**SPOILERS: If you didn't watch the Arrow Mid-Season Finale then stop reading**
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Regardless of how Oliver comes back from his defeat at some point he'll return and take up leadership of Team Arrow again. If that happens I'd rather like to see Roy drop the use of a bow and explore the concept of his identity as Arsenal. In the comics he's a master of weaponry and so far in Arrow we've seen him adopt escrima sticks/batons as a back-up to his archery rather than use his bow as a melee weapon like Oliver. Most of the fight scenes in season 3 have forced him into using the batons so rather than think of them as a back-up it would seem more appropriate for the writers to do away with the bow and focus on other weapons for Roy.
Why would this matter for Team Arrow? Well, if Laurel is accepted as Canary before Oliver's return, then it sets up a tri-costumed group that is functional at every range of combat. Oliver tends to start conflicts from long-range by using his bow. Laurel will likely be only short-range with boxing/kickboxing and maybe a bo staff. That leaves mid-range starting to Roy and that doesn't have to be covered with a bow. Instead why not give him throwing projectiles like taser darts, bolas and knives...giving him a full arsenal of weapons to go with his name rather than calling him Arsenal but limiting him to a fighting role of Red Arrow. This keeps the batons in play even better as fight scenes don't have to rely on Roy losing his bow in order to swap to the batons, which just makes him look silly and ineffective as an archer. His range wouldn't compare to Oliver's but he'd be much more mobile to assist Oliver and Laurel as needed in ranges of combat. Thus we could visually see a well-groomed fighting rather than 2 archers and a blonde chick.
Thoughts?
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