Fans of the Arrowverse were first introduced to Connor Hawke for a brief moment in Legends of Tomorrow, and then again in the seventh season of fan-favorite show Arrow. At first, we didn't exactly know what to make of Connor - it has since been established that the future we saw him in during Legends was not canon, hence, when we see him again in Arrow, he's a different person in various ways.
With the eighth and final season of the show set to premier later this year, the character of Connor Hawke has been promoted to series regular. While we still haven't gotten the chance to get to know the character deeper, there are already hints of a few changes the show made in regards to his comic-book counterpart. With this in mind, let's take a look at five changes that were made for the best, and five for the worst.
10 Better: His Involvement With The Justice League
Throughout the years, Arrow has become increasingly more complex with its plots and storylines. The first couple of seasons were amore light-hearted, a lot less 'meta.' More recently, with the expansion of the Arrowverse, the show has embraced the more incredible traits of the original source material. We can only hope it will continue to expand so, but we must admit that certain worlds will not and should not collide.
In the comics, the character of Connor Hawke has been involved with more prominent DC characters, including Batman and the Justice League of America. For now, it's best that the shows will continue operating within their own universe, instead of clashing with other stories.
9 Worst: His Past
Since Connor Hawke is set to become a prominent part of the Arrowverse, we hope only that the last season of the show will take some time to let audiences dive deeper into who this character is. What can he bring to the table? However, considering the season is meant to be short and will need to focus more clearly on the current storyline, this is probably a long shot.
Which is, indeed, a pity. While Connor Hawke isn't extremely well-known to everyone, fans who took the time to change that, quickly loved him. Connor has an extremely interesting past, one that is directly connected with Green Arrow, and it's a shame that the show hasn't given this to us just yet.
8 Better: His Suit
Something has already been made clear - Connor Hawke is a natural succession of Green Arrow. What often happens in the world of movies and television, especially those that involve characters with extremely distinct costumes, is that it's relatively easy to give similar characters identical costumes. Whether it's budget constraints or lack of creativity, it just comes off as lazy.
In the comics, Hawke's costume is the spitting image of Green Arrow's. And given that some artists drew him so similarly to Oliver, they ended up seeming like the same character. The show, however, changed this, and while the costumes are similar, we are given the idea of succession without loss of identity. Much better!
7 Worst: His Abilities
So far on the show, we've been introduced to Conner's best ability, which is, obviously, archery. It's also hinted that he's in incredible human physical condition, as well as being a fantastic martial artist. However, this doesn't even begin to touch the tip of the iceberg of Hawke's abilities that are showcased in the comics, which makes it harder for the audience to root for him, or care at all.
In the original source material, his strength and speed are off the charts, he's an expert marksman, and it's even been argued that his martial arts skills are even more advanced than his archery. Which is pretty impressive! So far, we haven't seen much, which is a bit of a disservice to the original character.
6 Better: His Physical Appearance
No-one expects an artist to come up with a character and stick with it forever. It's the most common thing in the world for comic-book artists to move around, giving others a chance to bring us their own interpretation of the character. While this is understandable, it can get a little annoying when radical and nonsensical changes are made.
Connor Hawk suffered from this quite a bit throughout his comic-book appearances. Connor's appearance on the show finally put an end to the debate and established the character.
5 Worst: His Potential Future
As we've mentioned before, the first time we were introduced to the character of Connor Hawke, he was part of a possible future in Legends of Tomorrow. This potential future placed him as John Diggle Jr., the son of Diggle and Layla. However, when we saw him again in Arrow he was still the same actor, but he was their adopted son, and John Diggle Jr. went on a very different path.
It's been since confirmed that the potential future we saw him in was never realized, and the person we are seeing on Arrow is not the same we saw on Legends, which just made the first introduction pointless, confusing fans quite a bit.
4 Better: His Temper
The original Connor Hawke had a bit of a rough past. We don't really know much about the past of Arrow's Connor, other than that he was adopted by the Diggles.
In the comics, Connor Hawke has such a volatile temper (and probably abandonment issues) that his own mother doesn't know what to do with him. He was impulsive and somewhat uncontrollable, so much so that she sent him to the Ashram Monastery, the same Oliver had attended for a time. Probably best to leave the exaggerated attitude in the comics.
3 Worst: His Superpowers
As with his abilities, we're also being served a very light platter of Connor Hawke's powers. We can see why this happened - he's still being introduced, it's impossible to transfer every single power from books to screen, and so on so forth. Still, though, denying Connor all the potential he had in the comics is a bit sad.
Hawke also has the power of regenerative healing, which keeps him strong and healthy, gives him tolerance to pain, and accelerative healing of wounds. On top of that, he's also clairvoyant, having visions about several key moments.
2 Better: His Adoption
Let's just make it clear first, that this is only considered as positive because the best option out of all (more on that below) wasn't chosen for the show. If this option was truly off the table, then having Connor Hawke adopted by the Diggles was a good call, since it gives him at least a somewhat emotional tie to the other characters and the show itself.
Especially after the introduction in Legends of Tomorrow that left fans completely bemused, keeping a connection between this new version of the character and the previous one through the Diggles was a good call. It eased confusion and made us care for him just a little bit more.
1 Worst: His Parentage
Well, anyone who knows what went down in the comics knows this. However, if you've only ever watched the show, it might surprise you. In the comics, Connor Hawke is actually the biological son of Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow himself. He was conceived when Oliver was in college, before becoming the Green Arrow.
It would be virtually impossible to make him the son of Oliver, especially once Mia got into the picture. However, it's definitely a shame that one of the most defining characteristics of the character didn't make onto the screen, especially considering all the amazing storylines that could have come out of it.