DC Showcase: Green Arrow

Technically, he is a superhero without superhuman powers. Yet, he has a whole “Verse” half-named for him. Regardless of powers, a princess in jeopardy will be grateful for his bow in Joaquim Dos Santos’s animated DC Showcase: Green Arrow, which is very much worth catching up with on his reported in-world birthday (12/9).

Oliver Queen (a.k.a. Green Arrow) promised to pick up his girlfriend, Dinah Laurel Lance, from the airport. If you do not already know her secret identity, you will at the end of the animated short. Unfortunately, traffic is brutal, because of young Princess Perdita, who is making her first official state visit on behalf of the troubled Eastern European kingdom of Vlatava—at least was the Princess. By the time she lands, Perdita is the Queen. Presumably, that is why assassins target her, including Green Arrow’s old nemesis, Merlyn, a.k.a. the Dark Archer.

Queen immediately springs into action defending the Queen, even though he knows he will have some explaining to do to Lance. Thus launches a very cool series of animated action set pieces, across the tarmac and through the baggage handling system. Frankly, this installment of DC Showcase could hang One More Shot, the Scott Adkins beatdown set entirely within an airport—and the two would pair up nicely.

Neal McDonough is terrific as the voice of Queen/Green Arrow, bringing surprising humor to the steely costumed hero. Ironically, he later played a villain on CW’s Arrow. His voiceover work here might also represent the only time he portrays a character in a romantic situation (with Lance), by McDonough’s own choice, out of deference to his wife and his Catholic faith. Of course, nobody knows more about sounding villainous than Malcolm McDowell, who applies that experience with relish as Merlyn.

Green Arrow is only twelve minutes, but it delivers constant thrills and plenty of satisfying hat-tips for fans. Frankly, DC Animation in general is ridiculously under-rated and the DC Showcase series of shorts has been unjustly overlooked. Green Arrow is a perfect example of the fun a lot of casual superhero consumers have missed. Very highly recommended, DC Showcase: Green Arrow was included on the Superman/Batman: Apocalypse release and it streams on Tubi as part of Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam.