This, of course, is a much different Green Arrow than I've been making fun of the past few months. For the non-comic fan readers of this site, Green Arrow was one of the first heroes to get a makeover, going from the generic millionaire Batman rip-off we've been making fun of here to a rebellious, bankrupt, womanizing malcontent.
And, since I was born around the time he was retooled, I've always like Green Arrow. He was a rebel before Wolverine made it cliche, in that his "bite me" attitude came from a desire to change society for the better, to help the truly disadvantaged, etc.
That being said, this made no sense to me:
Oliver wipes out a bunch of Yazuka mobsters with a semi-automatic gun, then throws the gun down in disgust and picks up the arrows. Now, mind you, the boxing glove arrows and such were no longer used. By this point, Ollie used arrows with which you kill things.
I hate to be picky, but dead is dead. Ever since The Longbow Hunters in the mid-1980's, Ollie hasn't been shy about putting a shaft where it would do the most good. Or, as we see here, snapping someone's neck and tossing them headfirst over a stairwell:
I'm just not seeing the moral inferiority in using the gun as opposed to these other methods. If I'm going to buy the farm, I'm all in favor of quick. I don't see an arrow as being any less painful or more humane.
What am I missing? Besides the horror when you realize that you have ruined your own ballpark with your own littering!:
and that's just one step away from:
See? See what I did there?
Self-inventory is a painful process. I prefer to avoid doing it myself by pointing out the flaws in others.
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5 comments:
When you mentioned "retooled", I immediately thought of Jon Bobbit.
Guns-vs.-arrows is a hunter thing. I've met guys who say they hate hunting deer with guns because guns are too easy and "not sportsmanlike." These are the same guys who climb up into trees and wait for deer to walk underneath them so they can nail 'em with arrows. I don't see how that's any more sportsmanlike, but whatever.
Interesting point, sea. I'm not saying my hands are clean here, because I eat meat and enjoy it, but I'm not under any illusion that there is a "fairness" or "sporting" element to any of it. We're animals, and animals eat each other. If one wants to go out and kill one's own dinner, I'm not in a position to judge, but I don't see what difference it makes to the creature or person on the receiving end.
What's REALLY disturbing, is the smile and the wild look in Ollie's eyes as he's spraying the room with bullets! A bit of an "whooeeeeee, this is fun!" attitude even.
Maybe he went back to the arrows because it wasn't quite so easy.
I'm guessing that Ollie is just better with a bow than a semi-automatic. He's nigh-superhumanly accurate with that thing, and at scary ranges...
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