Arsenal

Roy Harper is quite a famous little urchin. He was fostered by Ollie Queen, and when Ollie lost his fortune, he played the drums in a long forgotten band called Great Frog in the local clubs for money. Since then he dropped out of the limelight, until finally reappearing in Los Angeles as a private investigator. Not the most publicized, but what jobs he got, he did well. Now, he opened business again in San Francisco. For those that really look into him, they may just find out he is a single dad of a little girl, Lian.

Arsenal is the former side-kick of Green Arrow, Speedy. He was an original founder of the Teen Titans, and has been a member of all but one incarnation of the Titans, and even the leader at one point in time when the government sponsored the Titans (it was then he changed his codename). There have been points in time where he disappeared from the limelight, but he is a returning heartthrob in the hero community.

Background

 * Son to Roy William Harper, Sr, great nephew to James "Jim" Harper a.k.a. Guardian, cousin to Jamie Harper, and a descendent of Vandal Savage; Roy William Harper Jr. has had a life mixed with blessing and tragedies.


 * Roy's father was a forest ranger, and died when he as barely two while saving tribal members on a Navajo reservation during a terrible fire. Roy had no known close family, so the shaman - Brave Bow a.k.a. Raymond Begay - fostered him in honor of his father's sacrifice.


 * Roy is trained as a member of the Tachini tribe. He has a natural aptitude with archery. He felt isolated with few friends, and spent a lot of time practicing. He became easily as skillful as someone twice his age.


 * Green Arrow has a public debut, and Roy follows his activities religiously. A contest is held at the reservation, in which Green Arrow judges. Roy participates, but at the final elimination, he was given a magnetized arrow and misses his last shot.


 * Soon afterwards, he helps stop a robbery by quickly drawing and firing an arrow, impressing Green Arrow when he displays speed faster than even the hero. Green Arrow takes Roy as his ward with Brave Bow's permission, to further Roy's training.


 * Roy is extensively drilled and trained with standard and trick arrows. He has to hit dripping water with his arrow, and he spends his time improving. When he passes in Green Arrow's eyes, he gives Roy a costume and a codename: Speedy. Shortly after, Brave Bow dies.


 * Speed helps Green Arrow with his cases in Star City, and joins other side-kicks such as Robin (Dick), Kid Flash (Wally), Aqualad, and Wonder Girl (Donna) to form the Titans. He and Donna begin to date.


 * Roy and Green Arrow think of more creative training exercises. They shoot arrows at each other, and aim to have them connect in mid-flight.


 * The relationship with Donna does not work out, but they agree to remain friends. To make things worse, the Teen Titans disband, and Ollie Queen loses his fortune and abandons Roy to go travel America with Hal Jordan a.k.a. Green Lantern (his best friend), and Dinah a.k.a. Black Canary (his girlfriend). Roy falls into deep depression.


 * Roy tries to create a new life for himself and becomes a drummer for the band, Great Frog. He plays at some local clubs in Star City, and this introduces him to the drug trafficking on a more personal level.


 * Roy starts on heroin and becomes an addict. He joins a gang, and raids old supplies of Green Arrow's for the gang. When Green Arrow finally returns home and Roy confesses about his addiction, Ollie punches him and throws him out.


 * Hal finds out and searches for Roy. He finds him, and with the help of Dinah, get Harper to quit cold turkey and get through the withdrawal symptoms. Part of Roy just wanted to prove Ollie that he is stronger than him. Ollie's actions however prevent Roy from returning to his side.
 * Roy starts counseling for drug additions, and continues as Speedy in a solo career. He joins the re-formed Teen Titans until they disband again. He is then picked up by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), which deals with drug trafficking and terrorism. Lead by Sarge Steel who took a personal interest in Roy, the man trained Roy personally in the use of firearms. Roy learns he is just as good with a gun as he is with a bow and arrow. He becomes an official government agent.


 * Roy goes undercover to gain the trust of Cheshire in an attempt to arrest her. They end up falling in love, and having an affair. Harper could not bring himself to betray her, and left her because he could not handle her lack of respect for life.


 * Roy continues to serve as an agent for the CBI.


 * Roy teams up with his old friend Nightwing on a mission to stop Cheshire from assassinating a group of diplomats. Speedy is captured and poisoned by Cheshire, but is later rescued by Nightwing. Cheshire later gives Nightwing Liam, and says she is Roy's daughter. Dick brings Lian to Roy in the hospital where he is recovering, and Roy accepts Lian with surprise and humility.


 * Roy assists the Titans occasionally while working as a private investigator in Los Angeles. Later, he joins the CBI again, and then its successor Checkmate.


 * During this time, the Wildebeest Society was causing problems with an insane Jericho behind it, and Pantha had join the Titans. Roy ends up going undercover and runs into Deathstroke while investigating Cheshire's new organization. Cheshire ends up blowing up the capital of Qurac while holding the world at hostage. Roy and Deathstroke end up working together to stop Cheshire.


 * The Titans Tower is destroyed, and the Titans are aimless with too much bad publicity. Sarge Steel agrees to officially supervise and sanction the Titans. Nightwing steps down as leader, and Roy Harper is promoted as leader. Speedy changes his codename to Arsenal. And who says a man cannot look good in purple? He also uses more than just a bow and arrow as weapons.


 * Roy upgrades his uniform, and forgives himself for ever wearing purple; though it did not save the team from dissolving again.


 * Roy and Ollie work out their differences and bury the past, but it is short-lived. Ollie soon dies in an airplane explosion.


 * Roy leads a new team of Titans, funded by Loren Jupiter in an effort to stop his son, Jarrod Jupiter (Haze). Joto loses his life, and Arsenal feels responsible, leaving the team before it dissolves yet again.


 * Lian is targeted by Vandal Savage to harvest organs to prolong his life. Arsenal saves her. Soon after, the Titans reform yet again, and Arsenal decides to reside at the Titans Tower with his daughter.


 * Roy and Donna attempt to date again, but it fails. Roy returns to his ladies' man lifestyle. Deathstroke also drops off Rose Wilson, and the Titans take her under wing. She becomes Lian's nanny.


 * Green Arrow is resurrected, and he and Roy sort out their relationship again.


 * Roy meets Connor Hawke and they become good friends.

Personality
Roy at first glance is an easy individual to understand. He is a flirt, he is a prankster, and he likes the attention. Deeper down though hides the fact that Roy can be prone to depression and needs the support of friends and loved ones to feel complete.

He is very much the hero however. He loves the thrill of it all, and it feels good to do something good. When something does not work out right and someone dies such as an innocent or a team mate, Roy takes it hard and personal. It is even harder on him in a leadership role, and it was a role he learned to never want again. Roy does not feel that he can do it alone.

Roy is very stubborn, in that way, he and Ollie are very much alike. With his stubbornness, also comes a temper that matches his red hair. It takes a lot to set Roy off, but when you do, watch out! He burns hot and fast, and can shoot someone full of arrows before they can even blink.

Roy is also a father and loyal friend. His emotional well-being revolves around Lian now, and if his friends ever need help, he is there for them. He knows what it feels like to be abandoned, and it is not something he would do to someone he cares about. Furthermore, Lian is his bright hope for the future, no matter the knowledge of back stabbing politics, epic fails in relationships, and his issues with Ollie as a father-figure.

Roy just has this innate belief that people are good, that he only questions at his darkest moments. Even his slight terror and anger toward Batman's seeming unfeeling demeanor was removed when Batman worked with him to save his daughter Lian and make sure Cheshire was safe as well when the KGBeast was involved. If he can see Batman as having a heart, imagine the possibilities?