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"The Prodigal": Six years ago, Walter Emerson had been watching the breaking news from Gotham City that its prodigal son Bruce Wayne had finally returned - only just before a blackout that had since seen him disappear along with t

Quote1 I almost feel like I'm back there -- only I'm not fighting for my survival anymore... I'm fighting for hers. Quote2
Oliver Queen

Green Arrow (Volume 5) #25 is an issue of the series Green Arrow (Volume 5) with a cover date of January, 2014. It was published on November 6, 2013.

Synopsis for "The Prodigal"

Six years ago, Walter Emerson had been watching the breaking news from Gotham City that its prodigal son Bruce Wayne had finally returned - only just before a blackout that had since seen him disappear along with thousands of others over the previous week. Emerson was surprised when a poorly dressed, hooded man appeared behind him, commenting that he'd never liked Bruce Wayne, as he always stole his headlines. The man removed his hood, revealing himself to be Oliver Queen - Seattle's own prodigal son - returned at last from years of unexplained absence.

Oliver explained that he had been caught in an explosion on a Queen Industries oil rig, but he was thrown clear. He washed up on an island and had been there until just three weeks before when a Thai fishing crew found him. Asking after his mother, Oliver learned of the Gotham blackout, and the fact that his mother Moira Queen went there to help. Realizing that his mother could be in danger there, Oliver insisted on going straight to Gotham to find her.

Moira, meanwhile, was insistent on remaining in Gotham, despite warnings from her head of security John Diggle that the city was becoming a war zone. Waiting any longer could have left them stranded in the crippled city. His attempts to convince her were cut short suddenly by an explosion that blew out all of the windows in the shelter they were at. This was a planned attack. Moira was being targeted.

Outside the city, Oliver might have had an easy time of getting into the city, given that everyone else was trying to get out, were it not for the fact that he wanted to get in without anyone knowing that he had come back. Sneaking in through the sewer system, he prepared himself for a fight - a fight for his mother's survival, after having spent so long fighting for his own.

The terrorist had been attracted by the knowledge that Moira Queen was rich, and armed with a moth-themed set of weapons, he'd prepared to capture her and hold her for ransom. As he reached for her, though, his hand was pierced by an arrow as a man clad in darkness warned him to pick on someone his own size. It was the Batman, armed with a small crossbow. Gleefully, the terrorist announced that this arrival had been his inspiration, but Batman was not impressed. As he approached, he found himself knocked back by a highly concentrated blast of air that prevented him from laying a hand on this "moth". He was saved, then, by a second arrow, loosed this time by Oliver.

As the Batman focused his attention on the Moth, he warned Oliver to get to safety. Rushing to his mother's side, Oliver claimed that he had been sent by Emerson to get her home, hiding his identity from her with a heavy green hood. Assured that she was alright, Diggle dragged Moira away with the knowledge that this hooded man would watch their backs. Taking turns using the terrorist as a punching bag, Oliver and the Batman argued over who had jurisdiction. When the Moth man finally collapsed, Batman turned to Moira and promised that he could get her out of the city. She chose instead to go with the hooded man, seemingly aware that he was her son. After Batman had left, she tugged the hood from his face, and tearfully confirmed her suspicion that her son had come back alive - but changed.

Despite the reunion, Oliver was not yet ready to tell her what had happened on the island.

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Synopsis for "New Tricks"

One month after what had been dubbed the "Zero Year" in Gotham City, John Diggle had had the opportunity to witness a new kind of protector come to life - and it made him wonder if there had ever been room for ordinary men like him anymore. With a new vigilante plaguing the Seattle underworld of late, this concern had grown even more prominent. So, it came as a great surprise to him, that night, when that hooded vigilante crashed through his front window demanding his help by name.

Oliver had passed out, and he woke to find Diggle sitting over him, correctly assuming that the young millionaire's heroics in Gotham must not have been a one-time thing. Oliver wheezed that he had been careless. He was trailing some of Billy Tockman's men and had found himself unexpectedly outnumbered.

Concerned, Diggle explained that he wanted to know what had happened to Oliver to make him want to do this with his life - not what had happened to get him wounded on his couch. And why his couch? Oliver responded that he had seen how Diggle was willing to protect his mother with his life. Diggle had seen him then too and had chosen not to tell anyone that he was the Green Arrow. That expressed to him that John Diggle was a man who could be trusted. A man he could trust to make sure he didn't get himself killed.

Oliver had done his research. Diggle had done two tours in Afghanistan, and he would make a decent point man. Diggle was not eager, reminding that he had been fighting in a war back then. Frowning, Oliver warned that it is a war. A war to keep his city - his country - from falling apart. Besides, Diggle had been spending his nights drinking alone, just waiting for his next assignment. Waiting to be needed. Oliver needed him.

Oliver lead Diggle down to a warehouse where he kept his equipment, explaining that nobody knew about it thanks to some tricky bookkeeping. Amused, Diggle warned that he would not be using a bow and arrow or wearing a costume. Oliver commented that this must mean Diggle was in. Taking Oliver's hand, Diggle agreed that it was time to beat up some bad guys.

From that point on, Oliver and Diggle fought together in Seattle to bring down organized crime. For a year, they protected it from itself, and Diggle finally felt as though he was needed again. Instead of reading about the capes in the papers, he had become one.

After a while, Diggle was surprised to learn that Oliver had taken on another partner in Roy Harper - and that this would be the beginning of the end for him.

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Notes

  • "The Prodigal" is reprinted in DC Comics: Zero Year.
    • This story takes place six years in the past, during the "Zero Year" in which Gotham City underwent an EMP blackout.



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