Roy Harper

Early Life
The boy who would become Arsenal was born Roy Harper, Jr.- the son of a forest ranger. Roy states that he "never knew his mother" and in fact does not even know her name. Roy Harper Sr. raised the child on his own for some time. Unfortunately, Roy, Sr. died while saving members of a Navajo reservation during a major fire when his son was barely two years old. The shaman of the reservation, Brave Bow, raised young Harper in gratitude for Roy, Sr.'s sacrifice. Under Brave Bow's care, Roy Harper was raised as a traditional Navajo and treated as a member of the 'Tachini' tribe.

Sidekick
After Green Arrow's public debut, Harper developed an immediate hero worship and followed the hero's exploits avidly. When Green Arrow visited the reservation in order to judge an archery contest Harper was participating in, eager Roy did his best to impress his hero, and succeeded in doing so. During the finals of the contest, Roy stopped a robbery by himself, after this Green Arrow decided to take the boy on as a student.

Fall From Grace
It was all a dream the first few years, Roy was known as Speedy. Green Arrow's faithful young ward. However the glamour and fame got to his head as he got older. The temptations of Star City as well. Roy began using drugs, consuming alcohol and indulging in sex. His unhealthy lifestyle led to Green Arrow disowning him.

Teen Titans
Roy Harper took on the name Arrow as a 'Handyman' offering to take care of problems for a price. This led him to be in the employ of Max Shrek. He was hired to destroy documents that connected Max Shrek to multiple crimes. Roy dropped in taking the documents from the Titans, leading to a high speed chase. This ended with Roy destroying the documents as he promised. But he willingly gave up Max Shrek after he completed this task. Claiming he was still 'one of the good guys'. Despite this he was still captured by the Teen Titans and taken to prison.