Years before World War II, Professor Paul Parsons developed a nonflammable gas which would revolutionize lighter than air travel. Testing it in a cross-country balloon trip with his wife Gloria and his son Roger along for the ride, Parsons is shot down over the western badlands by the outlaw Brand Braddock. Braddock wants the secret formula for himself, and that formula is in the balloon's gondola.

    Roger is the sole survivor. A mountain lion carries Roger off before Braddock and his henchmen arrive. Later, as the mountain lion prepares to eat the boy, prospector Nugget Ned shoots the big cat and takes the boy to his cabin. Overhearing Braddock at the crash site, Ned learns what has happened and resolves to keep the boy's existence a secret. Roger grows up in the outdoors and becomes able to outwrestle a bear and outrun an antelope. By his pre-teen years his eyesight is greater than an eagle. However his greatest talent is with the bow and arrow, and he makes arrows with gold tips, since Ned has no use for the gold ore he finds. So great is Roger Parson's skill that he is able to handily defeat Brand Braddock and his gang and gain revenge for his parents’ deaths. Roger then donates the formula to the US Government and continues to fight for justice in the wilds of the badlands as the Golden Arrow.