Green Lantern Part 1

The title of the Green Lantern refers to more than one DC comic book superhero. At the height of popularity, Green Lanterns were a universal peacekeeping force that numbered in the thousands and came from many different parts of the universe. The comic book adventures have traditionally been based on the five Green Lanterns assigned to Earth.

The first Green Lantern, Alan Scott, made his debut in All-American Comics in 1940. Alan became a superhero the day he discovered a magical lamp that instructed him how to fashion a ring from its metal. Donning a bright purple, green, yellow, and red costume, Alan claimed he wanted to create a costume “so bizarre that once I am seen I will never be forgotten.”

Alan’s ring did not work on any type of wood and had to be recharged every 24 hours at the lamp. His initial oath was “And I shall shed my light over dark evil, for dark things cannot stand the light..the light of.. The Green Lantern.” This oath was replaced in 1944 by “In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight! Let those who worship evil’s might - beware my power, Green Lantern’s Light.” That oath became so popular that variations of it have been reused by multiple Lanterns over the years.

Green Lantern was a popular hero in the 1940s, joining the Justice Society of America, spawning his own title and even gaining a sidekick, a cabdriver who was famous for stating “When a guy smashes me doiby, dat’s de last straw.”

The end of World War II saw the cancellation of Green Lantern, but the title was revived in 1959 after a successful new Flash paved the way. The new Lantern was Hal Jordan, a cocky pilot, who obtained his ring from a dying Abin Sur. Unlike Alan Scott, Hal Jordan became part of a Green Lantern Corps, an interstellar army of Lanterns governed by the mysterious Guardians of the Universe. Small in stature and blue, the Guardians operated from Oa and would later be credited for creating the Starheart that fueled Alan Scott’s magical lamp. Also unlike Alan Scott, the only weakness in Hal’s ring would be against the color yellow.

Hal Jordan’s greatest foe in his early days was Sinestro. A former Lantern who worked with Abin Sur and helped train Hal Jordan, Sinestro ultimately grew crazed with power. After discovering that Sinestro was ruling a planet through fear, Hal had no choice but to turn him into the Guardians. Stripped of his Green Lantern status, Sinestro retaliated by donning a yellow power ring.

Hal Jordan was a founding member of the Justice League of America and two of his closest friends were the new Flash, Barry Allen and Green Arrow, Oliver Queen. Barry and Hal often teamed up in each other’s comics and it would be Hal that Barry turned to immediately after the apparent death of his wife. The friendship with Ollie, however, would lead Hal on a political road trip in which the liberal Queen and conservative Jordan squabbled over ideologies while encountering the social problems of the late 60s and early 70s.

About the Author

Follow the exploits of rockers DEMON TWEAK and the racing clan HARD DRIVING HEROES, as they battle the evil trickster Loki at http://www.classic-comic-book.com. Also read articles on your favorite classic comic book heroes written by our resident historian VIRGIL THE STORYTELLER.

Green Lantern Part 2

Despite the critical success of the Green Arrow team-ups, the period was not a strong one in Hal Jordan’s history. His longtime girlfriend broke up with him, and that sent Hal traveling around the country doing odd jobs here and there. Also during this period, two new back-up Lanterns were introduced.

Guy Gardner premiered in the 1960s and was shown to be Abin Sur’s second choice after Hal for the role of Green Lantern. Stubborn and hot-headed, Guy has had many altercations with his fellow heroes. He’s also gone through a number of changes, among them wielding a yellow power ring and calling himself Warrior. Eventually, Guy Gardner would grow up, and be placed in charge of training the rest of the Green Lantern Corps.

John Stewart premiered in the 1970s and has been the “regular” Green Lantern during times in which Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner resigned their posts or were off world. John is famously the most stable of the Earth bound Green Lanterns, but his tenure has not been without grief. Most notably, he was unable to prevent the destruction of the planet Xanshi, and that failure would plague him for years.

In the 1990s, more change came to the Green Lantern comic. Following the destruction of Coast City by the Cyborg Superman, Hal went insane (this was later blamed on being infected with the parasite Parallax) and tried to destroy and remake the universe. Though ultimately unsuccessful, Hal caused plenty of other damage during his insane and evil days. He killed Sinestro, destroyed the Green Lantern Corps, and annihilated all but one of the Guardians. Though most of this damage was later retconned away, many longtime fans were truly disturbed and upset by the evil turn of their hero.

When Earth’s sun was threatened by a sun-eater, Hal redeemed his evil ways by nobly sacrificing himself to save Earth. Still not earning his rest, Jordan came back as the Spectre, the Spirit of God’s Vengeance for several years. This would change in the storyline Green Lantern: Rebirth, during which Hal Jordan came back to life and was freed from the influence of Parallax.

In the aftermath of Hal Jordan’s turn to the dark side, the one remaining member of the Guardians of the Universe, Ganthet, sought out a new Green Lantern. He chose Kyle Rayner, a young freelance artist from New York. Kyle’s painful introduction to the world of superheroing began shortly thereafter, when the villain Major Force killed his girlfriend, Alexandra DeWitt. A large bulk of Kyle’s storylines have dealt with his guilt over not being able to save her, and that guilt grew as other loved ones came into harm’s way and Kyle was unable to prevent their harm.

On a brighter note, Kyle has been a member of both the Titans and the Justice League of America. One of his closest friends was Connor Hawke, the second Green Arrow.

For a time, Kyle absorbed more energy than he could handle and he became the godlike entity known as Ion. Ultimately, after a heart to heart with Superman, Kyle decided to relinquish those powers. The excess energy Kyle relinquished was used to restart the central power battery on Oa and to help give life again to the Guardians of the Universe. This would be an important step in rebuilding the Green Lantern Corps to their former glory, one of the major current themes in the Green Lantern comics.

The powers and abilities of the Green Lanterns have depended on who is wielding the ring, but the power ring can be used to construct any object in the wielder’s imagination. In addition, it has given wearers the power of flight, telepathic abilities, radiation generation, invisibility, and force field generation.

Hal Jordan, Alan Scott, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner are all currently alive and well in the DC comic book universe. Alan Scott enjoys his post as one of the elder members of the Justice Society of America while Hal and John continue to take turns patrolling Earth in service to the Guardians. Kyle and Guy are currently primarily off Earth, helping to rebuild the Green Lantern Corps in their own way.

Essential Storylines:

~ Hard Traveling Heroes
~ The New Frontier
~ Zero Hour
~ Final Night
~ Rebirth
~ Sinestro Corps War
~ Green Lantern: Mosaic
~ Emerald Twilight
~ Emerald Knights

About the Author

Follow the exploits of rockers DEMON TWEAK and the racing clan HARD DRIVING HEROES, as they battle the evil trickster Loki at http://www.classic-comic-book.com. Also read articles on your favorite classic comic book heroes written by our resident historian VIRGIL THE STORYTELLER.