‘Arrow’ Character Spotlight: Roy Harper
If there is one character that I miss seeing on Arrow, it is definitely Roy Harper. Colton Haynes has done a phenomenal job at portraying this character, and I am highly looking forward to his prospective return in Season Five.
We first met Roy in Season One of Arrow, and he certainly made quite the impression. His snarky attitude and sticky fingers gave him quite the reputation with the Starling City Police Department. His first appearance was in the episode titled ‘Dodger’, when he stole Thea Queen’s purse while she was out on a walk with Laurel. After doing much research, Thea found a way to track him down and eventually, got her purse back. Despite his off-putting attitude towards her, Thea continuously found herself drawn to Roy. She even went as far as offering him the opportunity to work at Oliver’s club, Verdant.
Eventually, Roy’s criminal ways caught up to him, when he was kidnapped by a former resident of the Glades who believed in punishing those who had ‘wronged the city’, specifically the residents of the glades. Given Roy’s criminal ways, he was a perfect target. Roy was rescued by ‘the Hood’ and as time passed, Roy became fascinated by ‘the Hood’s’ (eventually named The Arrow) ways. He desperately began a search for him, stating to Thea that he felt as though ‘the Hood’s’ life was connected to his.
When Thea disclosed the fact that Roy was looking for the vigilante to Oliver, Oliver warned Roy that the vigilante was a dangerous and to stay away from him. Roy ignored Oliver’s advice, and continued searching for him anyway. Shortly after the destruction of the Glades, Roy spent nights fighting thugs in the streets, due to the fact that ‘The Hood’ had gone missing. He became a frequent flyer in the police station as a result. He worked for Thea as a bouncer at Verdant. When Oliver returned to Starling City, he confronted Roy as the vigilante and told Roy that if he really wanted to help, Roy could do it by being Oliver’s eyes and ears in the Glades.
While investigating a missing persons case for his friend, Sin, Roy discovered evidence of a blood drive that was hosted by Sebastian Blood the same day that Sin’s friend Max went missing. After discovering Max’s dead body, Roy took a picture of Max’s body when he discovered Max’s eyes were bleeding out. Roy met with The Arrow and discussed what he had found. Oliver, as the Arrow, told him not to look into it. Roy was angered and stated that he and his friends were going to look into it anyway. Oliver then shot Roy in the leg in an attempt to slow him down.
Roy was captured and injected with the Mirakuru drug, which nearly killed him. He survived and Oliver took him back to the Arrow cave to recover.
Oliver began training Roy on how to control his super strength. Roy became frustrated with Oliver’s ‘lessons’ saying that they made him feel stupid. He demanded Oliver take him out on the streets to practice controlling his strength. When the ‘field experiment’ went awry, Oliver told Roy to stay away from Thea, as he was too unpredictable and dangerous to be near her. After breaking up with Thea, Roy drove out of Starling City. He was later captured by Slade Wilson and became Slade’s experiment for blood transfusions; to build his Mirakuru Army. Oliver discovered Slade’s plan, and rescued Roy from Slade’s clutches.
Roy became incredibly unstable on the Mirakuru, and wound up killing a police officer. He then headed to Verdant to go after Thea, but his efforts were stopped by both Sara and Oliver. Oliver kept Roy in an induced coma until he was able to find a cure for the Mirakuru.
After the fall of Slade Wilson and after his system was cleared of the Mirakuru, Roy continued his training with Oliver. He eventually donned a costume of his own, and was given the name ‘Arsenal’. Roy assisted Laurel in her vigilante training to take up Sara’s mantle as the ‘Black Canary’. When Detective Lance discovered that Team Arrow had been hiding Sara’s death from him, he went on a rampage and dedicated his time to exposing Oliver as the Arrow. Roy sabotaged the Police Vehicle that Oliver was sitting in, after Oliver was arrested. Roy stood on-top of the police van wearing the infamous Green hood of ‘The Arrow’. Roy stated that Oliver Queen was not The Arrow, and that he was.
Roy was taken to Iron Heights prison, where he, Diggle and Felicity arranged his ‘death’. When the press got word that ‘The Arrow’ was killed in prison, Oliver was off the hook. Roy met up with Oliver in secret, telling Oliver that he was going to start a new life somewhere else. He left Starling City, and headed out to Monument Point, where he worked as a mechanic.
Sometime later, Felicity told Thea the truth about Roy. She told her that Roy was actually still alive, and she gave Thea his address. Thea went to visit Roy, bringing his ‘Arsenal’ costume with her. She attempted to convince Roy to return with her, but Roy declined and left his suit with her, which she would later wear as ‘Speedy’. Roy disappeared off the charts for awhile, but he made an appearance in Season 4.
Roy was hunted down by The Calculator, who threatened to expose the truth of who Roy really was if he didn’t comply with his demands. Roy returned to Star City and began stealing parts from tech companies. Team Arrow eventually caught up with Roy, and assisted in successfully halting the Calculator’s plan, and releasing Roy from the Calculator’s grasp all together. Roy left Star City once more, going back to his ‘old new life’.
Despite his distaste for the law, Roy has always maintained a sense of honor. He wants to do right by others, before himself.
Expectations
We’re definitely hoping that Roy will return to Star City in Season 5. Now that Curtis has seemingly been added to Team Arrow, my hopes are high that we will also see Roy Return.
Julia recently published her first novel, titled; Anomic. She is currently co-authoring a novel called ‘Snow Falls’. She has a B.A in Communications with concentrations in Professional Writing and Public Relations. She is also in the United States Army Reserves as a Military Police Officer, and is currently in the process of going back to school for her Masters Degree in Business. When she isn’t writing, she is co-owner of a film production studio called ‘Valentine Productions LLC’ and she frequently spends her weekends acting in films, or being a stuntwoman.
