Although Green Arrow is one of DC's classic characters, many still consider the archer to be a smaller-scale hero. Nevertheless, Oliver Queen has fought alongside major heroes on the Justice League despite the fact that he's little more than an ordinary human with a high skill-set. This simple concept drove Green Arrow back to basics in the late 1980s.

Oliver Queen decided to start fresh in Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters #1, written and illustrated by Mike Grell. Before this mini-series, Green Arrow had some fairly wild gimmicks. At the time of his introduction, in More Fun Comics #73 by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, The Emerald Archer was basically Batman with arrows. Green Arrow's gadgets ranged from an Arrowplane to a nuclear warhead arrow.

Things became more serious during Green Arrow's reintroduction in the Brave and the Bold #85, by Bob Haney and Neal Adams. Oliver had become more socially conscious at this point, making him more akin to Robin Hood than Batman. Even so, he maintained some of his usual trinkets, including the infamous boxing glove arrow. It wasn't until Green Arrow moved to Seattle that things took a more drastic turn.

Related: Green Arrow: Oliver Queen Has a TERRIBLE Role in DC's Most Twisted Universe

Abandoning his home of Star City, Green Arrow relocated along with love interest Black Canary to the Pacific Northwest. Oliver and Dinah ran a flower shop together, nearly retiring from the superhero life. Fighting smaller crimes as Green Arrow, Oliver tracked a serial killer called the Seattle Slasher. While Oliver investigated the Seattle Slasher's murders, he ran into another archer named Shado. This mysterious archer killed the Seattle Slasher, setting Oliver on her trail.

Meanwhile, Black Canary was investigating a local group of drug smugglers. Worried for Dinah's safety, Oliver tracked her down. To his shock, Oliver found Dinah being tortured by the smugglers. Green Arrow killed Dinah's torturer in cold blood, before Shado arrived to help him take out the rest of the thugs. Meeting with Shado on Mount Rainier, Green Arrow learned that the drug smugglers were working with the Yakuza.

These smugglers were covering their tracks through a shipping company, funding themselves with the gold that was stolen from Shado's family. The leaders of this operation had murdered Shado's parents. Shado asked Oliver to help her get revenge against the murderers of her family, and together she and Green Arrow worked to shut down the drug trafficking operation. Afterwards, Oliver helped Shado confront the main druglord, Kyle Magnor, who she subsequently killed.

In the larger scheme of things, Green Arrow: the Longbow Hunters changed Oliver Queen drastically. The mini-series brought Green Arrow to a much more grounded level than before. The Emerald Archer was stripped of his trick arrows and fought more realistic villains, including drug lords and serial killers.

Related: Justice League: Infinite Frontier Reveals Which Hero Is Richer Than Bruce Wayne

Green Arrow Longbow Hunters

As time went on, Green Arrow's character became much more grounded in reality. In Green Arrow #10, by Grell and Ed Hannigan, Oliver stopped wearing a mask, as most people could recognize him as Green Arrow anyways. Abandoning his secret identity, Oliver shifted from a superhero to an urban vigilante.

Several new elements were introduced to Green Arrow at this time that have lasted to this day. For one thing, Shado was a completely new character who became a recurring element in Oliver Queen's life. The two of them became uneasy allies and romantic interests for each other since the Longbow Hunters. Shado made her "New 52" debut in Green Arrow #22, by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino.

This time, Shado was reintroduced as Robert Queen's ex-lover, opening the door for the introduction of Oliver's half-sister, Emiko. Seattle also became Green Arrow's new home for quite a few years, since his New 52 reintroduction in Green Arrow #1, by J.T. Krul and Dan Jurgens.

Outside of the comics, the Longbow Hunters has left a lasting impact. Specifically, the CW show Arrow adapted several components of the Longbow Hunters. The dark and gritty stories, especially in Arrow's first season, matched the street-level storytelling of Oliver's time in Seattle. Characters like Shado and Eddie Fyers were also major players in the first season of Arrow, lending themselves to the show very well. Green Arrow: the Longbow Hunters was a major part of Green Arrow's history, lasting through the comics and beyond.

KEEP READING: Infinite Frontier Confirms the Death Metal Resurrection of a Major DC Hero