Welcome back as we continue our look at DC archer heroes. We could call this month Marchery. Anyway, I think we’ll work our way up to the original DC archer but we should take a look at one of his kids, Connor Hawke. Who is this son of the Queen? He’s half-white, quarter African American, and quarter Korean and there’s not enough of those two quarters so lets learn all about him!
Connor Hawke is the son of Oliver Queen and Sandra Hawke, he grew up never knowing his father but hearing all about him. A troublesome kid, Connor would beg to be trained at the monastery where his father had gone to before he was born so he could learn how to be an awesome archer, the monks were very much into zen and archery before Oliver showed up. His mother allowed him to and he’d finally learn some inner peace.
After years of living in the monastery Oliver would arrive again, not when Connor was a child but as a fresh faced adult. Oliver had gone through some tumultuous life events and headed back to the place where he was able to piece things back together. Connor was worried he was going to scare Oliver off so he kept connection hidden but he would become his roommate at the monastery and eventually join Oliver on adventures as a fellow archer along with Oliver’s friend Eddie Fyers.
Things were going well, even though Oliver didn’t know it was blood relation, the two had become like father and son. That is, until Hal Jordan, formerly a Green Lantern who’d gained near omnipotence as Parallax revealed the truth to Oliver. This lead to Oliver feeling paranoid that Connor was trying to get something out of him and he left his son for a second time. Eddie would join Connor in adventuring to try and take his mind off the falling out with Oliver.
Connor’s hopes for reconciliation were dashed when Oliver died while saving Metropolis from a bomb. Devastated, Connor would try and take up his father’s mantle as the Green Arrow. He would even join the Justice League after his first visit had him take down the villain The Key on his own. He’d eventually step down as an active member, feeling more comfortable dealing with street-level adventures.
Eventually Oliver would return from the dead, like heroes do, and the two were finally able to reconcile and when Connor was ready to step down as Green Arrow, Oliver told him the world could handle two Green Arrows. Connor would work with his father and eventually the new Speedy as well. Connor’s family would continue to grow as Oliver would marry Black Canary who had always gotten along well with Connor like a mother already.
The events of Darkest Night would shake Connor’s relationship with his father. Since Oliver had died, he was susceptible to the Black Lantern ring’s effect and became an undead monster. Undead Oliver would say terrible things and strike at every one of Connor’s weaknesses in regards to their familial bond. Though Connor was able to stop him it left him traumatized and distant with his father. Sadly, this was the state Connor was in when we saw him last before the New 52 effectively erased him from Oliver’s life. There was a Red Arrow in the New 52’s Earth 2, going by Roy McQueen but actually was named Connor Hawke, he is killed by Apokalips forces.
There you have it! Connor Hawke was a favorite of mine, like pretty much all the archer heroes. I hope to see him again some day. Not dead or upset with his dad anymore. There’s some more archers to talk about so I’ll see you next time.
Suggested Reading
Green Arrow Vol. 2 #0
JLA
Green Arrow Vol. 3
Green Arrow and Black Canary
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
