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Checkmate #3 just revealed the disturbing fact that veteran Justice League member Green Arrow has not received a vital, life-saving part of training.
Warning: The following article contains spoilers from Checkmate #3, on sale now from DC Comics.
Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow, has lived almost his entire life with a full quiver at his side and a bow within reach. From the lonely shores of Starfish Island to the crime-riddled streets of Seattle, Green Arrow has honed his skills with the bow and arrow to near perfection over the course of his career as a masked vigilante and veteran member of the Justice League.
However, it turns out that Green Arrow hasn’t mastered every element essential to the average bowman’s arsenal. Checkmate #3 (by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Dave Stewart, and Josh Reed) has just revealed a stunning hole in the hero’s skillset; Oliver has no idea how to safely remove an arrow once it’s been lodged in someone’s body.
Having recently taken on a more active role within the Justice League, Green Arrow has been working overtime to keep the world safe. That job has become significantly more difficult in the aftermath of 2019’s “Event: Leviathan”, which saw most of DC’s clandestine intelligence agencies dismantled and their resources falling under the control of the counterintelligence organization Leviathan, which seeks to make the world a safer place by any means necessary. Driven by the unprecedented threat of Leviathan Green Arrow uses his considerable wealth to fund the revival of Checkmate, an intelligence agency that’s worked against the superhuman community in the past in order to battle Leviathan on equal ground.
The reveal of Green Arrow’s secret allegiance to the controversial Checkmate has already damaged his relationship with Dinah Lance, aka Black Canary, and the events of Checkmate #3 may have done even more damage to the Emerald Archer’s reputation. While shadowing Lois Lane as she investigates potential leads on Leviathan among her deceased father’s possessions, Green Arrow and the Question are ambushed by a squad of Leviathan’s forces spearheaded by Oliver’s old rival Merlyn. During the exchange of arrows that follows the Question is shot in the shoulder with one of Meryln’s arrows, giving Leviathan a chance to escape with a captive Lois.
When fellow Checkmate agents Manhunter, Steve Trever, and Mr. Bones demand to know why Green Arrow isn’t giving the Question first aid over the comms, Oliver reveals that he doesn’t know how to treat someone who’s been pierced by an arrow. When the incredulous trio asks why Green Arrow of all people doesn’t know how to treat an arrow wound, Oliver responds by saying “Because that’s not what I do! I put them in!”
Looking back on how his training panned out in the continuity established within the “Infinite Frontier” relaunch, the idea that Green Arrow isn’t educated in the medical aspects of archery isn’t entirely surprising. Unlike previous continuities, in which Green Arrow began his archery training while marooned on Starfish Island, Oliver’s training started during his teenage years under the tutelage of his father Robert. Robert had hoped that learning the art of archery would help teach his spoiled son discipline, but it wouldn’t be until his time on the island that Oliver would truly hone his skills with the bow. Trapped on an island where every day was a battle for survival against the elements, it’s easy to imagine that Oliver simply didn’t have the knowledge needed to upgrade his medical skills.
It is interesting that Green Arrow hasn’t taken the time to address this issue after his escape from the island, considering just how many members of the hero’s rogues gallery utilize his own weapon of choice against him. With Merlyn serving as one of Leviathan’s main soldiers in the organization’s war against Checkmate, this notable gap in Green Arrow’s understanding of archery could prove fatal in the near future.
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