Originally appearing in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941, Green Arrow was created by Morton Weisinger and designed by George Papp. When Weisinger was creating the character, aside from the obvious allusions to Robin Hood, he took inspiration from a movie serial, The Green Archer, based on the novel by Edgar Wallace. He retooled the concept into a superhero archer with obvious Batman influences. These include Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy, having an Arrow-Car and Arrow-Plane from transport; an Arrow Cave as a base and he was frequently summoned by, you guessed it, a Arrow-Signal. Enjoying moderate popularity in his first 25 years of pubiction, Green Arrow was one of the few DC Comics superheroes to be continuously published as many of his peers lost popularity and fell from the comic pages, but he was still not a major hero yet.
It wasn`t until the late `60`s when Neal Adams redesigned his costume that writer Denny O`Neil reinvented the character, did Green Arrow become a well know name.O`Neil chose to have him lose his fortune, giving him the then-unique role of a streetwise crusader for the working class and the disadvantaged. In 1970, he was paired with a more law and order-oriented hero, Green Lantern, in a ground-breaking, socially conscious comic book series (one land mark issue deal with the horrors of drug addiction when Green Arrows long time side kick Speedy developed a heroin additction).
Green Arrow can now be seen in numerous TV shows, both live action and animated. His most recent being the fantastic Arrow, where he is portrayed by Stephen Amell.