What Roy quote sticks with you the most?

Anon I'm so sorry I don't have a happy answer to this, I'd love to be able to say something happy but unfortunately, to be truthful, it's this.

But a close second is his monologue in the Arsenal special

Spoilers for Green Arrow 3

So the new issue of Green Arrow really said that Rise of Arsenal was Ollie’s fault (alongside Dick and Dinah’s fuck ups), and there was absolutely no reason why Roy and Lian had to suffer, and Roy’s descent into madness and degradation with Red Hood were totally pointless while Lian had to watch her father become a shell of himself from a distance.

Thoughts on Roy Harper

Not sure if anyone will read this or what not but I kinda wanted to get my thoughts in text somewhere. So, me and my wife have been watching all of the old @atopfourthwall episodes and have been having a good time discussing the comics brought up as we watch. We’ve neither one read a ton of comics but we’ve consumed a ton of the media it made (like the cartoon series of the 90s and such) and so seeing the bad (and sometimes the good) of comics really is very interesting. We actually bought a bit of comics recently because of it. Anyway, that’s not what I’m here to talk about. The thing of interest is our response to The Rise of Arsenal. We both were very on board about Linkara’s take down of “Cry For Justice” as being very poorly written, nonsensical from a philosophical point and disgustingly cruel with killing Lian Harper. Upon checking just now it seems Lian actually has come back? I think it’s something to do with one of the DC world reboots which always confuse me. Regardless, the idea of her ‘getting better’ from being dead seemed unrealistic and the whole thing was pretty gross. Rise of Arsenal was much more interesting. Linkara was pretty upset, with good reason, about how Roy because a complete asshole. But I actually think that was one of the best parts of the series. As someone who’s let grief become ugly and toxic and harmful... I could relate. I get frustrated with how grief is depicted as just being sad or a struggle as a person attempts to bottle it up and pretend to be okay. Which of course can happen. But it can make you cruel, it can make you unable to empathize with those around you, it can make you slink away, pushing everyone away from you. In the comic Roy becomes unlikable and I say that is good. This set up an amazing place where he could have had to struggle to rebuild what he destroyed. They never did this which is really the biggest failure here. Once he was cruel to other people who lost their children it should have gone one of two ways: he had a long road of to repent for this or this was a set up for him to full on be a villain. They did neither and that was the failure of the series more than anything. And no, anti-hero doesn’t count here; killing out of revenge isn’t an anti-hero action really. Anti-heroes kill because they think it’s justice, they’ve lost the ability to care about life that much, they just find it easier or it’s just a job to them. They lack emotional stakes in death. Think Punisher; Frank thinks he’s some sort of justice machine. Even when killing those responsible for his family’s death he does so because he doesn’t believe the system will punish them. I’m not the biggest expert but I don’t believe the Punisher would have ever killed his family’s killers if they were in prison for life. Revenge is the act of a villain; particularly fatal revenge. It leaves a person empty and with nothing left; just look at Frank, the only thing left for him was to justify his actions by applying it when it wasn’t him as who was harmed. So he goes punishing others. If they wanted an anti-hero they should have set up Roy killing the Electrocutioner as ambiguously moral. Maybe he was escaping. Maybe the evidence was lacking. Maybe he was making plea deals and wouldn’t get much punishment. SOMETHING. Personally, I think the anti-hero and villain routes are dumb. Harper is a person who is characterized by fighting to fix things about him that are harmful, be it his relationship with Jade or his addiction issues. Him fixing the harm he caused by his grief would have been an amazing story. With all this I am a parent too. Me and my wife were both like, would we kill someone who killed our child? Maybe... but likely because it would be hard to see beyond doing that. And Roy even kind of indicates this. But he gets his shallow revenge on a person already in prison. Logically, the only thing left for him is to OD on heroine. But we’re expected to believe he’s like ‘ah, did that, time to go fight some more crime’? Nonsense. I will say I particularly liked (or could have liked if they stuck the landing) his lashing out at the other parents who tried to comfort him. Particularly if you read him as misdirecting the hate he had for himself at that moment. He isn’t capable of admitting what he really feels: that he is the reason Lian died. When he says to Donna that Robbie died because she was a bad mother he is doing so because he feels that Lian died because he was a bad father but can’t admit it. This is him being a piece of shit because he can’t admit he hates himself. And until he admits that he can’t come to terms that no, he shouldn’t hate himself because it’s not his fault Lian died. Of course... this is only a good thing to include if he eventually has to fix this, that he has to deal with this harm he did. But he doesn’t. But I like the psychology of Roy in all this. It is often very good. The ‘hallucinations’ are all just him as well, just given visual so he can justify his bad actions. There is no old dealer, it’s just Roy’s addiction manifesting. It was never Lian that told him to get revenge and he always knew it. It was always him. As an aside, we found the sexual encounter and failure to be interesting but the end messed up. In a way, Cheshire is right, the stress of everything could have messed up his ability to perform. But here’s what doesn’t make sense. If there is one word to describe the many feelings Jade has for Roy it is passionate. She doesn’t have mild feelings about the man. At times she hates him, at times she loves him, at times she desires him, at times she wants to break him. She isn’t capable of being casual or indifferent. Yet when she talks about his performance failure she’s like ‘yeah, makes sense, no biggie’. She doesn’t do no biggie with him, though. There are two far better reactions. First, she makes a big deal out of it, trying to humiliate him about it. This... sucks. She doesn’t seem cruel enough to do this nor does she strike me as someone who would enjoy this... however, it makes more sense than her hohum response because she at least is passionate. I think more fitting and better for the story is if she was like ‘I don’t give a shit. I didn’t come to you because I needed to be railed, I came because it hurts and I need you at this moment.’ Now, Roy might not buy it; his ego too bruised or just in such a bad place he doesn’t trust her or what not- I mean, that’s how this would have to go if we aren’t getting our resolution here, but it also makes sense. I can see him saying that he doesn’t buy it, that he’s broken, etc. etc.. And I can see her being PISSED. Saying that his dick could have been cut off instead of his arm and she’d still have come there and she’s insulted that he thinks all she wanted was any pole in a storm. He storms off and so does she. Plot wise this accomplishes the same thing- he feels broken and has pushed away someone who he should be embracing in the moment over something petty. But this gives so much more agency to Jade and is so much more in character. The best end of ROA would have been him nearly killing but giving up in the final moment, doing so in response to Oliver admitting how Roy was right: he wasn’t there properly. He took him in as his ward and he got addicted to drugs. He has been distant. But it doesn’t change that Roy should not give up on his humanity. If he kills this helpless man he’s lost everything. Roy is capable of so much still, like protecting the children who can’t be protected or just living life- either a noble goal that Lian would unquestionably want for him and both of which hampered by turning to murder. But we didn’t get that end and, for that, all this cool stuff, good stuff in here turns foul.

wut. da fuck. ar you talking about.

HOW CAN YOU EVEN CONFUSE THESE TWO THINGS?????? Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal and Identity Crisis? THEY ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AND IDENTITY CRISIS WAS 2004 YEAR AND THE FUCKING ARSENAL WAS 2010. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, IDENTITY CRISIS IS A BEAUTIFUL COMIC.

https://x.com/ln4norris/status/1739761082456244645?s=20

It may seem like such an insignificant thing, but it will put a smile on your face <3

bless you anon bc I'm soooo tired right now w work and this was one of those moments I missed from joining fandom so late and it absolutely put a smile on my face

and it makes me think of when out of all his birthday wishes that day he only reposted Oscar's and when the two pics he chose were of him posing beneath Oscar's name and zooming in on the group pic to just him and Oscar. he really said it sure is nice to choose than to be chosen sometimes <3

How to trick Lupin & Co. into falling in love:

Zenigata: tell him, show him, what he deserves. Let him know he's pretty. Love him for more than his unhealthy work ethic, for more than his family legacy. Force him to take breaks from work, care for his aching bones not so he can get back to the chase but so his body can feel at ease. Give him a hug & take away that half empty bottle of booze. Be his distraction instead & don't let him feel guilty about well deserved love.

Jigen: Give him peace. Fill the world with silence, soft touches & long glances as a new form of communication. Leave space inbetween words. Allow open ended questions to go unanswered but always, always, listen with intent when he whispers out a reply. Be patient for the days where his lips spill paragraphs. Follow up on the little things. A pain he'd mentioned a while back or the worries he scarcely speaks on. Care for them both despite his bickering not to.

Lupin: Love him as an average. Be impressed at his nack for thievery yes, but be astounded at their French cooking. Focus love not at his talent for disguises but at, how in drag, she does her makeup with near perfection. Complement the way his hands seem always warm, not always acknowledging that those digets can break into any safe worldwide.

Goemon: Praise him & ask nothing in return. Clap at his swordsmanship but whisper meaningful compliments to him alone about his hair & smile. Be gentle but never afraid. Take care with what he is proud of but reason with his stubbornness when determination hurts. Care for the wounds he's gained due to over work & love the scars across him.

Fujiko: Laugh at her jokes genuinely. Tease her about the right things the right amount. Never fail to take an opportunity to woo her in public, private, loudly, silently etc. Leave her alone. Give her space but ensure she doesn't forget by not being forgettable. Be amazed but not tripped up or too tricked. Fall in love wholly but not deeply, let her open up. Be girls together, apart, & hardly against. Love what she loves hate what she hates, introduce her to new muses.

torabika my beloved

It's honestly kind of really interesting to re-read RHaTO again now that I've read most of Roy's comics. RHaTO was the first comic I ever read with him in it and it was the comic that made me fall in love with DC in the first place, but it's CRAZY how many of the things that I loved about the comic when I first read it that now make me unbelievably mad. Sometimes I think that the fans who tell people to read comics before talking in fandom are exaggerating and then I realize what I thought was good Roy Harper characterization just like two years ago

i can’t think about roy and lian too much or i start to go insane

📰 exclusive interview: Arsenal captain on club's title challenge, his form of leadership and the pressure of being a teenage prodigy

Was anyone going to tell me that Aprils body can be seen in the opening scene or was I supposed to find this out myself!?

Bottom, you can see a crushed bat. Drew me in, i thought it was Aprils bat. Pan over to the right, you can see an arm with a glove and green colored jacket, and a little hair poof just over the debris. I AM FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW!!!

Edit: AND BIG MAMA IS THERE TOO ON THE LEFT, LITERALLY STABBED THROUGH. Which is interesting presenting that Big Mama survived to the end, and that she was prolly fighting with April.

I remember years and years ago how people and certain comic professionals legitimately tried to defend Rise of Arsenal by saying it was possible to do a meaningful story about Roy grieving over Lian’s death.

They managed to completely miss the point everyone was making about Rise of Arsenal.

DC could have done a meaningful story.

The problem was DC didn’t do a meaningful story.

Episode 23, Fables, is now up on Webtoon canvas!

If you enjoy the comic, consider leaving a like and comment as it really helps me out! ^_^

second round of headshots, featuring the watermark i forgot in the first image. and Redwater gets a whole entire fullbody because he's my specialist little boy

speaking of. every time i remember that the last time roy & rose have interacted was in rhato 2011 i want to throw up and die

how tf do i defend rúben dias when william saliba did this last season WITH INJURY