Green Arrow and Black Canary are one of DC‘s most iconic couples. How this came to be is something of a mystery, given their often volatile romance. However, Green Arrow #7 by Joshua Williamson, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Trevor Hairsine offers an answer.
The comic finds Green Arrow catching up with his friends, after several months lost in time and space. Stunned that the Justice League disbanded in his absence, the Emerald Archer hunts down Batman to learn why the JLA shut down. Batman, for his part, is surprised that Black Canary hadn’t caught Oliver Queen up on recent events.
Oliver explained that Dinah Lance had her own business to attend to after rescuing him, referring to the current storyline of Birds of Prey. This further prompted Green Arrow to discuss how they had agreed to keep their professional lives separate. While supporting their partner and being ready to help if needed, they agreed that little bit of distance was important to their love life.
Oliver Queen was originally too possessive
The idea that Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance set a boundary between work and romance makes sense, given their history. When the two first started dating in the 1970s, the Emerald Archer was incredibly overprotective of his “Pretty Bird.” This offended Dinah’s feminist sensibilities, as she didn’t like anybody viewing her as an object to be fought over.
In time, Dinah realized that Oliver Queen’s defensiveness was born of love and not a belief that she couldn’t defend herself. At the same time, Green Arrow learned how to repress his chivalric impulses and let Black Canary take the lead in a fight. (It helped that she was far better fighter, and he’d later be the first to say so.) This gave way to a more balanced modern romance throughout the 1980s and 1990s. That romance is well reflected in the Dawn of DC Green Arrow book.
Green Arrow #7 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
