Iron Lantern

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Iron Lantern


Iron Lantern #1.

Publisher Amalgam Comics
First appearance Showcase of Suspense #1 (fake), Iron Lantern #1 (June 1997, real)
Created by Kurt Busiek
Paul Smith
Characteristics
Alter ego Hal Stark
Affiliations Oa the Living Planet, Judgment League Avengers, Aqua Mariner
Notable aliases Arno Manning
Abilities Wears suit of powered armor which endows him with superhuman abilities.

Iron Lantern is a fictional character and an Amalgam Comics superhero, whose true debut was in Iron Lantern #1, though his first (metafictional) appearance in the Amalgam universe was in Showcase of Suspense #1. He is a combination of Marvel Comics' Iron Man and DC Comics' Green Lantern.

Contents

[edit] Character history

[edit] Origin

Hal Stark was a millionaire, the founder of Stark Aircraft. He was working on a stationary flight simulator when the device suddenly took off with him in it. Stark discovered that the flight simulator was being drawn to a crashed alien spacecraft, and the flight simulator crashed yards away from it. Stark was badly injured with shards of metal stuck in his chest. Curious to the end, Stark made his way to the alien spacecraft, where he came upon the dying alien Rhomann Sur. The alien died before he could speak with Hal, and Hal realized he was dying as well. With his last efforts, Stark designed a suit of armor out of the alien technology, powered by a battery he found in the wreckage, one which reminded him of a lantern. The suit of armor not only allowed him to survive, but gave him incredible powers, allowing him to create any object he pleased out of a green energy, due to the battery he used being powered by Oa the Living Planet. He battled and defeated the aliens that had shot down Rhomann Sur's spacecraft.

[edit] Superhero career

Hal Stark, under the name of the Iron Lantern, became a superhero, fighting against numerous enemies such as Madame Sapphire, Great White, and his greatest foe Mandarinestro, who is behind a series of events that creates Madame Sapphire, who in turn resurrects the Great White android. Hal Stark has also been associated with the Green Guardsman, who once took over for Iron Lantern, and later came back to steal the Iron Lantern's alien battery so he could be a hero again. Other foes that Iron Lantern has faced include Dr. Whiplash and H.E.C.T.O.R..

In Showcase of Suspense #29, Hal traveled into the year 5700. Apparently in this far-off future, there is another Iron Lantern known as Arno Manning, who Hal Stark temporarily took the identity of in his travels. In addition to the Iron Lantern's connections to Arno Manning and the Green Guardsman, Hal Stark is also somehow connected to the Golden Age superhero the Human Lantern in ways that have not yet been revealed.

[edit] Powers

Iron Lantern's armor gives him superhuman strength and allows him to fly. But his primary ability is to create solid-light objects from the green energy emitted from his chestplate.

[edit] Resources