It has been recently revealed that one of the next titles in the supremely popular Absolute series is going to be Absolute Green Arrow. An iconic character in the DC universe, who we all thought could never appear again in this one. Oliver Queen first appeared in Absolute Evil, and shockingly enough, he was killed in that same story.

The Absolute universe is known for taking the heroes we love and then taking something from them. For example, Absolute Batman doesn’t have his wealth, and Absolute Wonder Woman never had Themyscira. These twists have led to intensely compelling stories, yet when Oliver was introduced, he had no such twist.

In fact, before he could even become a hero, he was brutally killed by Hawkman. Which begs the question: what will this series involve?

Absolute Green Arrow is set to be a six-issue limited series with the first one coming out on May 20th. Written by Pornsak Pichetshote and illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque. It’s guaranteed that Pornsak will be writing a thrilling and captivating horror mystery. Meanwhile, Rafael already has loads of experience when it comes to art in the Absolute universe; it’s a definite fact that this book will be stunning.

We don’t have much to go off of other than the previews currently available and the summary, but the mystery of it all is what makes it truly deeply intriguing. The summary that has been revealed is as follows;

A serial killer is slaughtering corrupt billionaires, and the only clue to his identity is the green arrows protruding from the victims’ bodies. Executive protection specialist Dinah Lance, also known as Absolute Black Canary, is assigned to uncover the murderer’s identity as she investigates a list of suspects drawn from the ranks of DC’s most dangerous archers. Each one is uniquely connected to a recently murdered Oliver Queen. A deadly mystery unfolds in this urban horror reimagining of the Emerald Archer’s mythos.

Oliver Queen may have died in Absolute Evil, but connections were still made in this issue towards some of the other series in this thrilling universe. Such as Hawkman being the one to have killed him.

This was also the introduction of Absolute Hawkman, whom we continued to see in Absolute Superman. Oliver’s death also seemed to be orchestrated by the ‘Justice League’, a twisted, villainous version of what we normally know as heroes. In this league are many iconic villains, but also not quite, not being the ones we classically know. Two of those being Ra’s al Ghul and the Joker, who has his own complicated story to delve into, as seen in Absolute Batman.

Who will be Green Arrow now? That’s the question fans have been asking since this series was first revealed. Now, many theories have been crafted from what little we currently know, and we can’t even find which one would be most likely due to how unpredictable the Absolute world can be.

Some people think that this is still Oliver Queen, possibly resurrected through supernatural means. Or even possessed by The Spectre, who would be a fascinating character to introduce into this universe.

Other people are suggesting it’s Roy Harper, whom we never see on the panel, but we did see Oliver’s one-sided conversation with him over the phone before his untimely death. So we know for certain that Roy is in this world and that he has a pre-existing relationship with Oliver. In the comics, he is most known for having been Green Arrow’s sidekick, then eventually becoming Red Arrow, then Arsenal.

Connor Hawke is another great suggestion for who this new archer could be. Connor is the son of Oliver, whom he abandoned as a baby, leaving him with his mother and training to become a skilled fighter. In the comics, he is known for being very much a pacifist, but in the Absolute world, everything can be changed, and he could be enacting vengeance for his father’s death and continuing his unborn legacy.

It’s highly unlikely that we will discover who this Green Arrow is straight away, since we will be seeing from the perspective of Absolute Black Canary. Either way, this comic is already captivating and getting guaranteed readers, despite it only being properly revealed today.
Make sure to check out Absolute Green Arrow #1 on May 20th.