Roy Harper (character)

Roy Harper
Roy Harper as Red Arrow. Art by Gene Ha.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	As Speedy: More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941) As Arsenal: The New Titans #99 (July 1993) As Red Arrow:: Alternative universe: Kingdom Come #2 (June 1996) Main universe: Justice League of America vol. 2 #7 (May 2007)
Created by	Speedy: Mort Weisinger (writer) George Papp (artist) Arsenal: Marv Wolfman (writer) Tom Grummett (artist) Red Arrow: Mark Waid (writer) Alex Ross (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Roy William Harper Jr.
Team affiliations	Teen Titans Justice League Seven Soldiers of Victory Young Justice Suicide Squad Checkmate Outsiders The Outlaws
Partnerships	Green Arrow Cheshire Nightwing Donna Troy Red Hood Starfire
Notable aliases	Speedy, Arsenal, Red Arrow
Abilities	Exceptional athlete Master archer Master marksman Expert martial artist Master of Moo Gi Gong Weapons expert Uses trick arrows Espionage

Roy Harper is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Roy is one of DC's most longstanding characters, originating in 1940s comics as Speedy, the teen sidekick of the superhero Green Arrow. Like his mentor Green Arrow, Roy is a world-class archer and athlete who uses his exceptional marksmanship to fight crime. Along with other prominent DC Comics superhero sidekicks, he goes on to become a core member of the superhero group the Teen Titans. As an adult, Roy casts off his Speedy identity to establish himself as the superhero Arsenal, and later takes on the name Red Arrow to symbolise his coming-of-age and having become an equal of Green Arrow as he joins the Justice League. In addition to continuing to serve on occasion as one of the Titans, Roy has had leading roles in the superhero groups the Seven Soldiers of Victory, the Outsiders, Checkmate, the Justice League, and the Outlaws.

He was the subject of the award-winning 1971 comic book story "Snowbirds Don't Fly", which was celebrated for its gritty depiction of Roy's battle with drug addiction; the story is considered a key moment in comic book history as it represented the emergence of mature themes in comics.^[1] In 2013, ComicsAlliance ranked Harper as #50 on their list of the "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics".^[2] The character has been adapted for video games and animation several times, and was portrayed in live action by actor Colton Haynes on the Arrowverse television series Arrow.

Publication history[]

Roy Harper as Speedy. Art by George Perez.

The character first appeared as Green Arrow's teenage sidekick Speedy, a name by which he was known for over fifty years, in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941) and was created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp.^[3] The character's modern-day version was an early member of the Teen Titans who later assumed the identity Arsenal in The New Titans #99 (July 1993), and became a member of the Justice League of America under the guise Red Arrow in Kingdom Come #2 (June 1996) or Justice League of America vol. 2 #7 (May 2007).^[4]

Fictional character biography[]

1941–1992: Origin, Teen Titans, addiction and fatherhood[]

Green Lantern vol. 2 #85, featuring Roy Harper's addiction

As an infant, Roy was raised by his father, Roy Harper Sr., a forest ranger. The fate of his birth mother is unknown, something that Roy has questioned his entire life, not sure whether she left them or died. When his father died in a forest fire when Roy was a baby, he rescued a man named Brave Bow, a Navajo medicine chief. Brave Bow took Roy into his tribe and raised him as his own son, telling him about how his birth father saved him, which made Roy grow up seeing him as a hero. Under Brave Bow's tutelage, Roy trained in archery, becoming remarkable at a very young age and a champion in several events. Roy began learning about the superhero Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) and started idolizing him, seeing him as a hero alongside his father and Brave Bow.

When Brave Bow learned of an illness that would lead to his death, he contacted Green Arrow, asking him to take Roy in and raise him after his death. After posing as a judge in an archery contest, Green Arrow was impressed by Roy's skills as an archer, which prompted to him test Roy's character by rigging his arrows with magnets so they can be deflected, where Roy proceeded to impress Green Arrow as well. After Brave Bow's death, Roy was adopted by Green Arrow and became his sidekick, Speedy. He was given the name Speedy after he stopped a pair of robbers faster than Green Arrow could even put on his costume, and for being quicker than at shooting arrows and in general.

Speedy became a founding member of the Teen Titans along with Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Wonder Girl, a group they formed so they as sidekicks could come out of their mentors' shadows and become their own. Roy developed a crush on Donna, and the two eventually began dating.

As Roy spent more and more time with the Teen Titans, Oliver left to travel the country with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) after Oliver had lost his fortune. When the Teen Titans had their first break up, Roy found himself alone. Trying to find some comfort, he started taking drugs and developed a heroin addiction in the award-winning "Snowbirds Don't Fly" story.^[5] When Oliver returned and learned of Roy's addiction and behavior, he reacted angrily and banished Roy from his house. When Hal found Roy on the street later, Roy vowed to fight and end his drug addiction.^[6] Hal took him to Black Canary, Oliver's girlfriend, who helped Roy with his drug withdrawal and gave him care. Roy reconciled with Oliver, but he officially ended their partnership with him, going fully solo.

When the Teen Titans formed again, Roy rejoined the team. He created a band, Great Frog, with fellow Titan Mal Duncan. Roy also managed the Titans' base of operations under the nightclub Gabriel's Horn, where his band played frequently.

After he went solo, Roy started working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), working as a counselor in various anti-drug programs as well as in helping taking down drug operations and drug lords. His work with the DEA led to him joining the Central Bureau of Intelligence (CBI), a fictional federal agency in the DC Universe, where he worked as an agent and spy. While on undercover assignment with the CBI in Japan, Roy was supposed to capture the assassin Cheshire, but they fell in love and had a relationship. His feelings for her made him turn a blind eye and let her go free.

About a year later, Roy met Cheshire again on a mission with the Titans, where he found out he fathered a daughter with her, Lian. Cheshire, however, only allowed Roy to see her once. Desperate to see Lian again on her first birthday, Roy sought the help of his best friend, Dick Grayson, now going by Nightwing. The two of them found Lian and fought off Cheshire, where Dick helped him find Lian and give her to him. It was here that Cheshire realized how much more dangerous her life as an assassin was, and she decided to give Roy full custody of Lian.

As he sought a calmer place to learn how to raise Lian, Roy left the CBI and briefly moved to Northern Ireland, where his birth ancestors came from. Despite his attempt to avoid his work as a superhero there, he found that he could not avoid it as he found himself in the middle of a mystery. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he took up work as a private detective, balancing that job with being Speedy and raising his daughter. It was during this time that Roy also fully reunited with Oliver after some time of not being on full speaking terms, where he was finally prepared to forgive him and accept him as a father.

1993–1996: Becoming Arsenal and leading the Titans[]

Roy Harper's first appearance as Arsenal. Art by Tom Grummett.

Roy decided to take up spy work again, and he was reassigned to Checkmate, under the command of Sarge Steel. While at Checkmate, Roy expanded his skills beyond just using a bow and arrow and became a weapons expert, as well as mastering Moo Gi Gong, the martial art of using any household or random item as a weapon. This was when he stopped being Speedy to focus on his work as Agent Harper full-time. At Checkmate, Roy became friends with a fellow agent, Martin Santos and his wife Erika and their family, who helped him with Lian in her early years.

Being a founding member and current reserve member of the Titans, Roy was sent by Checkmate to talk to Dick about the Titans, who had recently been under pressure from the government and the media due to the large amount of damage caused in the battle against the Wildebeests in the Titans Hunt storyline. Roy was asked to convince Dick into having the Titans cooperate with the government, he had also secretly heard that if the Titans did not cooperate, Congress would work on shutting down all superhero teams, so he tried to levy the situation as much as he could, but he knew it would not work out.

Roy suggested a compromise to Sarge Steel: that he would return to the Titans full-time and make sure everything was going smooth himself. Since he had not been Speedy for some time, Roy decided to take on a new mantle. With some help and technology acquired from Steve Dayton (whose mansion the Titans have been using as an HQ), Roy built new gear and a new costume, now officially calling himself Arsenal.^[7]

Some time later, the wedding of Dick and Starfire was interrupted by an attack, causing the death of the minister and damage all around. This caused a major uproar from the government and media against the Titans. Because of what happened at the wedding, Sarge Steel turned on the deal he made with Roy, demanding that he take leadership of the Titans himself, or else the government will shut them down. Roy refused to do it, not wanting to turn on Dick because he knew he had faith in him as a leader and man, confident that he would turn it around, but he kept receiving further pressure from Steel. The situation was only made worse when the attorney general announced he was planning on prosecuting the Titans and all non-sanctioned superhero teams. When he heard about that, Roy turned to Donna, Wally, Garth, and the rest of the Titans for advice on what he should do. Deciding that the situation was bad and had to be handled, they agreed to ask Dick to temporarily resign leadership until this thing blew over, especially since they agreed that he needed a break from all the pressure he'd been receiving himself recently after the wedding incident.

Roy, along with Donna, Garth, Red Star, and Pantha, went over to talk to Dick about it. After some arguing and a brief fight, Dick realized that he wasn't in any place to lead right now and agreed to hand over leadership, and take a leave of absence from the team as well, realizing that was what was best for him at the time because of everything that had happened recently. That was when Roy, with his new superhero identity as Arsenal, took over as leader of the Titans, much to his own dismay.

As leader, Roy was faced with constant pressure from the government. Eventually, with help from Wally and Garth, Roy managed to turn the situation on the government and take away anything they had on the Titans, making it so they operated on their own terms. As leader of the Titans, Roy brought on new members to the team including and established a satellite base in addition to the Earth base. Once he dealt with the government, Roy led the Titans on several cosmic missions. He planned to evolve the team beyond just traditional superhero business, wanting to expand the ways they could help. Eventually, he and Donna disbanded the team, when he realized it wasn't functioning as a family like the Titans should.

When Checkmate drugged Roy and unsuccessful tried manipulating him into killing someone, Roy severed all ties with them and Sarge Steel, going back to being a regular superhero.

1996–2003: Titans reunion[]

Roy Harper, with Dinah Lance, after he got his new band tattoo to honor his Navajo upbringing. Art by Rick Mays.

After the death of Oliver Queen, Roy moved to Metropolis.^[8] During a reunion with Dick, Wally, and Garth, Roy faced the villain Haze, who made Roy face an image of his ideal self, which was him in a red version of the Green Arrow suit.^[9] To honor Ollie after his recent death, Roy embraced this and took on the red Green Arrow suit fully and went back to using a bow as his primary weapon.^[10] He joined the new Teen Titans team, acting as an experienced mentor to the younger new heroes along with fellow first generation Titan Lilith Clay.

While in Metropolis, Roy and Lian were also sought out by Vandal Savage.^[11] Savage had discovered that both Roy and his daughter Lian were his descendants. Thus, their organs were suitable for him to harvest to prolong his life. Roy was able to save his daughter from Savage. Roy then got a band tattoo on his left bicep, to honor to his Navajo heritage.^[12]

Shortly after, Roy joined the rest of the original five Titans (now known as Nightwing, Arsenal, Troia, The Flash, and Tempest) in reforming the Titans team for a new generation.^[13] He resided in Titans Tower, with his daughter Lian. Roy took on a mentorship role to Grant Emerson, the younger hero known as Damage, who Roy recruited in his tenure as leader. He became a father figure to him, seeing a younger version of himself in Grant. It was also during this time that Roy found out he had a living relative in the form of Jim Harper, the clone of his great uncle.^[14]

2004–2006: Death of Donna Troy and reforming the Outsiders[]

A mysterious conglomerate known as Optitron offered to sponsor the Titans and Young Justice after summoning them to San Francisco.^[15] Before any decisions could be made, a cybernetic girl from the future known as Indigo invaded the complex, and immediately engaged both teams in combat. With half the group out of commission, the remaining members tried to track down Indigo, but instead encountered a rogue Superman android, which had been activated. Caught by surprise, Lilith had her neck snapped by the Superman android, killing her instantly. Donna Troy tried valiantly to defeat the Superman android, but he released a deadly heat beam directly through her chest, killing her. Roy, with help from Tim Drake, managed to reprogram Indigo, who arrived and shut down the Superman android, leaving Arsenal and Nightwing to mourn the fallen Troia. Shaken by these losses, Nightwing decided to officially end the Titans as he did not want to put the people he loved in the face of danger anymore, despite Roy's protests against this decision, saying they had to honor what the five of them started.^[16]

Mourning Donna's death, Roy shaved off his hair and donned a new, more advanced suit^[17] and got to work assembling a new team of heroes called the Outsiders, this time full of strangers instead of loved ones, in an effort to convince Dick to rethink his decision.^[18] Roy began by buying a massive secret underground headquarters beneath New York City. Roy outfitted the shelter with state-of-the-art equipment and began recruiting members for the new team.

Dick and Roy co-lead this new iteration of Outsiders that consisted of Thunder, Grace Choi, Shift, Jade, and Indigo, with the aim to try to take the lead on crime and take it down before it happens.

Roy Harper as he recruits his friend Dick Grayson to the newly formed version of the Outsiders. Art by Tom Raney.

During a mission, Roy was shot five times in the chest,^[19] leaving him out of commission for three months. When he was ready to get back, despite his skills being just as good as they were before, he found it hard settle back in because of his PTSD and fear of his own limitations, finding that he was afraid of being shot again and what that might do to Lian if he were hurt in a worse way. With the help and encouragement of Nightwing, Roy found it in himself to believe in his abilities once more, and to get back out there and face his fears.^[20]

Not long after his recovery, the Outsiders took on a case which involved a child-slaver and molester named Tanner.^[21] One of Tanner's informants recognized Roy from years prior, and led Tanner to Lian. Lian's nanny was killed and the girl was branded with Tanner's mark. The Outsiders arrived just in time to save Lian and other children from being flown out of New York.^[22]

Roy's near-death experience from gunshot wounds saved his life when he faced Deathstroke. Since the Outsiders began, Roy had been collecting intel from Batman, but he found out that it was not actually Batman, it was Deathstroke posing as him. Deathstroke and Arsenal fought, with Deathstroke intending to kill him, but when the mercenary discovered the bullet scars on Arsenal's chest, he figured Arsenal had suffered enough and gave him a "pass", as a sign of respect for the history between the two with the Titans as well. About the same time, Arsenal was also kidnapped by Constantine Drakon, Green Arrow's nemesis. Drakon was working with the Riddler, and he slit Roy's throat so that he would have to apply constant pressure or die. The Outsiders helped search for and rescue Roy.

When Indigo was corrupted by Lex Luthor and exploded, killing herself in the process and almost killing the Outsiders and Teen Titans, Dick left the team, leaving Roy to assume full leadership of the team.

After the return of Donna Troy, Roy began to rethink his position as an Outsider. While leading an effort to take down the Secret Society, Roy realized that working like this was too much for him, and that operating from the shadows wasn't for him, and that he wasn't meant to blur the line. When Lian told him that she saw him up at night, looking sad, Roy finally made the decision to leave the Outsiders, accepting that he wasn't made for the life of a cloak-and-dagger type hero. He handed leadership of the team officially back to Dick and took his leave, seeking to be a hero more in the light, aspiring to be more of a hero that can be an inspiration to people and to Lian.

2005–2011: Becoming Red Arrow and joining the Justice League[]

Roy Harper joins the Justice League as the Red Arrow. Art by Ed Benes.

For the next year, Roy worked solo for the most part. During a team up with Dinah Lance and Hal Jordan to help Red Tornado, Roy found himself fighting Amazo alongside several other heroes. After this, he was invited to join the Justice League, where he officially took on the name Red Arrow, wanting to honor his family name and legacy, seeing this name as a final coming-of-age for him to become the hero he was always meant to be.

While on the league, Roy developed a romantic relationship with Hawkgirl.

As Red Arrow, Roy found himself to be fully settled for the first time in a while, happy that he was fully embracing his legacy. He bought a house in Star City, to give Lian more room as she grew up, and even began giving her archery lessons, realizing that one day, she would probably want to take on the family legacy herself.

Roy was also part of the Titans as they reformed once again.

During a fight with Prometheus, Roy's right arm was severed, and he was left in coma. Prometheus unleashed an earthquake on Star City that resulted in the death of Lian as well. When Roy woke up, he was devastated, separating himself from everyone as he grew an addiction to pain medications, before falling into a new drug, which caused him to hallucinate ghosts. Roy also received a new cybernetic arm developed by his friend Cyborg. Dealing with his grief, Roy joined Cheshire in Deathstroke's new rogue Titans team, in a secret plan to take out Deathstroke from the inside. However, unbeknownst to him, Slade was drugging Roy to control him. When the drug wore off and Roy came back to his senses, he fought Deathstroke out and vowed to redeem himself in Lian's honor by redeeming the Titans name that Slade diminished, deeming it something worth fighting for, as well as making amends with everyone he loved. He decided to start and lead a new Titans team that would redeem the name, and he was joining the recently resurrected Jericho (Joey Wilson), his friend and fellow Titan.

During the Convergence storyline, Roy is living in Gotham, where he started a children's home and shelter, Lian's Place. The villain Dreamslayer offered Roy a deal: that he would return Lian if Roy betrayed his friends Donna Troy and Starfire. Roy outsmarted him and managed to get Lian back without harming anyone, revealing that he had weaponized Gotham in case something like this ever happened. With that, Lian was back to life and Roy was reunited with his daughter once more.

2011–2016: The New 52[]

As part of DC's New 52 reboot, Roy's story has changed quite a bit. Instead of his mother being unknown, she was a forest ranger along with his father, and they both died in the forest fire. Brave Bow was renamed Big Bow. Roy was raised in a Spokane tribe in Seattle instead of with the Navajo in Arizona. Roy also has an adoptive brother, Bird. When Big Bow was mysteriously killed, Roy believed that he accidentally killed him himself, and Roy couldn't deny it as his memories were unclear because of being intoxicated. However, years later, he would discover that Big Bow was killed by a corrupt sheriff, whom Roy brought to justice along with Oliver Queen. Roy's relationship with Oliver is slightly different. While the story of their separation remains much the same, their reunion took years to happen rather than the shorter time of the previous continuity. In the New 52, he was part of the Outlaws, where he developed a romantic relationship with Starfire. Roy's addiction was also briefly retconned into being an alcohol addiction, but was retconned back into a heroin addiction.

During the Titans Hunt storyline, Roy, along with several other heroes, found out he was part of the original Teen Titans, with all of their memories being forgotten due to unknown circumstances. When they discovered their memories were erased as a way to defeat the villain Mr. Twister, they defeated him once more in the present. This led to the team being reformed, with the team regaining their memories of each other's relationships. Roy's romance with Donna Troy was rekindled during this time, as the two remembered the years they spent together.

2016–2020: DC Rebirth[]

As part of DC Rebirth, Roy appeared as a main character in the Titans book, where he and the rest of the Titans were reunited with their best friend Wally West after he reappeared in the timeline. When Lilith encountered an anomaly in the multiverse, the Titans moved to Manhattan to investigate, where they set up Titans Tower once. The Titans took on various villains such as Abra Kadabra and the Fearsome Five, and Roy led them to take out a drug operation for a new drug known as Bliss.

Roy also redeveloped his romantic relationship with Donna Troy here, with the two admitting their shared feelings to one another.

Roy also fully reunited with Oliver in the Green Arrow title, where the two helped the protestors at Roy's tribe fight against a militia known as the Wild Dogs.

During the "Heroes in Crisis" storyline, Roy, alongside Wally West and various other heroes, was found deceased in the superhero rehabilitation facility known as Sanctuary.^[23] It was later revealed that Roy was accidentally killed by Wally in a Speed Force explosion due to a Sanctuary malfunction.

Arsenal is one of the many deceased heroes and villains resurrected as a zombie by Batman with a Black Lantern ring in Dark Nights: Death Metal.^[24] He takes part in the final battle against the forces of The Batman Who Laughs, killing a murderous alternate version of Wally with an arrow through the head. He tells the real Wally that he does not blame him for the Sanctuary disaster and the two fight side by side, jokingly referring to each other by their original aliases of "Kid Flash" and "Speedy".^[25]

2021–present: Infinite Frontier[]

Roy was restored to life by the reboot of the multiverse after Death Metal, but has so far chosen not to reveal himself. Deciding not to call Green Arrow or any of his friends, he discarded his cellphone, trademark trucker cap and bow at an isolated gas station and began hitchhiking down the highway.^[26]

Although Roy is believed dead by the general public and the superhero community, his resurrection is known to the Department of Extranormal Operations. He is the subject of one of several reports prepared by Cameron Chase for Director Bones. The report establishes that some aspects of Roy's pre-Flashpoint history have been restored to continuity, most notably the birth and apparent death of Lian Harper. Chase speculates about how Roy is handling his restored traumatic memories and whether he can be an asset or hindrance to the DEO.

At a bar in New Mexico, Roy deliberately antagonises a man named Bill into a "fight". Roy allows Bill to repeatedly beat him and refuses to fight back, it is implied that he is once again attempting suicide. The bartender, who resembles Lian, steps in to defend him and Bill threatens her. Newly energised by his desire to protect her, Roy easily defeats Bill and steals his motorcycle, riding off into the night.^[27]

It is revealed in DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration that teenage vigilante and Catwoman supporting character Cheshire Cat, aka Shoes, is Lian Harper, alive and apparently suffering from amnesia.

Powers and abilities[]

In the comic books, Roy Harper possesses no superhuman attributes, but he is extremely adept at the use of the bow and arrow, as well as a wide array of weaponry, with Green Arrow admitting that Roy surpassed him. He also has the ability to take virtually any object and use it in combat as an effective weapon, a martial art he mastered known as Moo Gi Gong, which itself is a branch of Hwa Rang Do. Roy's Moo Gi Gong training included the mastery of 108 different classical weapon classes, which makes him a master weapon wielder with any weapon type (including, but not limited to, knives, swords, ropes, sais, blades, and staffs) and able to turn any random object into a deadly weapon. In addition, Roy's natural marksmanship and archery training from growing up gives him an impeccable aim that gives him perfect aim with any long range or projectile weapons. Harper is also a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and he possesses keen analytical and detective skills. He was trained in hand-to-hand fighting by several characters, including Black Canary and Nightwing. He was also taught how to box by Hal Jordan. Roy is a master of espionage because of his spy days at the CBI and Checkmate. Roy can also use accupressure as a means of temporarily disabling an opponent's muscles by hitting them at very specific points in their bodies, something that comes in handy with his precise aim.

Roy speaks Japanese^[28] and understands Russian.^[29] Before Flashpoint, after the loss of his right arm, Roy Harper received an advanced prosthetic, built by Vic Stone, designed to loop around his damaged nerve endings and restore his usual degree of hand-to-eye coordination, albeit with the price of a constant phantom limb pain.^[30] The pain was eliminated in the second version of the arm.

Weapons and equipment[]

Before Flashpoint, much like Nightwing and other members of the Bat-Family, Roy Harper's suit is capable of emitting an electronic pulse. It is unknown, however, whether or not his suit is capable of emitting only one pulse, like Batman's and Nightwing's, or several. Roy carries various weapons in his many suits, including a bow and several arrows, including many utility and trick arrows. He has been known to carry around a crossbow, throwing knives, a staff, laser heat sidearms, billy clubs, a boomerang, an electrified bolas amongst a wide array of non-lethal weapons.

Roy also embeds Promethium Kevlar to armor his suits, which has saved his life on at least two occasions.

Personal life[]

Roy Harper is of Navajo heritage, and has a tribal band tattoo on his left bicep to represent it. He has had three father figures in his life: his biological father, Roy Harper Sr., who Roy sees as a hero after his death saving people in a forest fire, his adoptive father Brave Bow, who took Roy in and raised him like a son, and his second adoptive father, Oliver Queen (Green Arrow), who took Roy in after Brave Bow's death and made his ward and sidekick. Before becoming Speedy, Roy was a champion athlete, most notably in archery, but also in track and field.

Roy has a daughter named Lian whom he raised as a single father for years. Roy is a natural thrill seeker, who has many connections in the government and metahuman community. He has had several jobs, including being a drummer in his own band, running a nightclub, being a Private Detective, working as an agent and spy for the CBI, counseling in various anti-drug programs, and running a shelter for lost families.

Roy also sees Black Canary as a mother, since she took him in and helped him get through his withdrawal, and she was also one of his teachers in his training as a hero. He was there for her when she lost her own mother, and he has always had a close relationship with her.

Additionally, he sees Hal Jordan as an uncle figure, as he was always around when Roy was younger, being the best friend of Oliver. Roy cites that Hal was the one who taught Roy to be unafraid, and Hal has said that he sees himself in Roy, and could see him as his successor one day. Roy has also stated he sees Connor Hawke as a brother, with the two of them being Oliver's children, and growing to see each other as brothers despite the differences in how they turned out, but finding something in common in the fact that they both want to honor Oliver and Green Arrow's legacy. Roy also has a sibling relationship with the second Speedy, Mia Dearden. While he was against her being Speedy at first, he quickly changed his mind when he realized what it meant to her when she told him she wanted to take it on to honor him and his use of the Speedy mantle to fight through his addiction and change his life for the better by growing as a person and hero through putting a positive output to the world, and how that inspired her to take it up after her recent positive HIV diagnosis. Roy began taking on a bit of the mentor relationship to Mia, and handed down a various array of some of his old arrows and things he used as Speedy.

Roy Harper (Arsenal / Red Arrow) and Jade Nguyen (Cheshire), his long standing romantic partner. Art by Fabrizio Fiorentino.

Roy also participates in a lot of volunteer work. In addition to counseling for anti-drugs and running a shelter for lost families, he also regularly volunteers at soup kitchens, especially around the holidays, and competes in various archery charity events in his superhero identities to raise money for charities.

Roy's most well known relationship throughout his history with the assassin Cheshire. After falling in love with her on a mission where he was sent to capture her, she became the mother of his child, a daughter called Lian. Roy and Jade had a relationship that was rekindled several times throughout the years, with both of them wanting to be there for their daughter and their love for each other, despite constantly being pulled away due to their different loyalties. Roy makes an effort to keep Jade part of Lian's life, despite her crimes and always being on the run. His feelings for Jade always made him see past her crimes, and he's even considered abandoning everything and running away with her and Lian.

Roy's first known superhero relationship was with Donna Troy during the Teen Titans. Although short-lived, the pair has rekindled the relationship on multiple occasions over the years, particularly during their time with the reformed Titans. When he formed the Outsiders, he had a fling with Grace Choi, although they mutually saw each other as friends-with-benefits. At this time, he also had a fling with the Huntress. His relationship with his JLA teammate Hawkgirl was strained because of Hawkgirl's relationship with Hawkman, which caused Roy to feel she didn't take the relationship as seriously as he did.

Other versions[]

Earth-Two[]

The Earth-Two version of Speedy was a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory and All-Star Squadron in the 1940s along with Green Arrow. Aside from their origin, having been trained on a mesa top together, their history nearly parallels the history of the Earth-One versions up until the point when Arrow and Speedy along with their teammates were thrown into various periods of time during a battle with the Nebula Man. He and his teammates were later retrieved by the Justice Society and the Justice League in order to assist them in saving Earth-Two from the machinations of their old foe the Iron Hand. Speedy had been sent to the Island of Circe in the past and turned into a centaur controlled by Circe, but was restored. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths a new solitary universe was created at the dawn of time, a universe whose history fused together the histories of several universes, including Earth-Two. Whether he ceased to exist or exists only as an aspect of the post-Crisis Earth has not been determined, although his mentor died during the final part of the Crisis defending the new Earth from the Anti-Monitor. Both this version of Speedy and Green Arrow were wiped from existence in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Bizarro World[]

A Bizarro version of Arsenal appears as one of the heroes of Bizarro World. In addition to sporting a robotic left arm (as opposed to his right one), the Bizarro Arsenal is shown wearing a quiver filled with dead cats, which he uses as weapons.^[31]

Flashpoint[]

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Roy Harper is a member of mercenary squad working for industrialist Oliver Queen. Very early in the story, however, Roy and his fellow mercenaries were killed by an unshown explosion set off by Vixen and a group of anti-Queen activists. The explosion actually kills everyone in the facility save for Vixen and Oliver Queen, who is remarkably unscathed even though he had been standing right next to Roy, discussing the possibility of becoming a group of actual heroes rather than mercenaries, at the time the explosion went off.^[32]

Smallville[]

Roy Harper is featured in the Smallville Season 11 digital comic based on the TV series, where he is shown as a member of the Outsiders, alongside Grace Choi and other heroes.^[33]

Titans Tomorrow[]

In the Titans Tomorrow future Roy Harper took on the role of Green Arrow and was killed in battle. It is hinted that his rivalry with Deathstroke developed fiercely over the years.

Thrillkiller[]

Batman: Thrillkiller is an Elseworlds story set in the early 1960s. Roy Harper is depicted as a biker who buys drugs in order to get friendly with schoolgirl Hayley Fitzpatrick (aka Harley Quinn), but a terrifying ordeal with drug runners leads him to alert the police after being helped by Batman and Black Canary. He is later shown practicing archery, though it is not clear if it is part of a rehab scheme or training for vigilantism.

Convergence[]

During the Convergence event, the New Earth version of Roy Harper is shown following the events of the Titans series. Still struggling with Lian's death, he has now devoted himself to helping the community to make amends for his time with Deathstroke. When the Extremists attack the city, he dons his Arsenal costume and helps his former teammates from the Teen Titans fight off the villains. Dreamslayer then uses his powers to pull Lian out of the timestream shortly before her death, and offers to return her to Roy in exchange for him turning on the Titans.^[34] Using trickery, Roy pretends to betray his friends, but instead scrambles Dreamslayer's teleportation field. As the Extremists retreat, Roy stays behind with Lian, finally reunited with his daughter.^[35]

Teen Titans Go![]

Speedy has also made eight appearances in the comic book series Teen Titans Go! (based on the 2003 cartoon). His first appearance in issue #10 was a cameo. He made a reappearance with the rest of Titans East in #20 & #25. A super-deformed version of him posed as Cupid in #27. One of the two stories in issue #30 focuses on him and Aqualad. Thus far, he and Aqualad both have made appearances in each tenth issue. He appeared in issue #39 and after being struck by Larry's arrows falls in love with Cheshire, similar to the comics. In issue #48 he appeared as Arsenal in an alternate reality in a group called the Teen Tyrants.

Teen Titans Go! To Camp[]

Speedy was a regular character in the Teen Titans Go! To Camp comic book series, which is a tie-in comic to the Teen Titans Go! cartoon. In the comic, Speedy is part of the summer camp with several other Titans members, and his rivalry with Robin is further developed as the two compete in various camp competitions. Speedy's relationship with Green Arrow is shown for the first time in this continuity here, as Speedy writes a letter from camp to Green Arrow in one of the issues.

Arrow[]

Roy Harper appears in the Arrow tie-in comic, Season 2.5. In the comic, Roy as Arsenal goes with Oliver on mission to stop "drug plane". While Oliver puts an autopilot device on plane's controls and kicks other enemies, one of the thugs fires on Roy and begins falling from the plane, but Oliver managed to rescue him and is put in hospital. While recovering, Felicity is kidnapped by Church of Blood and mercenary group Renegades. Oliver calls Roy for help and gives him kevlar-lined suit after he recovered from injury. Heading to the Church's base of operations, they are contacted by Clinton Hogue, a new church's leader, who demands Oliver in exchange for Felicity, which Oliver accepts despite Roy's advice not to. Roy goes to Lyla Michaels for help and they, along with another backup released from prison named Helena Bertinelli, go to Bludhaven where Felicity is held. Infiltrating their base, Roy fights against Cyrus Vanch and Winnick Norton, but after taking them down, he is knocked out by Lyle Bolton electrocuting them and taking the hostages, only to be knocked out by Helena who saves them. Roy and his friends bound the mercenaries and leave for helicopter piloted by Oliver. However, Hogue comes in helipack and attempts to kill Roy. In the middle of the air, the two are knocked out of the plane, held by Roy and Hogue attached to his leg. Roy kicks him and Hogue falls to the ground to his death.

In other media[]

Television[]

Animation[]

• The first animated appearance of the Roy Harper version of Speedy was in the Teen Titans segments in 1967's The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, voiced by Pat Harrington, Jr. He appeared alongside Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and Aqualad.
• Speedy also appeared on the main Teen Titans animated series, voiced by Mike Erwin. His real name is never given, but the character is clearly Roy Harper. Roy is described as employing "a veritable arsenal" of arrows, in a nod to his future persona. He first appears as a supporting character in "Winner Take All", fighting Robin and trying to convince him if winning is really that important. Speedy later joined the team's sister group Titans East. As depicted in the series, Speedy is serious and businesslike as in his Arsenal years in comics, leading Beast Boy to comment on his similarities to Robin. However, when he reappears in "Titans East Pt. 1", more of his traditional bad-boy Speedy personality is seen, as he refuses to apologize for buying fish tacos, which offends Aqualad that the tacos might be his fish friends. He was mind-controlled by Brother Blood in "Titans East Pt. 2" but saved by the Teen Titans. Speedy's bow was broken by Cheshire in "Calling All Titans" when she overpowered him, but, in the episode "Titans Together", Speedy somehow regained possession of his bow when he was freed from his suspended animation. At the end of this episode he was seen with the other Titans standing on a building to battle Doctor Light.
• The Roy Harper version of Speedy appears in Justice League Unlimited episode "Patriot Act", voiced again by Mike Erwin. In this version, Speedy states that he's Green Arrow's "ex-partner" when Green Arrow calls him an "ex-sidekick". He has a slightly older, better built design than his Teen Titans incarnation. Speedy's appearance is also a nod to the original Seven Soldiers of Victory superhero team. He is also featured in issue 30 of the Justice League Unlimited comic book in which he and Booster Gold have to protect the watchtower from Doctor Polaris.^[36]
• Speedy appears on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Jason Marsden (primarily) and by Ryan Ochoa (as the young version briefly seen in "Sidekicks Assemble"). This version is the stereotypical kid sidekick, with phrases like "Golly!" or "Holy [insert uncommon phrase]". Green Arrow treats him badly at times, and Speedy defiantly points this out despite his usually nice personality at the end of "Sidekicks Assemble". First appearing in "Dawn of the Deadman!", he is possessed by both Deadman and the spirit of Batman, in order to recruit him and Green Arrow into a battle against the undead army raised by Gentleman Ghost. In "Sidekicks Assemble", Speedy teams up with fellow sidekicks Aqualad and Robin to battle Ra's al Ghul.

William Harper, one of Roy Harper's clone as Red Arrow in Young Justice

• Roy Harper is a major character in the Young Justice animated series, voiced by Crispin Freeman.^[37] This appearance is unique in that it features both a clone of Speedy who becomes Red Arrow, separate from the real Speedy who becomes Arsenal. In the pilot "Independence Day", Speedy forfeits his place as Green Arrow's sidekick out of frustration that the Justice League won't make him a full-fledged member. He takes on the Red Arrow alias when he starts operating solo and confronts Artemis, Green Arrow's new sidekick who he suspects is a mole, due to still having respect for the Team. In "Usual Suspects", Red Arrow finally gains membership in the Justice League, only to realize that he was the mole all along; he's in fact a Cadmus clone controlled through programming and hypnosis. In season 2, Red Arrow has spent the past 5 years obsessively searching for the real Roy Harper, to the detriment of his health and his friendship with his allies, but also married Cheshire and had a daughter, Lian Nguyen-Harper. Red Arrow and Cheshire eventually find the original Speedy cryogenically frozen in a temple in Tibet, missing one arm, a reference to Red Arrow losing his arm in "Cry for Justice". The real Speedy eventually wakes up, and blames Green Arrow for his failure, while thanking Red Arrow for finding him, despite being his clone who was forced to replace him. Initially sought a revenge on Lex Luthor for mutilating his right arm and use it for cloning, but he later obtains a cybernetic arm from Lex Luthor and later goes by the Arsenal alias. Arsenal eventually joins the Team, highly capable yet also brash, reckless and disobedient. Arsenal is temporarily fired from the Team and join the rest of Reach abducted super-powered teens (Static, Longshadow , El Dorado and Sam, until he can learn to be a team player, while also saving them from falling into Luthor's lies. By the end of the second season, Arsenal is operating solo and Red Arrow has retired to focus on being a father. In Young Justice: Outsiders, the clone Roy now goes by "Will", has grown a beard, and created a security company called "Bowhunter Securities" to support his family. Nightwing calls on Will to help him, Roy, and Jim for help in freeing meta-humans, each Harper is shown to have a unique personality but fight well together. They even seem to regard each other as family. In the "Prize" audio play, Arsenal has rejoined the Team.
• The Roy Harper version of Speedy appears again in the Teen Titans Go! animated sitcom, voiced by Scott Menville. In the episode "The Date", Speedy and Robin get in a fight over a date with Starfire. Although Robin defeats Speedy, he feels guilty about his actions and tells Starfire the truth, but she hits him towards a wall. Speedy makes cameo appearance in "Starliar" giving a creeped out expression in reaction to the music Raven began playing at the Titans East Annual Dance Party. In the episode "Real Orangins", Speedy was seen in a computer, but returned into Arsenal.

Live action[]

Colton Haynes as Roy Harper in costume as Arsenal in The CW TV series Arrow

• Colton Haynes portrays Roy Harper in The CW TV series Arrow, the character's first live-action appearance.^[38][39] Roy first appears in episode fifteen of season one, "Dodger", as a pickpocket who steals Thea Queen's purse. However, they fall in love after he gets caught and start dating, though their relationship is on and off. After Oliver Queen saves his life from a killer in the episode "Salvation", he gains an active interest in the vigilante and wants to emulate him. Roy is a recurring character throughout the season and a series regular in season two.^[40]
  • In season two, Roy, wearing a red hood, works alongside Oliver as a vigilante. When he is captured by Brother Blood, he is injected with Deathstroke's Mirakuru drug, which gives him superhuman strength and healing, while also turning him hostile and violent. He is eventually cured by Oliver and Sara Lance and becomes a full-fledged member of Team Arrow when he helps Oliver and his allies fight Deathstroke and his forces in the season finale. However, Roy's decision to continue as part of Team Arrow, costs him his relationship with Thea.
  • In season three, Roy is officially dubbed Arsenal, after a villain calls him "another weapon in [Oliver's] arsenal".^[41] He is temporarily also referred to as the Red Arrow, during Oliver's extended absence from Star City. After Ra's al Ghul exposes Oliver's identity, Roy takes the fall for his mentor and allows himself to be captured in Oliver's suit, making the public think that he has been the Arrow all along. Team Arrow helps Roy out of jail and Star City by faking his death. Eventually, Thea locates Roy living under an alias in Monument Point. He encourages her to live the life he and Oliver sacrificed so much for, and leaves her his red costume before taking off for another new life in Hub City.
  • In season four, Noah Kuttler / The Calculator locates Roy and threatens to expose him unless he returns to Star City and steals equipment for him. After Team Arrow makes Kuttler think that Roy has been killed, he rejoins the team as Arsenal and helps them stop Kuttler, after which Roy leaves Star City again.
  • In season six, Ricardo Diaz captures Roy and brings him back to Star City, attempting to force him to testify that Oliver is the Green Arrow in court. He refuses and is eventually saved by Oliver and Thea. Roy then helps Oliver, Thea and the rest of Team Arrow battle the Thanatos Guild, who are trying to locate the remaining Lazarus Pits. He then decides to join Thea and Nyssa al Ghul in their mission to locate and destroy the Lazarus Pits around the world and leaves Star City. Meanwhile, his reputation is cleared in the season finale, when Oliver admits publicly that he is and always has been both the Arrow and the Green Arrow.
  • Roy returns to Star City in season seven, when Team Arrow calls for his help in battling the Ninth Circle. He reveals that he died battling the Thanatos Guild and was revived by Thea and Nyssa with a Lazarus Pit, resulting in him occasionally getting uncontrollable fits of rage, causing him to once again leave the city at the end of the season. The season also sees Roy in his own storyline in flashforwards set in 2040, which depict him living in exile on Lian Yu until he is contacted by Oliver's now-adult son William. The two follow clues left by Felicity, travel to Star City and link up with the Canary Network in order to save the city from Galaxy One.
  • In season eight, Roy returns to Hub City to work as a mechanic, where he is recruited by Diggle back into the team after learning of his future, as they aim to prevent it. Realizing the cure to his bloodlust is by being part of a team, Roy returns to Team Arrow. When the team heads to Lian Yu to create the weapon for the Crisis, their plane is hit by Eddie Fyers with a rocket, causing it to crash on the island. Roy survives, but his right arm is crushed by the plane's engine, with Roy telling Diggle and Connor Hawke to amputate as that was the only way they could escape in time. Soon after, Roy receives a mechanical arm from Ray Palmer's technology, thus making him able to go back to being a hero as Arsenal. He gets engaged to Thea Queen in the series finale.
• Roy Harper is referenced in the second season of the DC Universe / HBO Max series Titans, where he is revealed to have provided Donna Troy and Kory Anders with information to help them capture Shimmer. He later contacts Donna after Shimmer's arrest, but is not physically seen or heard. Roy is referenced again in the third season, which reveals that he is in charge of A.R.G.U.S.
• Roy Harper is seen in Stargirl, where he makes a cameo appearance as Speedy in an old photograph as a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory alongside several others, including Green Arrow. Pat Dugan reveals that he was part of the team at the same time the JSA existed, and that the team went under the radar even though they saved the world.

Film[]

• Roy Harper appears twice in the DC Animated Movie Universe:
  • Roy appears as Speedy in Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, voiced by Crispin Freeman, reprising his role from Young Justice. Along with Bumblebee and Kid Flash, he is seen in a flashback of how the Teen Titans first met Starfire.
  • Roy returns in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, appearing as one of the Titans as they get ready to battle Darkseid. However, along with the rest of the Titans and many of the other heroes, he dies in battle. His ultimate fate is unknown, as the movie concludes with Barry Allen running back in time to fix everything, with the new timeline yet to be seen.
• Two versions of Roy Harper makes a brief appearance in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.

Video games[]

• The Roy Harper version of Red Arrow makes a cameo appearance in Green Arrow's ending in Injustice: Gods Among Us.
• The Arrow version of Roy Harper appears as a playable character via downloadable content in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
• Injustice 2 has two variations of the Arsenal costume that can be unlocked as alternate shaders for Green Arrow.
• Roy Harper as Arsenal appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced again by Crispin Freeman.

References[]

External links[]

• DC Database Project: Roy Harper
• The World's Finest JLU Bio
• The World's Finest TT Bio