While GA's origin was not exactly established in last year's seminal, six-issue run, it was pointedly rounded-out (ha!) and updated. Like most comics properties, the essential elements remained intact with minor changes. True to Smallville's very core, there were changes to be sure, but it was a great translation and it was a fantastic treat! This will easily rank as one of the best episodes of the season, no matter what is to follow.
Some of the changes included the beginning, when Ollie was poisoned; in the comic book, he most certainly was drunk - he was funk as druck! - but the establishing shots, down to the toppling of the tray, were frames from Green Arrow: Y1. Later in the flashback sequence, they mention his original shipwreck was due to partying out of control - again, Smallville is very kid-friendly, so this was a subtle approach that I appreciate - it maintains the integrity of the character on the page.
They eliminated the betrayal angle present in the series, which probably won't make a difference, but therefore eliminates the possibility of exploring that facet of Ollie's character. Then again, GA is not revenge-driven, per se; the key to Green Arrow, and Oliver Green himself, is his intolerance for social injustice, not vengeance. Yet they also left out Chyna White, the flippantly-named central villainess of the mini-series and replaced her with what amounted to a two-bit hood.
The whole "poison" angle was yet another subtle nod; the villains Oliver Queen encountered on his own private Idaho were drug manufacturers and distributors. This is Smallville's best writing on display: drug and alcohol abuse are central to Oliver Queen's character and they managed to incorporate them without directly referencing either to any major degree. We adults get it, kids watching think more literally (poison) but the integrity remains. See guys? You really can work within the system and still get away with stuff - no black bars needed!
If you enjoyed tonight's episode, I urge you to pick up Green Arrow: Year One. Heck, even if you did not like tonight's episode, it was the best thing in comics in 2007 by leaps and bounds!
Green Arrow is one of my favorite characters in all of Comicdom and has been since Mike Grell's run and Frank Miller's characterization in The Dark Knight Returns. I absolutely love that they got such a pretty man to play him on TV! I love using the GA shots with him as a red-head/strawberry-blond as my avatar and have one as my desktop - simple transference - so I adore the fact that people will somehow associate me with a guy that good-looking!
I'm sad as hell, aren't I?
And no, no matter how much a humanitarian GA is, he is no pacifist; he is actually a pretty tough-as-nails-type guy. Sure, in some writers' hands he employs the silly boxing glove arrowheads and so forth, but often to intentionally comedic effect; when truly out to kick some ass, Oliver Queen does not play. But he is no Punny - again, he is so far removed from 90% of the rest of superheroes specifically because he is not revenge-based.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
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