After the madness and anarchy of last year's Preview Night, I realized that Matt had the right idea when he camped out in Ballroom 20 and watched the advance television previews. So, since Matt wasn't going to make it tonight, I decided I would do the honorable thing and fly to San Diego and watch TV.
I had to pick up my credentials so I missed most of
666. That was okay though, because the preview I really wanted to see was the CW's take on DC's Green Arrow...
Arrow.
For those of you not familiar with Green Arrow (and why are you here if you aren't), he is Oliver Queen, millionaire industrialist who is shipwrecked on an island and becomes the world's greatest archer. In the process, he also puts aside his millionaire industrialist ideaologies and becomes the lefty conscience of the Justice League.
He must also talk a good game because he's the only guy in recorded history, fiction or non-fiction, to sport facial hair like this:
And pull something like this:
But I digress.
Arrow opens with a great deal of promise. We see a barefoot, green-clad figure running across rough terrain, nocking an arrow and causing an explosion. The figure with long hair and a full beard turns out to be the aforementioned Oliver Queen. He is rescued by a fishing boat and returned to his hometown of Starling City.
Yes DC geeks, they changed the name of the city.
Back among the rich and living, Ollie discovers how the world has moved on without him. Mom is remarried. Sister is snorting blow on her makeup table. Only his best friend,
Merlyn (geekwink), hasn't changed at all.
Ollie (Stephen Amell) came back with a list of names, a new attitude and a whole new skill set.
Seems as though, while stranded on the island, Ollie, in addition to becoming an expert acher, also became expert in the ways of parkour and BJJ. He also came back looking like a chiselled CW star rather than gaunt and stringy like a real
castaway.
As John so eloquently put it during the screening, it was almost as if nobody involved in the creative process took a look at the source material. Sure, there were a few elements of Green Arrow in there, but they were mostly for show. There were an equal number of elements from other sources and one scene lifted almost verbatim from
Batman Begins.
What was most frightening was how much
Arrow reminded me of the little seen and less remembered 1978 television show,
Sword of Justice. I wanted that show to be good, just like I wanted
Arrow to be good. Unfortunately, based on their relatively small sample sizes neither were.
As I'm typing this, it occurs to me that Green Arrow needs a Speedy and the coked out younger sister probably fits that bill. Ollie's spurned love interest is revealed to be Dinah Lance who will likely become the aforementioned Black Canary.
As a lifelong Green Arrow fan, I was excited about the prospect of the Emerald Archer getting his turn in the spotlight. After sitting through the premiere episode of of
Arrow, I really wished they'd just left him alone.
For those of you keeping score at home...that makes DC/Warner/CW et al. 0-2 when it comes to green heroes. Maybe its time to move on to another color.
Blue Beetle movie anyone?