When he was first created, Green Arrow was essentially DC ripping off themselves as the character was almost indistinguishable from Batman. Green Arrow was wealthy playboy Oliver Queen who had a ward that doubled as his sidekick, worked out of an Arrow-Cave and had a host of gadgets and vehicles like the Arrow-Car and Arrow-Plane, plus a quiver of trick arrows that could be used for any occasion (much like Batmans utility belt). But then in the 60s, Dennis ONeill and Neal Adams dramatically changed the character. They had Queen lose his fortune and he became a voice of progressivism. To further explore this, the character was paired with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan). The series became a powerful exploration of political and social issues of the 60s, such as racism and drug abuse, with Green Arrow being a voice for radical change and Green Lantern advocating action within the system. The friendship between the two characters has never been as strong as it was in the Green Lantern / Green Arrow title, unfortunately. They were separated in the 80s and in the 90s, both characters were killed off only to be resurrected later. There has been talk of bringing Green Lantern back in a team-up movie, but it looks to be a team-up with the Flash, not Green Arrow. Although with the success of the latter in The CWs Arrow, maybe there exists the possibility for the hard-traveling heroes to appear in a film together.
Percival Constantine is the author of several novels and short stories, including the Vanguard superhero series, and regularly writes and comments on movies, comics, and other pop culture. More information can be found at his website, PercivalConstantine.com
