10 Superheroes You Totally Forgot Were Rip-Offs
2. Green Arrow - Ripped-Off Robin Hood (And Briefly Batman Too)
Over the years, many people have levelled the accusation that Green Arrow is just a green-painted carbon copy of Batman. Both are just regular humans using above average skills and wealth to fight crime, both use self-made gadgets to mimic superhuman feats, both have tragic backstories about being orphaned at a young age, and Green Arrow even had an arrowmobile at one point.
But this could not be further from the truth. While Batman fights crime out of psychological necessity, Green Arrow is motivated by ideology. A devoted liberal, Arrow is predisposed to be protective of the besieged underclasses of society and his vigilantism is just the easiest way for him to act on these instincts.
No, Arrow is not copying Batman. But he is copying an older and much more obvious source material. From his archery skills to his socially-conscious motivations to his romantic nature to his goatee and green cap, Green Arrow is blatantly a Robin Hood for the modern age. And despite being perhaps the most obvious rip-off in comic book history, it often escapes comic fans, who are more prepared to take a silly costumed-man fighting crime with a bow and arrow as an original creation of the medium.