In the early 1970's Green Arrow teamed up with Green Lantern for a short lived series, written by Dennis O'Neill and drawn by Neal Adams, that dealt with the social issues of the day. It was quite a departure for both heroes but the series has since gone down in history as some of the most important comic books ever created. The two heroes embark on a road trip to 'find America' in a beat-up pick-up truck, and encounter the problems of racism, political corruption and pollution along the way. O'Neill has Oliver Queen lose his fortune and become an outspoken advocate of the underprivileged. He rages against the machine and demands radical change in the political agenda, whereas Hal Jordan's Green Lantern is more of the straight arrow, a figure of the establishment. Hal is a military man who wants to work within the confines of the law and institutions, and the two heroes conflicting ideologies continuously rub each other the wrong way. But over their journey, they both learn to accept aspects of each others views. Now, this might all sound a touch lofty and worthy to be adapted into the Arrow TV show, and that's because it is. These stories were very much of their time, and could be seen as slightly dated and preachy nowadays, but the central conceit is a strong one. What if, in the show, Ollie did lose his fortune and experience a complete change in personality? Who could the show use in the Green Lantern role, as the yin to Ollie's yang? Perhaps John Diggle, Ollie's trusty bodyguard/badass military dude, could serve the function? The show could hearken back to some of the strong material from early in season one, when Diggle and Ollie's personalities would clash but they always ended up with greater respect for one another. We think this could make for an interesting series of episodes and could provide some very interesting character development for both men.
