Absolute Green Arrow has been topping the charts since its first issue was released in May. Readers love this darker take on the Emerald Archer. When Oliver Queen was killed in Absolute Evil #1, fans have been questioning who or what is the Absolute Universe’s version of Green Arrow. This mystery is the driving force of the Absolute Green Arrow series, as investigator and bodyguard Dinah Lance must go through a list of suspects to determine who is the Longbow Killer who has been targeting and slaughtering corrupt billionaires. With the release of Absolute Green Arrow #3, not only does Dinah come one step closer to discovering the archer’s origin, but she also encounters a horrifying reinvention of an iconic DC Comics villain.
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When we were first introduced to Oliver Queen in Absolute Evil #1, he seemed nearly identical to his main universe counterpart. He was a billionaire but a well-meaning person with a propensity for the color green and archery. He even wanted to use his wealth and skills to fund a crusade against crime, particularly targeting his business partner, Jubal Slade, who ran a child-trafficking ring. However, after Hawkman bashed Oliver’s skull before he could become a hero, readers wondered who the Longbow Killer could be. Yet, Absolute Green Arrow’s origin may have just been indirectly revealed with the introduction of Solomon Grundy.
Absolute Solomon Grundy Makes His Debut
The hulking zombie Solomon Grundy is a terrifying beast whose character works perfectly in the horror mystery tale that is the basis of the Absolute Green Arrow. And, the villain’s new origin story makes him even more monstrous. With Green Arrow massacring numerous corrupt members of the wealthy elite connected to the death of Oliver Queen, Dinah Lance is hired by the billionaire Hector Hammond to protect him from the serial killer’s wrath. Dinah’s investigation leads her to Oliver’s old friend Roy Harper, who was found digging up the deceased billionaire’s grave. When confronted, Roy tells Dinah his theory: Oliver Queen is alive, and Hammond took him.
Following Roy’s lead, Dinah unveils a huge criminal conspiracy spearheaded by Hammond and the late Jubal Slade. While there were several references to “islands,” regarding Slade’s trafficking ring, Roy reveals that Hammond has a secret underground lab nicknamed the Island. Roy explains to Dinah that Hammond was working on human experimentation to find the secrets to anti-aging and resurrecting the dead. Dinah and Roy investigate the Island and there come face-to-face with one of Hammond’s failed experiments: Solomon Grundy. Unlike in the main universe, where Grundy is a zombie born from a supernatural swamp, in the Absolute Universe, he’s the product of mad science and is covered in eyes. It’s a clever and menacing reinterpretation of one of DC Comics’ most iconic monster villains.
Fans have been speculating from day one about the origin and identity of Absolute Green Arrow after Hawkman killed Oliver Queen. With a suspect pool of iconic Team Arrow members like Mia Dearden, Roy Harper, Tom Hallaway, and Connor Hawke, Dinah, and readers, were initially led to believe that someone had taken up Oliver’s original crimefighting mission. However, the release of Absolute Green Arrow #3 and the debut of Absolute Solomon Grundy may have finally laid out the last piece needed to deduce how the Longbow Killer came to be. Namely, that Grundy and Green Arrow’s origins are one and the same.
Hector Hammond’s experiments with anti-aging and resurrection offer the perfect explanation as to how Oliver Queen has come back to life. It’s already been established that Oliver’s grave is empty despite Absolute Evil #1 clearly showing his corpse. Given Hammond’s merciless nature, it would be completely in character for him to use Oliver’s body in his experiments. Oliver also had some connection to Hammond’s schemes, as Dinah discovered in Oliver’s vault the body of a deceased child covered in eyes like Solomon Grundy. Hammond’s studies revolved around the super-steroid Miraclo, which increased a person’s strength at the expense of their mind. Miraclo could explain Absolute Green Arrow’s enhanced strength, agility, and endurance, as well as his near-complete lack of mercy.
Absolute Green Arrow following an undead Oliver Queen back for revenge, is a chilling and captivating plotline with many potential narrative avenues. If Oliver is the Emerald Archer, it’s clear that his mind came back wrong. This would mean that not only has he butchered numerous people, but also that he killed his own estranged son, Connor Hawke, when the latter shot him. Absolute Green Arrow still seems to have some morals and protects the disenfranchised, but he’s also willing to kill people who have nothing to do with his vendetta if they get in his way. Given Dinah’s past relationship with Oliver, she may be the only one capable of bringing some of Oliver’s humanity back to the surface.
While this is speculation, the connection between the undead Solomon Grundy and a ruthless Green Arrow with ties to a deceased Oliver Queen is too big a coincidence to ignore. And with the news that the Absolute Green Arrow run has been extended to twelve issues, there’s more than enough room to delve into the psychology of what’s potentially a Green Arrow who toes the line between being alive and dead.
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