Oliver Queen was a sellout.
Born into the richest family this side of America, he grew up keenly aware of his privilege, wanted to do something about it—but was chewed up and spat out by the money that made him, growing disillusioned and ultimately toeing the line as a good little capitalist. He turned from activism to thrill-seeking, charity to booze, going from one near-death experience to the next in constant search of his next shot of adrenaline. Living to die. When his head of security came to him with what most would call a shady business proposition, Ollie thought hey, what the hell. It’s something to do. Could even be fun.
But he got himself too involved. He was only supposed to be a silent partner, provide some funding, but he insisted on being there for the deal. He threatened knowing too much, and the deal’s benefactors weren’t willing to take the risk. It was on the yacht heading there, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that his head of security tried to kill him.
The water welcomed him with open arms. He wasn’t quite ready to go. Call it luck, call it fate, he washed up on a beach with nothing but Howard Hill’s old bow, won at auction weeks ago, lungs full of water and heart full of spite. Ollie didn’t care if he died... but he would be damned if he let these people beat him.
* * *
Ten years ago, Ollie came back to a world in crisis. Humanity was under attack, too busy waging war against the stars to care about his return, which suited him just fine. His time away had reinvigorated him, lighting a fire within he’d thought long since gone. Reinstated at the helm of his father’s company, he aimed to transform it into a force for good. He was done toeing the line. As the world fought back against the Reach, Ollie fought a losing battle against a system that refused change. Ousted and sued by his own board of directors, Ollie lost everything for trying to play by the rules.
With his fortune reclaimed by the machine he tried to change, Ollie set his sights on helping others within his new means, taking on an administrative position at the Star City Youth Recreational Center. When he wasn’t there, he was at the local archery range, honing the childhood skill that had kept him alive during his time away.
Something lost, something gained. Not long after coming to the Youth Center, a young boy walked through its doors asking for Ollie by name. His name was Connor Hawke, he said, and he was Ollie’s son. Ollie remembered the boy’s mother, Moonday—a brief romance from his college activist years at Hudson University. She left shortly after their fling, and never mentioned any pregnancy to him. But here Connor was, seeking Ollie out after seeing his legal battle on the news. Although shocked, Ollie welcomed Connor into his life, determined to make up for lost time and be a father to his son.
Ollie felt good about the work he was doing, where his life was heading. He lost everything, but gained a son—and compared to seeing the kids at the Youth Center smile, making a tangible difference in their lives, it all seemed ashes. In the time since his dismissal from Queen Industries, Ollie felt something he couldn’t remember feeling before… Fulfilment. Finally, he was doing work that’s worth a damn.
But it still wasn’t enough. Something kept gnawing at him, persistent, a feeling that he couldn’t let go. Ollie had seen firsthand what happens when you try to solve problems with money. At best, you’re treating a symptom. At worst, the machine fights you, devours you whole. He watched it leech from the city around him, from his son, from the kids he was trying to help, and wondered: what can one man do?
Oliver Queen felt a call from within.
He picked up a bow.
* * *
As Superman took flight in Washington, Ollie took to Star City’s streets. With nothing but his longbow and quiver full of arrows, “Green Arrow” made waves as the underground champion of those the system forgot and ignored, clashing with the law just as often as he targeted organized and white collar crime alike. All the while he grew closer with Connor and continued his work at the Youth Center, where another kid entered his life: this time a runaway he’d helped as Green Arrow, a young girl named Mia Dearden. Like him, she was a survivor, and though he didn’t know her for long, he soon found that he’d gained a daughter, too.
Ollie had opposed the idea of a Lord/Waller government since the moment they announced their candidacy. He could see the writing on the wall, and he was angry. When they announced the establishment of the Agency and its military checkpoints, he wasn’t surprised. He’d long decided how to voice his displeasure.
Three months ago, Green Arrow attacked a Star City Agency facility to free its metahuman captives and send a message: Maxwell Lord and his cronies were not welcome here.
They were ready for him. As far as the world was concerned, Oliver Queen died a domestic terrorist that night. In the Agency’s custody, he was given a choice: serve their interests as an Agency asset, or let his family suffer the consequences of his actions. To Ollie, there was no choice to make.
Oliver Queen was a sellout.
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