Arrowette is a
superheroine
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
that appear in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
.
Publication history
The Bonnie King version of Arrowette appears in ''World's Finest Comics'' #113 and was created by Dave Wood and
Lee Elias
Lee Elias (May 21, 1920 – April 8, 1998) was a British-American comics artist. He was best known for his work on the ''Black Cat'' comic book published by Harvey Comics in the 1940s.
Biography
Emigrating to the United States from Manchester ...
.
The Cissie King-Jones version of Arrowette appears in ''Impulse'' #28 and was created by
Tom Peyer
Tom Peyer (born February 23, 1954) is an American comic book creator and editor. He is known for his 1999 revisioning of Golden Age super-hero Hourman, as well as his work on the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 1990s. An editor at DC Comics/Vertigo ...
and
Craig Rousseau
Craig Rousseau is an American comic book artist.
During his career Rousseau has worked for various comic book companies, but is best known for his work on DC Comics titles like ''Harley Quinn'', ''Batman Beyond'' and ''Impulse''. He also worked ...
.
Biography
Bonnie King
The first Arrowette (properly known as Miss Arrowette) is Bonnie King, a would-be
sidekick
A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany.
Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...
and general nuisance to
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...
. She first appears in ''World's Finest Comics'' #113 (November 1960).
When Bonnie was a child, her mother Millie put her through archery training and was very controlling of her progress. She does well and ends up competing in the Olympic Games, where she wins a bronze medal. However, her mother is not pleased as she had expected Bonnie to win a gold, and harasses her daughter over Bonnie's alleged failure. This ends up driving Bonnie to abandon both her home and archery and she never speaks to her mother again.
[''Secret Origins 80-Page Giant'' #1 (December 1998)]
Alone in
Star City, she eventually becomes inspired by Green Arrow and
Speedy
Speedy refers to something or someone moving at high speed.
Speedy may refer to:
Ships
* HMS ''Speedy'', nine ships of the Royal Navy
* ''Speedy''-class brig, a class of naval ship
* ''Speedy'' (1779), a whaler and convict ship despatched i ...
and decides to use her archery skills in a way that counted. She makes a costume for herself and names herself "Miss" Arrowette. Like Green Arrow, she carries trick arrows but with a feminine slant (such as the "Powder Puff" Arrow). She attempts to aid both archers a few times, but they repeatedly rebuff her attempts. Despite her good intentions, Arrowette turns out to be too clumsy to become a hero and too vain to even wear a mask. Arrowette briefly dates the Green Arrow in his civilian identity of Oliver Queen, as shown in ''
Justice League of America
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
'' #7 (October–November 1961).
At some point, she meets a journalist named Bernell "Bowstring" Jones, who remembers her from her Olympic Games and is probably the only person to consider her a star. She nicknames him ''Bowstring'' because he is as thin as one and takes him briefly as her sidekick so he will give her publicity in his journal.
[''Impulse'' #28 (August 1997)] Eventually, however, Green Arrow convinces Arrowette to give up superheroism.
[
She has to permanently give up archery due to ]carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the collection of symptoms and signs associated with median neuropathy at the carpal tunnel. Most CTS is related to idiopathic compression of the median nerve as it travels through the wrist at the carpal tunn ...
in her wrists, and also due to her job as a secretary. She talks Bowstring into marrying her and, one year later, she has a daughter they name Cissie King-Jones.[ When Bowstring dies five years later from fish poisoning, ]Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created in 1959 by writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and first appeared in '' ...
(working as an agent for the company that holds Bowstring's life insurance policy) gives Bonnie and Cissie the policy's beneficiary check; the money enables Bonnie to train Cissie into a superhero. Cissie hardly has time to breathe between lessons of archery, judo, kick-boxing, gymnastics, ballet, and many other fields, and eventually comes to resent her mother deeply.[
Bonnie's name is a parody or play on Green Arrow's civilian name, Oliver "Ollie" Queen.
]
Cissie King-Jones
Forced by her mother to adopt a version of her old costume, Suzanne "Cissie" King-Jones becomes the second Arrowette. Arrowette first appears in the pages of ''Impulse
Impulse or Impulsive may refer to:
Science
* Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time
* Impulse noise (disambiguation)
* Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...
'' wearing a frilly costume and a bejeweled mask that apes her mother's old costume. Despite Arrowette's success as a heroine, Impulse
Impulse or Impulsive may refer to:
Science
* Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time
* Impulse noise (disambiguation)
* Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...
's mentor, Max Mercury
Max Mercury is a fictional DC Comics superhero similar to Quality Comics' Quicksilver. Initially an obscure speedster, the character was rebooted by Mark Waid in the pages of ''The Flash'' and turned into a mentor for Wally West and Bart Allen.
...
, is concerned by what he sees as Bonnie's exploitation of her daughter. Child Welfare Services gets involved, and Bonnie loses custody of her daughter, who is sent to the Elias School for Girls, a boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
.
Arrowette next appears in ''Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
'' #4 wearing a more practical costume.[''Young Justice'' #4 (January 1999)] Acting alone, she battles the villainous Harm and is injured by him with one of her own arrows. She manages to escape and contact Young Justice, later joining the team, along with the second Wonder Girl
Wonder Girl is the alias of multiple list of superheroines, superheroines featured in comic books published by DC Comics. Donna Troy, the original Wonder Girl, was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in ''The Brave and the ...
(Cassie Sandsmark
Cassandra "Cassie" Sandsmark, also known as Wonder Girl, is a superheroine appearing in DC Comics. She was created by John Byrne (comics), John Byrne and first appeared in ''Wonder Woman'' (vol. 2) #105 (January 1996). The second Wonder Girl, Cas ...
) and Secret
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.
Secrecy is often controvers ...
(Greta Hayes). The three quickly become close friends, although Cissie admits during a game of 'Truth or Dare' that, if put in a position where she had a choice to quit being a hero, she would ask her mother's advice and then do the opposite to establish herself as an independent person.
After her school therapist—one of the few adults whom Cissie trusted—is brutally murdered, Cissie tracks down the killers in a violent rage. She nearly kills one of them herself, but is stopped by Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...
. Cissie is so shaken by the incident that she vows never to be Arrowette again.
Despite leaving the team, Cissie remains close friends with her teammates and eventually reconciles with her mother, who convinces her daughter to try out for the "Summer Games" in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
(a thinly-veiled reference to the 2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
, due to DC not being an "official partner" of the Games). With her battle-honed abilities, Cissie ends up taking home the gold, and becomes something of a celebrity, guest-starring on Superboy's favorite TV show, "''Wendy the Werewolf Stalker''" (a parody of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer
''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
''). She helps the Red Tornado
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to Orange (colour), orange and opposite Violet (color), violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the ...
's daughter, Traya, adjust to life at Elias and later, when Secret was returned to humanity, Cissie helps to organize placement for her at the same school.
Now retired from superheroics, Cissie never expresses any desire to return to her life as a superhero, despite the best efforts of several of her former teammates. They even involve her in a baseball game on an alien planet, with the fate of many innocents riding on the outcome. Cissie is enraged because they chose her instead of many other superhumans, but she participates as best as she can. Her team barely wins. Cissie still remains committed to justice and compassion. During the Imperiex
Imperiex () is a supervillain character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He was initially introduced as an adversary to the superhero Superman before becoming a main antagonist for DC Comics' the "Our Worlds at War" crossover.
...
war, she served as medical aid volunteer, again working with Young Justice, although the team is again divided due to uncertainty about Robin's loyalty to them after the discovery of Batman's files on the Justice League.
Cissie made a brief appearance in ''Teen Titans'' vol. 3 #7 when Helen Sandsmark attempts to enroll Wonder Girl into the Elias School (which seems to have expanded its student body to boys as well as girls). With Greta Hayes (formerly Secret), the girls threaten to leave the school and take Cissie's celebrity status as a gold-winning archer with her if Wonder Girl is not allowed to enroll. The school gives in to her demands. Cissie makes a second appearance in ''Teen Titans and Outsiders Secret Files 2005'', joining Wonder Girl on a trip to San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. Cissie wishes to give her best friend moral support as Cassie battles with the decision to tell her friends that her father was the Greek God, Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
. At the funeral for her former YJ teammate, Bart Allen
Bartholomew Henry "Bart" Allen II is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A speedster (fiction), speedster, he first appeared under the alias Impulse and later became the second Kid Flash and the fourth Flash (c ...
, she is mentioned in passing during a video made by Bart prior to his death. Cissie also makes a flashback cameo in ''Teen Titans'' #50.
Cissie was last seen hanging out with Cassie
Cassie is a feminine given name and a short form of various other given names mostly used in English-speaking countries. It is more rarely a surname. People and fictional characters named Cassie include:
People with the name Given name or nickna ...
and Anita in ''Wonder Girl'' #2, now sporting short hair. She is seen again in ''Wonder Girl'' #3 with Anita, as they help Cassie realize that she has truly gotten over Superboy's death. For the first time since 'retiring' from super-hero work in the pages of ''Young Justice'', Cissie wears a new Arrowette costume that resembles the second one to aid Wonder Girl rescue her mother in ''Wonder Girl'' #4.
Skills and abilities
Cissie is a normal human with above average strength, stamina and agility for a girl of her age. She has exceptional hand-to-hand combatant ability, being highly skilled in judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
, jeet kune do
Jeet Kune Do is a primarily wing chun kung fu inspired eclectic martial arts philosophy heavily influenced and adapted by the Taoist personal life philosophy and experiences of martial artist Bruce Lee.
Overview and philosophy
Jeet Kune ...
and kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
with skills as an Olympic gold-medalist longbow marksman and possesses above average intelligence.
Other versions
Flashpoint
In the '' Flashpoint'' universe, the Cissie King-Jones version of Arrowette joined with the Amazons
In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...
' Furies
The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad
The ''Il ...
.
The Multiversity
In the series ''The Multiversity
''The Multiversity'' is a two-issue limited series combined with seven interrelated one-shots set in the DC Multiverse in The New 52, a collection of universes seen in publications by DC Comics. The one-shots in the series were written by Grant M ...
'' an alternate universe Arrowette named Cissie King-Hawke appears. She is the spoiled and popular daughter of Connor Hawke
Connor Hawke is a fictional DC Comics superhero who operated as the second Green Arrow, created by Kelley Puckett and Jim Aparo. In the post-''Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!, Zero Hour'' continuity, Connor is the eldest son of Oliver Queen, the ori ...
. Cissie is seen wanting to start her own superhero team called The Just however her father shows disapproval doubting she has experience to survive a life of crime fighting.
In other media
* In February 2010, actress Stephanie Lemelin
Stephanie Lemelin is an American actress and comedienne. She is best known for voicing Artemis Crock on '' Young Justice'', Eep on '' Dawn of the Croods'' and Audrey on ''Harvey Girls Forever!''.
Education
Lemelin graduated in 2001 from the Uni ...
said that she had been cast as the voice of Arrowette for an animated adaptation of ''Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
'', but her character was later changed to Artemis Crock
Artemis Crock is a fictional comic book character, appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in '' Infinity, Inc.'' #34 (January 1987), she has appeared as both a supervillain and superhero, usually using her fir ...
. Instead, Kelly Stables
Kelly Stables is an American actress who has appeared on stage, as well as in film and television. She is known for her television roles, such as Melissa on ''Two and a Half Men'', Eden Konkler on ''The Exes'', and Kelly on '' Superstore''.
Pers ...
voices Cissie King-Jones / Arrowette. The series' version of Arrowette is a member of the Team
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...
.
* The Cissie King-Jones incarnation of Arrowette appears in '' DC Super Hero Girls'' as a student of Super Hero High.
References
External links
Miss Arrowette at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
Arrowette at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
{{Young Justice
Articles about multiple fictional characters
Comics characters introduced in 1960
Comics characters introduced in 1997
Characters created by Lee Elias
Green Arrow characters
DC Comics sidekicks
DC Comics female superheroes
DC Comics martial artists
Fictional archers
Fictional Olympic competitors