Red Arrow
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Real Identity: Roy William Harper Junior
Affiliation(s): The Team, Justice League, League of Shadows, and Bowhunter Security
Appearances: Independence Day Part One, Welcome to Happy Harbor, Infiltrator, Targets, Revelation, Failsafe, Secrets, Insecurity, Performance, Usual Suspects, Auld Acquaintance, Salvage, Bloodlines, Satisfaction, Endgame, Princes All, Private Security, Home Fires, Exceptional Human Beings, Influence, Leverage, Illusion of Control, Overwhelmed, Nevermore, Tale of Two Sisters, I Know Why the Caged Cat Sings, Teg Ydaer!, Og Htrof Dna Reuqnoc!, Kaerb Ym Traeh!, Nautical Twilight, Forbidden Secrets of Civilizations Past!, Rescue and Search, Zenith and Abyss, and Death and Rebirth
Appearances (Comics): What's The Story?, Fears, Cherry Gig, Hot Mess: Memory One, Ominous Tidings, Sorry Excuse: Memory Two (voice only), Foreign Affairs, Metallic Aftertaste, Last Rights, and Yesterday's Children: Memory Six
Appearances (Audioplays): The Prize
Powers/Skills: Marksmanship, Archery, and Knowledge of Technology
Voiced By: Crispin Freeman
Roy Harper is the great grandson of Jim Harper, the original Guardian. Shortly after Roy Harper first started out as Speedy, he was kidnapped by the Light and cloned by Project Cadmus. The clone replaced Harper and no one was the wiser. Even he was unaware he was a clone. Harper was pre-programmed with a drive to join the Justice League with a secondary parameter to eventually betray them to Vandal Savage when he was inducted. On occasion, his handler Sportsmaster would invoke the phrase "Broken Arrow" to place Harper in a hypnotic state. Sportsmaster would then extract intelligence and/or install further programming.
Three years later, on July 4th, at 9:01 Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), the 18 year old Speedy single-handedly defeated Icicle Junior with a well-shot trick arrow. After being given only unlimited acccess to the Hall of Justice's gym, galley, and library; Speedy was furious and demanded respect in the form of full-fledged membership in the Justice League. Green Arrow made Speedy privy to the League's true headquarters in space, the Watchtower. When the Justice League nor other sidekicks came to his defense, Speedy quit, and stormed away. On July 17th, at 23:16 Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), Speedy disrupted another one of Brick's operations in Star City. Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad aided Speedy in the battle. Most of Speedy's arrows were useless against Brick but he finally defeated the villain with high density polyurethane foam. Speedy declined an invitation to join the Team and declared the "Junior Justice League" was a joke.
Speedy informed Green Arrow he was going to pursue a solo career. He then took on the new codename of Red Arrow and financed himself through an inheritance from his parents and a trust that Oliver Queen set up for him. He also placed weapons caches in all major cities. On August 7th, 23:49 Eastern Carribean Time (ECT), Red Arrow infiltrated Infinity Island and safely extracted the abducted scientist, Serling Roquette. He brought his findings before the Team and handed over the mission to them. While perturbed that Green Arrow took on a second partner so soon, Aqualad assured him he had a place on the Team if they had a say. Before leaving, he updated the computer to recognize him as B-06 Red Arrow instead of Speedy. On August 9th, 01:16 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), Red Arrow confronted Artemis and issued a warning to her, out of concern for his friends.
On September 7th, 19:20 National Standard Time (NST), Red Arrow took to a civilian disguise and prevented the assassination of Lex Luthor in Taipei, Taiwan with the help of Kaldur'ahm via wireless communication. Disgusted at saving Luthor, Red Arrow visited the would-be assassin, Cheshire, in a prison cell to glean the end game. However, Cheshire was extracted by Sportsmaster and taken to see their master, Ra's Al Ghul. Red Arrow managed to track them and observe before being spotted, himself. After narrowly surviving a fight against Cheshire and Sportsmaster, Red Arrow called Kaldur'ahm for help. Together, they waited at the Rhelasian peace summit in order to stop another assassination attempt. Red Arrow triggered the building's water sprinkler system and Aqualad generated a construct to finish off the League of Shadows. In the aftermath, Red Arrow admitted his respect for Aqualad's team and vowed that he would provide support when needed.
In late September, Red Arrow acquired credible intelligence that the League of Shadows accepted a contract to assassinate Vlatava's King Josef Vladek. He staked out the palace on his own, determined to prove himself. Late one night, Sportsmaster arrived. Red Arrow ducked a hammer throw and fired an arrow. Sportsmaster easily caught it and snapped it, then used the Broken Arrow trigger to get up close to Red Arrow and knock him out with one punch. By the time he came to, King Josef was dead. He never forget his failure that night made Princess Perdita Vladek an orphan. On October 1, 16:57 Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), Red Arrow fought Plant Creatures in Star City with Green Arrow and Black Canary.
On October 31st, Red Arrow appeared at the Cave to join a discussion about Sportsmaster's mole. He aired his misgivings about Artemis and Miss Martian. On November 25th, Green Arrow nominated Red Arrow to join the Justice League. Green Arrow contended Red Arrow had experience but Aquaman countered he was uncooperative and disrespectful. Despite this, Red Arrow was voted to join the Justice League by the end of the year. On December 4th, Green Arrow informed him of the news but asked him to set a good example by joining the Team first. Red Arrow complied with the request. For his first mission, Red Arrow joined a smaller unit to track Sportsmaster in New Orleans. He still did not trust Artemis and suspected she was the mole. During the mission, he planted a tracer on Artemis' quiver. When the mission was a failure in part to Artemis' meddling, Red Arrow warned her again. In late December, Red Arrow joined in on a mission to investigate Haly's Circus. During the course of the mission, Red Arrow observed Artemis, Miss Martian, and Superboy in action. He came to the conclusion none of them were moles and apologized.
On December 30th, Red Arrow was officially inducted into the Justice League. During the induction party at the Watchtower, Red Arrow administered implants to each of his comrades. When Vandal Savage arrived, he realized he was the Light's mole all along. With the last parameter achieved, Red Arrow's mind cleared and fled the Watchtower while Savage paused to bask in success. Red Arrow teleported to the Hall of Justice and narrowly escaped capture by Aquaman, Flash, and Green Arrow. He hid in his Washington D.C. weapons cache, an unassuming apartment unit. Some time later, Aqualad arrived. Red Arrow demanded he tell something he never told anyone else, who broke his heart. After Aqualad admitted Tula broke his heart, Red Arrow agreed to come along with the Team. On December 31st, 23:16 EST, he returned to the Watchtower with Black Canary and Red Tornado but were quickly recaptured by Savage. In the aftermath, the Justice League was liberated. Red Arrow, however, was disillusioned by the fact he was a pawn and vowed to find the original Speedy.
Red Arrow's search for the original Speedy consumed him. Officially, he was placed on a leave of absence from the Justice League. On January 1st, Team Year One, Green Arrow insisted Red Arrow should stay over at his place. Red Arrow couldn't sleep and contemplated his role in the Light's plans. On February 1st, 23:11 EST, Red Arrow got a call from Black Canary, while he was in Washington, D.C., and learned Aquaman's son Artur was born. On March 8th, 18:46 EST, Red Arrow and Guardian completed a sweep of Project Cadmus using a Wayne Ecogram unit but found no trace of Speedy. Guardian received confirmation he was also a clone of Speedy and attempted to console Red Arrow with the notion they could share the burden. Red Arrow didn't feel he truly understood since he didn't take over Speedy's life. On November 1st, Red Arrow, while in Metropolis, learned a hero named Blue Beetle made his public debut. Red Arrow gave him six months before he was killed. Guardian, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and the Team helped Red Arrow shadow Lex Luthor. Miss Martian wiped all residual Cadmus programming from his mind as well.
In Team Year Two, the formal search for Speedy was called off. Red Arrow and Guardian continued looking on their own. Eventually, Guardian gave up as well. On October 26th, 01:25 Korea Standard Time (KST), Red Arrow infiltrated one of Luthor's robotics plants but almost got caught. On December 25th, he tracked Luthor's operations to Athens and was attacked by Cheshire. Red Arrow began to formulate a plan to use Cheshire to infiltrate the League of Shadows and get closer to the Light. In Team Year Three, Cheshire convinced Sensei that Red Arrow had gone rogue and was a freelancer. On November 26th, 23:19 UTC, Red Arrow and Cheshire finished an assignment to chaperone a shipment of LexCorp tech to Dhabar, Bialya. Arrow managed to observe some drilling equipment. On March 8th, 00:00 ECT, Team Year Four, Red Arrow contemplated Cheshire's true nature while he was on Infinity Island. He began to see the good in her but still couldn't trust her. On May 26th, Red Arrow's cover was blown. Cheshire saved his life but betrayed the League of Shadows. They barely escaped and moved through Fort-De-France at 03:16 ECT. At some point, he married Cheshire.
On September 16th, 21:45 EST, Red Arrow observed a meeting between Lex Luthor and the Riddler in Gotham City at the Babylonian Wing of the Museum of Antiquities. He also realized LexCorp's robot production had increased exponentially since he started tracking Luthor's operations three years ago. Over the months, Red Arrow hit more LexCorp subsidiaries in search of Speedy, including ones in Singapore and Germany and on Santa Prisca. On November 30th, 22:22 Central European Time (CET), Red Arrow and Cheshire finished searching a LexCorp subsidiary in Geneva, Switzerland, the last known one. Nothing was found on Speedy. Red Arrow heard about Superman and Superboy's battle against Draaga in Metropolis and watched the footage. On January 28th, 20:00 EST, Team Year Five, Red Arrow and Cheshire had another fight about Speedy, while they were in Washington, D.C. despite what they'd been through. Cheshire believed the trail was dead and so was Speedy.
Cheshire soon left him, without telling him about her pregnancy. On February 15th, 20:00 Moscow Standard Time (MSK), Red Arrow got close to Luthor and Riddler as they met in Moscow. He learned they were after some sort of statue, nothing to do with Speedy. Despite being out of leads, money, and friends, Red Arrow continued his quest and occassionally took money from robbers he stopped. On February 13th Team Year Six, Red Arrow encountered Green Arrow, Black Canary, Nightwing, Wally West, and Jim Harper. Red Arrow rebuked the intervention, suggested they focus on Kaldur'ahm, and left them. After returning home, Red Arrow encountered Cheshire and met his daughter, Lian. Cheshire also revealed she found one last lead on the original Roy Harper. On February 28th, 23:14 Beijing Time (BT), they all arrived in Tibet. After taking down armed monks in a monastery, Red Arrow finally found the original Roy Harper. Green Arrow and Red Arrow watched over him at Royal Memorial Hospital in Star City. However, he didn't want to become a source of conflict between Green Arrow and the original. When the original went missing, Green and Red Arrow raced to LexCorp and found him, now going by Arsenal.
Red Arrow remained on leave from the Justice League and worked to get back into shape. On June 20th, Red Arrow was assigned to Nu Squad with Arsenal for the coordinated strikes on the Magnetic Field Disrupters. He attended Wally West's funeral. After the world was saved, Red Arrow settled back into a life as a full-time dad and raised Lian with Artemis and Paula Crock in Star City while trying to make it work with Cheshire. He took Roy's middle name of Will as his first name to differentiate himself. Eventually, Cheshire left. Harper founded a private security firm called Bowhunter Security. On July 29, 07:16 PDT, Team Year Eight, Dick Grayson paid a visit to recruit Crock for a mission. Harper got a little annoyed when Grayson slipped and called him "Roy." On August 01, 10:38 PDT, Harper was not pleased to be left with a "stray" by Grayson to take care of. Gryason later contacted the three Harpers for help dealing with a meta-human trafficking ring in Star City. In exchange, Grayson had to help out with a Bowhunter Security gig.
All they had to do was guard a shipment of Goode Goggles. They ended up chasing after Brick and his henchmen on the Pacific Coast Highway and almost rammed into a time traveling Metropolis school bus possessed by Klarion. Harper was crestfallen about his SUV after Brick ripped the roof off and it plummeted into the ocean below. On the roof of one of the moving trucks, Grayson accidentally referred to him as Wally and he knew he was using him as a Kid Flash substitute or in other words, someone to call him out. Brick caught up to them but they kept arguing. Harper stated the mission is what the mission becomes and he needed to be responsible for those they took in from Markovia. Together, they picked up Brick and tossed him. Brick was then run over. They headed to the cabin and took control. Grayson admitted Harper was right about the Markovians. Jim Harper confessed private security was more exciting than he thought, prompting Will Harper to suggest they make it a family business. Roy Harper was not interested to say the least. That night, the four took down the trafficking ring.
On September 29, Harper took Lian Nguyen-Harper to the Allen home in Central City for a playdate of parents and children of those associated with the Justice League and the Team. Harper make small talk with Lynn Stewart-Pierce. She brought up Crock and their living arrangement but Harper denied there was any romance going on. John Smith arrived later with Traya, Harper was relieved he was no longer the only dad present. The mothers all reacted and he quickly back tracked. On October 12, 19:49 PDT, Crock was at working getting Violet enrolled in school. Harper suggested she use his surname and she accepted. He sensed something and made an excuse to go to the bathroom. He spoke to Jade Nguyen outside and invited her inside, stating their daughter needed her mother and he needed his wife. She countered they were both better off without her. He disagreed and pointed out she was lurking outside their house. She contended she only came to say goodbye then she left. On November 06, 17:21 PST, Jefferson Pierce and Dr. Helga Jace came for a visit. Jace complimented Harper on making his home full of love.
On November 16, 17:17 PST, Harper and Nguyen-Harper had a contest at dinner who could be more gross. The next night, he called Brion Markov into the kitchen to help with the dishes. On November 22, 13:01 PST, a Thanksgiving celebration was held. Paula Crock noticed Harper and her daughter exchanging looks. On February 14, 18:04 PST, Team Year Nine, Harper surprised Crock with a Valentine's Day dinner while Nguyen-Harper was babysat at the Hub. They kissed but Crock ran off, still having unresolving feelings for the late Wally West. Later that night, Crock returned and he tried to apologize but she stated she knew he was just trying to help her move on but they were not right for each other. Harper was relieved and admitted he knew that, too, as soon as they kissed. They agreed they would always be family. On February 28, 16:16 EST, Harper and Nguyen-Harper attended a private party at Bibbo's Diner in Metropolis for the original members of the Team.
At some point, Harper hired a reformed Clayface now going by Harlan Matthews. On February 23, 14:16 EST, Harper was present at Lucas Carr's house to see off Conner Kent, M'gann M'orzz, and Garfield Logan for their trip to M'arzz. Harper admitted he was glad to have an excuse to miss work. Amistad Ervin, Rocket's son, asked him if he was pregnant. Harper laughed and noted not even Cadmus cloning could prevent "dad bod." He got a call from Roy Harper about an assault by a Task Force X squad and Matthews' kidnapping. Harper shared the news with everyone present. Kaldur'ahm reiterated there was an open agreement that they could not defy Task Force X or Amanda Waller would act against them. Harper got an idea and gave Raquel Ervin, Kaldur'ahm, Artemis Crock, Conner Kent, and M'gann M'orzz some Bowhunter uniforms. On February 23, 16:16 CST, they intercepted the Manta-Flyer in Bio-Ship over the Bayou Bartholomew before it could return to Belle Reve Penitentiary. Harper fought Captain Boomerang. Boomerang was quick to make light of his bow, clipboard, and gut. Harper threw the clipboard at him then charged and knocked Boomerang out with an uppercut. They returned to Happy Harobor once Matthews was freed. Harper was annoyed to see Roy and Jim Harper had arrived and left the Wayne Tech hardware unguarded.
Like usual, on March 26, 07:09 PDT, Harper served his daughter breakfast and Crock caught her cup before it spilled. However, that night, Harper got news from Grayson and Kaldur'ahm of Conner Kent's death on M'arzz. Crock returned home soon after and learned what happened, too. On April 17, Crock was still grieving and was so lost in thought that she did not catch Nguyen-Harper's cup. On April 18, 17:54 PDT, Harper finishing hanging up the group photo of the Team in the Hall of Justice in Team Year Zero right before he joined the Justice League. Crock admitted she was still struggling and wanted to leave before she started crying. He told her it was okay to cry. She joked she did not want to upset Brucely, who was asleep nearby. That night, he helped Crock with transporting Onyx and Cassandra Savage to the Vault after they both claimed the other was a mole for the League of Shadows. Their caravan was attacked by the League. Harper had to repeatedly tell Arsenal to minimize property damage. He was bereft when Arsenal blew up a fake food truck used by the League. During the battle, Harper used his favorite clipboard as a weapon but a Shadow snatched it and broke it in half. Harper took out his pen and stabbed the Shadow in the back then decided to take it back and knocked them out.
Harper suited up as Red Arrow in the Vault and took pleasure in telling Arsenal that Green Arrow gave his blessing to use the Vault but wanted Arsenal kept away from the rocket launchers. He disagreed with Spoiler's notion that the children of villains always turned against their parents. He cited Icicle Jr. and Cheshire as counterpoints. He later posited Onyx and Savage were using an old Cold War strategy: both were sent to guarentee a mole would end on the Team. Tigress concluded she would give both the benefit of the doubt. On April 21, 23:38 EDT, Harper got a call from Crock about another "stray" coming home with her. Before Crock could reveal it was Jade Nguyen, Lian Nguyen-Harper presented her "mommy mask" to her. Nguyen was horrified and fled the Key West safe house instead of going back to Star City. Harper was considered for Justice League's reserve system. On September 16, Harper served as one of the groomsmen at Conner Kent and M'gann M'orzz's wedding in Happy Harbor.
On November 09, Team Year Ten, Will Harper led a Bowhunter detail in Star City with the other Harpers and Matthews. They were to protect Queen Perdita Vladek while she was in town. Jim Harper thought it was pretty sweet gig. Matthews was unsure why all of Bowhunter's big guns were needed. Roy Harper admonished them for trying to jinx it and guarantee trouble for them. Will Harper told them to stay alert and he took protecting Vladek very seriously and very personally. He did not want to fail her again. At S.T.A.R. Labs, they were attacked by armored individuals. Vladek was kidnapped while Oliver Queen, Dinah Lance, Dr. Roquette, and bodyguard Denny were poisoned and left comatose. They were taken to Royal Memorial Hospital for observation. Artemis Crock informed Will and Roy Harper that the agent used on them was Sportsmaster's concoction and even with the antidote, it would take a few days for the effects to wear off.
Will Harper mused they would be left without answers as to why those four were targets and not anyone from Bowhunter or why Queen and Lance were posing as Roquette's lab assistants. Crock pointed out he answered his first question at least. Cissie King-Jones asked the obvious question of Count Vertigo being behind it but Harper pointed out he was legally removed from the Vlatavan line of succession so killing Vladek wouldn't make him the king. Roy Harper suggested it was vengeance. He conceded it was possible. Red Arrow joined Alpha Squad on its mission to the Lexcorp Robotics factory in Madinat Altharwati on November 11th. On the Watchtower, Tigress addressed the obvious problem the Team would run into for the Bialya mission: Queen Bee. She summarized her meta-ability as a combination of complex pheromones and a low-level psychic push. Miss Martian noted she could thwart the latter. Red Arrow revealed a massive dose of garlic pills could thwart the former. Arrowette deduced the ruse would be completed with a few Hollywood tricks and Miss Martian's shape-shifting skills.
Halo opened a Boom Tube directly to the room where Queen Perdita Vladek was being held. Arrow immediately went to check on Vladek, in the thrall of Psimon, and blamed himself. Queen Bee enthralled Red Arrow, Arsenal, and Halo then asked them to kill Tigress, Miss Martian, and Arrowette if they really loved her. They complied. Red Arrow fired an arrow into Tigress's chest. Queen Bee asked Halo to kill Vladek. Halo instead blasted Bee, Vertigo, and Psimon, rendering them unconscious. Tigress, Miss Martian, and Arrowette stood up unharmed. Miss Martian ordered Arrow, Halo, Arsenal, and Arrowette to take Vladek to Baby. Halo opened a Boom Tube directly to her. Vladek was worried about Miss Martian and Tigress but Arrow reckoned he would worry more about anyone who tried to get in their way. On November 12, 09:05 PST, everyone at Royal Memorial began to regain consciousness. Vladek told Nielson she was fine and was glad he was all right.
Queen quipped that was good to hear because he would have been worried if he was conscious. Lance mused deep down, they all knew she would be all right. Will Harper added because they knew everyone else would make sure of it. Roy Harper agreed, as did Artemis Crock. Vladek then thanked everyone in the room. Garfield Logan told her while they may not be a couple anymore, they would always be family.