stephen amell arrow

On ‘Arrow’, Stephen Amell may be ruggedly handsome and sports the requisite amount of facial scruff to keep from being too much of a pretty boy, but as comic fans know, the Green Arrow in the books is one of the few superheroes with noticeable facial hair.  And what facial hair.  Ever since he was redesigned in 1969 by artist Neal Adams, he has rocked a pointy goatee (usually with two points) topped with a curlicue mustache.  It’s been modified over the years, often with just one point in more modern renderings, but it’s something of a signature look.

While Amell’s Oliver Queen has had a full-blown beard in flashbacks, he’s typically close to clean-shaven, with just a five o’clock shadow.  Amell has been hounded by fans for years, who wonder when he will grow out the full “Van Dyke.”

He was recently asked again at Salt Lake Comic Con and he replied:

“I promise you, before the series – not season, series – ends, we will have at least one shot with the iconic goatee.”

That’s… an answer.  Of course, who knows when the series will end.  Fellow CW series ‘Supernatural’ is about to kick off its 13th season.  And ‘Smallville’ went on for ten seasons, the last few of which consisted of the show dancing around Clark Kent’s eventual destiny.  He didn’t become Superman until the final moments of the last episode and even then, it was just a tease, with him never appearing in full costume.

Not that it’s any consolation, but ratings dipped for nearly all of The CW’s superhero shows last season, with ‘Arrow’ being hit slightly harder than ‘The Flash’ or ‘Legends of Tomorrow’.  (‘Supergirl’‘s ratings were pretty in-line for those the show earned on CBS.)  This year, ‘Arrow’ is the only DC series to get a shake-up in scheduling, moving to a new night and a later time slot– Thursdays at 9pm.

What’s ironic about the goatee debate is that in the comics, Oliver was given a closer shave to more closely resemble Amell.  (This is in addition to numerous changes in the book, including the addition of Felicity Smoak and John Diggle to his supporting cast, although Felicity was later written out.)  But the full goatee is his classic look and in more recent comics, during the ‘Reborn’ initiative, it’s back, although less flamboyant than the Adams design.

What do you think?  Can Amell pull off a comic accurate goatee?  Or should he stick with the scruff?

Source: ComicBook.com