green Arrow
Nightwing
Red Hood
Starfire
Notable aliases Speedy, Arsenal, Red Arrow
Abilities
  • Exceptional athlete
  • Expert archer
  • Expert marksman
  • Highly experienced hand-to-hand combatant
  • Occasionally uses trick arrows
  • Robotic arm with an arsenal of weaponry (Vic Stone technology pre-Flashpoint)
  • Ability to create highly advanced technology and gadgets (New 52)

Roy Harper is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe. The character first appeared as Green Arrow's teenage sidekick Speedy in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941) by which he was known for over fifty years. The character's modern-day version was an early member of the Teen Titans who later assumed the identity Arsenal in The New Titans #99 (July 1993), and became a member of the Justice League of America under the guise Red Arrow in Kingdom Come #2 (June 1996) or Justice League of America (vol. 2) #7 (May 2007).[1] The character made his live action debut in the television series Arrow portrayed by Colton Haynes, initially appearing in the first season and eventually donning the Arsenal/Red Arrow moniker in the third season as the partner, sidekick and student of Oliver Queen.

Fictional character biography

1941–1992: Origin, Teen Titans, addiction and fatherhood

Green Lantern vol. 2 #85, featuring Roy Harper's addiction

Roy Harper was raised by Brave Bow, a Navajo medicine chief, after his father, a forest ranger, died in a forest fire. Under Brave Bow's tutelage, Roy became a remarkable archer. After Brave Bow's death, Roy was adopted by Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) and became his sidekick, Speedy.

Roy Harper as Speedy. Art by Tom Grummett.

Speedy joined Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Wonder Girl in the newly formed Teen Titans, a group originally formed from the various "teen sidekicks" active in DC comics at that time.

Speedy was initially a successful member and began dating Donna Troy. Some time later, however, Roy's fortunes took a turn for the worse. The Titans disbanded, Roy and Donna broke up, and then Green Arrow both lost his fortune and began neglecting Roy. While Green Arrow was away on a cross-country adventure with Green Lantern and Black Canary, Roy became addicted to heroin; the award-winning story played out in Green Lantern vol. 2, #85–86 in September and November 1971. Once Roy's secret was discovered, Green Arrow angrily punched him and then threw Roy out on the street. Green Lantern later found him and left him in the care of Black Canary, who stayed by his side while he went through withdrawal. Soon after, he had a confrontation with Green Arrow that caused the two of them to stop working together.[1] In addition to some brief adventures with later incarnations of the Titans in the 1980s, Roy also served as a government agent for a fictional federal agency, and as a private investigator, and went on a single mission with the Suicide Squad (vol. 1 issues 11–12).

While still helping the Teen Titans on occasional missions, Roy frequently worked as a counselor for various anti-drug programs. During this time, Roy established government contacts, and was soon hired by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI, also known as Checkmate) as a drug enforcement agent. Roy was given an assignment to go undercover and gain the trust of the villain Cheshire. The intention was to turn Cheshire over to the authorities, but the two fell in love and had an affair. Roy could not bring himself to turn her in, but he was concerned that his presence endangered Cheshire's life, so he left her, unaware that Cheshire was pregnant with his child. Roy eventually learned that he was the father of her daughter Lian. He went on a mission with Nightwing to track down Cheshire and prevent her from assassinating a group of diplomats. Roy was captured by Cheshire and then freed by Nightwing, who also brought Roy's daughter. Cheshire had left Lian in Roy's care.[1]

1993–2004: Becoming Arsenal and joining the Outsiders

Roy Harper's first appearance as Arsenal. Art by Tom Grummett.

Roy Harper later returned to the Titans, and was appointed leader by Sarge Steel. At this time, he adopted the new identity "Arsenal" now equipped with a vast array of high-tech weaponry. When the original members of this latest incarnation of Titans left the team, he gathered new members and led them until the team disbanded.

Soon, another team of Teen Titans emerged. This group consisted of a teenaged version of Atom (due to being de-aged by events in Zero Hour) and new heroes Argent, Risk, Joto and Prysm. The team was funded by Loren Jupiter, who had also funded a group of Titans during Roy's time on the team. Jupiter gathered together the original Titans (now going by the aliases of Nightwing, Tempest, Flash, Troia, and Arsenal) to combat the threat of his bitter, super-powered son Jarrod Jupiter (Haze). New and old Titans joined forces to defeat Haze – but at a price; Joto apparently lost his life, and Arsenal felt responsible for his death. Arsenal remained with this new group of Titans for a time, but eventually left the group before it disbanded.

Arsenal later came into conflict with Vandal Savage. Savage had discovered that both Roy and his daughter Lian were his descendants. Thus, their organs were suitable for him to harvest to prolong his life. Roy was able to save his daughter from Savage. After this ordeal, Roy adopted a new look to reflect his Navajo heritage. Shortly after, the original five Titans decided to re-form the team. Arsenal served as a full-time member on the team, and resided at the new Titans Tower with his daughter Lian.

Later, a mysterious conglomerate known as Optitron offered to sponsor the Titans and Young Justice after summoning them to San Francisco. Before any decisions could be made, a cybernetic girl from the future known as Indigo invaded the complex, and immediately engaged both teams in combat. With half the group out of commission, the remaining members tried to track down Indigo, but instead encountered a rogue Superman android, which had been activated. Caught by surprise, Lilith had her neck snapped by the Superman android, killing her instantly. Troia (Donna Troy's new identity) tried valiantly to defeat the Superman android, but he released a deadly heat beam directly through her chest, killing her. Indigo arrived and shut down the Superman android, leaving Arsenal and Nightwing to mourn the fallen Troia. Shaken by these losses, Nightwing decided to officially end the Titans.

Roy saw an opportunity. He accepted Optitron's offer and set about forming a new team: the Outsiders. He began by buying a massive secret underground headquarters beneath New York City. Roy outfitted the shelter with state-of-the-art equipment and began recruiting members for the new team. He successfully coaxed the veteran Metamorpho, as well as newcomers Grace and Thunder into joining the team. He also decided to accept Indigo as a member. Even though she had been responsible for activating the Superman android, and ultimately for Lilith's and Troia's deaths, her memories were wiped clean and she convinced Roy that she wanted to atone for what she had done.

Indigo's presence would prove to be a major sticking point for Arsenal's last recruit: Nightwing. The Titans' former leader was completely unwilling to renew his involvement in a team after such a devastating loss. Arsenal argued that the Outsiders were the next logical step for them beyond the Titans, and that perhaps a team of strangers would operate more efficiently than a team with so many emotional attachments. Nightwing, while still reluctant, agreed to join and lead the Outsiders shortly after defeating Gorilla Grodd.

Promo art for "Outsiders" (2003). Art by Tom Raney.

Arsenal was shot in the chest while attempting to stop Brother Blood from activating a global network of sleeper agents. He survived, but was sidelined for months. In the interim, he assigned the Huntress as his replacement. He was hesitant to resume active duty, feeling afraid of his own limitations, but returned with encouragement from Nightwing.

Not long after his recovery, the Outsiders took on a case which involved a child-slaver and molester named Tanner. One of Tanner's informants recognized Roy from years prior, and led Tanner to Lian. Lian's nanny was killed and the girl was branded with Tanner's mark. The Outsiders arrived just in time to save Lian and other children from being flown out of New York.

Oddly, his near-death from gunshot wounds saved his life when soon he met Deathstroke. The villain, Arsenal discovered, had been posing as Batman and feeding him information since the Outsiders began. Deathstroke and Arsenal fought, with Deathstroke intending to kill him, but when the mercenary discovered the bullet scars on Arsenal's chest, he figured Arsenal had suffered enough and gave him a "pass". About the same time, Arsenal was also kidnapped by Constantine Drakon, Green Arrow's nemesis. Drakon was working with the Riddler, and he slit Roy's throat so that he would have to apply constant pressure or die. The Outsiders helped search for and rescue Roy.[1]

2005–2011: Tenure as Red Arrow, joining the Justice League

During Infinite Crisis, Arsenal served as leader of the Outsiders while raising Lian as a single father. He was among the heroes gathered to defend Metropolis from an invasion by the Secret Society of Super Villains.

One Year Later, Roy Harper attempted to keep the Outsiders running, but unfortunately they found themselves handling low-level criminals and making little difference in the world. When Nightwing and Red Hood discovered a fellow hero as well as Black Lightning (Thunder's father) was arrested for a crime he didn't commit, Nightwing helped in a rescue mission that ultimately failed. The Outsiders are believed to be dead. Arsenal soon realized he was not made for the life of a cloak-and-dagger hero, returning command to Nightwing and leaving the team.

Roy was approached by Hal Jordan with membership in the new Justice League.[2] While in battle, Hal referred to him as "Red Arrow" in an attempt to stop himself from revealing Roy's name (despite the fact that Roy's identity has been public knowledge for some time now).[3] Roy accepted membership in the League and officially adopted the identity of Red Arrow, justifying it as a final "coming of age" and outgrowing his troubled relationship with his adoptive father Oliver Queen (Green Arrow).[4] Roy began an intimate relationship with his teammate Hawkgirl.[1] However, the two ended their relationship and Roy left the Justice League following a disastrous confrontation with the Shadow Cabinet.

Following Bruce Wayne's apparent death in Final Crisis, Roy returns to the League after discovering that Hal Jordan and his splinter Justice League have been hunting down and torturing criminals. Roy and Green Arrow manage to settle their differences and work together, but things start to fall apart as Prometheus assaults Roy, cutting off his right arm with a poisoned, nanite-laced blade,[5] and then has the Electrocutioner set off a device to destroy Star City, killing the young Lian.[6][7] Roy wakes several days later, adversely reacting to his current condition and Lian's death, taking an angrier stance to the world. The flesh-eating nanites still dormant in his stump prevent him from getting a permanent prosthesis. He is given a removable, enhanced artificial limb, built by Cyborg and Doctor Mid-Nite. The prosthetic limb is built to "work-around" the contaminated nerve endings, but increases his phantom pain. His pain and the survivor's guilt for Lian's death bring Roy back to his former drug addiction, overdosing on painkillers and permanently locked in a state of delusional paranoia.[8]

Haunted by visions of his deceased daughter and his former pusher, Roy regresses to his identity of Arsenal, lashing out against his former friends and driving away his extended family, blaming Green Arrow for having stolen his vengeance by killing Prometheus and Mia Dearden for having left Lian by herself in the first place.[9] After a bitter meeting with Cheshire, Roy is unable to release the pent-up frustration for the loss of his arm, the death of his daughter, and his stress-induced impotence. Roy leaves Cheshire behind, hallucinating that a dead cat is his daughter, taking out his anger against a gang of drug dealers and stealing from them to fuel his addiction. As a result, when Batman finds him delirious on the street, he's forced to bring him to a rehab home, with Black Canary's consent.[10] Roy manages to escape the center, and sets off to break into the jail where the Electrocutioner, the accomplice of Prometheus directly responsible for Lian, is held. Despite the intervention of Green Arrow, Roy cruelly butchers Buchinsky with his knives, then burns away his house and all his possessions, becoming a dark, broody vigilante enacting his brand of deadly justice on lowlifes and criminals.[11]

After being approached by Cheshire to help murder Deathstroke, Roy apparently double crosses her and joins Deathstroke's new, villainous team of Titans, although Cheshire mentally congratulates him for his performance.[12] Upon returning to the labyrinth, Deathstroke reveals to them that his proceeding items were used to create a healing machine called "Methuselah" for his dying son Jericho.[13] After healing Jericho, Deathstroke claims the machine can also resurrect the dead, offering Roy and Cheshire the chance to revive Lian. Cheshire accepts, but Roy refuses, finally realizing that he has just been punishing himself for his daughter's death all this time, and that Lian is in a better place. Joined by Tattooed Man and Cinder, Roy fights the rest of the Titans in an attempt to destroy the Methuselah Device.[14] The power source of the Device, a metahuman named DJ Molecule, is freed, and Cinder sacrifices herself to destroy the device. Roy lets Deathstroke go after he helped to save Jericho. Cheshire, Tattooed Man, and Osiris leave, and Roy and Jericho decide to form a new Titans team, to restore the legacy Deathstroke besmirched.[15]

2012–present: Red Hood and the Outlaws

A part of The New 52 company-wide relaunch, DC continuity was revamped. Roy Harper subsequently appears in the series Red Hood and the Outlaws. Roy's history is altered, including Lian's existence and his now uninjured right arm. Roy's appearance has changed drastically in the Relaunch, as he wears his hair longer than before and has highly detailed tattoos on both arms. The location of any more tattoos, if any, is currently unknown, and whether the apparent ones have any significance is also unknown. In his Arsenal outfit, he wears a variety of baseball caps, but beside that and the loss of his knife, he still has the same basic design, only with a smaller vest and two quivers, instead of one.[16] He acts as a humorous character with a lighter view of things, even in the middle of combat, though he is very serious when he wants to be. He has never been a father, but is still a recovering addict with Killer Croc as his sponsor in a twelve step program. He became a freelance freedom fighter before teaming up with Jason Todd, and considers Todd his only friend.

Roy was Green Arrow's sidekick, but due to unknown circumstances, Roy was kicked out of his position, and Oliver took the stocks that he gave him within Q-Core, leaving him to his own devices. Roy became a depressed alcoholic and death seeker who attempts to commit a variation of suicide by fighting Killer Croc. Croc figures out what Roy's doing, stops him, and gives him a pep talk, which Roy thanks him for.[17] Soon after, Roy starts Recovery with Killer Croc as his sponsor.[18] However, this does not keep Roy out of trouble, as he later ends up in an exotic middle eastern jail where he must constantly carry a weighed ball. This all resulted from helping a Middle Eastern nation overthrow a dictator. The now liberated people turned on Roy, and threw him in jail. However, he is quickly released by Jason Todd and, with the help of Starfire, they escape out of the country. Soon after, Jason helps him get up to speed on current events. Roy learns Starfire supposedly has forgotten "the gang" (the Teen Titans) that they used to hang out with, and attempts to jog her memory by mentioning Dick Grayson's name, and also mentioning the names Garth, Vic, Lilith, Gar and Dustin, only to result in boring her.[19]

Roy is very friendly with Jason and has his back, but his carefree personality has caused some friction, as he accidentally called the defeated reanimated corpses of Jason's All Caste Teachers and Friends, trash.[20] He also has a bit of a prideful streak, as he complains that he feels emasculated by Starfire's rescue of the team from a huge monster.[17] But he's also shown that he has a more serious side, and is well prepared for a fight, as he takes on and defeats Crux, an altered human that was able to defeat Starfire herself. He's also shown a softer side, as he cradles Starfire and wipes away her tears when she's hurt. However, he keeps his carefree facade, saying that she shouldn't tell anyone because it would hurt his reputation.[21]

He and Starfire have recently become a public couple, which originally started with him asking her out to dinner during a mission in Gotham.[22] Roy starts referring to her as his girl afterwards, and they have been seen sleeping together on another occasion.[23][24]

Powers and abilities

In the comic books, Roy Harper possesses no superhuman attributes, but he is extremely adept at the use of the bow and arrow, as well as a wide array of weaponry. He also has the ability to take virtually any object and use it in combat as an effective weapon. Harper is also a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and he possesses keen analytical and detective skills.

In the Pre-Flashpoint universe he has been known to speak Japanese[25] and understand Russian.[26] Before Flashpoint, after the loss of his right arm, Roy Harper received an advanced prosthetic, built by Vic Stone, designed to loop around his damaged nerve endings and restore his usual degree of hand-to-eye coordination, albeit with the price of a constant phantom limb pain.[9]

Equipment

Before Flashpoint, much like Nightwing and other members of the Bat-Family, Roy Harper's suit is capable of emitting an electronic pulse. It is unknown, however, whether or not his suit is capable of emitting only one pulse, like Batman's and Nightwing's, or several. After being dismembered by Prometheus, Roy returns to his original Arsenal costume: despite being unknown if he still carries the EMP device, the new costume comes along with an advanced prosthetic limb, shown as highly resilient to bullets and melee weapons, and nearly as mobile as his former biological arm. His enhanced limb comes with increased phantom pain, bolstered if the fitting isn't done with the right alignment.

Weapons

As Speedy and Red Arrow, Roy Harper uses a custom bow and trick arrows (with a preference for the more mundane kind as Red Arrow), mimicking his mentor Green Arrow. As Arsenal he's known to also carry guns and other kind of ranged weapons. Roy also has been known to use an M40A3 US sniper rifle with a Kryptonite bullet on at least one occasion. His original Arsenal costumes were equipped with other exotic weaponry including a boomerang and electrified bola. His current Arsenal costume, reflecting his angrier stance, is laced with several bludgeoning and cutting weapons, mostly knives and billy clubs, strapped to his limbs and back. Despite not being technically part of his "costume", Roy uses his prosthetic right arm only when acting as Arsenal, removing it while going incognito.

Personal life

Roy Harper is of Navajo heritage, and has a tribal tattoo to represent it. He was adopted by Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) and became his ward/sidekick, but soon joined a rock band called Great Frog, and got addicted to heroin. After his recovery, Roy had a daughter named Lian, now deceased, whom he raised as a single father. Roy is a natural thrill seeker, who has many connections in the government and metahuman community. His income comes from his work in the government.

Roy's first known superhero relationship was with Donna Troy during the Teen Titans. Although short-lived, the pair has rekindled the relationship on multiple occasions over the years, particularly during their time with the reformed Titans. Roy had apparently intended to propose to Donna, but she rejected him because of a prophecy that the Titan Lilith Clay had made, which stated that Donna's red-haired husband would die. This however was not in-regards to Roy, but rather Donna's husband Terry.

Roy's other main relationship was with the assassin Cheshire, who is the mother of his child. Roy would constantly flirt and buy drinks for women at bars and any social outing. When he formed the Outsiders, he had a fling with Grace Choi. At this time, it was learned that he also had a fling with the Huntress. His relationship with his JLA teammate Hawkgirl was strained because of his search for the missing Cheshire.

During the break given to the members of the Titans with Nightwing's exodus from the group to become Batman, Red Arrow spent his vacation with his child, and in the subsequent explosion caused by Starfire's traumatic nightmare involving a Justifier helmet, Red Arrow quipped "Either that was an earthquake or one of my exes. Please don't let it be one of my exes."

Other versions

Earth-Two

The Earth-Two version of Speedy was a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory and All-Star Squadron in the 1940s along with Green Arrow. Aside from their origin, having been trained on a mesa top together, their history nearly parallels the history of the Earth-One versions up until the point when Arrow and Speedy along with their teammates were thrown into various periods of time during a battle with the Nebula Man. He and his teammates were later retrieved by the Justice Society and the Justice League in order to assist them in saving Earth-Two from the machinations of their old foe the Iron Hand. Speedy had been sent to the Island of Circe in the past and turned into a centaur controlled by Circe, but was restored. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths a new solitary universe was created at the dawn of time, a universe whose history fused together the histories of several universes, including Earth-Two. Whether he ceased to exist or exists only as an aspect of the post-Crisis Earth has not been determined, although his mentor died during the final part of the Crisis defending the new Earth from the Anti-Monitor. It always happens on Earth-Two

Bizarro World

A Bizarro version of Arsenal appears as one of the heroes of Bizarro World. In addition to sporting a robotic left arm (as opposed to his right one), the Bizarro Arsenal is shown wearing a quiver filled with dead cats, which he uses as weapons.[27]

Flashpoint

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Roy Harper is a member of mercenary squad working for industrialist Oliver Queen. Very early in the story, however, Roy and his fellow mercenaries were killed by an unshown explosion set off by Vixen and a group of anti-Queen activists. The explosion actually kills everyone in the facility save for Vixen and Oliver Queen, who is remarkably unscathed even though he had been standing right next to Roy, discussing the possibility of becoming a group of actual heroes rather than mercenaries, at the time the explosion went off.[28]

Thrillkiller

Batman: Thrillkiller is an Elseworlds story set in the early 1960s. Roy Harper is depicted as a biker who buys drugs in order to get friendly with schoolgirl Hayley Fitzpatrick (aka Harley Quinn), but a terrifying ordeal with drug runners leads him to alert the police after being helped by Batman and Black Canary. He is later shown practicing archery, though it is not clear if it is part of a rehab scheme or training for vigilantism.

In other media

Television

Animation

Speedy in Justice League Unlimited.
Red Arrow in Young Justice.

Live action

Colton Haynes as Roy Harper in costume as Arsenal in The CW TV series Arrow.

Video Games

Miscellaneous

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Wallace, Dan (2008). "Arsenal". In Dougall, Alastair. The DC Comics Encyclopedia. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1
  2. ↑ Justice League of America (vol. 2) #1
  3. ↑ Justice League of America (vol. 2) #4
  4. ↑ Justice League of America (vol. 2) #7
  5. ↑ Justice League: Cry For Justice #5
  6. ↑ Justice League: Cry For Justice #6
  7. ↑ Justice League: Cry For Justice #7
  8. ↑ Justice League – The Rise of Arsenal #1 (2010)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Justice League – The Rise of Arsenal #2 (2010)
  10. ↑ Justice League – The Rise of Arsenal #3 (2010)
  11. ↑ Justice League – The Rise of Arsenal #4 (2010)
  12. ↑ Titans (vol. 2) #26 (August 2010)
  13. ↑ Titans Annual 2011 (July 2011)
  14. ↑ Titans (vol. 2) #37 (July 2011)
  15. ↑ Titans (vol. 2) #38 (August 2011)
  16. ↑ "DC Comics Relaunch: Jim Lee’s Red Hood & The Outlaws Designs… Part Of Batman Inc.?". Inside Pulse.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Red Hood and the Outlaws #3 (November 2011)
  18. ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #4 (December 2011)
  19. ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 (September 2011)
  20. ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #2 (October 2011)
  21. ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #5 (January 2012)
  22. ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #8 (April 2012)
  23. ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #10 (June 2012)
  24. ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #11 (July 2012)
  25. ↑ Titans Annual #1 (2000)
  26. ↑ DC One Million #1 (1998)
  27. ↑ Supergirl #50
  28. ↑ Flashpoint: Green Arrow Industries one-shot (June 2011)
  29. ↑ "DCU | Comics". Dccomics.com. 2010-04-21. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  30. ↑ Comic-Con 2010: Young Justice & Characters on YouTube
  31. ↑ "Exclusive: Teen Wolf Vet Colton Haynes Joins Arrow as…Who?!". TV Guide.
  32. ↑ "Roy Harper Revealed: 'Arrow' Actor Colton Haynes Describes His 'Troublemaker' Character". Splashpage.MTV.com. 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
  33. ↑ "'Arrow' Promotes Colton Haynes to Series Regular for Season 2". Hollywood Reporter. 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  34. ↑ "Marc Guggenheim Talks ARROW Season 2, Exposing Oliver’s Secret, the Suicide Squad, The Huntress, Harley Quinn Rumors, THE FLASH Crossover, and More". Marvel. March 20, 2014.
  35. ↑ Highfill, Samantha. "See Colton Haynes as Arsenal in 'Arrow' season 3". EW.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 23, 2014.

External links