Well, you see, I figure it's more sporting if I give him thirty or forty chances to kill me first. 
- — Green Arrow
Green Arrow (Volume 2) #75 is an issue of the series Green Arrow (Volume 2) with a cover date of June, 1993.
Synopsis for "Auld Acquaintance"
At a New Year's costume party, Oliver Queen's friend Marianne confesses her love for him. Before he can respond, he is whisked away by his girlfriend Dinah Lance. As they ring in the new year, Oliver and Dinah share a kiss. Afterwards, Oliver goes upstairs to talk to Marianne about what happened.
Marianne tells him that he doesn't have to say anything, and that she knows he has made an effort not to seem interested. Even so, she has seen him at his best and his worst, and that she loves the man he is, whether he shares her feelings or not. That said, she has seen him watching her, and believes that he has some feelings for her. In a moment of weakness, Ollie kisses her. As they kiss, Dinah walks in on them.
Oliver and Marianne are caught kissing.
Before anyone can respond to the situation, an arrow smashes through the window. Oliver knocks Marianne to the ground as another arrow flies. He then trains his own bow on the enemy archer. Dinah sends Marianne away while she joins him below. Unfortunately, Dinah becomes entrapped in one of the enemy's Trick Arrows. Fortunately, Shado comes to Ollie's aid, and the two of them send the archer running. They give chase, but ultimately, the villain escapes. Unexpectedly, Oliver collapses, having been shot in the back without realizing it.
The arrow is just a bodkin, and not a hunting arrow, and as such it is not a fatal wound. Shado assumes that the archer was hired by the Yakuza, but Dinah is not so sure. Still, Shado believes that the black archer will be back for him, and vows to stand guard over Oliver after Marianne takes him to a new hiding place. Dinah reluctantly agrees to the plan.
Marianne takes them to a level of the city that was buried underground and abandoned due to a fire. Once there, all they can do is wait for the black archer to find them, and hope that Shado can kill him before he kills them. Marianne expresses her envy of both Dinah and Shado, for having some part of Oliver to keep if he dies. Dinah has memories, Shado has her son, but Marianne has nothing. She recalls how she first met him in that same place, hiding from the authorities. Shado responds that they are not so different, and that they have both been changed for the better by knowing Oliver.
Meanwhile, the black archer has tracked them down, and Shado goes out to find him. Oliver wakes up, but Marianne warns him to keep quiet. Shado and the archer volley arrows at each other, but neither makes a hit. Suddenly, from the shadows, Black Canary attacks the black archer, knocking him to the ground. A lamp is lit, and Ollie unmasks his pursuer only to discover that the man who was trying to kill him was Roy Harper, his former ward.
Dinah notes that Roy seems practically catatonic, like he's been brainwashed. Shado indicates that the Yakuza uses such programming such that he will only respond to those who ordered him to kill his target. Oliver decides to test it by offering Roy a bow and arrow, and challenging him to kill the mentor that abandoned him.
Elsewhere, at the Yakuza headquarters, the black archer returns to his employers. His employer proves to be Greg Osborne, a former CIA agent presumed to have been killed by the Yakuza. Despite having got Roy to kill Oliver, Osborne uses Roy's daughter Lian as collateral to have Roy kill Shado.
Suddenly, the archer reveals that he is actually Oliver Queen in disguise, while Black Canary, Roy, and Shado burst through the window. The four of them put up a strong fight until Osborne puts a gun to Lian's head. In this position, Osborne demands that Roy kill Oliver, but all of the archers' arrows remain trained on him. Frustrated, he drops Lian, and three arrows fly.
Oliver and Shado say goodbye, and then Roy and Oliver reconcile, finally. As Shado and Roy leave, she comments to Lian that her son might be interested in meeting her one day. After seeing all of the people who hold a part of Oliver's heart, Dinah expresses her pain that she can't seem to be enough for him - especially since she can't give him a child herself, and had refused to marry him. She kisses him, and though she loves him, she leaves, knowing she can't share him with so many people.
Despite what Dinah has said, Oliver sits alone in the snow, heartbroken.
Appearing in "Auld Acquaintance"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Jack Hammer
- Red
- Lian Harper
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Trivia
- Although, Roy Harper makes his official debut as Arsenal in New Titans Vol 1 99, released the following month, he already wears his Arsenal outfit in this issue.
See Also