Warning! Spoilers ahead for Green Arrow #15!Green Arrow’sfamily is coming face-to-face with the first foe who could be the Emerald Archer’sJoker. It wasn’t that long ago that Team Arrow finally reunited after spending months apart. But Oliver Queen turned that happiness down to work for Amanda Waller.
Since siding with Waller, Green Arrow has met the other people she’s convinced to work for her on her most ambitious crusade yet. In addition to the Dreamer and Failsafe, Oliver has met the mysterious cybernetic monster known as Bright. But who exactly is Bright, and what threat does he present to Green Arrow and his family?
The Monstrous Bright Threatens to Kill Green Arrow’s Family
InGreen Arrow #15by Joshua Williamson, Amancay Nahuelpan, Romula Fajardo Jr., and Troy Peteri,Green Arrow is inthe woods to dig up a mysterious box once entrusted to him by Martian Manhunter. After finding the box, Queen relays a request for the Task Force transport carrier for extraction. Unfortunately, Waller’s underling Bright took it, having convinced the Task Force that he needed it for a special mission.As Green Arrow races to stop Bright, the villain is already in Death Valleyand has apprehended Professor Anthony Ivo.
…Bright has already brought Arsenal’s daughter and his ex out and forces Roy to choose one to save…
Arsenal’s daughter Lian and her mother, Cheshire, have snuck onboard the carrier and observe Ivo as he’s interrogated by Bright. Ivo seemingly recognizes Bright, but the latter reveals he’s from another world. Before any more information can come out about Bright, the carrier is approached by one of the Arrowplanes and the entirety of Team Arrow boards the carrier midair. While the heroes fight outside,Bright catches Lian and Cheshire, using his photokinesis to blind them bothwith a flash of light.
Arsenal breaks away from the fight to find his family, but Bright has already brought Arsenal’s daughter and his ex out and forces Roy to choose one to save while Bright rips the other apart. Cheshire breaks free and lands a kick on the cybernetic monster, but it’s ultimately useless. Bright is about to rip Lian’s head off when he’s suddenly hit by an arrow. That particular arrow was delivered by none other thanGreen Arrow, who comes flying in on a jetpack, demanding Bright let Lian go.
Who is Bright and What is His Beef with Team Arrow?
Bright is a very recent addition to the DC Universe and he’s only had a handful of appearances so far. He first showed up at the end of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths when Amanda Waller pitched her idea to eliminate the world’s metahuman population. Bright, Peacemaker, Peacewrecker, and an unknown Joker/Sinestro composite were Waller’s first allies upon returning from Earth-3. Bright had a few scattered appearances throughout the Dawn of DC, butit wasn’t until Waller took over the Hall of Justice that Green Arrow met this hulking amalgamationof tech and flesh.
Green Arrow was determined to find Amanda Waller and have her answer for manipulating him and keeping Queen’s family separated across time and space. It wasn’t long after breaking in that Green Arrow was confronted by Bright, who revealed he could project flashes of light strong enough to blind the archer. During their fight,Bright also revealed that, on his Earth, he and Green Arrow were friends. Oliver didn’t bother figuring out who Bright is a variant of. Green Arrow simply stabbed one of Bright’s eyes out and waited to be taken to Waller.
Oliver meets Bright for the first time inGreen Arrow #9 (2024)!
Later, after Green Arrow began to work for Waller and Absolute Power started in earnest, Green Arrow was in the Hall of Order observing Task Force VII’s progress until he was interrupted by Bright. Bright was suspicious of Oliver’s sudden turn and was certain that Green Arrow was preparing to betray them. However, Oliver kept cool around his mysterious new rival. Bright has yet to reveal his identity, but he’s made it clear thathe holds no love for Green Arrow, even threatening to burn his eyes out.
What Bright’s Identity Could Mean for Green Arrow and His Allies
It’s hard to say who Bright is at this point, but there are a few hints that could point readers in the right direction. He’s not from the Prime Universe, which makes sense given that Waller also picked up Peacewrecker, the female Peacemaker from another world. Given the extended time she spent on Earth-3, it’s more than likely that’s where Bright came from (an interesting twist given Oliver is President on Earth-3).But if Bright is from Earth-3 and knew its version of Green Arrow, then who’s behind the flashing lights?
…the people who live on Earth-3 are generally absolute monsters…
Green Arrow has a lot of allies, but it seems like Bright and Queen were once close, at least on Earth-3. On the Prime Earth, few of Queen’s allies know him as well as Arsenal, which would make for a shocking and deeply disturbing twist. Granted, Bright does try to kill two members of Roy’s family in this issue. But the people who live on Earth-3 are generally absolute monsters and it wouldn’t be a stretch ifan evil Roy from another Earth tried to kill the Prime Arsenal’s family just for kicks.
Whoever Bright is, he clearly has a deranged obsession with Green Arrow and his family, not unlike the Joker’s hyper-fixation on Batman. But while the Joker has a twisted form of ‘love’ for Batman, Bright has nothing but pure hate for Queen and his family. Torture, maiming, and murder are all ways he’s threatened to make Team Arrow suffer. While he’s been held back by Amanda Waller so far,a villain like this could prove to be real trouble for Green Arrowif Bright sticks around.
Bright Poses a Real Problem for Team Arrow
Whoever Bright is, he knows things about Oliver Queen and his loved ones’ lives. That’s dangerous information for anyone to have, but in the hands of a psychopath like Bright, who knows what he could do? Sure, Bright is under Amanda Waller’s thumb right now. But if things go sideways and he gets loose, he could make life very difficult for Oliver and the rest of Team Arrow. Hopefully,Green Arrow’salready figured out who Bright really is and how he can beat his new ‘Joker’.
