How great is Arrow these days? The drama is intense, the characters are as strong as ever, and Oliver’s fight with R’as al Ghul was a highpoint of the entire series. But you know what I’m loving the most? Roy Harper, the sidekick!

Arrow is doing almost everything I could possibly want from a superhero sidekick on live action TV.

The awesome costume is a big plus

I never thought we would see the day. I never in my wildest dreams imagined Arrow would follow through with the introduction of Roy Harper and turn him into a solid, successful superhero in his own right. Granted, Roy Harper is kind of a train wreck in the comics, and there is plenty of time for the show to go down that route. But right now, Arsenal is the sidekick superhero I’ve dreamed about.

If only Arrow was actually about Batman and Robin, but we don’t live in a perfect world.

Besides, it’s been done

The only thing Arrow needs to do now is push Arsenal one step further and make it so that he isn’t a complete failure  just because Oliver isn’t around.

Join me after the jump for the full story!

In all honestly, I really just want to praise Arrow for how they’re treating Arsenal. Roy hasn’t really had much to do yet this season, playing second fiddle to the likes of Oliver and now Laurel, but that doesn’t matter to me. I don’t need him to be the star of the show. That’s not the sidekick’s job. I just want Roy to be competent, to learn from Oliver’s mentoring, and to fulfill the awesomeness of his role. He’s the Arrow’s apprentice, and considering how internationally badass the Arrow is, that should mean something.

Hopefully he’ll be more than just ‘the red guy’

Sidekicks get no respect. I don’t need to tell any of you that. We all know the jokes, the ridicule; Robin is the most maligned mainstream superhero in comics. So even when Arrow introduced Roy Harper, and especially during his whole super drug phase, I was pretty sure he was never going to be anything more than just a guy who gets knocked down by life, a guy who Oliver can fail to save so that Oliver learns some kind of important life lesson.

But then he got the mask in the final episode of Season 2. Then he got the awesome costume in Season 3, and he’s been at Ollie’s side ever since. It’s just fantastic. Arrow is actually going through with a serious, legitimate story about a superhero sidekick, and while it’s obviously not the focus of the show, it’s something I wasn’t sure we’d ever get to see on TV again, especially in live action.

Guys like Superman and the Flash, with their specific super-powers, don’t need sidekicks. But for guys like Batman and the Arrow, guys who can easily be killed in battle, guys whose only ‘powers’ are skills that can be taught, it’s important and fascinating to turn them into teachers who can pass on their training to an apprentice.

That’s the great thing about sidekicks: these superheroes aren’t teaching them for kicks and giggles, they’re training their replacements.

By water slapping

So I just want to commend Arrow for doing right by Arsenal…at least so far. Anything can still happen, but for now, I’m going to enjoy what I’m seeing.

I just wish they’d give Roy more of a starring role now that everyone thinks Oliver is dead. That’s the ultimate sidekick story: stepping up to take on the mantle and the responsibility when your mentor is gone. But recent episodes have Roy playing second fiddle to Laurel the Black Canary. I’m fine with Laurel’s storyline, but I’d much rather see Arsenal stepping up and filling Oliver’s shoes while he’s away. How cool would it be if Roy, Diggle and Felicity took down Brick on their own?

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What about you henchies? Are you enjoying Arrow Season 3? How about Arsenal/Red Arrow? How do you think they’re treating him? Let me know in the comments!

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