If DC’s Emerald Archer is known for anything besides being a knock-off Batman, which he is so much more than by the way, he is known for using all kinds of wacky, insane trick arrows. From flashdrives to bleach bottles, Oliver Queen has put just about everything on the end of a stick and shot it from his bow. Some of these arrows are way too situational or downright stupid (I’m looking at you, Fake Uranium Arrow). However, for every terrible and impractical arrow there’s another arrow that is too useful, or too funny, to ever call bad. After all, Oliver is an archer. He’s bound to have some highly effective tools in his quiver.
But while useful arrows are, well, useful, there’s much more fun to be had with the trick arrows. Let’s dive into the top ten best trick arrows Green Arrow has used over the years.
10) Mass Hysteria Arrow
Taking tenth on our list is the Mass Hysteria Arrow, an arrow that, as the name implies, causes intense panic on a crowd-level scale. This arrow definitely could have a lot of use cases, most notably in being able to split a group of enemies apart and having them run away. It’s certainly one way to take out bad guys, and that’s ignoring how useful it may be against single, dangerous targets. What better way to take down a supervillain than when they’re too scared or preoccupied screaming to fight back? Even ignoring the moral ambiguity of using it, however, this arrow is only taking tenth because we’ve never seen Green Arrow use it, merely seen it in his arsenal. If we do ever see it get used, we can assume it’ll move way up on this list.
9) Boxing Glove Arrow
Without a doubt this is the most famous of all of Green Arrow’s arrows, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s beautiful in its simplicity, transforming a piercing weapon into a blunt force one that definitely packs a punch. As the Joker himself has said, it’s an arrow for when you want to punch someone but they’re far away, which is really practical! Unfortunately, it only has about as much effectiveness as a normal arrow, so I can’t in good conscience rank it any higher. Still, it will always be a top tier arrow in the hearts of fans.
8) Heli-Spotter Arrow
This arrow, if it can still be called that, originated in the Silver Age of comics, which is a trend you will definitely notice with a lot of our ammunition going forward. Either way, this specialized device is a bit of an old timey drone from long before drones were invented, as it hovers in the air and allows for Ollie to line up a shot with its multiple mirror attachments. It also serves as a great tool for trick shots, as Oliver can bounce his shots off the mirrors. Altogether, this adds a great new dimension to how Oliver can aim his shots, and as a bonus it just looks really weird.
7) Glue Arrow
This arrow is especially great, because it’s a trick inside of a trick arrow. At first it looks just like a normal explosive arrow, but when the presumably very strong villain either knocks it aside or tries to tank the blast, it instead explodes into a quick-hardening cement-like glue that can bind even super strong enemies. It adds mindgames to an already intense fight, banking on how no one would be able to take the time to differentiate the arrows. It’s a great addition to his arsenal that keeps his villains on their toes.
6) Gun Arrow
This arrow was never really used by Green Arrow himself, but was instead used by his one-time apprentice. Not Roy or Mia, but Hector Vance, aka the Crimson Archer. The Crimson Archer was a scorned former pupil of Oliver who tried to become a crime-fighter, and eventual crime-doer, to take revenge on the Green Arrow. This arrow is absolutely crazy. It’s literally an arrow that, after being shot, fires bullets out of it. Frankly, an actual gun would be way better, but it does add a layer of misdirection. I mean, if I see an arrow coming at me I assume I have some kind of window of reaction, but if that arrow fires a bullet that window shrinks rapidly. It’s really stupid, but I could also see it being weirdly useful in certain cases and the bad guys likely don’t even see it coming.
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5) Rocket Powered Guidance Control Shaft Arrow
Beyond being a mouthful, this arrow is just weird. It comes attached to a jetpack on Green Arrow’s back. After being fired, the arrow and jetpack launch him into the air as he clings to his bow, using the direction of his shot to guide him to wherever he wants to fly. While this is a really roundabout way of doing so, flight is a super useful thing to have access to. In a chase or fight, getting the high ground or giving chase to someone who takes to the sky could totally turn the tide in an instant. It totally ups Oliver’s maneuverability, so it earns its place on the list just for that. Worst case scenario he could also launch himself at an enemy with way too much force, though that’d probably take him down just as hard as whoever he hits.
4) Anti-Gravity Arrow
Green Arrow never had this arrow himself, though it was originally meant for him. Another weird Silver Age arrow, this one was sent back to 1958 (then the present day) by fans of the Green Arrow in the year 3000. This is actually a special super-arrow, a set of arrows that have seemingly endless power, but was unfortunately stolen by “Cougar” Cain and used to commit crimes. This one, when fired, can carry seemingly endless weight all the way into space. In the right hands, this arrow could definitely be used for all kinds of awesome sequences, so it’s a shame Green Arrow never managed to use it himself.
3) Mind Reading Arrow
This is, say it with me folks, another Silver Age arrow! Specifically, this one might be the most versatile of any other arrow, because it does exactly what is says on the tin. Beyond just being able to read one person’s mind, this arrow soars through the air and reads the mind of every person it passes by before it returns to Oliver for him to read. The implications of this arrow are absolutely insane and raises so many questions about ethics. Although it did only have one appearance, and that’s definitely for the best. This kind of power doesn’t belong in the hands of anyone, and if anyone else ever got their hands on it (which as we’ve seen on this list, bad guys have gotten some of Ollie’s arrows) bad news would be sure to follow. Of course, if Oliver could invent this kind of tech and strap it to an arrow, I’m surprised he never put it anywhere actually practical, but hey, I’m not an archer, what do I know?
2) Nuclear Warhead Arrow
Why on earth is this an arrow, Oliver? This arrow can easily cause the most damage out of any arrow ever because it is a literal nuclear bomb. Even though it’s small, a nuke is still a nuke and that means it has the potential to cause catastrophic damage. This uber-powerful arrow has only been used twice, one (if you can believe it) was way back in the Silver Age, and the other time was in the Injustice 2 comics, where the only thing separating Oliver’s very young son and a nuclear warhead was a moderately tall shelf. I don’t think he’s winning any parent of the year awards anytime soon and we still have questions about the rationale behind this weapon.
1) Phantom Zone Arrow
What’s the only thing better than a nuclear bomb? Something that can work on Superboy Prime. This was an arrow made by Superman, stolen by Roy Harper, and used by Mia Dearden against Superboy Prime. And it worked! This arrow, as the name implies, traps whatever it hits inside the Phantom Zone, the near-inescapable super prison used to imprison Krypton’s most dangerous criminals. There are some things even a nuclear warhead arrow won’t work on, like a Kryptonian, but the Phantom Zone Arrow is a one way ticket to being yanked out of the fight. Any arrow that can immediately remove a Doomsday-level threat is top tier in my book.
So there we have Green Arrow’s ten best trick arrows. They each only have one trick, but for some of them that one trick is really, really good. You know, sometimes that’s all you need. Think of any other trick arrows that belong here? Let us know in the comments below!
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