The following contains spoilers for Green Arrow #3, now on sale from DC Comics.
Green Arrow and his family of characters are often counted among DC's more street-level heroes. Although some of them have superhuman abilities (such as Black Canary), much of the group are humans who've trained themselves to face off with aliens, sorcerers, and monsters, often with just a bow and trick arrows by their side. But in the DC Universe, even the most unlikely of figures can have the greatest (and most dangerous) of destinies.
Green Arrow #3 (by Joshua Williamson, Sean Izaakse, Romulo Fajardo Jr, and Troy Peteri) reveals why Oliver Queen has allowed himself to be separated from his family. It turns out that if they're all together, the Green Arrow family might be responsible for causing a version of the Great Disaster. This teases the street-level heroes' importance in the grand scheme of things, and could result in billions of deaths.
The Green Arrow Family Could Doom The DC Universe
Green Arrow's adventure into the future has reunited him with Lian Harper and his son Connor Hawke, but the hero is wary about any chance they have to truly be together as a family. Green Arrow reveals that he believes they can't go back in time to their proper place in the universe because of a warning he's received from the future. Activating the recording in the Legion's base, Green Arrow reveals a message that appears to be from his future. In it, a far older version of himself can be seen with the clear weight of years holding him down. He's blind in one eye, with a thick white beard and scars across his face. More than anything, this older Ollie is incredibly sad, and briefly explains why.
Old Man Ollie reveals that something called the Great Disaster has resulted in the deaths of billions, and it's all the Green Arrow family's fault. He doesn't fully elaborate on what happens or who does what, but he's reached the conclusion that his family can be happy on their own, but can never be around one another without risking the lives of billions. It's a harrowing revelation, especially when it turns out that future Ollie made a deal with Parallax to tamper with space and time. But the specific mention of the Great Disaster is worth addressing because that term tends to point towards a very specific (and cataclysmic) event.
The Great Disaster Could Potentially Break The DC Universe
The Great Disaster has occurred in other timelines across the DC multiverse, and the risk of it happening to the core DC Universe has motivated plenty of harsh decisions over the years. It was first introduced as a concept in Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth #1 (by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer). The true circumstances of the original Great Disaster were never revealed, but the event resulted in the near destruction of the Earth and the eradication of much of humanity, with a world ripped asunder by the event being the primary setting for Kamandi's adventures. The Great Disaster played out in real-time in Countdown to Crisis on Infinite Earths, as an outbreak of the lethal Morticoccus Virus eradicated almost all of humanity.
The idea that the Green Arrow family is somehow responsible for the event is devastating, and immediately makes the street-level heroes far more significant. This also hints at either a dark turn for the team or a desperate mistake that ends up costing the entire universe. This could also have something to do with the bargain struck between the future Oliver Queen and Parallax, given the latter's immense power and slant toward villainy. Additionally, this could also be affiliated with the Green Arrow family's face off with Amanda Waller, who has become an interdimensional threat thanks to her machinations across the multiverse. If Green Arrow's allies continue to hunt her down, they could end up unleashing the very threat that the future Ollie fears, solidifying the importance the street-level heroes pose to the overall DC Universe.