Who Is The Longbow Killer In Absolute Green Arrow? DC's Murder Mystery, Explained

This article contains spoilers for "Absolute Green Arrow." 

DC Comics' "Absolute" Universe has made major changes to classic heroes like Batman. "Absolute Green Arrow," which recently completed its first arc, "The Longbow Killer," leans more toward mystery. Despite the title, the main character here is Dinah Lance, the Black Canary, and she's investigating who the Green Arrow is. 

An "Absolute Green Arrow" series from writer Pornsak Pichetshote and artist Rafael Albuquerque was announced in July 2025. Classic Green Arrow Oliver Queen (aka Ollie) then debuted in the "Absolute" Universe in October one-shot "Absolute Evil," by Al Ewing and Giuseppe Camuncoli. An archery-loving billionaire who wants to be a hero, Oliver is murdered by the evil oligarchs who call themselves "The Justice League."

In "Absolute Green Arrow," the murder mystery isn't who killed Oliver Queen; the audience already knows that. The question is why the "Longbow Killer," dressed like a cross of Robin Hood and the Grim Reaper, is murdering people connected to Oliver's death. 

The comic presents lots of suspects, like "Absolute" versions of Oliver's traditional sidekicks Roy Harper and Mia Dearden, as well as his illegitimate son Connor Hawke. All three of them are archer heroes in the main DC Universe, and therefore are prime Longbow Killer candidates. Dinah is reluctantly working security for evil businessman (and Justice League member) Hector Hammond. Her partner is Malcolm Merlyn, aka Green Arrow's classic "Dark Archer" nemesis. Considering the comic features zombie villain Solomon Grundy, some readers (and Dinah) even suspected the killer was a vengeful, undead Oliver.

But "Absolute Green Arrow" #6 pulled back the Longbow Killer's hood, revealing Merlyn and Connor Hawke. Oliver was not in Connor's life when Connor was growing up, so Malcolm raised Connor instead. The Longbow Killer has been targeting people like Hammond because Connor is avenging his father's death and redeeming Ollie's mistakes.

DC promoted "Absolute Green Arrow" like it was a slasher movie, with Green Arrow himself being described as "a Robin Hood who is less Errol Flynn and more Michael Myers." Except this slasher is targeting corrupt billionaires, not dumb teenagers. During "Absolute Green Arrow," the Longbow Killer becomes a social media hero because many people think his targets deserve it. But Connor and Malcolm aren't killing to spark a revolution.

"Absolute Green Arrow" gradually reveals Hector Hammond is performing illegal human experiments into anti-aging via advanced cellular regeneration. Jubal Slade, Ollie's former business partner and a Jeffrey Epstein-esque child trafficker, was supplying Hammond with test subjects. 

It turns out "Malcolm" is actually Arthur King, a mercenary hired to investigate the disappearance of one of Jubal's victims. Once Arthur and Connor got close to the truth, Connor brought it to Oliver; his dad had always resisted actually standing up to Slade, and Connor wanted to shock him into action. It worked, but Oliver moving against Slade and Hammond is why he was was silenced. Cue Arthur going undercover as "Malcolm Merlyn" to investigate Hammond and provide inside protection for Connor's crusade.

There's a classic red herring where, after Connor is introduced in "Absolute Green Arrow" #2, the Longbow Killer seemingly murders him. In reality, that was Connor and Arthur redirecting Dinah's suspicion. But Arthur dies genuinely in "Absolute Green Arrow" #5, leaving Connor as the only living Green Arrow.

Pornsak Pichetshote initially compared "Absolute Green Arrow" to the 1997 slasher "I Know What You Did Last Summer," which is about a group of people with a dark secret being murdered one by one. But the reveal of the Longbow Killer's identity borrows from a different slasher franchise: "Scream," where there is almost always more than one Ghostface killer.

Oliver Queen's legacy influences Connor's choice of weapons. Ollie made his money with a company called Greenarrows Trading (a reference to the real financial app Robinhood Markets). When we first see the Longbow Killer in "Absolute Green Arrow" #1, he pointedly leaves two green arrows in the eyes of Jubal Slade's corpse. His bow is also made from two swords latched together. It's a similar touch to "Absolute Batman" making Batman's chest symbol into an axe; the hero's symbol is a collapsible weapon.

Jubal Slade is a reinvention of a slumlord villain from Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams' "Green Lantern" #76, the beginning of the famous and bitingly political "Hard-Traveling Heroes" arc starring Green Lantern and Green Arrow. The "Longbow Killer" moniker comes from another "Green Arrow" comic, Mike Grell's 1987 "The Longbow Hunters." After Oliver Queen died in 1995's "Green Arrow" #101, Connor Hawke took his father's place as Green Arrow. 

Pornsak Pichetshote was also once an executive in DC's TV department, where he helped spearhead TV shows like "Arrow." His previous experience reimagining Green Arrow clearly shaped his latest attempt. In "Arrow" Season 1, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) is out to kill or ruin the names of people on a list given to him by his father, Robert Queen (Jamey Sheridan); Robert was once part of this conspiracy and wants his son to enact vengeance. Connor being the Longbow Killer makes "Absolute Green Arrow" into the same story: A son goes out to avenge his father's murder by killing a list of his dad's shady associates. "Absolute Green Arrow" also employs a flashback storyline much like "Arrow" did, and the name "Malcolm Merlyn" comes from "Arrow."

Oliver was presented as a kind of serial killer in "Arrow" Season 1. (Season 2 was even all about him swearing that "I can't be the killer I once was.") "Absolute Green Arrow" embraces that approach, and then some.