Golden Arrow (comics)
| Golden Arrow | |
|---|---|
|
Cover to Golden Arrow #5 (1946). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher |
Fawcett Comics DC Comics |
| First appearance | Whiz Comics #2 (Feb., 1940) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Roger Parsons |
| Abilities | Skilled archer |
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Golden Arrow is a fictional character who had his own strip in Fawcett Comics' Whiz Comics comic book series, from 1940 to 1953.[1]
Fictional character history
The hero was originally Roger Parsons, the son of inventor Paul Parsons, who had developed a new type of gas for transportation by balloon. A greedy competitor, Brand Braddock, plotted to stop Mr. Parsons, and did so by shooting down a balloon Parsons was using to test the formula. Mr. Parsons, his wife Gloria, and his son Roger were all aboard the balloon. The two adults died when the balloon crashed in a sparsely populated area of the Western United States, while the baby miraculously survived.[1]
An old prospector named Nugget Ned raised the child as his own, teaching him to fend for himself and developing the boy into a skilled archer. On his deathbed, the old man told the now-grown boy of his origins, and the young man, calling himself "Golden Arrow", set out, with the help of his stallion White Wind, to avenge his father and right other wrongs throughout the West[1]
Although the comic appeared to be set in the Old West, in Whiz Comics #43 Golden Arrow had an adventure with Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher, which would indicate that the setting was actually contemporary.
The character may have served as inspiration to DC Comics' Green Arrow. DC Comics purchased the rights to the characters published by Fawcett, including Golden Arrow, but failed to renew copyright on Whiz #2, putting that version of the character into public domain. DC Comics does own the right to subsequent Golden Arrow stories and has never revived the character.
Powers and abilities
The Golden Arrow has no superpowers but he's a skilled archer. He also rides a white horse called White Wind.