Charles Bernard "Barney" Barton took the opportunity his brother Clint refused and left the circus sideshow to become the sidekick of the second Green Arrow, Roy Harper. While they continued to be a nominal team for a longer period, the two only actually worked together for a few years. Like Bucky Barnes and the Boy Commandos before him, Barney soon got pulled into things beyond superheroics, things his perhaps more naive mentor wouldn't do.
By the early 70s, he had a heroin habit, but he was still effective at his job, so Sarge Steel and the CIA kept calling. Perhaps it was in Madripoor where he met the assassin for hire, codenamed Chesire, and began a relationship as short-lived as it was ill-advised. He later would discover he had a daughter from the affair, but the immediate result was that Steel decided he was compromised and severed all ties.
Back in the states, his former costumed allies would help him get clean. He became a drug counselor and hung up his costume for good, leaving only one battling bowman in the family.
Roy Thomas remembered him, but even he didn't do much.
ReplyDeleteOh, and you may appreciate this: I've been acquiring Amazing Wod of DC Comics issues in ebay. Some issues have really interesting stuff, but all are a window on the era. I wish I could get a hold of the Legion issue, but it seems to be pricey.
LOVE it! To me that entire brief Infantino regime is a weird regret. That damn Legion issue is tough to find but I think that's the one with the weird Unified Field Theory of DC Futures where Levitz hints that any given timeline will either have a Tommy Tomorrow or a Kamandi. There might be a scan for research purposes only out there somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look for that.
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