Describing the relationship between the original Green Arrow Oliver Queen and his son Connor Hawke as complicated would be an understatement. The two had a difficult history, even before that history was muddied by repeated reboots of the DC Comics timeline. However, the preview for one Titans: Beast World special confirms one important aspect of the heroes’ relationship.
Titans: Beast World Tour – Star City opens with a story by Joshua Williamson and Jamal Campbell. Picking up off the events of Williamson’s monthly Green Arrow comic, “Like Father…” finds Oliver and Connor teaming up to protect Star City from rampaging beast folk. As they do this, Oliver Queen ponders his relationship with his son and how the two of them need to talk about their past. Specifically, how Oliver abandoned Connor and his mother.
Check out the first-look preview of Titans: Beast World Tour – Star City below:
The Connor Hawke confusion, explained
Connor Hawke was introduced in 1994 as the son of one of Oliver Queen’s college girlfriends, Sandra “Moonday” Hawke. A fiercely independent hippie, Moonday never told Oliver Queen that she had his child. Oliver and Conner met at a Buddhist ashram, which Conner attended as a student. The first Green Arrow mentored Connor in archery, unaware that he was his son until Parallax told him of Connor’s identity.
This was later contradicted by the Green Arrow storyline The Archer’s Quest. This comic concluded with the revelation that Oliver Queen had been present for Connor’s birth, but later pretended not to know who he was. However, this made no sense, given Oliver Queen’s character was defined by his desire to start a family after being orphaned.
This point was further muddled by the Judd Winick run on Green Arrow. One flashback story tried to reconcile the inconsistencies. However, it only further confused the timeline, and the readers. (Curiously, Moonday also went from having Asian features, to being a Black woman with dreadlocks.)
Winnick’s story had Oliver fathering Connor right before he was shipwrecked, rather than when he was a college student. It also had Oliver abandon Connor because he thought being Green Arrow was more important than being a father. Finally, Winick revealed that Connor knew he was abandoned. This contradicted the established history where Moonday kept Connor ignorant of his father’s identity.
Green Arrow abandoned his son for a new reason
The Titans: Beast World Tour – Star City special reconciles this by changing Oliver Queen’s motivations. Rather than being focused on being Green Arrow, Oliver Queen was fearful that he wouldn’t be a good father. This better fits Oliver Queen’s long history of avoiding his problems, while acknowledging his fear getting in the way of his desire for a family. It also establishes a firm groundwork on which the two Green Arrows can build a solid relationship.
Titans: Beast World Tour – Star City arrives in comic shops everywhere on January 23, 2024.
