Comic books provide a great escape and pull us into a world where anything is possible. In comic storylines, you can be anything you want to be: a warrior, a vigilante or a superhero. Most importantly, you can be a kick-butt archer.
Some of the most popular archers in pop culture today were born from comic books: Wonder Woman, Hawkeye and Green Arrow, to name a few. But a few underrated comic book archers also deserve the spotlight for their archery prowess.
An archer of a different sort, Yondu from “Guardians of the Galaxy” can control objects with his mind. To use this power, he points arrows at those who dare to cross him. Yondu’s mind-control tactics leave villains understandably quaking at the sight of the steel arrow hovering inches from their face. All he has to do is whistle, and the arrow shoots through the air without ever touching a bow. Talk about efficiency.
Sailor Mars from the “Sailor Moon” universe is also an unconventional archery hero. She doesn’t exactly have a physical bow, but she creates one out of flames and launches her magical arrow, known as the Mars Arrow. The insanely cool move is called the Mars Flame Sniper. It only appears in the “Super Sailor Mars” manga. Sailor Mars has the powers of a priestess, which is where they drew the inspiration for her flame bow. She may be cute, but she is fierce.
We all know Jeremy Renner’s version of Hawkeye, but there’s another version to consider. Kate Bishop of the Marvel universe is the first female character to take on the Hawkeye name, and she certainly does it justice. Kate first appears in “Young Avengers #1,” when she developed a respect for Hawkeye after he saved her from the villain El Matador. She admired that Hawkeye was powerful without having a superpower, defeating the bad guys with only his bow and arrow. Captain America eventually bestowed the original Hawkeye bow to Kate after she proved her worth by standing up to him the way the original Hawkeye, Clint Barton, would have.
While the Marvel universe has Hawkeye, the DC universe features Huntress. She boasts sweet skills with a crossbow in each of her storylines. Huntress has a couple different backstories in multiple DC series. In “All Star Comics,” she is the daughter of Batman and Catwoman. In “Birds of Prey,” the mob executed her whole family when she was a child. In both versions, she battles the bad guys with vengeance and bow in hand.
Practicing archery in a traditional way, Arwyn of the “Sojourn” comics is another female archer on a mission to defeat evil. Her quest for justice leads her to inherit the bow of a great hero. Her destiny is to defeat the villain that killed her family. The comic series takes readers on Arwyn’s journey to find the five shards of the hero’s magic arrow. This series falls more into the medieval fantasy realm, featuring trolls, magic, and dragons. Arwyn’s costume looks like a mash-up between Robin Hood and the Green Arrow, and she’s not afraid of a fight.
Comic books consistently showcase powerful heroes and anti-heroes that teach us valuable life lessons. It’s always exciting when those heroes practice archery. If you’re looking for entertainment that you can enjoy poolside or on a plane this summer, go on an epic archery journey with some of these new characters.
And if the comic book archers inspire you to pull back a bow for the first time, check out your local archery range to get started.
