Bank robberies have to be one of the most common crimes superheroes are called in to handle. While it’s not usually shown, one would assume that the costumed heroes simply return whatever money was stolen to the bank, but in Green Lantern 80th Anniversary, Green Lantern and Green Arrow take a page out of Robin Hood’s book instead.
Green Lantern 80th Anniversary is a special 100 page issue with 10 brand-new stories to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Emerald Knights. Basically all of Earth’s lanterns from Alan Scott to Jessica Cruz are featured (even Sinestro gets his own story) and other heroes make appearances as well.
The story titled “Time Alone” centers around Green Lantern and Green Arrow, and opens with Green Arrow attempting to save a young girl being held hostage by Clock King, who just robbed a bank. Clock King tries to escape by jumping over train tracks just before the train comes through, but the girl struggles and throws off his timing, causing her to fall and the money to scatter all over the place. Surprisingly, Clock King actually seems to feel a great deal of remorse about the girl’s apparent demise, but his guilt doesn’t stop Green Arrow from giving him a serious beating. He calls the villain a “greedy, thoughtless, self-centered fool,” and continues to wail on him until Green Lantern shows up and he reveals he managed to catch the girl and bring her to safety. With the girl taken care of and the police en route to arrest Clock King, everything is settled... except the money.
Almost as an afterthought, Green Lantern asks about the lost cash. Embracing his roots (as the liberal opposite of Batman), Green Arrow simply replies that “Banks are insured. Think of it as stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.” As the heroes fly away, some very happy civilians are depicted below grabbing fistfuls of cash. Robin Hood - a legendary English Folk Hero who continues to be a part of popular culture - was famous for taking money from the wealthy and giving to the poor as a way of fighting against the rampant classism of the time. Seeing as Robin Hood was the original inspiration for Green Arrow, it’s fitting that he’s the one who ultimately decides to let the common people reap the reward.
They certainly deserve some kind of compensation for having to deal with the inconvenience of a super villain, and like Ollie said, the bank has insurance. No harm, no foul. Find this story and many more in Green Lantern 80th Anniversary, available now at your local comic book shop.