Off My Mind: How Far Should Green Arrow Go For Justice?

 One thing right off the bat is that GA has already tried to kill Pormetheus before,(Look it up in "HUSH RETURNS"). Prometheus was a millisecond away from a green arrow through his skull, but Hush pulled his head out of the way. You can say that GA killed him because of Roy and Lian but he has wanted to do it for some time, more form himself than for anyone else. Let' s put it out there, "Green Arrow is a DOUCHE!" He always has been. That fact is always sugar coated with phrases like "he is more human", "he is an everyman hero", "he is more real". NO! He resents the fact that he is not as smart as other heroes like batman, has no powers like superman, and has been a selfish, selfserving dick, espeically to those closest to him. I say let him kill and become the black sheep of the DC heroes, it would just add to that already huge chip on his shoulder. The funny thing is that Green Arrow could actually kill all of his rogues gallery and really no one would miss them, maybe Merlyn. 

Heroes who kill are not truly heroes. They are almost as bad as the villain they kill. Taking another life is unforgivable. Taking the life of one who has taken lives is not justified.

GA will either have to become an anti hero or earn the respect of his peers back with dutiful work and respect. How it always has been, make him into an antihero.

" This should come as no surpise to any Green Arrow fan. Ollie has killed to protect his family before (BC, In Long Bow Hunter) and this time he was pushed to the edge. I wonder if they are taking GA back down the darker path they had him on in the  the early 90's when he moved fro star city the first time. I think given what has happend he took the right course of action, if not Roy would have done it anyway and Roy has to much to deal with right now. As for the JLA I don't know this may split them down the middle much like Idenity Crisis. Ollie has a lot of friends who will back him (Hal, BC) but how far will they go to protect him from the other leaugers!! "

" Heroes who kill are not truly heroes. They are almost as bad as the villain they kill. Taking another life is unforgivable. Taking the life of one who has taken lives is not justified. "

  
@Mbecks14 said:

" @LB70145 said:

" Heroes who kill are not truly heroes. They are almost as bad as the villain they kill. Taking another life is unforgivable. Taking the life of one who has taken lives is not justified. "

i agree. i hate this path that Green Arrow is going down. "

I don't think what Ollie did was right....but prometheus never looked better.

First, i'd like to say that some of these comments are hilarious! I won't say which ones because that would be unfair on those saying them and i don't wish to offend anyone.  
 
Now, GA has indeed killed before and indeed he was a part of a GROUP of people who changed someones personality. It wasn't just down to him that time we must all remember. GA is an antihero which is fair enough, he even says as much when he says that deep down he's not a hero, he's a hunter. Also, he's a knob and he knows it. He's got a self hatred that is part of his character, that disdain for himself means he does things that he knows other heroes wouldn't because he doesn't think of the consequences to himself. He's driven by emotion. "Making the hard choices" and all that.
 
And that is possibly the biggest thing about him as a character. If he's afraid he runs (why he ran from his responsibilities when Connor was born), if he's depressed(or lonely or whatever) he sleeps around, he's always been a violent character. Beating on common thugs to get info etc etc. Now he's been emotionally destroyed (again) and he's bloody well pissed off about it so he goes out and kills the guy responsible for it. He knows he's going to get in trouble but he also knows he's saved countless others from becoming his prey. Right and wrong doesn't even come into it in his head. This was a NEED as far as he can see. It may well be that on reflection at a later date he regrets it (as he does about leaving Roy and trotting off around the world with Hal and for sleeping around whilst seeing Dinah and for a whole host of other things). This brings us to another very important aspect of GA, pride. His pride makes it very hard for him to admit to his wrongdoings or his regrets, even if his inner monologue tells us (the joyous comic reader) otherwise. 
  
So, in short. GA killed, he lied, he cheated, he abandoned those around him (although he redeemed himself on most counts) but he is still a hero to those he has saved from rape, thievery, abuse, violence and danger. Some will argue that that makes him more human, others will argue it makes him a "Douche" (fncking hate that word. Don't use it it not cool.) or a bastard. As far as i'm concerned that's the point. He walks that line. It makes him interesting and it's the reason i find him such a good character to read. Sometimes he's an absolute knob, other times he's a gent and a hero.  
  
My last point is just to say that comparing GA to Bats is a bad idea. Because those who remember the old GA will know he was basically just Batman light. Or Batman with arrows. (Arrowcave, arrow mobile, trick arrows etc). He has since successfully been moved away from that as in some drastic ways. He's now very driven by emotions and the idea that he's a hero because he needed an outlet for his boredom and it made him feel useful. That sort of thing anyways. Batman couldn't be any more different. The point of him is he gave up being emotional to take on evil and save those around him from suffering as he had. Batman is a logical creature of restraint and knowledge. GA is a emotional creature of excess and righteousness. Their personalities are completely juxtaposed.

What really pisses me off is that heroes shouldn't kill. I know comics have gotten darker over the ages but this is utter bullshit. We have Flash snapping the Reverse Flash's neck and then going oh but it was to save Iris. He is the fucking fastest man alive and that's all he can think of then we have Green Arrow some how defying everything and killing Prometheus who is wearing a god damn helmet! I mean i understand if in the harshest of situations they have to kill but really. Heroes shouldn't kill its not what they do. I mean Wonder Woman is the last person i expected to end up being a killer. Look maybe it makes a good plot sometimes but this is just ridiculous. Most heroes are just as bad as the villains. And then they come up with some lame ass excuse. Gay for Justice was terrible series. And was Lian dying really necessary. The worst part is it wasn't even Roy who got revenge it was Ollie. Really?! Really?!

O.k.  Keep it real,if someone murdered your grandchild and crippled your son what would you do? For those who've had the luxury of never having had some scum bag destroy your family,BELIEVE ME revenge can posses you.  If GA continues down this road I could see him hooking up with cheshire(lians mom) and start going down a very dark road unless the love of his friends an fam can redeem him.

he had every right to seek vengeance

he had every right to seek vengeance

I think its okay for a hero to kill every once in a while, as long as its necessary.

I think Green Arrow did a good thing, I always love seeing this character going to the edge of chaos and starting to go renegade. Its the way it should be. Especially after what happened to Roy. 

ok did I not start a thread similar to this a couple of weeks ago? or was I missing a long readout with pictures?

I hated Cry for Justice. The constant repetition of the word "justice" without any definition as to what they mean, the unexplained change in character that allowed them to simply torture people (with explanation, it could've been interesting) and the unceremonious murder of Lian Harper just pushed me over the edge. As for Green Arrow killing Prometheus, it didn't feel right. It just felt like the same disappointment as watching a family member who's recovering from alcoholism fall off the wagon.

This