Recent issues of Robin have placed Green Arrow’s son Conner Hawke in the spotlight, presenting a perfect chance for him to gain prominence.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Robin #11, on sale now from DC Comics.
The “Infinite Frontier” era has brought back many characters that were erased from continuity by Flashpoint and the New 52. Among them was the son of Green Arrow, Connor Hawke. Although he has only appeared as a supporting character in the Damian Wayne led Robin series thus far, now is the perfect time for the son of the Emerald Archer to take the spotlight.
This is evident from the conclusion of Connor’s story arc in Robin #11 (by Joshua Williamson, Gleb Melnikov, Luis Guerrero, and ALW’s Troy Peteri). He won the Lazarus Tournament in the previous issue, beating out some of the deadliest fighters in the entire DC Universe to do so, including Damian. In this issue, he was approached by one of DC’s most esteemed martial artists, Lady Shiva, who acknowledged Connor Hawke as one of the most formidable opponents she’s ever seen. With the Lazarus Tournament concluded, Shiva invited Hawke to yet another fighting tournament. It’s quite an achievement to be acknowledged by Lady Shiva, but that’s not the only reason why the son of Oliver Queen now deserves the spotlight.
First and foremost, Connor Hawke has already proven to be a capable Green Arrow. During the ’90s, after the death of his father, Connor took up the mantel and proved himself worthy to both friends and foes alike. He grew up without his father, as Oliver didn’t want anything to do with his son when he was born. As such, he didn’t train with the Green Arrow but he did idolize his absent father and his superhero career. He trained at the same monastery as his father and became a proficient martial artist. He even encountered Oliver Queen while he was there, befriending him and briefly becoming his crimefighting partner.
When Oliver died and Connor took over as the Green Arrow, the Justice League approached him about membership. He proved his worth by taking down the Key singlehandedly, who had previously incapacitated the entire team. Hawke was able to defeat him with his father’s old trick arrows, which he thought were pointless and had never used before facing the Key. This led to him joining the League, but he quit shortly thereafter. Like the original Green Arrow, he believed more in helping common people than fighting cosmic monsters.
After that, he encountered Lady Shiva for the first time. Although he was unable to beat her, she spared his life in recognition of his skills. This gave him a formidable reputation that Robin proved is still intact.
The reason why Connor Hawke should be in the spotlight now isn’t just because of his fighting prowess or his brief time in the Justice League, but rather about legacy. This has been the most important part of DC’s “Infinite Frontier” era, and with the “Death of the Justice League” and Dark Crisis looming it’s about to become even more important. There are many similarities between Connor and the current Superman, Jonathan Kent. Both are the sons of famous heroes and picked up their father’s mantles at a fairly young age. Both are also part of minority groups in need of greater representation in comics.
Although it sometimes wasn’t acknowledged by writers or even artists at the time, Connor Hawke is of mixed Asian, African and European heritage, with his mixed-race heritage recently being highlighted in DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration. A new Green Arrow series with Connor Hawke returning to the role could potentially bring greater representation to mainstream comics and the next incarnation of the Justice League.
In the end, that’s one of the biggest reasons why Connor should be in the spotlight. He fits perfectly with DC’s current vision of greater representation for their heroes as well as their focus on the next generation. With his father slated to meet his end (again) alongside the rest of the League, this is the perfect time for Conner to once again become the Green Arrow. He’s proved countless times that he is worthy of his father’s legacy and deserves a place among the rest of DC’s heroes.
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