History YMMV / GreenArrow

* ArcFatigue: In ''ComicBook/GreenArrow2011'', whatever caused the falling out between Ollie and Roy. It's alluded to ''numerous'' times, and talked about without adding any detail. And just when you think they'll elaborate... they don't. It finally was explained in ''ComicBook/GreenArrowRebirth'', nearly six years after it was first alluded to!

* ArcFatigue: Post-''Flashpoint'', whatever caused the falling out between Ollie and Roy. It's alluded to ''numerous'' times, and talked about without adding any detail. And just when you think they'll elaborate... they don't. It finally was explained in ComicBook/GreenArrowRebirth, nearly six years after it was first alluded to!

* BrokenBase: While fans were happy about the ''Rebirth'' series finally addressing what happened between Ollie and Roy, some of those fans were also not happy that Roy's backstory was made oddly similar to Jason Todd's backstory; homeless before he tried to steal from Ollie. Likewise, they weren't happy that Roy was now raised on a Spokane Indian reservation instead of a Navajo reservation, as though the tribes are interchangeable. Even the most critically panned stories from the ''New 52'' were at least consistent with mentioning that Roy was raised on a Navajo reservation. While you could argue that this change was made to keep Roy closer to Oliver's home of Seattle, as the Spokane reside in Washington while the Navajo live in the southwest, it still is a controversial change nonetheless. There were also those who disliked the retcon on why Roy left the reservation. Originally, his adopted father sent him to live with Ollie because he was dying of liver cancer, while here, Roy was framed for his adopted father's death and kicked out of the reservation because he was too drunk to remember if he did it or not. [[spoiler: He didn't.]] Fans felt this added unnecessary drama to Roy's backstory and didn't like that he was now already an alcoholic ''before'' he met Ollie.

** James Robinson infamously claimed he was told to kill off Lian ''and'' Mia in ''Cry For Justice'' but fought to have Mia spared. Aside from making her culpable for Lian's death, Mia was still DemotedToExtra after spending most of the 2000s as a prominent supporting character among the Arrow Family. Her last appearances before ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' were a minor role in ''ComicBook/Supergirl2005'' and the last ''Teen Titans'' arc. After that, she was erased altogether in the New 52 and didn't reappear until ''The Kingdom'' arc of ''Green Arrow'', only to then vanish again. All things considered, Robinson getting Mia spared proved pointless when her role in the DCU grinded to a complete stop.

* StrangledByTheRedString: Green Arrow and Black Canary's marriage felt very forced to many fans.

** Following ''Flashpoint'', we also have Ollie and Tarantula, who Ollie starts commenting on how he's falling in love with her in-spite of their on-panel interaction at that point had basically no romantic element, not even any flirting. She disappears as soon as the arc is done though, which combined with other odd things (like Ollie brutally killing some of the Skeletons, at least before they were revealed to be zombies), makes the whole arc a giant BizarroEpisode.

* FanonDiscontinuity: [[spoiler:Lian Harper did not lose her memories and she was not abandoned by her mother in Gotham City while everyone believed she was dead. Nor is she Catwoman's lackey/protégé and she does ''not'' call herself "Shoes."]]

* HarsherInHindsight: One of Roy's worst fears aside from Lian dying is the idea that he wouldn't be there for her as she grew up, and that she would either end up repeating his mistakes or she would grow up to be like her mother. [[spoiler:Thanks to Doctor Manhattan and ''ComicBook/DCInfiniteFrontier'', the latter ended up happening, as being torn away from Roy under the false idea that was she dead and forced to live on her own led to Lian taking on "Cheshire Cat," an identity modeled after Jade. Granted she's a heroic individual, but one that came about as a result of not having either parent in her life.]]

** Devin Grayson, and to a lesser extent Jay Faerber, are considered the only writers in the last couple of decades to have any real clue as to what they were doing with Roy and Lian Harper. Devin was capable of referencing Roy's past addiction both for some drama but also some levity, and had redefined his Arsenal persona beyond a stereotypical edgy 90s hero. Jay tried to move past Roy's toxic relationship with Cheshire and had Roy address how Cheshire was never going to change (although Faerber's portrayal of Cheshire has been re-assessed in recent times as being racial stereotyping). Both authors properly portrayed Roy's father/daughter relationship with Lian with depth and were responsible for giving Lian a genuine personality beyond being a cute plot device. The quality of every writer who handled Roy after that has either been uneven (Judd Winnick, Brad Meltzer, Dan Abnett), or just God awful (Scott Lobdell, J.T. Krul, Eric Wallace, Benjamin Percy). It's telling that Grayson's short story "Green-Man and Autumn Son" in the 80th Anniversary Special collection was far better received by the fandom than just about every single story done with Roy in the past decade.

** Devin Grayson, and to a lesser extent Jay Faerber, are considered the only writers in the last couple of decades to have any real clue as to what they were doing with Roy and Lian Harper. Devin was capable of referencing Roy's past addiction both for some drama but also some levity, and had redefined his Arsenal persona beyond a stereotypical edgy 90s hero. Jay tried to move past Roy's toxic relationship with Cheshire and had Roy address how Cheshire was never going to change. Both authors properly portrayed Roy's father/daughter relationship with Lian with depth and were responsible for giving Lian a genuine personality beyond being a cute plot device. The quality of every writer who handled Roy after that has either been uneven (Judd Winnick, Brad Meltzer, Dan Abnett), or just God awful (Scott Lobdell, J.T. Krul, Eric Wallace, Benjamin Percy). It's telling that Grayson's short story "Green-Man and Autumn Son" in the 80th Anniversary Special collection was far better received by the fandom than just about every single story done with Roy in the past decade.

** Tommy Blake Jr., Cheshire's infant son by Catman and Lian Harper's baby brother, was never featured in any stories involving the Arrow Family or the Harpers. It would've been interesting to explore how Lian would react to learning she was a big sister, plus what the reveal of Tommy's existence might mean for Roy and Cheshire. Considering Cheshire deliberately conceived Tommy as Lian's replacement in act that meant forsaking Lian's life, chances are Roy learning of such callousness would've redefined their relationship and completely changed their dynamic. There were also the possibilities of seeing Roy raising a child he wasn't biologically related to, much the same way his foster father Brave Bow and Ollie raised him. And considering Tommy's biological dad is Catman, it would've been interesting to see how Ollie would react to gaining a grandchild born from a man he detests.

* HarsherInHindsight: Ollie's involvement in Dr. Light's mind wipe in ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis'' after the latter raped Sue Dinby, given Chris Hardwick, who voiced Ollie on ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' had allegations of abuse, including sexual abuse, levied against him by Chloe Dykstra.

** Tommy Blake Jr., Cheshire's infant son by Catman and Lian Harper's baby brother, was never featured in any stories involving the Arrow Family or the Harpers. It would've been interesting to explore how Lian would react to learning she was a big sister, plus what the reveal of Tommy's existence might mean for Roy and Cheshire. Considering Cheshire deliberately conceived Tommy as Lian's replacement in act that meant forsaking Lian's life, chances are Roy learning of such callousness would've redefined their relationship and completely changed their dynamic. There were also the possibilities of seeing Roy raising a child he wasn't biologically related to, much the same way his foster father Brave Bow and Ollie raised him. And considering Tommy's biological dad is Catman, it would've been interesting to see how Ollie would react to gaining a grandchild born from a man he detests.
* WhatMeasureIsANonBadass: Oliver and Roy frequently suffer from the same stigma as being "just a guy with a bow and arrow" as ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}. It doesn't help that Oliver and Roy have been compared to Batman and Nightwing both in and out of universe and have been found lacking in some areas. Oliver is not a skilled detective, ScienceHero and tactician, and overall lacks Bruce's mystique and intimidating factor instead being known as an insufferable, self-righteous jackass who often puts his foot in his mouth. Meanwhile, Roy is clearly not the natural and charismatic leader that Nightwing is and his history with drug addiction is often used against him by fans and writers.

* BrokenBase:
** While fans were happy about the ''Rebirth'' series finally addressing what happened between Ollie and Roy, some of those fans were also not happy that Roy's backstory was made oddly similar to Jason Todd's backstory; homeless before he tried to steal from Ollie. Likewise, they weren't happy that Roy was now raised on a Spokane Indian reservation instead of a Navajo reservation, as though the tribes are interchangeable. Even the most critically panned stories from the ''New 52'' were at least consistent with mentioning that Roy was raised on a Navajo reservation. While you could argue that this change was made to keep Roy closer to Oliver's home of Seattle, as the Spokane reside in Washington while the Navajo live in the southwest, it still is a controversial change nonetheless. There were also those who disliked the retcon on why Roy left the reservation. Originally, his adopted father sent him to live with Ollie because he was dying of liver cancer, while here, Roy was framed for his adopted father's death and kicked out of the reservation because he was too drunk to remember if he did it or not. [[spoiler: He didn't.]] Fans felt this added unnecessary drama to Roy's backstory and didn't like that he was now already an alcoholic ''before'' he met Ollie.
** [[spoiler:Lian Harper's return to the DCU proper should've been a joyous occasion. Instead, readers lost it when it turned out Lian was brought back over in ''ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}'' under the identity of homeless teenage pickpocket "Shoes." Fans had suspected "Shoes" might be Lian when her future self appeared calling herself "Cheshire Cat," clearly evoking a connection to Cheshire. The ''Festival of Heroes'' anthology made things worse when it confirmed "Shoes" was indeed Lian, who apparently was never dead. Cheshire simply let everyone believe Lian died and abandoned her amnesiac daughter somewhere in Gotham City. It didn't help that when Roy learned Lian was alive somewhere, DC dragged out that plotline for nearly two years with nothing being done as Roy wasted his time over in ''ComicBook/TeenTitansAcademy''. Ever since the confirmation of who "Shoes" was, the only nice thing any fans have had to say are just that Lian's back with most simply tolerating her new identity if it means she exists again. Others have a harder time accepting this situation because being stripped of her identity and personality and being forced to play second fiddle to a Batman-related character while effectively being cut off from her actual family is ''exactly'' what happened to Roy when he was in the universally despised ''ComicBook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws''.]]