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Where Angels Fear to Tread

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Where Angels Fear to Tread (Comic Book)
Oh Ollie, such the fool you are...

Where Angels Fear To Tread is 1994 Green Arrow storyline that celebrates 100 issues of Green Arrow. The storyline spans from issue #0 and then #90-101 of Green Arrow (1988).

Oliver Queen is a suicidal mess. He was unable to save a woman from dying, his girlfriend has left him and to make matter worse, his best friend has become a genocidal maniac. Ollie retreats to an ashram where he meets the plucky young Connor Hawke, a young 18-year-old monk who has an affinity with archery like Ollie and is a fan of him. This boy, is in fact, Oliver Queen's son.

The CIA have put out a bounty for Oliver Queen so he leaves the ashram, alongside Connor, and his mutual frenemy Eddie Fyers in order to figure out what's really happening.


Where Angels Fear To Tread provides examples of:

  • Affirmative-Action Legacy: Connor Hawke, a half-white, quarter-Korean and quarter-African American, becomes the second Green Arrow.
  • Complete-the-Quote Title: The title makes more literary sense once the full quote is revealed: "Fools rush in (Oliver sacrificing himself) where angels fear to tread (Hal as Parallax following Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! and Clark as Superman trying to stop the Mutajek 9-9 from hitting Metropolis".
  • End of an Age: The storyline marks the end of Post-Crisis Oliver Queen and all of the trauma he gained during the Grell run.
  • Grand Finale: Although not the final issue of the run, the storyline acts as the final installment towards Oliver Queen's Post-Crisis era ever since Mike Grell wrote Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters and led the character to becoming more grounded and mature. Although he isn't able to address all the mistakes he made in life, he's able to sacrifice himself for the good of humanity and is able to meet and mentor his own son for once before his demise, leading his son to take on the role.
  • The Hero Dies: At the end of the storyline, Oliver sacrifices himself to save Metropolis from a nuke.
  • Life-or-Limb Decision: Oliver get his arm stuck in a bomb and is offered a choice between losing his arm (meaning he could never use a bow again) or dying. He chooses to die.
  • Milestone Celebration: The storyline celebrates 100 issues of Green Arrow.
  • Mythology Gag: The bomb that is on the plane heading towards Metropolis activates early if both people used to activate it let go. Instead of being willing to have Clark laser off his arm, similar to his counterpart in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Oliver sacrifices himself and has Connor become his legacy as Green Arrow.

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