Ace Archers Battling Bowman Avenger Arrows: Life After Loss

The Battling Bowmen known as Green Arrow and Speedy on both Earths One and Two had long prestigious careers battling crime, supported by the wealth of Arrow's alter ego Oliver Queen. Their wards and sidekicks named Roy Harper faithful stuck to their mentors, both in their civilian identities and aliases as Speedy. And then, tragedy struck for each Dynamic Duo!

On Earth-One, Oliver and Roy gradually drifted apart. As Queen lost his business and millions of dollars, he reassessed his priorities and charted a new life course. With a brand new costume and focus in life, Green Arrow simultaneously began a long-term romance with Dinah "Black Canary" Lance when she migrated from Earth-Two to his world, and joined with hi in the Justice League.

Meanwhile, Roy gradually pulled away from even his close friends in the Teen Titans, and fell into a pattern of substance abuse. While eventually coming out of this, he no longer trusted Oliver as being there to support him, and started a solo crimefighting career.

On Earth-Two, Green Arrow and Speedy were members of the Law's Legionnaires, also known as the Seven Soldiers of Victory. When they were pulled from their native time period in the late 1940's due to their battle alongside their fellow Soldiers versus the Nebula Man, there were still stories told specially about them on through the late 1950s. 

These post 1948 tales can either be ascribed to untold adventures from the 1940s, or new cases upon their return to the 20th century in the early 1970s. There is logic in assuming that several of Arrow and Speedy's adventures took place after October of 1972, when they and their fellow Soldiers returned to the present. Their teammate Vigilante faced a similar situation, as his tales were still told until 1954, years after he disappeared.

The dynamic between this pair of archers remained familial, unlike that of the silver age archers of Earth-One, as a rift developed between Green Arrow and Speedy. Part of this may have been due to Arrow's alter ego Oliver Queen losing his fortune, which his counterpart evidentally never experienced. Then there is the fact that unlike their dopplegangers on Earth-Two who were members of the same team blending adult and teen heroes together, the Earth-One Green Arrow was heavily involved with the older Justice League, while Speedy centered his activities with the Teen Titans.

Strange Synthesis for Sinestro & Speedy

An oddity evident to Earths One and Two is their symbiotic nature. This is not only due to their connected histories and quantum physics entanglements, but also in their inhabitants.

Our example today is the supervillain Sinestro and the superhero Speedy. The former was initially unique to the Earth-One universe, the latter distinct to the Earth-Two universe. But that changed as a result of a cosmic exchange between the twin realities.

Sinestro of planet Korugar-One was the assigned protector of Sector 1417, until he became consumed with an insatiable thirst for power and forsook the tenants of the Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro began his criminal career as the arch-enemy of Earth-One's Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, empowered by a yellow power ring gifted to him by his cronies of the Anti-Matter Universe of Qward.

Roy Harper of planet Earth-Two was the orphaned son left stranded on Lost Mesa until discovered by Native American artifact collector Oliver Queen. The pair adopted the alter egos of Green Arrow and Speedy, both members of Law’s Legionnaires and the All-Star Squadron. One of their All-Star teammates, Jim “Guardian” Harper (no relation) and his brother Will traveled to Earth-One during the mid to late 1940s, with Will becoming father to a son he would name Roy. Rather than a blonde haired lad like the Roy of his home world, this Roy aka Speedy had red hair.

Some years later, Sinestro traveled to Earth-Two to create multiple clones* of himself, which he intended to become a Sinestro Corps unopposed by his former foes. Although he failed at this, the villain did spawn an exact duplicate of himself, who became his own counterpart! Interestingly, had transdimensional transportation not been developed between universes, Speedy-One and Sinestro-Two would never have existed!

* The remaining Sinestro clones on Earth-Two corresponded to Korugarians allied with his father on their world.

* Just as Baxter “Doctor Polaris” Timmons (a clone of Neal “Doctor Polaris” Emerson) was spawned as an adulthood having skipped childhood on Earth-One, so too the Sinestro clone of Earth-Two was spawned as an adulthood having skipped childhood. Their counterparts of each others’ Earth, the original Sinestro and Knodar grew up from infants and aged naturally.

Alternate Earths: Earth-1A and Earth-2A

While most tales involving the Justice League and Justice Society prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths have been relegated to Earths One and Two, respectively, there have been notable exceptions as to their members. Specifically, the "Big Five" plus two whose tales were continuously published on Earth-Prime (our world) since their inception in the late 1930s/early 1940s and through the decades between the Society's last Golden Age tale and the League's first Silver Age tale. 

The so-called Big Five, these were Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman and Robin. And it was this quintet who became the core group known as the Super Friends*, as four Justice Leaguers and one Teen Titan were selected to training aspiring heroes Marvin White and Wendy Harris. Shortly after, they would turn their attention to the extra-terrestrial shapechangers Zan and Jayna, the Wonder Twins. While reference within the Super Friends and Justice League tales assert that these two groups existed concurrently on the same Earth-One, some oddities in the Super Friends tales do not quite line up with the League's mainstream continuity. As such, their stories may have occured on Earth-One, but not quite as they were written within the comicbook published on Earth-Prime**. 

As mentioned after the Crisis by author Roy Thomas, the dispersed energy of the seven superheroes who departed the 1940's All-Star Squadron had to be compensated by newer heroes taking their place. While Neptune Perkins assumed the place of his fellow former Earth-Two All-Star colleague Aquaman and Dan the Dyna-Mite substituted for Robin, three new heroes from a third pre-Crisis Earth... quite probably Earth-Eight... in Iron Munro, Flying Fox and Fury took the place of Superman***, Batman and Wonder Woman****. While their tales as the Young All-Stars would not be exactly what would've been the All-Star Squadron's tales, were the "Big Seven" still active, many elements would be similar making the young heroes' adventures homages to untold Earth-Two Squadron tales*****.

Of course, the remaining duo of those seven characters included the Battling Bowmen known as Green Arrow and Speedy. While they were pulled from their native time period in the late 1940's due to their battle alongside the Seven Soldiers of Victory versus the Nebula Man, there were still stories told specially about the Earth-Two version through the late 1950s. We will consider this in the future.

* The Super Friend's actual Earth-Two counterpart team would the Super Squad, consisting of a core group with the Justice Society who... like the Justice League... were tasked with training a second generation of younger heroes.

** One such example of this is when Red Tornado mentioned his used of time travel referenced Super Friends issue# 8, while engaging in this feat a second time in Justice League of America #155.

*** E. Nelson Bridwell among others postulated that the golden age Superman's stories referencing Daily Planet instead of Daily Star, and a bald Luthor instead of a red-haired Luthor, transpired on Earth-2A. If so, then these same stories were also told on Earth-Two, as referenced by the tale of the Powerstone... where both a bald and red-haired Luthor claimed the object for himself.

**** Other members of the Young All-Stars including Tsunami, Sandy, Tigress would be reflections of Jayna, Zan, Wendy and Marvin with the Super Friends.

*****As shown by the accompanying picture, at least briefly before the inception of the Young All-Stars, members of the Freedom Fighters took the places of the missing "Big Five" in the Squadron. Although curiously, in the retroactively altered picture, golden age Green Arrow and Speedy remained until later wiped from existence!

Justice Journalists: Green Arrow and Crimson Avenger

At the start of their careers, both Oliver Queens were virtually identical. Each were wealthy playboys, without much drive in their lives, until stranded in remote locales where they trained in the art of archery. They adopted wards named Roy Harper, whom they teamed up with in the costumed crusaders known as Green Arrow and Speedy. True, their origins were different, Oliver of Earth-One was trapped on an island and Oliver of Earth-Two was stranded on a mesa... and the teams they joined were also dissimilar as Oliver-One joined the Justice League and Oliver-Two joined Law's Legionnaires. Still they were mirror images.

And then, each faced drastic life changes. Oliver-One lost his fortune and became a newspaper columnist at the Daily Star*. Oliver-Two was lost in time and returned a recluse. At this point, the former adopted a new costume and a new attitude towards life, fighting for the underserved in society. In this, Oliver-One now reflected the demeanor of Oliver-Two's long-time fellow Legionnaire teammate, the Crimson Avenger*.

Lee Walter Travis was a wealthy publisher of the Globe-Leader, originally located in New York City. Seeing that reporting about injustice wasn't enough, he adopted a mask/cape/fadora with specialty gas-gun as the Crimson Avenger. During this period, he and his trusted chaffeur and friend Wing battled crime as well as attempt to elevate conditions of those discriminated against. In this, he became in spirit his world's version of the new Green Arrow of Earth-One**.

Interestingly, a rich friend of Travis' named Wesley Dodds was also inspired to become a masked man, the Sandman. He too, like the Avenger and like the Arrow, were said to operate in "New York City", although decades later it was revealed he actually lived in York City... a smaller metropolis also on the east coast. It’s logical, then, that this "York City" would have also had other heroes in their midst... like Avenger and like Arrow, perhaps. Thus, this York City with its newspaper the Globe-Leader was the Earth-Two analogue of Star City and its newspaper the Daily Star on Earth-One***.

* Both worlds had their own Daily Star and their own Daily Planet/Globe-Leader newspapers, although on Earth-One and Earth-Two they were in different cities. 

** The Earth-One counterparts of Lee Travis aka Crimson Avenger as well as his partner Wing How were the dynamic duo of the Kryptonian bottled city of Kandor on Earth-One, Ak-Var aka Flamebird and his partner Von-Zee aka Nightwing.

*** A similar number of adventures where chronicled of both the Earth-One Green Arrow during his journalist columnist phase as were those of the Earth-Two Crimson Avenger within the pages of Detective Comics.

Whatever Happened to Crimson Avenger... and Law's Legionnaires

When Lee Walter Travis decided to adopt the alter ego of Crimson Avenger, he stepped outside his comfort zone as a wealthy newspaper publisher and into the world of costumed crimefighting. As a member of Law's Legionnaires... also known as the Seven Soldiers of Victory, he and his sidekick Wing had several adventures alongside his teammates. The last was a monumental clash with the alien Nebula Man, which caused Lee and the other Soldiers except Wing to be sent to various past centuries. Now in ancient Mexico, Travis became amnesiac and believed himself to be the ruler of its native people. This effect, along with new superhuman powers, were caused by exposure to a fragment of the Nebula Man. When the Justice Society and Justice League retrieved the Legionnaires, returning them to the 20th century to battle their old foe the Iron Hand, Lee discovered that his dear friend Wing sacrificed his life to destroy Nebula Man.

After a brief retirement, in 1980 Lee resumed his heroic career as Crimson Avenger defending Metropolis, while in his professional career he had moved his newspaper the Daily Globe-Leader to that city and renamed it the Daily Planet. However, the next year, Travis learned that he was succumbing to an incurable condition brought on by the Nebula radiation. Deciding to have one final adventure, Crimson Avenger swung from the balcony of his hospital room, saving a lad named Umberto who fell from his mom's apartment window. Then, the Avenger arrived at his original destination, a tanker in distress due to crooks seizing it for its experiemental chemicals onboard. After subduing them and freeing the vessel's crew, he ordered them to abandon ship and flee on its lifeboat while he piloted the volatile vessel out of theharbor. By doing so, the Avenger saved countless citizens on the shores surrounding Metropolis Bay, and seemingly died.

However, due to the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Travis at the instant prior to his perishing was jettisoned from this time period to that of four years in the future. There, equipped with scuba gear he had donned to escape the ship once it cleared the harbor, he ended up arriving on a world now encased in an energy dome along with countless cities from across the Multiverse. 

Now residing with the city and its inhabitants on a new world named Telos, Avenger and his teammates protected Metropolis from various threats for an entire year before the dome collapsed. The ruler of this world sought to pit inhabitants of various cities against one another, and this involved the Crimson and some of his fellow Legionnaires battling the invader hordes of the Antimatter Universe of Qward known as the Thunderers. 

Ultimately, the Qwardians prevailed against the remained Legionnaires, with both Crimson Avenger and his teammate Vigilante dying after being overwhelmed by superior numbers of Thunderers. Prior to this, Stripesy succumbed to pneumonia, while his partner Star-Spangled Kid was heavily involved with Infinity Inc. who were fighting off a different attack on Metropolis led by Jonah Hex and his warriors of the future.

Perhaps the most tragic losses, however, were those of the Battling Bowmen, as Green Arrow and Speedy died back on Earth-Two in the waning hours of the Crisis, as they tried to save cartoonist/reporter Scribby Jibbet from a time-displaced pterodactyl, Instead, the pair fell to their death during this valiant effort, leaving it to the sole remaining active Legionnaire the Shining Knight to come to the rescue.

Meanwhile, on Earth-S and Earth-Four, the Earth-One Green Arrow and Speedy were battling an army of villians invading these parallel planets. Both of them, unlike their counterparts, survived.

Towards the end of the Convengence event, Shining Knight invited Scribby to join him as a new Legionnaire in place of his fallen comrades. As the journalist was chronicling his adventures on this alien world under the dome, he witnessed as Metropolis and all that resided within its border was returning once more to Earth-Two. During this transition, he noted that memories of the past year on Telos were fading away, as reality was once more being restored.

Now back on Earth-Two, the fallen Legionnaires Vigilante's body was found on the streets of Metropolis, surrounded by the city's new conquerors from the Antimatter Universe. And in a cemetary, a grave marked for Pat "Stripesy" Dugan left a mystery as to what happened to fell this strong Soldier. Sadly, the final selfless sacrifice of Crimson Avenger would be left untold, as memories faded from the collective conscience of man.

Those heroes remaining, such as Shining Knight and Scribby as well as Superman, Power Girl and others would undoubtedly have vanquished the Thunderers, sending them back to Qward. This then left those in Metropolis to rebuild their city once more, which had been devastated by natural disasters of the Crisis and warfare on planet Telos.

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Interestingly, the counterparts of the Crimson Avenger and Wing, Flamebird and Nightwing, had a similar eventuality. For years, they resided with their fellow Kryptonians within the shrunken bottled city of Kandor, kept safely inside the Earth-One Superman's Fortress of of Solitude. After a series of adventures wherein Superman and Jimmy Olsen adopted the aliases of Nightwing and Flamebird, a Kandorian version of Gotham City's Dynamic Duo of Batman and Robin, scientist Van-Zee and his assistant Ak-Var borrowed these costumes for their own crimefighting escapades.

Eventually, Superman and Supergirl were able to restore Kandor and its citizens to their normal height, on a planet orbiting a red sun known as Rokyn. On this world, the former Kryptonians no longer had superhuman powers, and revealed that this world shifted between universes from time-to-time. As such, Nightwing and Flamebird along with their city were kept in a transitory state, much as the Earth-Two city of Metropolis, between universes... only Rokyn's shifting state wasn't temporary as were those of the cities on Telos.

Fantastic Four Supports Seven Soldiers

Shortly after an their adventure alongside the Justice Society of America, wherein they assisted them in recovering their fellow All-Stars missing since the golden age of mystery men, the Justice League returned to Earth-One. That is, all save three Leaguers who remained on Earth-Two, who were tasked with what Hawkman said was: “helping the Seven Soldiers adjust to the world of the present”! Why?

In the early 1950’s, the Seven... also known as Law's Legionnaires, gathered together for one final case as a group. On that occasion, atop the Himalayas, they along with their unofficial eight member Wing, battled the Nebula Man monster. Assembling a Nebula Rod that destroyed the create, a side effect was Wing's death, while his teammates were sent to various past time periods. From these eras, various members of the JLA and JSA retrieves the Legionnaires, bringing them back to the 20th century although decades after they disappeared. Thanks to their reappearance, the Soldiers were able to save Earth-Two!

Undoubtedly, the Society also aided the Soldiers in their transition from the 50’s to the 70's. However, those three Leaguers: Aquaman, Atom and Black Canary; these three had special purpose that necessitated their temporary presence in that alternate universe.

At least one of the Soldiers was given one-on-one assistance by a Socialite, as Starman took an immediate interest in his fellow stellar superhero, Star-Spangled Kid. In fact, when he later broke his leg, Starman lent the Kid his Cosmic Rod to use. And it would be this device, along with his knowledge of the Nebula Rod, that helped the Kid create his Cosmic Converter Belt.

The Legionnaire known as Shining Knight would have little difficulty readjusting to a new decade, as he had previously experienced a frozen sleep that lasted over a thousand years removed from his native time in Camelot. He and his flying steed Winged Victory simply acclimated to yet another new time period.

Apparently, although sent to save Star-Spangled Kid from the prehistoric past, something drew Aquaman's attention toward the Legionnaire referred to as the Vigilante. Perhaps with his telepathic abilities, the marine marvel was able to perceive some melancholy in the cowboy crusader. One thing they both had in common were beloved sidekicks who were surrogate sons, that they had grown distant from. While the emotional rift between Aquaman and his young partner Aqualad eventually mended, at the time of this tale it was still a fresh wound.

And if history parallels on both Earths, then this Vigilante would soon discover the tragedy that befell his sidekick Stuff. On Earth-One, after that Vigilante returned from a mysterious years-long absence, he learned of the death of his world's Stiff., who had been murdered by his arch-enemy the Dummy.

Honorary League member Metamorpho would have had a positive influence on Stripesy, the senior partner of the Kid. The Element Man would no doubt encourage Stripesy into settling down into a normal life and get married, something Metamorpho longed to do if ever cured from his inhuman condition. Stripesy later mentioned that he retreated into a new life with a wife and son on the other side of the United States... retiring from heroics… something he wasn’t inclined to do before meeting his new League acquaintance.

The Atom had first encountered Legionnaire Crimson Avenger in ancient Mexico, when the hero was under the influence of a fragment of the Nebula Man. Radiating with power from the radioactive rock, Crimson Avenger had battled Atom as well as Elongated Man and Doctor Fate, until they defeated him and he regained his senses. However, there was undoubtedly a concern as to the physical effects of Avenger's close proximity to the alien substance, which Atom sought to investigate using his scientific knowledge and experience with dangerous white dwarf radiation.

And indeed, his concern was borne out, as the Crimson while traveling the world as Lee Travis, discovered he now had cancer. With time running out, he resumed his costumed career for one final adventure. Sadly, if Atom discovered the root cause, he was unable to prevent the resulting effect.

And finally, there was Black Canary, a native of Earth-Two. She would perhaps feel inclined to help Vigilante, whom she helped save from the old west. However, she would've instead sought out the Legionnaires' ace archers, Green Arrow and Speedy. And given her recent history with her adopted world's versions of the pair of bowmen, one can see why this is a logical choice for her.

Throughout the years, the romantic relationship between Canary and the Earth-One Arrow usually involved her being the voice of reason, given his stubborn and opinionate point of view on life. This made him a better man, and would carry over with his adopted ward.

That ward, Speedy, had succumbed to drug abuse and addiction, despite having a storied career alongside his mentor and as a member of the Teen Titans. Canary in her Dinah Lance identity helped the lad recover over time.

Now on her home world of Earth-Two, Dinah saw a more mild and reserved Green Arrow, and a very frightened Speedy given his experience in ancient Greece when he temporarily lost his grip on humanity. 

She seemed a stabilizing influence, as the pair retired to reclaim their lives as Oliver Queen and Roy Harper. While the Earth-One Oliver and Roy had lost the fortune that supported them, causing them to live more modest lives and persist in their masked escapades... this wasn't the case for the Earth-Two pair. Those two ex-Legionnaires never acclaim resumed their more famous alter egos, aside from the occasional reunion with their teammates and during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Although Roy felt torment later during the Crimson Avenger's funeral due to their displacement in time, he did not revert to substance abuse as had his cosmic twin. Instead, he dealt with the harsh realities life had presented him with. The Teen Titan Roy, also at a funeral, felt some indignation for the abandonment of his former guardian Oliver, and would once more become Speedy in order to prove that he had regained control of his life once more.

Crazy Costumed Crimefighting Counterparts

Earth-Twelve was a unique world among the infinite variations of this third planet from the star Sol. While superheroes of Earths One, Two, Four, S, and others had serious sides to them... this particular universe was predicated on a more jovial nature, as were its protectors.

Merryman (Myron Victor). was the son of golden age heroes Patriot and Lady Liberty. Just as his parents were their world's version of the Freedom Fighters Uncle Sam and Miss America of Earth-Two, so too was Myron the doppleganger of Jester (Chuck Tane) of that same alternate Earth.

Although not possessing the physical skills of Tane, Victor used his substantial intellect to compensate and lead his team, the Inferior Five, into many battles of which they came out victorious.

Dumb Bunny (Athena Tremor), like her cosmic twin of Earth-Two in Fury (Lyta Trevor), was a super-strong second generation Amazonian. The daughters of Princess Power and Wonder Woman, respectively, these blond bombshells were apt to solving conflict with their might. 

However, while Lyta coupled her powerful physique with mental acumen, Athena sadly lacked the mental abilities to think her way out of problems. It would be Dumb Bunny's step-sister Angel O'Day who had the intellect of the two which she inherited from her father. And, in fact, Angel would like Lyta's colleague Jonni Thunder have a propensity towards detective work that aided her clients.

Angel's business associate, Sam Simeon, helped her on her cases using his skills as a gorilla... drastically different from the menace that the Ultra-Humanite ape was towards Lyta and her young allies in Infinity Inc. more than once throughout he years.

Blimp (Herman Cramer) was the son of the Fastest Man of Earth-Twelve in Captain Swift. However, due to his girth, Herman only inherited his father's flight ability without manifesting the speed powers of his father. 

He would be a loyal friend to his costumed colleagues, much as his cosmic twin Tubby  Theodore Watts was for the Johnny Quick of Earth-Two. He and Quick were also coworkers which led to several adventures. Tubby himself had like Blimp gained the power of flight thanks to using the same speed formula that Johnny relied upon for years. However, Tubby also possessed super speed like his best pal, yet was unable to maneuver with it and so decided to retire and simply support Quick from behind the scenes.

White Feather (William King) was the actual son of his Earth's premier avenging archer in the Bowman, unlike Speedy (Roy Harper) who was adopted by Green Arrow.

Although displaying archery skills on part with his counterpart, William also displayed a weakness that his counterpart Roy didn't have... an overwhelming cowardice which at times immobilized the young hero.

Awkwardman (Leander Brent) was a self-proclaimed "beachcomber" and as such lived a life of partying. He was also the son of two success stories in Mister Might and the Mermaid, of which he gained his super-strength and amphibious attributes. As physically perfect as that of Batman (Bruce Wayne), he also shared a similar fashion sense and civilian lifestyle that Wayne adopted as a playboy. 

However, Brent did not have Wayne's physical coordination, hence his alter ego which belied his tendency to trip over his own two feet in and out of his costume.

The Interior Five were the Earth-Twelve version of Infinity, Inc., being second generation superheroes following the footsteps of their heroic forefathers in the Freedom Brigade and Justice Society. While not quite living up to their legends, they nevertheless made names for themselves and assisted not only their own world but other parallel planets during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Other heroes both past and present populated this alternate Earth, including their own versions of Superman and Robin. In addition, another quintet of teenage superhumans in training assisted the Inferior Five on occasion, these being the students at Dean Egghead's Academy of Super-Heroes. Their membership consisted of the Ape, Basilisk, Icarus, Levitation Lass and Winter Wonderlad.

The history of Earth-Twelve has several masked men and wonderful women who fought for justice, such as Merry Man's grandfather Yellowjacket who along with his sidekick Plato fought the fine fight, like his cosmic twin Crimson Avenger who alongside his personal age Wing were said to be the inspiration for a whole generation of costumed crusaders. Among them his own son the Patriot.

The premier powerhouse protectors who operated in the 1940's were the Freedom Brigade. The known membership for this team and their correlating counterparts were:

• Mister Might (Superman/Clark Kent) 
• Princess Power (Wonder Woman/Diana Prince) 
• Captain Swift (The Flash aka Jay Garrick)
• Bowman (Green Arrow/Oliver Queen) 
• Mermaid (Ptra Paralea)
• Patriot (Uncle Sam)
• Lady Liberty (Miss America)

Saddened Speedy's Seek Solitary Solace

Roy Harper... two lads that were mirror images of one another... who had adopted the alter ego of Speedy. Teenage sidekick of the Green Arrow, each Speedy had their early years formed by their mentors' heroic guidance in their lives. Sadly, when tragedy entered their lives, their reactions were markedly the same. 

On Earth-One, Speedy slowly found that his legal guardian Oliver Queen had drifted away from him. For a time, Speedy's teammates in the Teen Titans kept him focused, however he eventually was lured into a life of substance abuse. With the timely intervention of Hal "Green Lantern" Jordan and especially Dinah "Black Canary" Lance, Roy was able to beat his drug habit and returned as a masked manhunter. However, a sharp rift between Roy and Oliver remained, as Speedy learned that Arrow wasn't the supportive surrogate father he thought him to be.

On Earth-Two, Speedy alongside his mentor Green Arrow were members of Law's Legionnaires during the 1940's, on their last case together as a team found themselves all lost in time. Combating the mysterious Nebula Man, the seven soldiers were jettisoned to various historic eras, with Speedy ending up in ancient Greece transformed into a bestial being by an evil villainess. Although members of the Justice Society and Justice League retrieved him and his allies, with his medical condition reversed, the impact was long lasting. Years later, now in the early 1980's having lost decades of time in the interim, Roy became bitter at the alienation he felt from his former friends and apparently from Oliver himself. After one final meeting together to pay their respects for their fallen comrade Crimson Avenger, a bitter Speedy retired from his costumed crusade. When Green Arrow next appeared during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a period that inspired all types of heroes to present themselves to protect humanity, Roy was not among them. What became of him would be revealed during the Crisis Convergence event, when he and Green Arrow gave their lives to save another.

Robin's Radical Relationships: Turbulent Teenagers

Some things were easier for Earth-One's Robin than for that of his counterpart, some things were not. One thing that went smoothly was the former's fine friendship with other teenage sidekicks, with whom he formed the Teen Titans. For the latter, there was no such Titans, instead there was the Blue Boys of whom Robin was not a member. However, the Boy Wonder did meet other lads who... like him... accompanied their mentors at a meeting of the All-Star Squadron. While the Titans began with four lads... Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Speedy... and a lass named Wonder Girl, the young All-Star quartet of Robin, Dyna-Mite, Sandy and Speedy didn't mesh quite as well (and on Earth-Two, Donna Troy never assumed the alter ego of Wonder Girl as had her twin). One parallel quite evident, however, was the fact that each Robin and Speedy immediately butted heads with one another. Still, Earth-One's pair would develop a begrudging friendship while the Earth-Two pair would find a more significant gap between them. For there, that Speedy was lost in time for decades with his Law's Legionnaires comrades, and returned in the 1970s as still a teenage, encountering a now forty-year old Robin alongside the Justice Society... a team where Robin would finally find the acceptance had that his twin found amongst the Titans!

Fawcett's Finest: All-Stars of the Golden Age

The largest assemblage of superheroes in the Multiverse is probably Earth-Two's All-Star Squadron, even larger than Earth-One's 30th century Legion of Super-Heroes. Operating in the 1940's, during the period of World War II when protectors of freedom were necessary, this group included such teams as the Justice Society of America and Law's Legionnaires. A variety of costumed crusaders from diverse backgrounds possessing different abilities meshed into a cohesive unit of mystery men.

While Earth-S never had opportunity to bring together its various superheroes, they nevertheless existed and were brought together as smaller units, such as the Squadron of Justice, Crime Crusaders Club and Marvel Family. Still, most of these vigilantes worked solo without interacting with fellow masked men. Sharing similar careers, abilities, fashion sense and other aspects with their cosmic twins, these second-stringers in the Fawcett staple of characters nevertheless earned a degree of respect among their more prominent peers. There the bright boys, monstrous manhunters, device dogooders, back-word bidazzlers, ranked raiders, heroic hispanics, trick teens, power princesses and mustached marauders.

Green Arrows of the World Come in Many Colors

Rounding out our troupe of Green Arrows from around the world, we consider the lesser lights who didn't receive name treatment, like Earth-One's Bowman of Britain, Phantom of France, Ace Archer of Japan and Bowman of the Bush. They held equally interesting story possibilities...

Two of the remaining members have been identified by locale if nothing more in the chronicles, being from Mexico and Switzerland. Another archer was evidently from either Saudi Arabia or India, given their unique choice of clothing they chose to wear. 

On a later occasion, there was even a duo of Archers from Alaska when Arrow and Speedy helped train. When Jerry and Ed Hallick saw injustice in their arctic land, they realized that they realized they needed to adopt alter egos mirroring their rolemodels in America. Eventually they struck out on their own.

On Earth-Two, other archers assisted the Ace Archers from the European land of Belgravia. The Scarlet Bowmen were the costumed identities of Albert and Peter Regal, personal protectors of King Paul. After having the duo come to America to train with their hero and his sidekick Speedy, the Bowen went back to their mountain top kingdom to protect it from evil. However, on one occasion a corrupt general conspired against the sovereign and captured the Regals, which led to Green Arrow and Speedy adopting the aliases of the Bowmen until the conspirators were captured and the land's native heroes were freed.

Later,when Green Arrow appeared like he was missing a step after three of his arrows missed their mark, through no fault of his own, Speedy doubted his mentor's abilities. His solution? Appoint an heir but one who adopted a different color.

Selecting three experts from an archery club, Green Arrow gave each variations of his own costume. Then Red Arrow, White Arrow and finally Blue Arrow auditioned alongside Speedy... each showing expert marksmanship. Turns out, all three were Green Arrow in disguise, proving to Speedy that he was still the tops!

So the Earth-One Green Arrows of Mexico, Switzerland and Arabia as well as the Alaskan Archers were dopplegangers to Earth-Two's Scarlet Bowmen along with Red, Blue and White Arrow.

Green Arrows of the World Meet the Battling Bowmen

The manner in which the combined Green Arrows of the World were able to capture Limehouse Larkin, who had impersonated the Bowman of Britain, was by using their various techniques to slow him down long enough to be cornered by the original Arrow and his sidekick Speedy.

We've already been introduced to the Bowman of Britain and the Phantom of France, and their Earth-Two cosmic twins the Bow Master of Britain and the Third Archer of France. What of the other members of this one-shot team?

We're introduced to Earth-One's Ace Archer of Japan, with his speciality jiu-jitsu arrow and the Bowman of the Bush (of Malaya), with his niche a vine arrow. Also in attendance are the Green Arrows of Mexico, Switzerland and evidently others from Saudi Arabia and Spain though they stay in the background of this tale.

Turns out the Earth-Two had still other archers, in fact ones that preceded the Battling Bowmen, whom they stumbled onto following a freak accident. After noticing the clothing of an Earl of Charleville and his son Armond reminiscent of their own heroic garb, Green Arrow and Speedy race to a costume ball to protect valuable jewelry there from theft. In route, a bolt of lightning sends the pair back into 15th century Ponsoc, France where they encounter the Masked Archers. When they discover they are in reality the Earl and Armond, Green Arrow and Speedy impersonate the pair to belay suspicion by the evil Black Duke and his men as to the true identity of the ancient Archers. After returning to the 20th century through a similar means, they note wording on an old plaque crediting the adventure to the "Green Arrow" in French!

Green Arrows of the World Meet Bowmen of France

We've already been introduced to the Bowman of Britain, one of Earth-One's Green Arrows of the World. There were others from elsewhere whom their host, the costumed Oliver Queen and Roy Harper, invited to America for an Archer conference. This consisted of the Phantom of France, Bowman of the Bush, Ace Archer of Japan, the Bowman of Britain, and unnamed archers from Mexico, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland.

While the Phantom protected Paris and its surrounding territory from the forces of evil, inspired by the Avenging Archers of America, Earth-Two also had its own guardian... well of sorts...

Andre Reynard from La Roche, France, a noble man about to sell his family chateau to save a town ravaged by war. However, he had to fulfill an oath and contract left behind by his ancestor that states the Reynards had to save the lives of two archers before they could leave the chateau. Turns out, the elder Reynard lost the lives to two of his archer protectors when they fell into his trap while fending off a criminal highwayman.

Traveling to the United States, after training himself in archery, he tagged along as the Third Archer at several of the Battling Bowmen's cases until he finally saved them both and completed his obligation.

Yet he wasn't the first archer donning a mask in France... who were his predecessors and what can we learn from Earth-One's other brave bowmen?

Green Arrows of the World vs Bow Baddies of Britain

Green Arrow was legendary enough to inspire wannabees attempting to duplicate his success. On Earth-One, the Green Arrows of the World were assembled by their namesake for their one-and-only meeting together. Among those assembled was the Bowman of Britain. However, it was really Limehouse Larkin who claimed the Bowman of Britain's identity. Seeing through the counterfeit, Green Arrow defeated his opponent and the convention resumed with all the true participants.

And lest we weep that Earth-Two's Green Arrow was unappreciated... well he wasn't, in fact he encouraged members of an archery club to audition to be his successor. Turned out he subbed for all three under the aliases of Red Arrow, White Arrow and Blue Arrow to defeat foe Bronco Bates.

Sometime thereafter, the pair invited the Bow Master of Britain, whom they invited to America to train alongside. However, as with his counterpart above, Bow Master was kidnapped and substituted by a criminal attempting to subvert Speedy and his sire. Instead, a slip of the lip regarding hummingbirds in England (which aren't native there) cause the fake to be revealed and the real Bow Master to be retrieved from his captors.

There were other members of the Green Arrows of the World and their counterparts on Earth-Two we'll next meet...

Lieutenants of Safety - the Safety Round Table - Triumphs over Danger

The preeminent team of superheroes during the golden age were undoubtedly the Justice Society of America, on their native Earth-Two as well as all other Earths in the Multiverse. Shortly after its founding, a second team of mystery men debuted with less fanfare, though their own contributions were as profound. This assemblage of avengers... Law's Legionnaires... were contemporaries of the Society, and both groups were themselves members of a larger organization known as the All-Star Squadron during the early days of World War II. Consisting of eight members, these costumed crusaders were also known as the Seven Soldiers of Victory... with one of their members an honorary associate to the Legionnaires.

On Earth-S, another team of heroes debuted almost ten years after the Legionnaires, led by Captain Marvel. This group, the Lieutenants of Safety. Also known as the Safety Round Table, they consisted of Captain Caution, Speedy Ade, and Sir Safety. Interestingly, Captain Caution had trained as a hero for years as the teenage Captain Kid, Speedy Ade was his trusted sidekick, and Sir Safety from the 5th Dimension was his other partner. Their Earth-Two twins were Al "Atom" Pratt, Roy "Speedy" Harper and the more malevolent imp Mr. Mxyztplk.

The Lieutenants were sent by Marvel on missions to thwart the schemes of the mannequin themed villain Demon Danger, a business suit clad crook who tornmented the Lieutenants like the Dummy had the Legionnaires repeatedly. Although only three tales were made public, this trio undoubtedly continued their activities even after Captain Marvel and other heroes disappeared for decades.

The remaining Legionnaires also had Earth-S twins: Green Arrow's was Golden Arrow, Shining Knight's was the Ghost of Flanders, Star-Spangled Kid's was Minute Man, Crimson Avenger's was Devil's Dagger, and Stripesy aka Pat Dugan's was Dagger's chaffeur Pat Gleason. Ironically, while the Legionnaires returned to the 1970s unaged due to a villain, the Lieutenants were nearly the only heroes that remained while other heroes returned in the 1970s unaged due to the machinations of Doctor Sivana!

Cookie-Cutter Counterparts: Green Arrow and Speedy

From the outset, the Oliver Queens of Earths One and Two are near mirror images of one another. Each is a wealthy playboy who later becomes their world's most accomplished archer. And both have sidekicks known as Speedy.

That said, the golden age Arrow of Earth-Two had an interest in American Indian artifacts, which brought him to Lost Mesa where he met future ward Roy Harper and where both learned to love archery. The silver age Arrow of Earth-One found his footing as an archer while on a deserted island, later meeting Roy Harper.

Additionally, while the early Roy's first guardian was a native American named Quoag, the later Roy's was named Brave Bow. Neither were in the boys' lives for very long.

Another point of divergence was that at the point when Green Arrow and later Speedy were invited to join the Justice League and Teen Titans, respectively; their counterparts were already members of Law's Legionnaires when the Justice Society had been operating separately. Hence, the Earth-One battling bowmen were more part of the mainstream of superhero community, while the Earth-Two duo were not as highly acclaimed...although they joined the All-Star Squadron along with all mystery men of their day.

Then tragedy struck each yet in different ways. For the original pair, they along with their fellow Legionnaires were pulled through time after battling a cosmic entity to different centuries, with Arrow in the time of Robin Hood and Speedy in the days of ancient Greece. They were men out of time disconnected from the 1940's.

Meanwhile, the modern day Arrow found his fortune in essence stolen by a bitter rival, and found his beloved partner Speedy a heroin addict. Both men eventually recovered and picked up the pieces of their lives, although now together, deciding it best to live apart.

What is truly interesting is how, several months after Earth-One's Green Arrow and his girlfriend Black Canary faced Speedy's devastating decision to self-destruct, they encountered Earth-Two's Green Arrow and Speedy. No words seem to have been exchanged from the sole picture of blonde Oliver meeting his brunette haired twin and junior pal, perhaps this only reminded him of his own personal regrets at drifting away from his partner. Although it's telling how both Arrow is facing the young Speedy, with his back turned to the original Avenging Archer. And perhaps, seeing a lonely Arrow caused the Earth-Two pair to cling closer together and make a new life as civilians... retiring from the stress of their other lives. Although, years later after the passing of fellow Legionnaire Crimson Avenger, the tragedy of their time lost overwhelmed this Speedy.

During and after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was only Earth-Two's Green Arrow who participated as had his counterpart, with neither Speedy suited up for this conflict. And eventually, the golden age Ace Archer died during an attack by agents of the Anti-Matter Universe, while his young ward now no longer fitting into this new reality apparently ceased to exist. Or did he?

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An asides: Oliver Queen on Earth-One eventually became a commentator for Star City's Daily Star, while the Earth-Two Oliver's teammate Crimson Avenger was the publisher of the Daily Globe-Leader (its postulated these two organziations mirror each other similar to Metropolis' Daily Planet and Earth-Two Daily Star).

Fatal Five & Futurite Foes

The 30th century was a prosperous time to life, with advanced technology and overall peaceful conditions. And yet, at times it was also the most dangerous of times, with alien incursions and supervillains threatening the stability of societies across the galaxy. Perhaps the most dangerous of these was the Fatal Five, a quintet comprising the deadliest criminals of their era, matched by their doppelgängers a universe away, known as the Futurites.

When the Sun-Eater entity entered the solar system of Earth-One, with the ability to extinguish its sun, the Legion of Super-Heroes knew they needed assistance in helping them to eliminate this threat. Due to this, the Legion inadvertently created their greatest adversaries, save for perhaps their opposite numbers the Legion of Super-Villains (and singular threats in the Time Trapper, Mordru, and Pulsar Stargrave). But who were these five fearsome foes?

• Tharok - cybernetic leader with weaponry built into his metallic shell!
• Mano - a mutant with a death-dealing hand which can dissolve worlds!
• Persuader - armored wielder of the Atomic Axe cutting all it faces!
• Validus - telepathic superhuman giant mutant emitting mental lighting!
• Emerald Empress - owner of the powerful Emerald Eye of Ekron!

Meanwhile, on 30th century Earth-Two, the time traveling tyrant the Light sought assistance in achieving his goals of world conquest. After humbling defeats in the 20th century versus his arch-enemy Starman, and then another loss when opposed by Starman’s teammate the Spectre on planet Ultima a thousand years later, the Light recruited four powerful minions known as the Futurites. Heralding from a toxic world, the cruel quarter wore protective gear over their massively powerful bodies which enabled them to be virtually invincible.

Meanwhile, on 30th century Earth-Two, the time traveling tyrant the Light sought assistance in achieving his goals of world conquest. After humbling defeats in the 20th century versus his arch-enemy Starman, and then another loss when opposed by Starman’s teammate the Spectre on planet Ultima a thousand years later, the Light recruited four powerful minions known as the Futurites. Heralding from a toxic world, the cruel quarter wore protective gear over their massively powerful bodies which enabled them to be virtually invincible.

Bringing the Futurites back with him to 1941, the Light and his lethal lieutenants nearly crippled the United States of America, until Starman ascertained their weakness and exposed one of their number to his era’s planetary atmosphere. The remaining rogues absconded with the Light’s time machine, leaving him being to face capture.

In the 1970s, the Iron Hand threatened Earth-Two with his massively powerful Nebula Hand, even causing some of his old foes in the Seven Soldiers of Victory (sword-wielding Shining Knight, the half-centaur archer Speedy and the energy emitting Crimson Avenger) to turn evil for a brief period. Decades earlier, the Hand formed his “Five Days Fingers of the Hand”, consisting of Professor Merlin, Red Dragon, the Needle, the Dummy and Big Caesar who battled the Soldiers.

While Iron Hand and his enemies had other counterparts on Earth-One (see their individual entries), the fact that he assembled a similarly empowered group to oppose a Legion, Law’s Legionnaires, is a remarkable parallel!