phoebe!

If you want a happy wholesome superhero family, read Superman or Flash comics

If you want a messy but loving power couple paired with a group of disaster teens/young adults, read Aquaman and Green Arrow comics

If you want non-traditional family relationships and co-worker drama, read Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Titans, and Green Lantern comics

Green Lantern (1960) #89

But this Amber is Supergirl.

It’s in the RIPPED abs and the FAT (muscular) ASS. It’s the way those PANTS fit. It’s the hint of MIDRIFF. It’s the TOUSLED blonde hair. It’s the one arm RAISED. It’s the COCKED hip. It’s the AURA.

So I’ve noticed a bit of a trend in the fandom to have a big happy Batfamily where everyone gets along and things with Bruce and Jason are just peachy, or at least they’re working on it, whereas Roy doesn’t even speak Ollie’s name because it’s Too Painful, and, like…it peeves me. I’m assuming this mostly comes from RHATO, but uhhh Roy and Ollie are basically just coworkers in RHATO, so it doesn’t make sense to use it as a source of Roy’s daddy issues. Also that’s the comic that had Bruce beating Jason so hard his metal helmet shattered, so, you know.

Anyway, because I’m pedantic, I decided to round up some panels showing what Ollie and Roy’s interactions were actually like when they were semi-estranged father and son, i.e. after Roy’s heroin use in “Snowbirds Don’t Fly” (1971) up through Ollie’s death in 1995. (After Ollie’s death Roy’s feelings on him change significantly, and they reconcile completely as soon as Ollie comes back to life.)

[Note: I can’t promise this is every time they interact or think about each other during this time period, but I tried to make it fairly comprehensive.]

The first time Ollie and Roy interact again is in Action Comics #236 (June 1974). Ollie’s investigating a case where expensive photography equipment is being stolen and hidden inside musical instruments, which makes literally zero sense but who cares. He decides to check out a local music festival and who should be playing but Roy’s band?

“It’s Roy Harper - Speedy - the orphan kid I brought up!” It takes Roy and Ollie like 20 years post-Snowbirds to consistently refer to each other as father and son instead of these awkward circumlocutions.

(Sidenote: Roy did not button his shirt all the way up for the entirety of the 70s. I’m proud of him.)

Anyway, Ollie figures Roy’s on the job and thinks “If I know Speedy…Roy…he’s got this case just about wrapped up!” because he loves his boy, but when Roy sees him he tells him to butt out and then punches him in the face. This is of course to keep his cover, and once Roy gets the bad guys to spill the beans, he and Ollie team up and take them down.

Ollie tells him he doesn’t need to go it alone: “Don’t be so headstrong! You’d have my help more often if you’d let me know where you are and what you’re doing once in a while!” (Translation: I miss you. I’m sorry I didn’t help before. I want to help now.)

Roy’s not ready to bury the hatchet, but it’s clearly as much to do with his own headspace as with their history. And Ollie finally remembers the word for “the orphan kid I brought up.”