Issue: Adventure Comics #256Title: "Green Arrow's First Case"
Cover Date: January, 1959
Credits: France Herron (scripts) Jack and Roz Kirby (art)
Synopsis: Oliver Queen and Roy Harper are watching the news when a story about an expedition to "Starfish Island" airs. Suddenly, Ollie jumps up and demands that Roy suit up; they must stop the expedition, or they'll learn Green Arrow's secret identity!
Ollie explains as they make the trip in the Arrowplane: As a young lad, Oliver Queen was shipwrecked off Starfish Island. In order to survive, he invented his first trick arrows: a rope arrow for fishing, a net arrow for more effective fishing, and a drill arrow to help him get coconuts from trees.
Times passes, and eventually a ship anchors off the island. Excited, Ollie swims out to meet the ship, only to arrive in the middle of mutiny! Using his trick arrows, he foils the mutiny and becomes the Green Arrow!
During his time on the island, Queen recorded his progress by chipping a diary into a rock wall. With the expedition about to explore the island, the will inevitably find the wall, and therefore his secret identity!
Luckily, the scientists are using a Geiger counter to check for radiation. With the judicious application of a "fake uranium arrow" the duo discourage the expedition from exploring further. They leave, and Ollie and Roy destroy the rock wall, and Green Arrow's identity is safe!
Thoughts: Apparently Ollie had some sort of primitive lathe on the island, because that was some serious precision engineering he put into his arrows! This origin has been retold several times since this issue, but the original is still pretty darned entertaining!
1 comment:
Yeah, I love the whole Robinson Crusoe aspect of his story. The idea that he had to teach himself these skills or die...that really adds something to the character, and tells us something of his drive. Ollie is a man who does not easily admit defeat.
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