Green Lantern

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For the DJ, see DJ Green Lantern.

Green Lantern is the name of several fictional superheroes in the DC Comics universe. The first was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940). The best-known is Hal Jordan, created by John Broome and Gil Kane in Showcase #22 (Oct. 1959).

Each Green Lantern possesses a "power ring" that gives the user great control over the physical world as long as the wielder has sufficient willpower. While the ring of the Golden Age Green Lantern (Alan Scott) was magically powered, the rings worn by all subsequent Lanterns were the creations of the Guardians of the Universe, who granted such rings to worthy candidates. These individuals made up the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps.

After World War II, when sales of superhero comic books generally declined, DC ceased publishing new adventures of the Alan Scott Green Lantern. At the beginning of the Silver Age of Comic Books, DC editor Julius Schwartz had writer Broome and artist Kane revive Green Lantern as a new character, test pilot Hal Jordan, who became a founding member of the Justice League of America. In the early 1970s, writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams teamed Green Lantern with archer Green Arrow in groundbreaking, socially conscious, and award-winning stories that pitted the sensibilities of the law-and-order-oriented Lantern with the populist Green Arrow. Several cosmically themed series followed, as did occasional different individuals in the role of Earth's Green Lantern. Most prominent of these are John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner.

Green Lantern has proven to be one of DC's most popular superheroes. Each Green Lantern was a member of the Justice Society of America or the Justice League, and John Stewart was featured in the Justice League Unlimited animated series.

Contents 1 Publication history 1.1 Golden Age 1.2 Silver Age revival 1.3 Awards 2 Character biographies 2.1 Golden Age Green Lantern: Alan Scott 2.2 Silver Age Green Lantern: Hal Jordan 2.3 Bronze Age Green Lantern: John Stewart 2.4 Green Lantern: Guy Gardner 2.5 Modern Age Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner 2.6 Jade 2.7 Superheroes who have worn a Power Ring 3 Powers and abilities 4 In other media 4.1 Television 4.1.1 Cast roles 4.1.2 Guest appearances 5 Green Lantern oath 6 Green Lantern parodies/references 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Publication history

[edit] Golden Age

Green Lantern (sometimes called The Green Lantern in the early days) was created by Martin Nodell (using the name Mart Dellon) and Bill Finger. He first appeared in the Golden Age of comic books in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940), published by All-American Publications, one of three companies that would eventually merge to form DC Comics. This Green Lantern was Alan Scott, an engineer who had come into possession of a magic lantern. From this, he crafted a power ring which gave him a wide variety of powers. The limitations of the ring were that it had to be "charged" every 24 hours by touching it to the lantern for a time, and that it did not work on wood.

Green Lantern was a popular character in the 1940s, featured in both All-American Comics and in his own title and co-starring in Comic Cavalcade along with The Flash and Wonder Woman. He was a charter member of the Justice Society of America, whose adventures ran in All Star Comics. After World War II, the popularity of superheroes declined. The Green Lantern comic book was cancelled with issue #38 (June 1949). All Star Comics #57 (1951) was the character's last Golden Age appearance.

[edit] Silver Age revival

In 1956, DC Comics successfully revived superheroes, ushering in what became known as the Silver Age of comic books. Rather than bringing back the same Golden Age heroes — as Atlas Comics, the 1950s precursor of Marvel Comics, unsuccessfully tried to do — DC reimagined them as new characters for the modern age. Following the successful revival of the Flash in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956), a new Green Lantern was introduced in Showcase #22 (September-October 1959).

This Green Lantern was Hal Jordan, a test pilot who was given the ring by a dying alien, Abin Sur, and who became a member of the Green Lantern Corps, an interstellar organization of police overseen by the Guardians of the Universe. The Corps' rings were powerless against anything colored yellow, due to a necessary impurity in the ring. Jordan's creation was motivated by a desire to make him more of a science fiction hero, editor Julius Schwartz having been a longtime science-fiction fan and literary agent who saw pop-culture tastes turning in that direction.

The Silver Age Green Lantern was unique in several ways. He was the first DC superhero to use his powers selfishly (in his romance with Carol Ferris) and he was the first DC superhero with a family. Written by John Broome and drawn by Gil Kane, these stories have been reprinted in deluxe hardback editions.

This Green Lantern was a founding member of the Justice League of America and starred in his own title as well; in issue #40 (Oct. 1965), he met his Golden Age predecessor, who was established to live on the parallel world of Earth-Two, separate from Jordan's Earth-One. The two Lanterns struck up a close friendship and have periodically come to each other's aid. Hal Jordan's Green Lantern also became close friends with the Flash, and the two heroes appeared frequently in each other's comics to team up.

With issue #76 (April 1970), the series made a radical stylistic departure. Editor Schwartz, in one of the company's earliest efforts to provide more than light fantasy, worked with the writer-artist team of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams to spark new interest in the book and address a perceived need for social "relevance" — a general pop-culture catchphrase of the time. They added the character Green Arrow (with the cover though not the official indicia retitled Green Lantern Co-Starring Green Arrow) and had the pair travel through America encountering "real world" issues, to which they reacted in different ways — Green Lantern as fundamentally a lawman, Green Arrow as a liberal iconoclast. Additionally during this run, Green Arrow's teen sidekick Speedy (the later grownup hero Arsenal) developed a heroin addiction that he was forcibly made to quit. The stories were critically acclaimed, with publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek citing it as an example of how comic books were "growing up".^[1] However, the O'Neil/Adams run was not a commercial success, and after only 14 issues the two left the title.

[edit] Awards

The series and its creators have received several awards over the years, including the 1961 Alley Award for Best Adventure Hero/Heroine with Own Book; and Academy of Comic Book Arts' Shazam Award for Best Continuing Feature in 1970, for Best Individual Story ("No Evil Shall Escape My Sight", Green Lantern #76, by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams), and in 'year tk for Best Individual Story ("Snowbirds Don't Fly", Green Lantern #85 by O'Neil and Adams).

Writer O'Neil received the Shazam Award for Best Writer (Dramatic Division) in 1970 for his work on Green Lantern, Batman, Superman, and other titles, while artist Adams received the Shazam for Best Artist (Dramatic Division) in 1970 for his work on Green Lantern and Batman. Inker Dick Giordano received the Shazam Award for Best Inker (Dramatic Division) for his work on Green Lantern and other titles.

[edit] Character biographies

[edit] Golden Age Green Lantern: Alan Scott

Main article: Alan Scott

Thousands of years ago, a mystical "green flame" fell to Earth. The voice of the flame prophesied that it would act three times: Once to bring death, once to bring life, and once to bring power. By 1940, the flame had been fashioned into a metal lantern, which fell into the hands of Alan Scott, a young engineer. Following a railroad bridge collapse, the flame instructed Scott how to fashion a ring from its metal, to give him fantastic powers as the superhero Green Lantern. He adopted a colorful costume and became a crimefighter. Alan was a founding member of the Justice Society of America. He is also an honorary member of the Green Lantern Corps.

[edit] Silver Age Green Lantern: Hal Jordan

Main article: Hal Jordan

The second Green Lantern was Harold "Hal" Jordan, who in 1959 comics was a second-generation test pilot, having followed in the footsteps of his father, Martin Jordan. He was given the power ring and battery (lantern) by a dying alien named Abin Sur, whose spaceship crashed on Earth. Abin Sur used his ring to seek out an individual who was "utterly honest and born without fear" to take his place as Green Lantern. Jordan became a founding member of the Justice League of America and as of the mid-2000s is, along with John Stewart, one of the two active-duty Lanterns in Earth's sector of space.

[edit] Bronze Age Green Lantern: John Stewart

Main article: John Stewart (comics)

The fourth Green Lantern was John Stewart, an unemployed architect who was selected by the Guardians to replace Guy Gardner as Jordan's backup. When Jordan resigned from the Corps for an extended period of time, Stewart served as the regular Lantern for that period. Since then, Stewart was in and out of action due to various circumstances, but by the 2000s began serving with Jordan as one of his sector's two designated regular-duty Lanterns.

[edit] Green Lantern: Guy Gardner

Main article: Guy Gardner (comics)

Guy Gardner was the second choice to replace Abin Sur as Green Lantern of sector 2814. During Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Guardians split into factions, one of which appointed Gardner their champion. He has gone through many changes, including wielding Sinestro's Qwardian power ring, the gaining and losing Vuldarian powers, and readmission to the Corps during Green Lantern: Rebirth. He later became part of the Green Lantern Honor Guard, and oversees new Green Lanterns' training.

[edit] Modern Age Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner

Main article: Kyle Rayner

Kyle Rayner was a struggling freelance artist when he was approached by the last Guardian of the Universe, Ganthet, to become a new Green Lantern with the last power ring. Ganthet's reasons for choosing Rayner is unrevealed. Despite not being cut from the same cloth of bravery and fearlessness as Hal Jordan — or perhaps because of that — Rayner proved to be popular with readers and his fellow characters. Having continually proven himself on his own and with the JLA, he became known amongst the Oans as "The Torch Bearer". He was responsible for the rebirth of the Guardians and the re-ignition of the Central Power Battery, essentially restoring all that Jordan had destroyed as Parallax. Rayner later began operating as the Green Lantern known as Ion.

[edit] Jade

Main article: Jade (comics)

When Jenny-Lynn Hayden, the superhero known as Jade, was stripped of her powers, Kyle Rayner bestowed her with a copy of Hal Jordan's power ring. When Rayner left to restart the Green Lantern corps, Jade donned the classic Green Lantern uniform and served as Earth's Green Lantern until losing the ring during a battle with the villain Fatality. When the ring was later returned to her, she changed to a modified version of Rayner's Green Lantern uniform. Jade continued to function as a Green Lantern until Rayner used his Ion powers to restore her original powers. Upon her death, Jade gave all her powers to Rayner.

[edit] Superheroes who have worn a Power Ring

Other DC Superheroes who have wielded the GL Ring and/or powers temporarily include Superman (Action Comics #642), Nightwing (Action Comics #642, DC Comics Presents #6), Green Arrow (Green Lantern: Rebirth #4), and Zatanna (Green Lantern (2nd series) #42, Green Lantern 80-Page Giant #2). The dark form of the 2000s Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), induced by black kryptonite, has also wielded John Stewart's Ring (Supergirl #4). Batman has also used the ring, on Jordan's suggestion, to confront his fear; the ring showed images of his deceased parents talking to him, presumably generated from Batman's mind (Green Lantern #9). The future version of Superman witnessed in DC One Million acquired the ring when the heroes of the past replaced a sample of kryptonite with a long-lost Green Lantern ring, allowing him to destroy the weakened supercomputer Solaris.

The Silver Age Atom (Ray Palmer) has also used the ring three times. The first was in his Justice League of America debut ("Menace of the Atom Bomb"), in which he used the ring to free the Justice League from a mental trance. The second occasion was in "Decoy Missions of the Justice League" ,where he pulled the ring off the finger of an imposter Green Lantern and captured him with it. On the third occasion, he and Jordan were pitted against the villain Traitor, who had shrunk Earth down to microscopic size, intending for it to be destroyed when it rapidly expanded and exploded. Using a spare ring, the Atom was able to slow Earth's growth enough that it was not destroyed, leaving Jordan to battle Traitor.

The villain Star Sapphire briefly had control of the ring (also in DC Comics Presents #6).

DC heroes who have filled the role in DC's Elseworlds or other alternate universes include Clark Kent (Superman: Last Son of Earth), Bruce Wayne (In Darkest Knight), Barbara Gordon (JLA: Created Equal), Uncle Sam (Superman/Batman #15), and Big Barda in JLA: Another Nail.

[edit] Powers and abilities

Main article: Power ring (weapon)

All Green Lanterns wield a power ring that can generate a variety of effects and energy constructs, sustained purely by the ring wearer's strength of will. The greater the user's willpower, the more effective the ring. The limits of the power ring's abilities are not clearly defined and it has been referred to as "the most powerful weapon in the universe" on more than one occasion. Across the years, the ring has been shown capable of accomplishing anything within the imagination of the ring bearer. Often the rings are used to form solid-light constructs, the power and size of which are limited only by the ring-bearer's willpower. Stories in 2006 retconned the ring's longtime lack of effect on yellow objects, stating that the ring-bearer need only feel fear and overcome it in order to affect yellow objects.

Power rings of various wielders have exhibited (but are not limited to) the following:

• Plasma based constructs limited to the willpower of the bearer
• Semisentient computers, including Book of Oa reference, from laws to the history of the universe
• Flight across the cosmos through wormholes
• Finite power source, but no longer limited to 24 hours. Kyle Rayner's ring was the first ring to absorb more power than originally thought, having stored the main power battery's energy following its explosion on Oa.
• Force field generation
• Radiation simulation, including Kryptonite
• Upon death of the wielder, the ring automatically looks for a replacement.

[edit] In other media

[edit] Television

Several Green Lanterns have appeared in animated TV shows, both as regular characters and as guest stars.

[edit] Cast roles

Hal Jordan was the featured character in a solo series which was part of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (1967) as well as part of the Justice League segments. These would be the character's first animated appearances. In addition, Hal Jordan's Green Lantern was an occasional supporting character in the various Super Friends incarnations.

John Stewart is a member of the Justice League in the Justice League animated series. In this series, Stewart's ring was initially constrained to permitting him to fly, generating a protective force field, creating walls, and firing energy blasts; this limitation was established as being due to Stewart's mindset, not an inherent limitation of the ring itself (the series' version of John Stewart is a former Marine, not an architect.) After being berated by Katma Tui for his unimaginative use of the ring, Stewart has increasingly generated complex tools (to defuse a bomb in one instance) and weapons. In a development not seen in any other version of the Green Lantern mythos, Stewart's eyes glow green as a side effect of the Ring's radiation (the glow fades when the ring runs out of power). In addition, the ring is effective against yellow; Stewart is seen fighting Sinestro in one episode and the yellow energy does not prove to be a significant problem for the Lantern, although in a later episode of Justice League Unlimited, the Flash threw yellow Jell-o at him and his force field broke. Another feature of this series is Stewart's dramatic lovelife.

After a failed romance with fellow Justice League member Hawkgirl, Stewart begins a relationship with Vixen, although an episode where he travels into the future seems to indicate that he will come to have a son with Hawkgirl later on. However, with the recent appearance of the Carter Hall/Katar Hol incarnation of Hawkman in the series, that changed, and the two did not end up together after all (though it's still left up in the air at the end of the series - Hawkgirl considers Hawkman a stalker, not a boyfriend, and she still loves John). Hawkman also concludes at the end of the episode that he and Hawkgirl are just not fated to be with each other.

[edit] Guest appearances

• Kyle Rayner appeared as Green Lantern in one episode of Superman: The Animated Series. This incarnation appeared to be a hybrid of Kyle Rayner and Hal Jordan, since he was recruited by Abin Sur, fought Jordan's old enemy Sinestro, and looked more like Jordan than Rayner (although Hal Jordan's name is clearly visible, painted on the nose of an airplane at a military base). Rayner was later inducted into the Green Lantern Corps. Guy Gardner makes a cameo as the mugger who steals Jimmy Olsen's camera.

• Rayner was briefly mentioned in one episode of Justice League and he appeared as one of the Green Lanterns attending Superman's funeral in Hereafter. He later reappeared after the series became Justice League Unlimited in The Return, bearing a far greater resemblance to his comics counterpart. Rayner's appearance (where he and the Corps unsuccessfully attempted to defend Oa from Amazo) finally explained why John Stewart was the Green Lantern of Earth; Rayner had been stationed on Oa all along.

• A character known as Green Guardsman (whose real name was Scott Mason) appeared in a Justice League episode in which John Stewart and several other members traveled to a parallel universe. This other universe had its own superhero group, the Justice Guild, whose members were modeled on Golden Age versions of the Justice Society of America characters. Green Guardsman was an homage to the Golden Age Green Lantern. His power ring was unable to affect aluminum.

• The Justice League version of John Stewart appeared in several episodes of Static Shock, both as a member of the League and in a solo appearance.

• A two-part episode of Batman Beyond featured a future Justice League Unlimited that included a Green Lantern who was an eight-year old child; he later reappeared as a young adult in the Justice League Unlimited episode Epilogue (the character was created for this appearance, and has not appeared elsewhere). His name was Kai-ro, a tribute to Kairo, Green Lantern's alien sidekick on The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure.

• Hal Jordan appeared briefly in the Justice League Unlimited episode The Once and Future Thing, Part 2: Time, Warped in which the time-traveling villain Chronos caused the timeline to become unstable, with characters changing or disappearing as their history was altered. At one point, John Stewart morphed into Jordan, who aided the other characters for several minutes before changing back into Stewart. Jordan was played by Adam Baldwin.[1]

• On the animated TV series "Duck Dodgers," the episode entitled "The Green Loontern" includes appearances by many members of the Green Lantern Corps. In this episode, a mixup at the dry cleaners results in Dodgers (Daffy Duck) getting Hal Jordan's outfit and ring. Filmmaker and comics fan Kevin Smith provided the voice of Jordan for this cameo.

• Howard Murphy played Green Lantern in the live action Legends of the Superheroes TV specials in 1979. The role of Sinestro was played by comedian Charlie Callas.

• The unsuccessful 1997 pilot for a live-action Justice League of America television series included Matthew Settle as Guy Gardner, although the pilot's Green Lantern used only the name and costume of the comic-book Gardner. In personality and appearance, he much more closely resembled Hal Jordan. He wore a mask and insignia similar to that worn by Kyle Rayner as a part of his original costume. His ring closely resembled that of Alan Scott. However, this ring didn't bestow the power of flight upon its wearer; instead, Gardner flew by using the ring to generate a helicopter rotor.

[edit] Green Lantern oath

Green Lantern is famous for the oath he recites when he charges his ring. Originally, the oath was simple:

...and I shall shed my light over dark evil.

For the dark things cannot stand the light,

The light of the Green Lantern!

(This oath was later given as an in-joke to Tomar-Re, Green Lantern of sector 2813, and the first other Lantern Hal Jordan met)

In the mid-1940s, this was revised into the form that became famous during the Hal Jordan era:

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!

The word blackest is often replaced with darkest to avoid racist connotations. The above is the most popular version of Green Lantern's oath. Science fiction writer Alfred Bester, who wrote many Green Lantern stories in the 1940s, has been credited as the creator of this oath. However, in an interview with journalist F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre at the 1979 World Science Fiction Convention in Brighton, England, Bester stated that the brightest day oath was already in place before he began writing for the character.

It has since been established that each Green Lantern has his, her, or its own oath. For example, Medphyl, the Green Lantern of the planet J586 (Seen in Swamp Thing # 61, "All Flesh is Grass"), a planet where a sentient plant species lives, has the following oath:

In forest dark or glade beferned

No blade of grass shall go unturned

Let those who have the daylight spurned

Tread not where this green lamp has burned.

Other notable oaths include that of Jack T. Chance:

You who are wicked, evil and mean

I'm the nastiest creep you've ever seen!

Come one, come all, put up a fight

I'll pound your butts with Green Lantern's light!

Yowza.

and that of Rot Lop Fan, a Green Lantern whose species lacks sight, and thus has no concepts of brightness, darkness, day, night, color, or lanterns:

In loudest din or hush profound

My ears hear evil's slightest sound

Let those who toll out evil's knell

Beware my power, the F-Sharp Bell!

In the animated TV series Duck Dodgers, Daffy Duck temporarily becomes a Green Lantern after accidentally picking up Hal Jordan's laundry. In the first part of the episode he forgets the real quote and makes up his own version, which goes:

In blackest day or brightest night

Watermelon, cantaloupe, yadda yadda

Erm...superstitious and cowardly lot

With liberty and justice for all!

[edit] Green Lantern parodies/references

• Green Lantern is mentioned in the hit 1966 song "Sunshine Superman" by British folk musician Donovan.
• The American sitcom Seinfeld made references to Green Lantern in three episodes: "The Barber" (Nov. 11, 1993), "The Stand In" (Feb. 25, 1994) and "The Strong Box" (Feb. 5, 1998).
• Doctor Spectrum - There are three versions of Dr. Spectrum from three different dimensions in the Marvel Universe, none of which come from the normal Marvel continuity.
  • The version of Dr. Spectrum that had the most development was a member of the Squadron Supreme. Dr. Spectrum used to be an astronaut, adventurer and something of a playboy. On one of his space missions, he saved the life of a benevolent alien of the Skrull race. In gratitude for rescuing him, the Skrull gave Joe Ledger the Power Prism, an energy synthesizer his people had created.
  • The version of Dr. Spectrum in Supreme Power series is a rebooted version of this character. In this version, Joseph (Joe) Daniel Ledger is a Colonel in the United States Army, who perform covert operations missions. He is considered the perfect soldier: an army man who follows any and all orders and is a natural killer. Joe Ledger was the only candidate who was focused and single minded enough to be able to control the power prism found in Hyperion's space ship.
  • There is also an evil version of Dr. Spectrum who was a member of the Squadron Sinister, who had several incarnations. Although the Squadron Sinister Dr. Spectrum preceded the Squadron Supreme version in appearance, the former is considered the original as the latter was revealed to be just a copy.
• The Beacon - in Big Bang Comics.
  • Beacon of Earth A, corresponding to the 1960s version: Dr. Julia Gardner
  • Beacon of Earth B, corresponding to the 1940s version: Scott Martin
• The Green Ghost - from Invincible series.
• The Hurricane - World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s character. Gregory Helms is a comics fan and has a Green Lantern tattoo on his right biceps. His love of comics was turned into a wrestling character or "gimmick".
• Green Lambkin - a funny animal version, first appearing in Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew #14, April 1983. Given his ring by the Goat-Guardians of the planet Uh-Oh, the Green Lambkin was a member of Just'a Lotta Animals, fighting evil alongside heroes such as Batmouse and Super-Squirrel on the parallel world Earth C-Minus.
• In Issue #10 of Warren Ellis' Planetary, "Magic and Loss", there is a race of red-robed beings providing blue lanterns to those worthy of being "Policemen." One noble alien is selected, and a glowing blue lantern (a "mind-powered weapon") is placed within his chest. The alien, now capable of space-travel, heads to Earth where he is captured, vivisected, and has the blue lantern extracted by Dr. Randall Dowling of the Four, after having his powers nullified through the use of red-hued light. Following this, Lamplighter gained the power of the lantern and joins the group Stormwatch, a multi-national superhero organization sponsored by the United Nations.
• Iron Lantern, an Amalgam Comics character who was a combination of Hal Jordan and Marvel Comics character Iron Man.
• The Star Knights are an homage to the Green Lantern Corps in the Mutants and Masterminds Role-playing game.
• The protagonist of No More Magic, a novel by Avi, is an avid reader of comic books, and in particular, a fan of the Green Lantern series.
• The comic book read by Walt on the TV series Lost features both Green Lantern and Flash
• In the Warner Brother's superhero comedy "Freakazoid!", the villain Armando Guitierrez, upon discovering that Freakazoid is not vulnerable to Kryptonite, attempts to menace him with a yellow piece of paper. Freakazoid simply shakes his head and says "That's the green lantern."
• The Green Swoosh as portrayed by Johnny Bravo, the power does not come from a ring, but instead superpowered boots.
• New Zealand band the Mutton Birds has a song called Green Lantern, about someone whose status in life has diminished. The refrain has the narrator assuring the subject, "you're still the Green Lantern to me."
• Liberal political commentator and blogger Matthew Yglesias introduced in 2006 the "Green Lantern Theory of Geopolitics" in his TPM Cafe Blog, satirizing conservative political analysts who, according to Yglesias, "seem to think that, roughly speaking, [the United States] can accomplish absolutely anything in the world through the application of sufficient military force. The only thing limiting us is a lack of willpower."

[edit] See also

• List of Green Lanterns

[edit] References