Green Lantern
From Free net encyclopedia
Current revision
Image:Greenlanternrebirth6.jpg
For the dj see DJ Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name used by a number of different DC Comics superheroes. Created by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger, the original Green Lantern debuted in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940).
All Green Lanterns possess a special ring called a power ring which gives them 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 Green Lanterns were the creations of the Guardians of the Universe who granted such rings to worthy candidates across the universe. These individuals made up the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps.
The Golden Age Green Lantern was a member of the Justice Society of America. When, after World War II, superhero comic book sales declined, his book was cancelled. At the beginning of the Silver Age, DC editor Julius Schwartz revived first The Flash and then Green Lantern (followed by The Atom and Hawkman), all with new origin stories. Hal Jordan, 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. An even greater departure from the superhero norm came when Green Lantern teamed up with Green Arrow, in ground-breaking, socially conscious stories written by Denny O'Neil and drawn by Neal Adams. In the last twenty years, DC has placed different individuals in the role of Earth's Green Lantern, most prominently John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner.
Green Lantern is part of the all-star group the Justice League and was featured in the Justice League Unlimited animated series.
Contents |
Publication history
Golden Age
Green Lantern (sometimes called The Green Lantern in the early days) was created by Martin Nodell 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. 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, which had to be charged every 24 hours by touching it to the lantern for a time, and which did not work on wood.
This origin was retconned so that Scott, like the other Green Lanterns, owes his powers to the Guardians of the Universe. The magic that gave Scott’s lantern its power came from a collection of wild magic known as the Star Heart. The Star Heart was all the wild magic in the universe, which the Guardians gathered together in an attempt to ensure a more orderly universe.
Briefly, Scott absorbed the power of his battery directly into himself and called himself Sentinel.
Scott fathered two other superheros, a son, Todd, known as Obsidian who can take the form of a shadow, and Jenny, known as Jade, who possess powers similar to Scott’s, but does not need to recharge her abilities. Jade's power, like Superman's, is ineffective against magic. Jade and Obsidian are both former members of the now defunct Infinity Inc., a society whose members are children of the members of the Justice Society of America. Jade was also member of the reformed Outsiders and was their leader at the time of her death. Obsidian was briefly a member of the Justice League while Wonder Woman was the leader of that group.
Image:GreenLantern40.jpg Scott 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 last Golden Age appearance of the character. (All Star Comics continued as All Star Western).
Silver Age
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. Jordan's creation was motivated by a desire to make him more of a science fiction hero, editor Julius Schwartz having been a longtime SF fan and literary agent who saw pop-culture tastes turning in that direction.
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. Image:GreenLantern86.jpg 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.
Lasting 14 issues, the experiment was not a commercial success, ending in the title's cancellation after 16 years, yet the stories received enormous attention from the mainstream media, and spun off paperbook-book collections of many of those stories. Adams' stunningly detailed and dramatic artwork and O'Neil's intelligent and thought-provoking if often heavy-handed scripts also won numerous awards and accolades, including a commendation in issue #86 from then-New York City mayor John V. Lindsay, and in the early 21st century those comics remain some of the most memorable of their time. The series ended with #89 (May 1972).
Green Lantern then appeared as the backup feature in The Flash until his series was relaunched with #90 (Sept. 1976; see cover below) — again under the co-starring rubric with Green Arrow, who left the title after #122 (Nov. 1979). The focus had by then gradually shifted to Jordan, who, after being exiled to space for a time, gave up his ring. His role as Green Lantern was assumed by fellow Earthman John Stewart, who had been introduced by O'Neil & Adams years earlier. Stewart was followed by another Green Lantern of Earth, Guy Gardner, created during the 1960s to serve as Jordan's backup. After Jordan took up the ring again, he was joined by a legion of other Green Lanterns, both human and alien, and the series became The Green Lantern Corps from #201-205 (June-Oct. 1986), the final issue.
Modern Age
Following a short hiatus, the title returned in the early 1990s as Green Lantern and followed Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Guy Gardner.
Later in the 1990s, editor Kevin Dooley, in a controversial decision, had writer Ron Marz script "Emerald Twilight", detailing Jordan's descent into paranoic madness and villiany, and his replacement as Green Lantern by a younger, more modern character. In the story, Jordan went insane following the destruction of his hometown, Coast City, by the alien Mongul and the Cyborg Superman (an event spinning off of the "Death of Superman" company crossover). Jordan destroyed the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians, absorbing their power and taking the name Parallax. One Guardian survived, however, and passed one remaining ring (which lacked the mysterious yellow impurity of the earlier rings) to a young human named Kyle Rayner, who was chosen seemingly at random. After learning to use the ring and redesigning the costume, Rayner established himself as a new hero and joined a new incarnation of the Justice League.
While great controversy surrounded the fate of Hal Jordan, his young replacement Kyle Rayner eventually won a following of his own. As a result of a strict creative policy enforced by DC Editorial that effectively made Kyle Rayner the only Green Lantern in the DC UniverseTemplate:Citeneeded, many comics fans were bitterly divided into different camps over DC's treatment of the characters.
Jordan eventually returned as Green Lantern, and in the 2004/2005 miniseries Green Lantern: Rebirth, he was cleared of the crimes committed as Parallax when it was revealed to be the result of the Yellow Impurity, a cosmic fear parasite that had possessed him.
In modern-day continuity, Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kilowog, and all members of the new GL Corps. operate concurrently as Green Lanterns.
Kyle Rayner has taken up his mantle as Ion once again, after the death of Jade and the returning of his former powers. It is not sure if he will go back to being a Green Lantern, but this issue should be solved in his upcoming 12-issue Maxi-series Ion.
The comic series has won several awards, including the 1961 Alley Award for Best Adventure Hero/Heroine with Own Book.
Influences
The Green Lantern Corps bears many similarities to the Lensmen from the stories of E.E. Doc Smith. The Lensmen, who hail from various alien races, bear a device known as the Lens which gives them enhanced physical and mental abilities, bequeathed to them by the advanced and benevolent Arisians. The Lensmen are the vanguard of the Galactic Patrol, an interstellar police force. However, both John Broome, writer of the early Hal Jordan tales, and Schwartz denied any connection. Broome, in particular, denied all knowledge of Smith's stories. Schwartz also denied reading them, although he admitted that, as an SF fan, he had of course heard of them.
Awards
The series and its creators have received several awards over the years, including the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences Shazam Awards for Best Continuing Feature in 1970, for Best Individual Story for "No Evil Shall Escape My Sight" in Green Lantern #76 (by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams), and for Best Individual Story for "Snowbirds Don't Fly" in Green Lantern #85 (by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams).
In addition, writer Dennis O'Neil received the Shazam Award for Best Writer (Dramatic Division) in 1970 for his work on Green Lantern, Batman, Superman, and other titles, artist Neal Adams received the Shazam Award for Best Artist (Dramatic Division) in 1970 for his work on Green Lantern and Batman, and inker Dick Giordano received the Shazam Award for Best Inker (Dramatic Division) for his work on Green Lantern and other titles.
Biographies of the Featured Green Lanterns
Golden Age Green Lantern (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. Alan Scott is considered an "Honorary" member of the Green Lantern Corps.
Silver Age Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
Image:Jordan pacheco.jpg Template:Main
The second Green Lantern was Harold 'Hal' Jordan, who in 1959 was a second-generation test pilot (having followed in the footsteps of his father, Martin Jordan) who was given the power ring and battery (lantern) by a dying alien named Abin Sur. When Abin Sur's spaceship crashed on Earth, the alien used his ring to seek out an individual to take his place as Green Lantern: someone who was "utterly honest and born without fear." Hal was a founding member of the Justice League of America.
Modern Age Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)
Image:Glkyle.PNG Template:Main
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 did not choose Rayner for any particular reason; he simply needed to find someone to fill the role. Despite not being cut from the same cloth of bravery and fearlessness as Hal Jordan -- or perhaps because of that -- Kyle Rayner proved to have his fans.
Powers and abilities
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.
Power rings allow the user to fly and to cover themselves and others with a protective force field, suitable for travelling through outer space. They can also generate beams and solid structures of energy that can be moved simply by thinking about doing so, enabling the user to create cages, transportation platforms, walls, and battering rams. The ring can also be used to search for energy signatures or particular objects. It can serve as a universal translator. The ring can manipulate sub-atomic particles (effectively producing new elements) and split atoms, but those powers are rarely used by Green Lanterns.
The rings of the Green Lantern Corps (GLC) appear to be semi-sentient computers, able to talk to and advise the user as to various courses of action.
Green Lantern Rings typically hold a limited charge. Alan Scott's ring and the Green Lantern Corps rings have time limits in that they must be recharged every 24 hours. Kyle Rayner's ring is limited by amount of energy it holds, but no set time limit; the energy is expended by Rayner's use of the ring, so the duration of each charge is determined by his actions.
The Green Lantern rings are often recharged by a portable power cell that looks like an old fashioned lantern that is colored green. The user typically points the ring into the lantern, and usually gives a Green Lantern oath as the password to recharge the ring.
Alan Scott's ring cannot directly affect objects made of wood, and Green Lantern Corps rings cannot directly affect objects colored yellow. Originally it was believed that the Guardians wanted the rings to have a weakness to prevent a Green Lantern from becoming all powerful, although recent events have revealed that the yellow "impurity" was in fact a yellow-energy being of pure fear, trapped in the Central Power Battery. Lanterns have typically found ways to get around these limitations by affecting objects indirectly. For example, if the Lantern is faced with a yellow gas approaching him, a fan can be created to blow it away since the fan only directly affects the normal air around it, not the gas. Kyle Rayner's ring can affect both wooden and yellow objects, but his mind has proven to be susceptible to forms of external control (such as hallucinogens, psychic attacks, and other phenomena that disrupt his thought processes). Nowadays, a holder of a Corps ring can overcome the yellow weakness by recognizing the fear behind it, and facing that fear (Green Lantern (4th series) #1, July, 2005).
In addition, the effectiveness of a wielder's power ring can be adversely affected by a weakening of resolve and will. For example during the Millennium affair, Hal Jordan fought a Manhunter who psychologically attacked him in the battle to make him doubt that the people he was protecting valued the principles he was fighting for. Jordan's resolve began to weaken and his ring lost effectiveness until he was nearly defeated. However, one of his charges then struck the Manhunter and declared that she did deeply value Jordan's principles as well. With this dramatic affirmation, Jordan's faith in his cause was restored and the ring instantly returned to full power to defeat the Manhunter.
Green Lantern Corps rings typically reserve a small portion of their power for a passive force field that "protects the wielder from mortal harm". In dire emergency, that energy reserve can be tapped, at the expense of said protection, until it too is exhausted. Kyle Rayner's reconfigured ring can "run low", but never completely loses its charge; however, it doesn't shield him from harm if he's caught off-guard.
Image:Power ring.jpg The GLC rings do not necessarily have to be worn to be wielded in some functions. For instance, the Green Lantern, Ch'p, once faced a hostage situation where the villain demanded he take off his ring or the hostage would be harmed. Ch'p complied, but not before ordering the ring to fire a restraining beam on the villain seconds after being removed from physical contact (which was done, and the villain was captured). Rayner can will his ring to return to him if it is ever removed or lost. Although never explicitly mentioned, Hal Jordan and other Green Lanterns have also exhibited the ability to summon their rings at substantial distances. Jordan has even used sheer willpower to get ahold of his power ring and gain control of it when other people were wearing it. Precisely how this is accomplished is never made clear, though it might be that the ring's artificial intelligence recognizes the call of its rightful bearer and activates some preset protocol causing it to return to the Green Lantern who owns it. (The flight rings of the Legion of Super-Heroes work in a similar fashion, being attuned specifically to their wearer.)
GLC rings can also be used to emit simulated radiation from Green Kryptonite. This radiation is apparently just as powerful and painful to Superman and other Kryptonians as the genuine rays, but the ring wielder needs to concentrate to maintain this effect. An alien imposter who stole Jordan's ring used this ability to subdue Superman in order to kill him, only to be struck by Jordan to break his concentration to allow Superman to recover and attack.
Standard Green Lantern Corps and Alan Scott's rings can be used by anyone who wears them. Rayner's ring is keyed to his genetic pattern and is useless to anyone else, except for Hal Jordan, as shown in Green Lantern (3rd series) #99. However, this has also been subsequently changed. As of "Green Lantern: Rebirth", only people with exceptional wills can use power rings, a restriction which makes uses of the rings by average individuals improbable. Still, the requirements needed to wield a power ring have changed sporadically across the years, often creating continuity errors. In some incarnations a power ring can only be used by someone who literally has no concept of fear and is completely honest. In the Elseworlds tale "Red Son," for example, Lex Luthor is unable to use the ring found on the dead Abin Sur since he is quite obviously a dishonest figure and must give the ring to that reality's Hal Jordan, a slightly unhinged figure who nevertheless exhibits fearlessness, honesty, and an uncommon will. But in the paperback "The Road Back," Hal and Guy Gardner temporarily lose their rings to two smalltown rubes at a diner when they unwisely decide to brawl without using their powers. The hicks are able to wield the power rings with apparent ease until they are subdued by Jordan and Gardner. Sometimes a Green Lantern must literally be brave and honest to even use the ring, sometimes it's just recommended. It remains to be seen whether or not power rings will be kept out of the hands of average people in the post "Rebirth" Green Lantern series. Allowing power rings to fall into the wrong hands has been a favorite plot device in many previous Green Lantern stories.
Normally an individual will only receive a power ring upon the death of the previous wielder, and then only if they pass the criteria for membership in the Corps. Often, the search for a new wielder is consciously initiated by a current Green Lantern when he realizes death is imminent, but it has also been demonstrated that a ring can conduct such a search on its own if circumstances require it. Also, though it is frequently implied that there are a fixed and finite number of power rings in existence, many stories show power rings creating duplicates of themselves for the purpose of arming auxiliary Green Lanterns. During a particular story arc in which a pre-Parallax Hal Jordan was cast forward in time to meet Kyle Rayner, it was stated that a ring of the Green Lantern Corp had the ability to duplicate itself without limit, thus allowing the entire Corps to be reconstituted from a single ring if necessary.
Television
Several Green Lanterns have appeared in animated TV shows, both as regular characters and as guest stars.
Regular roles
Hal Jordan was the featured character in a solo series which was part of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure as well as part of the Justice League segment. In addition, the character was an occasional supporting character in the various Super Friends incarnations.
Image:Justice league green lantern.jpg 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 recent episode "The Great Brain Robbery," Lex Luthor in the Flash's body throws yellow jello at the Green Lantern's protective green orb and it causes the orb to stop functioning; in another episode where John is fighting Metamorpho, the yellow gas passes through the barrier. 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). Template:Endspoiler
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. This character was later inducted into the Green Lantern Corps (in one scene, the name of test pilot Hal Jordan is clearly visible, painted on the nose of an airplane on the tarmac at a military base). 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 reappeared after the series became Justice League Unlimited, bearing a far greater resemblance to his comics counterpart. Kilowog, Katma Tui, and Sinestro have also appeared in the series.
- A character known as Green Guardsman (real name 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 was unable to affect aluminium.
- The Justice League version of John Stewart has appeared in a few 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 a two-part episode of Justice League Unlimited 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.
- On the show "Duck Dodgers," the episode entitled "The Green Loontern" includes appearances by many well-known members of the Green Lantern Corps. In this episode, a mixup at the dry cleaners results in Dodgers (AKA Daffy Duck) getting Hal Jordan's outfit -- and ring.
Trivia
- 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 pilot for a live-action Justice League of America television series in 1997 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 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.
- On the animated series Duck Dodgers in which several notable Green Lantern characters appear, Hal Jordan is voiced by film director Kevin Smith, a friend of producer Paul Dini, who co-wrote the episode.
- The television series The Greatest American Hero has a premise that closely resembles the Silver Age Green Lantern in many respects.
- Other DC Superheroes who have wielded the GL Ring and/or powers temporarily include Superman (Action Comics #642), Nightwing (Action Comics #642), Green Arrow I (Green Lantern: Rebirth #4) and Zatanna (Green Lantern (2nd series) #42, Green Lantern 80-Page Giant #2). The dark form of the newest Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), induced by black kryptonite, has also wielded John Stewart's Ring (Supergirl #4). It is unknown if the normal Supergirl has the ability to do so. Batman has also used the ring, on Hal's suggestion, to see his parents after overcoming his fear (Green Lantern #9).
- DC Superheroes 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.
- In the Elseworlds limited series Kingdom Come, Green Lantern (Alan Scott) is depicted wearing a suit apparently made of the same material as his power battery, and his description in the apocrypha is as follows: "Merging his lantern into himself, he is the most powerful champion of that name." Scott is also depicted as being at a UN meeting as ambassador of "New Oa".
- Green Lantern is mentioned in the hit 1965 song "Sunshine Superman" by British folk musician Donovan.
- Hal Jordan and Green Lantern in general are discussed in great detail in the low budget film Bite me, fanboy.
- "The Green Lantern", a Washington, DC gay bar, was named in homage of the character. The interior features lithographs of both Green Lantern and Green Arrow.
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. 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 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-e-yadda
- Erm...superstitious and cowardly lot
- With liberty and justice for all!
Green Lantern parodies/references
- 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 1960's version: Dr. Julia Gardner
- Beacon of Earth B, corresponding to the 1940's version: Scott Martin
- The Green Ghos - from Invincible series.
- The Hurricane - WWE's character. Gregory Helms is a comics fan and has a Green Lantern tattoo on his bicep. His love of comics was turned into a wrestling character or "gimmick"
- Quasar - from Marvel Comics.
- DJ Green Lantern - Hip hop DJ artist adopting character's name.
- 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.
- Iron Lantern, an Amalgam Comics character who was a combination of Hal Jordan and Marvel Comics character Iron Man.
See also
References
- Green Lantern - The Central Battery
- The Book of OA
- The Green Lantern Shrine
- The Unofficial Green Lantern Corps Web Page
- Green Lantern Rebirth
- Green Lantern Corps. JLResource.com entry
- John Stewart JLResource.com entry
- Index of Hal Jordan's (and John Stewart's) Earth-1 adventures
External links
- Bite Me Fanboy film site (includes Green Lantern references)
- The Emerald Warrior
- Profile on Green Lantern - Comic book historian Alan Kistler's article detailing the history of the various Green Lanterns over the decades, with various art scans and explanations as to the differences in personalities and powers. For anyone who wants to get into Green Lantern comics but isn't sure how to start.de:Green Lantern
es:Linterna Verde fr:Green Lantern it:Lanterna Verde he:גרין לנטרן ja:グリーンランタン pt:Lanterna Verde fi:Vihreä Lyhty