The DC superhero Green Arrow has traditionally resided in the fictional Star City, battling such supervillains as Count Vertigo, the Clock King, and Merlyn the Dark Archer. In 1988, writer Mike Grell launched a new Green Arrow comic book series that transplanted alter ego Oliver Queen and his personal/professional partner Black Canary to the factual city of Seattle, while likewise crafting narratives that were more representative of the times. Although it would be another ten years before the events of 9/11, the “Home is the Hunter” issue of Green Arrow brought terrorism to America in August 1991, with the famed Space Needle the intended target.
Oliver Queen had left both the state of Washington and the country itself months earlier, embarking on an international journey of self-discovery that took him to Canada, Ireland, England and Africa, leaving Dinah Lance – aka Black Canary – alone in Seattle. Enter Aloysius “Kaz” Kazcinski, a Seattle police officer who becomes infatuated with Lance and asks her out on a date. Dinah Lance declines, but Kaz’s perseverance eventually sways her into accepting a dinner invitation atop the Space Needle. She stresses, however, that the evening will be nothing more than two friends getting to know each other better.
Unfortunately a group of terrorists called the American Jihad have other plans. “It is time to strike the first blow,” the group’s leader tells his men. “The Americans think themselves safe at home, thousands of miles from the war in the Mid-East. But we will bring the bitter taste of blood to their own land. We are all martyrs in the holy war to free Islam of Western interference – from this moment, we are dead men.”
Armed with pistols and assault rifles, the terrorists storm the rotating restaurant on top of the Space Needle and take the 94 patrons and employees hostage. They then make contact with Seattle Police Lieutenant James Cameron, whose officers have surrounded the iconic structure. The terrorists demand that the United States withdrawal all of its military forces out of the Middle East – a process that must begin within 24 hours or else the hostages will be killed.
Cameron follows the usual hostage-taking playbook, explaining that he understands their position and asks for the release of one hostage as a sign of good faith. The leader of the terrorists consents, choosing an elderly gentleman from the crowd and telling Cameron that “he’ll be right down.” To everyone’s dismay, the man is then pushed from the Space Needle and plummets to his death. Aloysius Kazcinski is ready to take action at that point, but Dinah Lance implores him to be patient and give the police time to form a plan of their own.
Outside the Space Needle, Colonel Thompson from Delta Force arrives on the scene, taking over for the police but leaving Cameron as liaison with the terrorists. The police lieutenant tells Thompson that Kazcinski is armed and that Lance can hold her own in a fight, but those are the only advantages that law enforcement has at the moment. The elevator cables of the Space Needle have been cut, the stairwells barricaded, there’s too much wind for a parachute attack, and a helicopter would be detected long before it reached its destination. When Thompson notes that not having a way in also means that the terrorists don’t have a way out, Cameron replies, “They don’t intend to leave. They’re going to kill all those people – and themselves.”
Halfway around the world, Oliver Queen sits at an airport bar, where he hears a news report on the situation in Seattle. When he notices that Dinah Lance is listed as one of the hostages, he immediately heads to the ticket counter but is told that the next available flight to Seattle isn’t until the following morning. There is an earlier flight that is already filled, however, and Queen is able to find one of its passengers and exchanges a wad of cash for the man’s ticket.
By the time Queen arrives in Seattle, only three hours and twelve minutes remain of the 24-hour deadline set by the terrorists. They have by now planted explosives throughout the top of the Space Needle, making a rescue mission even more perilous. Oliver Queen remains in the shadows below as he assesses the situation, then steals a police radio before leaving the area. Arriving at the real-world Museum of Flight just south of Seattle, he picks the lock and silently makes his way through the various exhibits of vintage aircrafts. A security guard eventually realizes that there has been a break-in but a sudden jet blast prevents him from taking any action.
Aloysius Kazcinski, meanwhile, is once again ready to move against the terrorists. “I think I can drop one or two of them before anyone can react,” he tells Dinah Lance. “But after that I’m going to need serious help in a hurry. If we wait for the leader to get close enough to you, I’ll drop him first. You get the detonator and his gun, and try not to hit bystanders.” Lance again urges patience, but Kaz simply replies, “He’s not coming, Dinah. I know you want to believe that he’ll come but unless he can fly, he’s not going to be any help.”
Back on the ground, Lieutenant Cameron hears a familiar voice on his police radio. “You can’t get in there without giving them time to blow the top off the Needle” Oliver Queen tells him. “You need to be sure the guy with the detonator is dead first, fast and quiet. I can do it but I need a diversion. I want a helicopter flyby on the east side in ten minutes.” Although Cameron protests against Queen’s involvement, he consents to the demand nonetheless. As the helicopter buzzes past the Space Needle restaurant, Oliver Queen activates the jet pack he has stolen from the Museum of Flight and heads towards the opposite side of the structure. Slowly and methodically, he then makes his way through the Space Needle, using his bow-and-arrow to quietly subdue any terrorists he encounters.
The helicopter, meanwhile, has provoked the leader of the group to act sooner rather than later. Just as he is about to press the button on his detonator, however, an arrow goes through the back of his skull and out his eye socket. Screaming “go” into his radio headset, Oliver Queen quickly turns his attention to the remaining terrorists, joined by not only the Delta Force of Colonel Thompson but Aloysius Kazcinski and Dinah Lance as well. With such a massive three-pronged assault, it doesn’t take long until all of the terrorists are dead.
The “Home is the Hunter” issue of Green Arrow then ends with a reunited Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance, a dejected Aloysius Kazcinski, all of the remaining hostages safe and sound – and the Space Needle continuing in its role as a Seattle landmark.
Anthony Letizia