Green Arrow: Every Trick Arrow Explained

4. The Atomic Warhead Arrow

Justice League of America #65 Green Arrow Starro
DC Comics

While some of Oliver Queen's multitude of different arrows are a little light-hearted, outright bizarre, or even otherworldly, his atomic warhead arrow carries a whole other level of gravitas and responsibility to the world as a whole.

Being able to summon the power of a nuclear weapon through a bow and arrow sounds a little nuts, but that's comic books - particularly when we're talking about some of the books of the '50s and into the '60s.

To be precise on this one, Oliver Queen pulls out his trusty atomic warhead arrow in 1968's Justice League of America #65. Realising that one of his more standard explosive arrows won't get the job done, the Master Bowman opts to up his game and use a nuclear arrow to take on the threat of the absorption alien Starro.

This whole story saw T.O. Morrow raging war on the JLA, and it just so happened that Green Arrow was the person to square off with Starro. And despite rooting down to pull out an atomic warhead arrow, Ollie still couldn't stop Starro during that particular fight.

Thankfully for fans with a modicum of common sense, the atomic warhead arrow has largely never been referenced since that 1968 outing - y'know, because a nuclear bomb in your quiver makes absolutely zero sense on a health and safety level.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.