GREEN LANTERN HISTORY

Green Lantern is not one man but many characters created by DC Comics throughout the years. The first character was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16. Although there may be many different personalities of Green Lantern, the best known G.L. is Hal Jordan who was created by John Broome in Showcase#22.

Green Lantern is known by the famous power ring, which is the source of all of his powers. This ring harnesses the will-power of the wearer, to let him manipulate the environment and physical world via energy constructs. 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 the new adventures of Green Lantern. At the beginning of the Silver Age of Comic Books , DC editor Julius Schwartz had writer Broome and artist Kane renew Green Lantern as a modern 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 inventive, cultural, and award-winning issues that had the justice focused Hal Jordan together with the “conventional” Green Arrow. The role of the earth Green Lantern evolved through the years as did the character that played earths G.L. The major Green Lanterns involved were John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner.
           

In 1956, DC Comics successfully revitalized superheroes after a decline in the genre began beginning with the cold war, giving birth to the Silver Age of Comic Books. Instead of rehashing the old Golden Age heroes, DC Comics kept the general idea of the Green Lantern but with new faces. After the thriving restoration of the Flash in Showcase #4, DC Comics re-introduced earth’s Green Lantern in Showcase #22.

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 (which will be explained later in more detail). The Corps' rings were useless against things colored yellow, due to a impurity in the power battery which powered the rings. Editor Julius Schwartz wanted Hal to go in the direction of a space age hero, because of the cold war and space exploration in the current events.

This Silver Age Green Lantern differed from the Golden Age G.L. in a variety of ways. Hal Jordan was one of the first G.L.’s to show a human quality of imperfection, using his powers to court one Carol Farris,  and he was also the first DC superhero with a family.

The Justice League of America was also helped started by the Silver Age Green Lantern, Hal Jordan also eventually met his forerunner Golden Age G.L. Alan Scott. These two eventually became good friends and would help each other out when in need. 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 an issue in the early seventies, the comic book took a innovative move to cover that of current social and cultural events. The editor then wanted more than the usual, tacky super hero plot and worked with the writer / artist (Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams) to create a comic book series with an application to current living situations. Hal’s teammate was then introduced as Green Arrow, and the dynamic duo would then be involved in realistic events that would challenge the reader in there own life. One of the most famous issues of this time was when Green Arrow's teen sidekick Speedy became hooked on heroin and was made to go to a rehabilitation clinic. The new series broke the comic book genre and became recognized by the American media as a legitimate piece of literature. Nevertheless the series lost popularity and slowly ended, proving to just be another miniseries / crossover event.

Amid the Green Lanterns in the DC Comics universe several G.L.’s arose besides Hal Jordan and Alan Scott. These more contemporary G.L.s were created in the late eighties and early nineties, and was yet another attempt to try to renovate the series. The new Green Lanterns included John Stewart, Guy Gardener and the latest G.L. Kyle Rayner

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Guy Gardner was the second choice to replace Abin Sur as Green Lantern of space sector 2814. The third 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 has been in and out of the book due to various circumstances, but now serves as one of his sector's two designated regular duty Lanterns with Jordan.

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 Kyle have never been made completely apparent, but Kyle's simply being in the right place at the right time was definitely a factor. Despite not being cut from the same cloth of bravery and fearlessness as Hal Jordan -- or perhaps because of that -- Kyle Rayner proved to be just as popular. Having proven himself time and time again on his own and with the Justice League of America, Kyle is known amongst the Oans as "The Torch Bearer". Kyle was responsible for the rebirth of the Guardians and the re-ignition of the Central Power Battery, essentially restoring all that Hal Jordan had destroyed as Parallax

©Alex Inkster, Western Michigan University
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last edited: December 8, 2006 5:20 PM