If you were disappointed by how Green Arrow was handled in the Absolute Universe, you may feel differently after hearing what DC Comics has planned for the hero’s upcoming miniseries. It’s been known for months now that the Emerald Archer is going to be getting a miniseries set in DC Comics’ Absolute Universe. But aside from knowing the book’s creative team of Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque and the six issues it’s been confirmed for, we know virtually nothing about the book. And the Absolute Evil one-shot from back in October only confused matters.
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While mostly dedicated to the villains of the Absolute Universe, Absolute Evil showed us what this universe’s Oliver Queen was like. Interestingly enough, he was very similar to his Prime Universe counterpart. He was still rich, still a crackshot, and still investing money into a crusade against crime. But affluent and powerful people controlling this world couldn’t entertain Oliver’s notions and had him brutally taken out by their enforcer, the Absolute Hawkman. It seemed like that was the end for Oliver, but recent comments seem to imply this could just be the beginning for Absolute Green Arrow.
Absolute Green Arrow is Going to be a Horror Story
Sadly, we’re all still waiting to hear something about the Absolute Green Arrow series, which is still set to debut next spring. However, after weeks and weeks of silence, we finally got a little nugget of information straight from one member of the creative team. Over the weekend at CCXP in São Paulo, Brazil, Rafael Albuquerque attended as a guest and finally revealed some details about the miniseries. He said that Absolute Green Arrow would be more of a horror story than a superhero comic, noting that those who enjoyed his American Vampire work will like Absolute Green Arrow.
That is a bit more information than we’ve had up until this point, but Albuquerque remained mum on anything else regarding the upcoming miniseries. Now, obviously, his mention of American Vampire doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing Green Arrow fight vampires (at least, I think that’s the case). But clearly Albuquerque is keying us in on a crucial element of the upcoming miniseries. Much like how other Absolute Universe titles have experimented with new tones to help them stand out from the mainline DC book, Absolute Green Arrow is getting an injection of horror to help it stand out.
Of course, ‘horror’ could mean anything. Oliver Queen getting his skull bashed in by Hawkman was horrifying. So, what does Albuquerque mean when he says that Absolute Green Arrow is more of a horror story? With so little information, the sky really is the limit. But when we take a look at what the Absolute Universe has done so far, we can make a few educated guesses on what kind of horror story Absolute Green Arrow is going to tell.
Absolute Green Arrow: Zombie, Monster, or Survival Story?
Along with a whole bunch of like-minded online fans, my first guess is that making Absolute Green Arrow a horror story means one thing: Zombie Green Arrow. I mean, it sounds ridiculous, but not so much in recent years. We’re starting to see some dark magic pop up in the Absolute books, from Zatanna casting a binding spell in Absolute Wonder Woman to whatever demonic force is living inside the Joker. Is it really that much of a stretch to say Oliver Queen could live again as an undead ghoul, fighting for social justice from beyond the grave?
But another common theory is that Absolute Green Arrow could very well be about the final few hours of Oliver Queen’s life before being bludgeoned to death by Hawkman. Queen did have all the equipment and skills needed to at least put up a decent fight before he met his maker. And survival horror is a very popular subgenre. Plus, it’d make for an incredibly harrowing story watching Oliver try to survive his battle with Hawkman, not knowing it’s his first and only battle as a superhero.
But the most obvious choice is probably the correct one. Oliver’s dead and he’s not coming back. The Green Arrow mantle will wind up being passed to someone else, and the villains of the world will try to take them out just viciously. With what? Monsters, of course! As Absolute Batman and Absolute Wonder Woman revealed, the people secretly running the Earth have tons of villainous monsters at their command. And what greater or more horrifying challenge could there be for a novice Green Arrow than facing an army of killer monsters?
Absolute Green Arrow being a horror story could be anything, really. Hopefully, we’ll get more details soon because it’s kind of wild that we’ve known about this miniseries for nearly half a year, but still virtually nothing about who it will star or what obstacles await them. But the idea that Green Arrow’s next series will be a horror story is an interesting one. Whatever Pichetshote and Albuquerque have planned for their series, hopefully, it will be just as scary as whatever we can imagine.
What are you hoping for in Absolute Green Arrow? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!
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