Green Arrow: Every Trick Arrow Explained

2. The Kryptonite Arrow

Green Arrow Nth Metal
Warner Bros.

Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns is regarded by some as the greatest graphic novel of all time. And while that book is famed for its portrayals of Batman and Superman, Oliver Queen is just one of several other famed DC names to make an appearance in that 1986 tale.

With Batman and the Boy Scout duking it out, it's revealed that Bruce Wayne had called in a favour from an old friend. That friend, of course, being a one-armed Green Arrow.

Making his presence a pivotal part of The Dark Knight Returns, Ollie turns out to fire a kryptonite-headed arrow at the Man of Steel.

How did he get hold of that arrow? Why, it was specially crafted for him by Bruce - apparently at a hefty cost and constructed over a number of years.

Not only does Ollie get to wield this most unique of arrows in Miller's comic book The Dark Knight Returns, but, as pictured, the Green Arrow also turns up to make the exact same move, with the exact same weapon, in Jay Oliva's mesmerising two-part movie adaptation of that source material.

Elsewhere, the Emerald Archer has also been seen using a kryptonite arrow in the Arrowverse's Crisis on Earth X crossover event.

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, 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 dayjob, his role as the 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, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.