Green Lantern (character)
Green Lantern is a prominent superhero character from DC Comics, first appearing in 1940. The character has seen various incarnations, with notable Green Lanterns including Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner. Each of these characters wields a powerful ring that grants them extraordinary abilities, such as flight, invincibility, and the power to create constructs from their imagination. The rings are fueled by willpower and require recharging through the energy of a lantern. All Green Lanterns are members of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic police force established by the Guardians of the Universe from the planet Oa, tasked with maintaining peace across the cosmos.
Hal Jordan, perhaps the most recognized Green Lantern, began his journey when he inherited his ring from the dying alien Abin Sur. His character has undergone significant development, including a dark period where he was driven by grief and became a villain known as Parallax. John Stewart, introduced in 1972, is notable for being one of the first black superheroes and has appeared prominently in animated adaptations. The Green Lantern mythos includes a variety of adversaries, such as Sinestro and Black Hand, and has evolved through decades of storytelling, reflecting a rich history within the comic book universe.
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Green Lantern (character)
For more than seventy-five years, one of DC Comics' longest-running characters has been the Green Lantern. This superhero debuted in 1940 and has been drawn as a number of different men whose timelines intersect in a complicated history.
Green Lanterns have included Alan Ladd Wellington Scott, a train engineer; Hal Jordan, a former Air Force pilot; Guy Gardner, a special education teacher for children with disabilities; John Stewart, a veteran marine turned architect; and Kyle Rayner, a struggling artist.
Regardless of which man was serving as the Green Lantern, all of them had several elements in common. They each wore a special ring that gave them powers, such as translating languages, providing the ability to fly between planets, general invincibility, and the ability to create anything the wearer imagines, from a building to a weapon. The rings were recharged by the energy of the lantern and by the wearer's overall willpower.
Each one of the superheroes was part of an intergalactic police force called the Green Lantern Corps. This group was created by immortal aliens known as the Guardians of the Universe from the planet Oa. The mission of all Green Lanterns was to keep peace throughout the cosmos. This was done by patrolling and protecting each planet in the universe. Earth was number 2314.
Brief History
The Green Lantern was created by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger. The superhero debuted in 1940 in All-American Comics #16. The first Green Lantern was Alan Ladd Wellington Scott, a railway engineer. Some people believe the name was a reference to Aladdin. This possibility was strengthened when, like the mythical Aladdin, Scott found a magical lantern. It had a mysterious green flame inside that Scott figured out how to use to create power. He also used part of the metal to forge a ring. Scott used his newfound power, and colorful costume, to fight crime as the Green Lantern.
Comic books began to decline in popularity in the mid-1940s. After thirty-eight issues, the Green Lantern series was cancelled in 1949. It remained out of publication for twelve years.
Later Green Lanterns
John Broome and Gil Kane introduced the next version of the Green Lantern in 1961. Hal Jordan was a former Air Force pilot, working as a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft. Jordan became the Green Lantern when he ran to investigate a downed UFO and discovered a purple-skinned alien named Abin Sur inside. Before he died, the alien passed the power ring to Jordan. Jordan traveled to Oa, an alien planet, where he trained with the warrior Sinestro.
Jordan remained the Green Lantern for several years. During that time, he co-founded the Justice League of America along with other superheroes, including Aquaman and the Flash. Jordan took a special oath: "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!"
Jordan was temporarily a villain in the Green Lantern timeline. When the comic book character of Cyborg Superman destroyed Jordan's hometown—and all of the people in it—the Green Lantern was crazy with grief. He tried to use the power of his ring to go back in time and save the city, but the Guardians of the Universe would not allow it. Jordan had a mental breakdown, and in his emotional state, killed all of the members of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic police force, and he took the name Parallax.
In later story lines, it was shown that Jordan had been possessed by the embodiment of fear, and this explained his violent behavior. Although Jordan gave up his life stopping a villain known as the Sun-Eater, he regained his life years later. In 2008, Jordan's incarnation of the Green Lantern returned to comics in a new series. In this story line, Jordan is a captain in the Air Force. Throughout the years, he has remained a close friend of comic book characters Green Arrow and the Flash. The pairing of the Green Lantern and the Green Arrow can be seen in Hard Traveling Heroes, the comic collection written by Dennis J. O'Neil. Jordan is the most well-known incarnation of the character and was portrayed by Ryan Reynolds in the movie Green Lantern in 2011.
Guy Gardner as the Green Lantern was introduced in 1968. As an astounding member of the Green Lantern Corps, Gardner was chosen to serve as the superhero. When Abin Sur crash-landed on Earth years earlier, Gardner was supposed to become the Green Lantern, but Jordan arrived at the crash site first. Gardner was popular as the Green Lantern, and his character underwent a great deal of change. In the beginning, he was rather belligerent and conceited, but those qualities faded as time passed.
John Stewart was brought into the Green Lantern legacy in 1972. As a veteran marine turned architect, Stewart was one of the nation's first black superheroes in his iteration of the Green Lantern. He appeared often in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited television cartoon series. Stewart's Green Lantern character ends up accidentally destroying a planet, and then becomes paralyzed from the waist down. Later, he would be healed by the return of Hal Jordan.
Kyle Rayner's Green Lantern was introduced in 1994. He was a struggling artist. In this story line, all of the Guardians of the Universe and all of the Green Lanterns have either been killed or lost their power rings. Kyle filled the role as Green Lantern for five years and spent time fighting villains Major Force and Fatality.
Other Green Lantern villains included Sinestro, a fallen Green Lantern; Doctor Polaris, a man who could control magnetism; Black Hand, who could drain the power from the lantern rings; and Hector Hammond, a scientist with a huge brain and psychic powers. While early Green Lantern powers were threatened by any kind of wood, later versions were primarily overwhelmed by anything that was the color yellow.
Bibliography
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