I’ve tried to pit alike heroes against one another here. One from DC and one from Marvel but both worthy of an epic battle because of their similarities. Lets dive in and see who comes out on top in this fight.

I’ll start with Oliver Jonas Queen aka Green Arrow. In his everyday life he is a billionaire businessman and owner of Queen Industries somewhat the same story as Bruce Wayne (Batman). He is a local celeb in Star City where he lives and is quite the playboy like Mr. Wayne. After a accident which led him to be stranded on an Island for quite some time he realized his partying ways needed to be finished and with the money he had he could be a better person, hence he created and honed his Green Arrow persona on Starfish Island. He was created in 1941 by Mort Weisinger (also created Aquaman) and George Papp who took their inspiration for the character from The Green Archer a movie from the 40’s. Many Batman influences are seen in the early Green Arrow like his sidekick Speedy, (Robin to Batman) the Arrow-car, arrow-plane and arrow-cave ( still in use but imagined differently today). Slowly all these similarities started to vanished and he was re-imagined as the bearded hero we know and love today in the mid 1960’s. In the early 1970’s he had a long running book with both he and Green Lantern a little known fact people don’t remember. He has fought Solomon Grundy (win), Deadshot (Draw), The Huntress (win), Jason Todd (win), and many battles with the the League of Assassins among others. Green Arrow is the ultimate liberal everyman superhero. Possessing no powers but he is a member of the Justice League and in many story arcs has dealt with racism, morality of killing someone, and dealing with such deadly diseases as AIDS. Green Arrow rails against a lot of the Justice Leagues decisions and in many ways is a rebel who has trouble a lot of times conforming to justice. His political views originally got him turned down for Justice League membership and he doesn’t have any problem speaking his mind to anyone or fighting just about anybody. Green Arrow is a master archer, perhaps the finest ever known. He is able to shoot 29 arrows per minute and able to shoot an arrow into a gun barrel from 500 yards away!! He can pierce a drop of water before it hits the ground but, and most importantly, he looks to wound first rather than kill. His variety of arrows sets him apart from most archers. He has bola arrows (arrow that releases a string of cords that wraps around a moving object to take it down), router arrows ( which if shot near a computer it can hack into it), flash-bang arrows, voice recording arrows, explosive arrows (both delayed and timed), flame arrows, tranquilizer arrows, incendiary arrows ( use to burn through things), syringe arrows ( to inject poison), electric arrows, zip-tie arrows, tear gas arrows ad many more!!

Queen is a expert acrobat which helps him to escape many difficult situations and even evading gun fire. He has flying skills for all different planes and while not his weapon of choice is very handy with any firearm. His ability to hunt should not be downplayed either, it’s a way of survival that many heroes don’t know or understand. After being stranded on Starfish Island following a cruise accident Queen had to fight for his life and how Green Arrow came about. This is not your typical billionaire just like Batman is not. He is proficient in several forms of hand to hand combat including Judo, kickboxing and Karate. He is a master in these and can take on several people at once. He was trained by Natas ( martial art expert and assassin who also trained Deathstroke). He is also a master in stick fighting, using his Eskrima (national sport and martial art in the Philippines) sticks a lot in hand to hand combat. Ollie is very proficient in sword fighting and even beat Jason Todd, a master in sword fighting.

His bow is a present given to him by Ra’s Al Ghul and is a model Martin Saber Takedown Recurve bow ( real life model actually). His quiver is a basic model.

His opponent is Clint Francis Barton aka Hawkeye. Famed for the Avenger movies but not being an original member later joining in Avengers #16 in 1965, he was created by Stan Lee and Don Heck. His first appearance was in Tales of Suspense #57 in 1964. Originally introduced as a villain for a few issues in Tales of Suspense, he joined the Avengers ranks and became a huge part of the team. Trained by the Swordsman at an early age after he was an orphan, he soon realized that the Swordsman was a criminal and he didn’t want this life. One day when witnessing Iron Man save people at the carnival he traveled with (Coney Island Circus) Barton realized that was the path he wanted. He soon met Black Widow while he was running around the United States of America and was seduced by her to make him think that Iron Man was a villain and to steal his Stark technology for her and mother Russia. Widow at the time was working for her country (Russia) and almost tempted Clint into doing so until he realized what mistake he was making and that just because he fell in love with her to not follow her blindly without knowing Stark. This moment started a long history of romantic link between the two and he has saved her in the past against orders from the Avengers. He showed Iron Man and the Avengers that he was a good person by saving Jarvis (their butler) and his mother from a mugger not knowing who Jarvis was and proved he wanted to be an Avenger. Iron Man vouched for Clint and the rest is history! He has defeated Electra and the Hand in battle, many Avengers foes, Swordsman, and many more.

Not having superhuman powers just as Green arrow, he is at the very peak of human conditioning, able to bench press 500 pounds. For just a man that is impressive!! He has been trained in all his hand to hand combat by Captain America, not sure if there is a better teacher out there. He is an excellent acrobat just like Green Arrow and is proficient in many weapons, including many of the same as Queen. He is also one of a very few who can handle Cap’s shield, the benefit of being an Avenger. He is also a master archer like his counterpart Arrow and was trained at a very young age. He can fire multiple arrows at a single target in a few seconds, hitting multiple targets in a few quick strokes, and directly hit small targets from a long distance. His eyesight and accuracy are unparalleled and was trained by Trick shot, one of the greatest of all time in shooting arrows. His arrows are strangely the exact same as Green Arrow’s except a Vibranium arrow that he carries as well.

His bow is made of steel and appears to be more durable than Arrow’s but is of unknown origin. He has carried it around since his youth realizing the special ability he had.

While these two heroes are so similar it’s almost impossible to pick a winner. There is not much that sets them apart really. The fact Hawkeye receives training from some of the best out there might give him a leg up but Green Arrow’s determination and background really help his cause. Personally I like Green Arrow better but I can’t let that sway my decision. In the end I can’t decide who wins!! I know, total cop out, but I’ll leave it up to you the reader to decide!!