Green Lantern FAQ

[Fenix]

Green Lantern Frequently Asked Questions

By Bored at 3:00AM

WHO IS GREEN LANTERN?

Along with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Flash, Green Lantern is one of DC Comics' most popular and longest running super-heroes.

Although many different characters have been Green Lantern, the concept is pretty much the same; a guy gets a ring that can do whatever he wishes and he fights evil with it. To power the ring, he has to charge it from a battery that looks exactly like a green lantern...hence the name.

HOW MANY GREEN LANTERNS HAVE THERE BEEN?

There are five main Green Lanterns, but there used to be thousands upon thousands of Green Lanterns in the past.

WHO WAS FIRST?

In 1940, Mart Nodel (with help from uncredited Batman co-creator Bill Finger) came up with ALAN SCOTT, a blond do-gooder who was chosen by a mysterious lantern during a train crash to fight evil with a magic ring as the "Green Lantern".

Green Lantern helped form the Justice Society of America, comics first super-team, and remained one of DC's most popular heroes until the late 1940s, when most costumed crimefighters pretty much disappeared.

WHO CAME NEXT?

In 1959, editor Julie Shwartz asked John Broome & Gil Kane to revamp Green Lantern. Adapting the old pulp space opera epic "Lensman" into a superhero, Broome & Kane created fearless test pilot HAL JORDAN, who was chosen by a dying alien to protect Space Sector 2814 as a member of the interstellar Green Lantern Corps.

Like the original GL, this new hero formed his own super-team, the Justice League of America and also became one DC's most popular characters until the late 1960s, when Marvel Comic's flawed and less idealised heroes began to dominate the comics industry.

HOLD ON, WHAT'S THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS?

Founded by the immortal Guardians of the Universe, The GLCorps was pretty much like the Jedi Knights from Star Wars or the U.S. Marshals in the Old West. They patrolled their sector of space and kept the peace. Sometimes, the Guardians would send them on a specific mission or they'd team up with other Green Lanterns from alien worlds. At one point, there were 3600 of them, one Green Lantern for every sector of space and one Guardian supervising every 100 GL. Their homebase is a planet at the center of the cosmos called Oa, where the Central Power Battery is, a giant lantern that powers all the smaller ones.

OK, HOW'D GREEN ARROW GET INVOLVED?

Facing stiff competition from Marvel, DC decided to try something different with Green Lantern in 1970 and teamed Green Lantern up with an outspoken superhero named GREEN ARROW, who bumped heads with Hal as they travelled America and dealt with the real life social issues that were brewing in America throughout the sixties and early seventies. Written by Denny O'Neil and drawn by Neal Adams, GL/GA was a turning point in comics history. However, despite great publicity and critical acclaim, the book was cancelled and GL/GA became a back-up feature in The Flash until finally getting their own book again a few years later. After that, the comic pretty much remained one of DC's best selling books for years to come.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER GREEN LANTERNS?

In 1972, O'Neil & Adams introduced a new Green Lantern named JOHN STEWART, an angry young black man who refused to wear a mask and always spoke his mind. John was chosen by the Green Lantern Corps' founders, the immortal Guardians of the Universe, to serve as Hal Jordan's back-up as Green Lantern. Eventually, John took over the gig full time when Hal quit the Corps for the love of his life. Never a perfect hero, John has made quite a few tragic mistakes in his career and has gotten a mixed reception from fans, but his popularity is growing more and more with each year.

In 1985, a fourth Green Lantern made a name for himself, GUY GARDNER. Guy was originally introduced in the mid 1960s as another man who could have been chosen to be GL instead of Hal. However, after Guy finally got his chance to be a GL when Hal was away in space, his lantern blew up and put him in a coma, causing him severe brain damage. As a result, Guy was a loose canon who's personality ranged from homocidal maniac to arrogant loudmouth to child-like boob and back again. Currently, he's a mix of all three. Guy's creation was kind of a collaborative effort by Steve Englehart, Joe Station, Keith Giffen & JM DeMatties. Some people love him, some hate him. Few ignore him.

WHO'S THE NEWEST ONE?

In a very contraversial move, DC decided to ditch all their old Green Lantern characters and create a new one in 1994. New writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks were given the job of creating the new Green Lantern, KYLE RAYNER, a young hip artist living in New York City who got his ring and lantern from Ganthlet, the last Guardian of the Universe.

Just like Alan and Hal, Kyle became one of DC's most popular characters and joined the revamped JLA. Although openly despised by some fans and pros, Green Lantern, with Kyle as its star, continues to be one of DC's best selling books.

WHO'S THE GIRL WITH GREEN SKIN?

That's Jenny Hayden a.k.a. "JADE", she's the daughter of Alan Scott. Jade was born with a power pulse in her hand that gives her the same powers as her father, but without the need for a ring or lantern. Jade was created by Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway for the Infinity Inc. comic in 1984. She is currently Kyle Rayner's girlfriend and will soon be a member of the new Outsiders team. Like most female characters in superhero comics, Jade rarely gets written well, but has still managed to develop a loyal fanbase.

WHAT DOES THE RING DO?

Pretty much anything the ring-slinger wants it to. It responds to will power though, so some things are more difficult to do than others. Mainly, it gets used to create weapons, tools and objects made of emerald light like flaming swords, giant boxing gloves, big manga robots and buxom bimbos. Each GL has a different style. Being an artist, Kyle's creations tend to be more elaborate and detailed than previous GLs.

HAS GREEN LANTERN APPEARED OUTSIDE OF COMICS?

The Hal Jordan version had his own cartoon in the sixties and was alsp part of the Justice League of America cartoon during the sixties and the Superfriends (which was basically the Justice League with a different name) during the seventies.

A Green Lantern who was a combination of both Kyle Rayner and Hal Jordan appeared in one episode of the Superman cartoon in the nineties. Basically, the character looked and acted like Hal but had Kyle's name, job and Peter Parker-style wise cracks.

And, most recently, John Stewart (also mixed with several elements from the Hal Jordan version) is currently appearing in the new Justice League cartoon. Kyle Rayner/Hal Jordan hybrid GL from the Superman cartoon was explained as John's back-up, just as, in the comics, John was for Hal during the seventies and eighties. The Kyal Jordner hybrid is currently somewhere in deep space where the writers never have to deal with him again if they don't want to. Pretty clever idea.

Alan Scott also appeared on Justice League as the Green Guardsman. Originally, the episode was to feature the Justice Society, but it was changed at the last minute to the Justice Guild. Although the costume is a little different, that *is* Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern.

There is also tons of GL merchandise out there, including T-Shirts, life-sized Power Batteries, rings and action figures.


WHY ARE SOME GREEN LANTERN FANS SO GRUMPY?

Green Lantern was the unfortunate victim of a creative tug-o-war between different editors at DC Comics during the eighties and nineties. Although it was selling well, the long-running Green Lantern comic was ended in 1988 so Hal Jordan could star in another editor's weekly comic anthology.

When this failed miserably, the old editor regained control of the character and spent the next year fixing everything the previous editor had done. Still, this relaunched Green Lantern comic was a huge hit for DC and spawned three different spin-off titles.

However, when a new editor took over the Green Lantern books, the quality took a nose dive and so did the sales. In less than two years, the Green Lantern franchise went from a best seller to moderate seller.

Trying to drum up interest in the book again, DC decided to turn Hal Jordan into a homocidal madman, killed off the Green Lantern Corps, turned Guy Gardner into a shape-shifting alien and stuck John Stewart into a team of lame GLCorps rip-offs that got cancelled within a year. Thankfully, Alan Scott was only made young, given a new costume, lost his ring and was re-named "Sentinel". He got off easy.

Since then, DC has begun back-tracking. Alan Scott now wears his original costume and has reclaimed the name Green Lantern. John Stewart is also a Green Lantern again thanks to his appearances in the Justice League cartoon. The planet Oa has been rebuilt and its only a matter of time before the Corps returns. However, Guy's status is still up in the air, as is poor ol' Hal Jordan, who was eventually killed off and then brought back as a ghost, The Spectre.

WHAT ARE THE RULES OF THE GREEN LANTERN MESSAGE BOARD?

Basically, don't be a dick. Respect the person even if you're attacking their opinion. There's generally a lot of arguing here, but we usually keep it pretty light and fun.

If you have any questions, no matter how stupid or lame, please ask. Chances are, its not nearly as stupid or lame as you think it is.

[Fenix]

QUESTIONS


BY Patient Boy
Hang on, didn't John wear a mask during Crisis? Wha' happened?


BY Bored at 3:00AM
When Denny O'Neil & Neal Adams introduced John in the seventies, they established that he wouldn't wear a mask because he didn't want people to think he had anything to hide. When Len Wein & Dave Gibbons reintroduced John as the new GL of Earth following Hal's resignation, John inexplicably started wearing a mask for some reason. As soon as Steve Englehart & Joe Staton came on board a few issues later, John immediately ditched the mask and revealed his identity to the world--which has caused him plenty of grief over the years.

As a result, Perez ended up drawing John with a mask during Crisis, even though he wasn't wearing a mask in his own book. They explained this minor continuity glitch by saying that John wore the mask as a tribute to Hal, who John was still operating under the long shadow of--much like Kyle has been.



BY Darkhawk
Well, I guess this as good as thread as any to ask where should I start with GL? I'm kinda interested in him, are there any recent TPBs to get me up to speed with the ongoing? Is there a good jumping on point coming up? Thanks.



BY Bored at 3:00AM
Actually, a new creative team has just started, so this would be a good time to jump onboard the ongoing series.
There are several GL TPBs out there. Your best bet is probably to check out the most recent TPBs. Ron Marz's last TPB was Emerald Knights (which features pretty much every major DCU character). Judd Winnick's got two TPBs of his run, which will get you up to speed on everything that's going on in the monthly series. And DC is finally putting out TPBs of some of the Hal Jordan stories.


BY The Tall Hobbit
How many rings currently?

I've become lost and confused recently over how many power rings there are, who has them and where they came from. Can you sort the current situation out? Kyle's ring came from an Oan. Where did John's ring come from? I saw a ring that appeared to be Hal's in Green Arrow's possession. I remember Hal, however, destroying his ring when he became Parallax. I gather Kyle no longer has to power his ring up once a day. Is there an Oan battery though from which it derives its energy? Does Alan have a ring anymore or is he like Jade a living power ring? Does Guy have a ring? Does Gnort?

Can you give me a short list of who does currently possess a ring and that ring's source? Thanks in advance.

[Fenix]

BY Bored at 3:00AM

Ooo-kay. This may take a while, so bear with me.

Originally, there were thousands upon thousands of power rings and a power battery (or green lantern if you will) for each one of those rings. All those lanterns were powered by the Central Power Battery (also called the Great Green Lantern of Oa). These power rings were controlled in part by Artificial Intelligence (created from the ring-bearer's own subconscious). This AI allowed the ring to create new rings that could be powered siphoning off some of the energy of the original ring.

When Hal Jordan went insane and rebelled against the Guardians, he plunged himself into the Central Power Battery and absorbed all its power into himself...becoming Parallax. As a result, all the various power batteries in the universe suddenly became useless...

When Parallax crushed his old ring beneath his boot, it created a chain reaction that destroyed all power rings in the universe.
Ganthlet, the last surviving Guardian, reforged the shattered peices of Hal's old ring into a new power ring without the 24 hour limit or weakness to yellow. This new ring also lacked the Artificial Intelligence of Hal's old ring. As a result, this new ring *can't* create new rings. It has since been revealed that the AI merged itself with Hal's "good" side when he went insane and split off from him, eventually becoming a strange little boy named Marty.

The only other power rings left intact were Alan Scott's magical ring powered by the Starheart and Guy Gardner's yellow Qwardian ring. Parallax destroyed Guy's ring by grabbing his fist in mid-punch and pumping it full of so much power it exploded. Alan inexplicably gave up his ring to Kyle for some reason. Kyle promptly lost it and Parallax squashed it after taking out Superman with one punch.

But I digress...Ganthlet remade a chunk of the destroyed Central Power Battery into a new Power Battery and gave it and the new ring to Kyle Rayner. While his ring can't create new rings, this Power Battery can create new Power Batteries--because it is directly linked to Oa's power.

When Kyle got lost in time and bumped into Hal Jordan circa 1963 (which is only 12 or so years ago in comic time) and battled Parallax, the young Hal entrusted Kyle with a copy of his own ring--a ring capable of replicating itself.

Now, Kyle could finally restart the GLCorps because he was now in possession of both a ring and a power battery capable of creating new versions of themselves. Unfortunately, because the writer and editor chose to portray Kyle as incredibly stupid and retarted, his attempt to restart the Corps failed miserably, resulting in the deaths of billions.

So, rather than give rings to any of the old Corps members who were still trying to keep the peace without powers and getting killed off left and right, Kyle gave the ring to his girlfriend Jade--because Earth needs yet another superhero far more than the rest of the universe needs an intergalactic police force.

Eventually, this ring was given to John Stewart, who now weilds it as the current GL of the Justice League.

Thanks to Hal Jordan's old friend Tom Kalmaku and Marty, the boy created from the ring's AI and Hal's subconscious, Oa and the Central Power Battery were rebuilt. Kyle reabsorbed the power Parallax had released into the sun and reignited the Central Power Battery, which also reincarnated the Guardians as children.

Recently, Ollie Queen recovered a power ring Hal had entrusted with him in case of a dire emergency. There's also another power ring on Apokalips that was in stasis. It belongs to a GL named Raker, who's been fighting a resistance against Darkseid for thousands of years. The Qwardians have also begun making new yellow power rings.

So, technically, there are only five power rings at the moment.

Kyle has Hal's reforged ring--but its been altered so that he never needs to recharge it that much and it will return to him whenever he wants it to.

John has a copy of Hal's original ring--it presumably has the 24 limit and yellow weakness, but Kyle could have conceivably removed them.

Ollie has another copy of Hal's original ring, but probably won't ever use it unless the $#it really hits the fan.

Raker has an old Corps-style ring that he keeps in stasis so it doesn't ever run out of power. However, now that Oa is back, he can finally remove it from stasis and use it normally.

And the Qwardians have a yellow power ring that siphons off power from Oan power rings.

[Fenix]

BY Reno
So the original green lantern(Alan Scott) is now known as the sentinel in the JSA, right?

Another question. How does Sentinel have his powers without the ring? Sorry if I missed it above.


Dustin Griffin
I know its hard to beleive, but there was a good side to the "insane Hal Jordan" storyline that ended with Hals death.....

Now whenever someone says "who would win between Green Lantern and ___________" you can pretty much say GL since he did almost destroy the entire universe in that arc.






BY Bored at 3:00AM


********UPDATE***********

WHAT ARE THE INSPIRATIONS OF THE GREEN LANTERN COMICS?

Well, the similarities of Alan Scott to Aladdin are pretty obvious. According to the story within 1001 ARABIAN NIGHTS, Aladdin is a Chinese boy who discovers a magic lamp containing a genie that grants him 3 wishes. Later in the story, Aladdin finds a magic ring that also contains a genie. Alan Scott was originally going to be called Alan Ladd, a play on Aladdin, but this was changed due so the charater wouldn't be confused with then popular screen actor Alan Ladd.

As mention earlier, the Green Lantern Corps was inspired by the old pulp sci-fi series, LENSMEN by E.E. "Doc" Smith. The Lensmen were a intergalactic peace-keeping force founded by a race of immortals called the Arisians to battle the evil Eddorians. The Lensmen used a "lens" that amplified their thoughts and allowed them to perform incredible feats. The first Lensmen book, GALACTIC PATROL, was released in 1938 and was followed by three sequels. As a tribute to the obvious debt Green Lantern owes to Smith's Lensmen books, the GLCorps members Arisia and Eddore were introduced by Marv Wolfman during the eighties.

However, Hal Jordan himself was inspired by the actual test pilots and Korean War flying aces of the fifties like Chuck Yeager and the Mercury 7 astronauts. Whereas his physical appearance was based on movie star Paul Newman.

Kyle Rayner is based upon Marvel Comics' Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man--a wise-cracking everyman granted super-powers by chance who only realises his responsibilities after he loses a loved one.

So, to sum it all up. Alan Scott was inspired by fables, Hal Jordan was inspired by the pulps and Kyle Rayner was inspired by comics themselves.

Make of that what you will....

Alan Scott absorbed the Green Flame of his lantern into his own body. As a result, he doesn't need a ring and, according to recent issues of the JSA, may not even be human anymore.

And, yes, they call him Sentinel now. When Kyle became Green Lantern, all other GLs had to change their names or be killed off so Kyle was the only one. Yet another reason people hate Kyle.

[Fenix]

BY ClarkWayne

If a construct has sentience, can it create other sentient constructs?


BY Bored at 3:00AM

Its not known for sure if the power ring can create sentience. Even the sentience of the ring was always left kind of vague.



BY ClarkWayne

I ask because of the Oblivion saga. The ring created sentience, but I don't remember any of the constructs doing the same.



BY Bored at 3:00AM

I think Oblivion was a creation of Kyle's subconcious just as "Marty" from LAST WILL & TESTAMENT OF HAL JORDAN was a manifestation of Hal's subconcious merged with his ring's AI.

In other words, Oblivion was Kyle's dark side and Marty was Hal's good side.



BY ClarkWayne

Another question
Can the ring clone biological life?



BY Bored at 3:00AM

Yep, Hal Jordan resurrected Green Arrow by cloning him from a microscopic peice of his body. However, the clone had no soul because Oliver Queen's consciousness had no interest in leaving Heaven. Granted, Hal Jordan was Parallax at the time, who's a heckuva lot more powerful than a GL. Its doubtful a normal GL could do it without extensive technical knowledge of genetics and cloning.



BY SpiderNinjBot

I have a question. I have only ever purchase one Green Lantern comic, and it wasn't a very good one. It starred that Kyle guy. anyway, in the comic it said something about Kyle's girlfriend dying. What's that about. And also, the comic mentioned a friend of Kyle's who is gay. Who is this guy and what is his status right now?


BY Bored at 3:00AM

When Kyle was first introduced, he was dating a photographer named Alex DeWit. Kyle was pretty much protrayed as an irresponsible flake but following the murder of Alex by Major Force (an old Captain Atom villain), Kyle bucked up and started taking the super-hero biz a little more seriously. Essentially, Alex was Uncle Ben to Kyle's Peter Parker. Personally, I thought Alex was a more interesting character than Kyle.

As to Kyle's gay friend, his name is Terry Berg and he was the focus of a recent storyarc collected in the Brother's Keeper TPB. In an attempt to give the GL comic more social relevance like it had during the old O'Neil/Adams era, GL editor Bob Shreck and former GL writer Ron Marz came up with the character, who would be the victim of a gay bashing and force our intrepid hero to realise that, gee, some people hate gays. Ground breaking stuff, I know. When Marz left, it came down to Judd Winnick to actually write the story.

Predictably, the story caused all the usual contraversy. Homophobic twerps complained that gay people were icky and had no place in a comic where *gasp* children might actually read about them and be indoctrinated into their mythical gay conspiracy. Other twerps praised the "bravery" of the story and honored it with various "Yay! This story has gay people in it!" awards. And still others, like myself, think that Terry served no other purpose but being a one-note character who's gay, gets beat up and spouts lame dialogue. But that's just my view.

It should be noted though that the gay bashing story was the excuse DC used to get Kyle out of the way so John Stewart could become GL again, so at least one good thing came out of this.



BY SpiderNinjBot


Thanks, although that response didn't exactly make me want to run out and pick up Green Lanterm.

So, John Stewart(from the cartoon,right?) is the Green Lantern now? Does he have his own book, or does the book still focus on Kyle's adventures in space or whatever? I've watched a few episodes of that Justice League cartoon, and John is starting to grow on me.


BY Bored at 3:00AM
Correct-a-mundo.

When Bruce Timm made John Stewart the Green Lantern of the Justice League cartoon, DC had Kyle Rayner run off to space and John was given a ring back again so he could join the JLA comic.

Kyle, however, still stars in the GL comic, patrolling Hal's old turf, Sector 2814. and trying to start up the GLCorps again. Fan reaction has been lukewarm to this new direction, but sales are holding steady.

[Fenix]

BY YoungG

Kyle ring can only be used by his genetic code rite?
So how did Hal use it in that crossover when Kyle went back in time?
Oh and Green Lanterns can make new rings?



BY Bored at 3:00AM

Hal can use Kyle's ring because it was made from the shattered peices of Hal's old ring. As a result, the "genetic link" thing don't mean squat to Hal. Technically, its still his old ring, so it will always work for him.

Although Hal's Corps-style ring could make new rings, Kyle's reforged ring can't. Since young Hal gave Kyle a copy of his ring when he was in the present, new rings can now be made.



BY YoungG

Thx. So thats where Kyle ring came from. I thought the guy had one left over.

Oh and what was the reason the Corps had that yellow weakness? I mean other than the writer doing it. Was it ever explained?



BY Bored at 3:00AM

The yellow weakness was originally explained as an "impurity" required to create the green light from the Oan's blue mental energy.

BLUE + YELLOW = GREEN

On a more metaphorical level, the yellow weakness was a reference to Hal's fearlessness. It was ironic that the only thing a fearless man would have to fear was "yellow", slang for cowardice. Calling cowards "yellow" isn't really that common anymore though.

Later on, in the eighties, Christopher Priest (then named James Owsley) strongly implied that the yellow impurity was a ruse created by the Guardians to keep their servants in check. Gerard Jones made this implicit when he revealed that the mysterious Green Flame of Life that bestowed its power upon Alan Scott was a dead GL named Yulan Gur.

Yulan Gur was the greatest GL of his time. As a result, the Guardians removed the yellow impurity from his ring. Soon afterwards, Yulan went insane with power and the Guardians imposed a new weakness on his ring--wood--so that the club-weilding villagers could defeat him.

Later still, Kurt Busiek expaned upon the yellow impurity by explaining that without it, any ring bearer would inevitably succum to madness. It should be noted that Hal Jordan was one of the only Green Lanterns ever to know that the yellow impurity could be removed--something he learned shortly before going insane with power.

Yep, that's right. Yet *another* loophole DC could use to get out of the whole Parallax mess.

[Fenix]

BY YoungG

Why would a GL eventually sucumb to madness due to the absence of the yellow weakness?

One more thing can you post the custumes of hAL jORDAN PRE INSANITY PHASE?


BY Patient Boy

What level of AI (if any) does Kyle's ring have?

Will it automatically protect him from harm (ie, make a force-shield, produce oxygen) or does he have to concentrate to do so?


BY Bored at 3:00AM

Young G -- Who knows? I'm guessing it has a lot to do with the fact that a power ring is a conduit to the most powerful mental energy in the universe channeling directly to the brain of a feeble mortal. That's bound to create some psychological strain.

As for Hal pics, go to www.emeralddawn.com

Patient Boy -- Kyle's ring doesn't have any AI. The AI merged with Hal's subconscious when he went insane within Coast City's ruins. As a result, when Hal's ring was given to Kyle, it no longer had all the advantages that the original ring did, like self-replication and auto-defence. To compensate for these disadvantages, Ganthlet removed the yellow weakness and 24 hour limit. However, there is a limited ammount of AI that provides life-support while Kyle is in space or underwater.

How Ganthlet got around the whole "going insane without the yellow impurity" thing is unknown. My guess is that Ganthlet himself kept the ring's energies in check to keep Kyle from going nuts.



BY YoungG

Or they forgot...but Kyle made John Stewert a ring...And exactly how was Kyle getting stronger?



BY Bored at 3:00AM

No, Kyle didn't make that ring. Hal did when he entrusted it with Kyle to restart the Corps (something Kyle has since screwed up completely). John's ring is an old style Corps ring, same as the one Hal left for Ollie.

Kyle's current ring was altered when he was Ion so he doesn't need to recharge it until he wants to and it will always return to his finger when he wills it to.

[Fenix]

BY Patient Boy

"He doesn't need to recharge it until he wants to"

Huh? So does that mean the ring has no energy limits?

Also, they don't bring it up that much but if John's ring is an old-school one does it still have the 24 hour limit and yellow weaknesses



BY Bored at 3:00AM

Basically, Kyle redesigned the ring when he was Ion so that his ring would always carry a reserve charge, no matter how low it got.

Yeah, I know, kinda lame.

And yes, John's ring still has the 24 hour weakness and yellow impurity as far as I know, but its possible that Ion changed it too.



BY Arune Singh

I always thought it'd be interesting if there was no yellow impurity- what if it was supposed to be a mental trick so that whenever a ringbearer faced yellow, their will weakend enough to not give the ring enough power?


BY OMGFLAT

Okay please explain WHAT the hell happened to guy garnder after the giffen JLA i heard about warrior and i cant find any info.



BY Bored at 3:00AM

When Giffen & DeMatties left JLA, Guy came under the domain of editor Kevin Dooley, who decided that Guy should be kicked out of the GLCorps after yet another bare knuckles brawl with Hal.

So the fight would last longer than one punch this time, writer Gerard Jones explained that Guy had started using his power ring on his body, making him stronger, faster and younger than before. Guy still got his ass handed to him though and forced to give up his ring.

Guy then stole Sinestro's yellow power ring from Oa and used it to become an independent agent. He rejoined the JLA during Dan Jurgens' run and promptly got beaten down again--by Superman this time. Guy got his own monthly series that was good goofy fun but nothing remarkable. Basically, just Guy going around irritating Hal and getting into comical misadventures.

Then Chuck Dixon and Beau Smith took over the book and tried to turn Guy into exactly what he was specifically created to make fun of; namely, no-nonesense gruff anti-heroes like Wolverine. Either Dixon and Smith didn't realise the irony of this or didn't care and Guy became yet another Logan knock-off named "Warrior".

When Emerald Twilight was imposed by DC editorial, it was felt that Guy was still too much of a Green Lantern character and DC didn't want Kyle to suffer in comparison to any of the other GL characters. So Guy's yellow ring was destroyed in one last big brawl with Hal. Because it was felt that Guy needed powers to appeal to readers, he was given an ugly new costume, tatoos and "morphing" powers.

Aparently, Guy was a half-alien hybrid all along, he just didn't know it.

Uh-huh....

[Fenix]

BY DarkSoldier

From what I understand, Kyle's ring has a finite power supply; he could stretch it out for months if he uses it minimally, or he could blow an entire charge in a few minutes.


BY Bored at 3:00AM

That was true initially, but when Kyle altered the ring during his time as Ion, he gave it a "reserve charge" that he could use whenever the ring runs out of power, meaning that Kyle never had to worry about it cutting out at a critical moment again. It will also return to his finger anytime he wills it.

Without the yellow impurity or 24 weakness, Kyle's ring is now, essentially, flawless. The only thing that could possibly take him down now is Kyle's own stupdity. Which doesn't exactly make for the most compelling reading in my opinion.



BY Patient Boy

Ok, here's one.

Why was Hal Jordan considered the greatest Green Lantern of all time? What had he done to achieve such a reputation?



BY Bored at 3:00AM

After saving the entire universe from extinction at the hands of Krona and Nekron's undead legions, Hal became the only mortal ever to be offered the Guardians of the Universe' mantle as ruler of the Green Lantern Corps. An offer Hal turned down to remain on Earth. The Oans soon exiled him from Earth to break him of this weakness, only to prompt his resignation from the Corps.

Originally, the Guardians had orchestrated the birth of a Supreme Being on the planet Krypton to take over as leader of the Corps, but Krypton exploded and that very special child became a hero called Superman on Earth. Believing this was his true destiny, the Oans never offered him the job he'd been created for.

Next, the Oans manipulated the events that led to the death of test pilot Martin Jordan in order to create Kal-El's replacement. It was believed that witnessing his father's death would push the boy to become a man capable of taking their place as Guardian of the Universe.

During his career, Hal saved millions upon millions of alien worlds from destruction, including Oa and Earth on numerous occasions. He was the only Green Lantern able to merge with the Central Power Battery--something even the Guardians didn't think was possible. He was also the sole savior of Earth's Solar System in the 58th Century, where he is hailed as one of history's greatest heroes, despite their knowledge of his fall from grace as Parallax.

Hal's skill with a power ring was virtually unmatched by anyone in the Corps' entire history. Basically, if you could get him to even build up a sweat sparring with you, that meant you were pretty damn good with a power ring. When he went bonkers, Hal single-handedly wiped at least a dozen Green Lanterns, including Kilowog, who had trained them all. including Hal.

That said, Daniel a.k.a. Dream of The Endless said that Kyle would somehow surpass Hal because he, unlike Hal, knew fear.

I suspect this is a reference to when Kyle eventually became the Parallax-level omnipotent being called Ion. Kyle managed to succeed where Hal had failed and chosen not to tamper with time but give up all that power for the greater good. However, it should be noted that Kyle came to this decision by listening to Hal's advice. And Kyle wasn't completely bonkers at the time like Hal was either.

[Fenix]

BY Viking Bastard

Well, one might say that because he knew fear he didn't go bonkers
and therefor was able to listen to advice.

EDIT: And I'm happy to see someone else put a connection
between Dream's comment and the Ion storyline. I did,
although I'm quite sure there wasn't meant to be one. But,
heck, it's just so much easier to just build yer own continuity
with the bits and pieces you have (and ignore the ones that
don't fit) and it's usually kinda more satisfying than the official
one.




BY Bored at 3:00AM

Exactly, because Kyle feared becoming like Parallax, he gave up all his power, whereas Hal, who's actions are bound only by his strict moral code, couldn't because his morality had been warped and twisted by his own insanity.

Its been said before by several writers that Hal did indeed have fear, but only a fear of failure--which of course is what drove Hal straight to the looney bin when he "failed" to save Coast City. Its the defining flaw in Hal's character that few writers are able to recognize, which is why we see so many of them try to graft on other flaws like drunk driving, money problems and being a total prick.

But, I guess using the "fear of failure" angle makes him too hard for fans to "relate" to. Aparently, DC thinks fans relate better to drunken screw-ups and dim-witted pretty boys with extraordinary luck.



BY Corsair

For some reason that puts picture in my head of Harrison Ford as Hal and Keanu Reeves as Kyle...



BY Bored at 3:00AM

Actually, I've always viewed Hal as the love child of Captain Kirk, Han Solo and Indiana Jones working for a more powerful version of the Jedi Knights.

Harrison Ford would have been a good choice about ten years ago, but he's a bit long in the tooth now. In my opinion, you couldn't do any better than George Clooney these days. The cinematic war crime that is "Batman & Robin" notwithstanding, Clooney's got the exact screen persona of the Broom/Kane Hal Jordan, who was himself based on Paul Newman, Clooney's direct predecessor in Hollywood.

It should be noted that Ron Marz & Kevin Dooley would have cast Dennis Quaid as Hal Jordan, who I also think could do a really good job with the character.

Their pick for the perfect Kyle Rayner?

Grant Shaud, some wit-less, talent-less pretty boy who was in Melrose Place at the time. For those who don't know, Melrose Place was an insipid primetime soap opera on Fox during the mid-nineties. It was so bad, it took the addition of Heather Locklear to the cast to save it from cancellation.

And this is coming from the character's own creators.

Ladies and gentlemen, I rest my case.

[Fenix]

BY Corsair

I think I just saw the attorney for the defense fleeing the building...

Two questions:
1) You say "Marz and Dooley would have cast..." Where's that from? Something from around the same time as when the supposed Kevin Smith GL film was being talked about? Whatever happened to that?

4) (The first question turned into three, so 2 becomes 4) Back to Kyle's ring and the reserve charge. It still has a limited charge even with the reserve, right? Like a spare set of batteries for the Walkman. You can run the first set 'til they're dead with no worries, but if you run through the second you're screwed. Or are you meaning something different when you say "reserve"?



BY Bored at 3:00AM

quote:Originally posted by Corsair

There's something about Clooney that just rubs me the wrong way.



Clooney rubs a lot of guys the wrong way--mainly because there's not a woman on the planet who wouldn't dump the boyfreind, husband or soul-mate to jump his bones even once. That tends to engender a lot of jealously amongst his fellow men.

Conservatives also hate him because he's not affraid to speak his mind, even when it happens to differ with what they believe. The bastard. I mean, who does he think he is? Arnold Shwartzenegger? Doesn't he know liberals should just keep their hippie mouths shut and let those nice honest conservatives run his country into the ground and start a war by distorting the truth to decieve the American public?

Sorry, I'm digressing here....

Suffice it to say, George Clooney's actually a very bright guy. In fact, he just made his directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which was one of the best films released last year. Granted, the Clooney-haters tried to claim that he didn't even direct it, but it was some ugly guy Clooney brought in to secretly direct it for him.

Uh-huh....right.

As for your other questions:

1) Back when Emerald Twilight was published, DC put a faux ad in their comics promoting it as a Hollywood blockbuster. The cast they included had Dennis Quaid as Hal, Raoul Julia as Sinestro, John Goodman as Kilowog and Melrose Place pretty boy Grant Shaud as Kyle Rayner. The ad indicated that these casting choices were made by Kevin Dooley and Ron Marz.

2) Kevin Smith was offered an opportunity to write a Green Lantern screenplay soon after he wrote his infamous Superman script for hairdresser turned movie producer Jon Peters. Smith turned it down claiming that he probably couldn't do it justice.

3) The idea of a Green Lantern movie has been bounced back and forth in Hollywood for years, but its never gotten past the script stage--all of which have been reportedly extremely bad. One script even tried to change the power ring's emerald light into nano-bots that created anything. I doubt we'll ever see a Green Lantern movie get off the ground though. Not with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman around--who are all far more popular with the movie going public.

4) The way Kyle explained it in GL #150, the ring will always have enough power, even when the regular charge wears off. I'm sure that, sooner or later, some writer will contradict this when they realise what a stupid idea that is. I understand why Winnick did it though--he was attempting to prevent future writers from using the same old plot twists again and again and again.


BY Patient Boy

Woah, woah...so the Guardians orchestrated Superman's birth and killed Hal's dad? I gotta get me some GL back issues...



BY Bored at 3:00AM

You can read the story revealing Superman/Guardian connection for free at the nifty "Superman Through the Ages" website.

http://superman.ws/tales2/greatestGL/

The Martin Jordan/Guardian revelation was originally meant to be exposed during Gerry Jones' Emerald Twilight story that was replaced with the one dictated by DC Editorial. Why this idea wasn't included in the published version is anyone's guess, as it would have gone a long way towards explaining why Hal suddenly hated the Guardians so much and would be willing to maim and kill his friends to get at them. But, then again, there's a lot about the published story that don't make a whole lot of sense.

You used to be able to find the script for Jones' Emerald Twilight at the Unoffical Green Lantern Corps website, but DC forced them to remove it. You can however view Darryl Banks' pages for the original Emerald Twilight here:

http://www.emeralddawn.com/gallery/images/i-1_B_L.jpg

http://www.emeralddawn.com/gallery/images/i-2_B_L.jpg

http://www.emeralddawn.com/gallery/images/i-3_B_L.jpg

http://www.emeralddawn.com/gallery/images/i-4_B_L.jpg

I'll fill you in on what the original story was going to be in a few minutes.

[Fenix]

BY Gauss

It was noted at the end of the Ion arc that Kyle's "reserve charge" was a fair bit weaker than what he has at full power; it'll "get him out of" almost anything, but that's all. So while he can't get caught out completely, he can still be worn down and overpowered.

Bored at 3:00AM

***ANIMATED GREEN LANTERN FAQ***

HOW SIMILAR WERE THE HAL JORDAN CARTOONS TO THE COMICS?

Pretty close, only far, far goofier.

Green Lantern was still fearless test pilot Hal Jordan, galactic space cop and servant of the immortal Guardians of the Universe, but Hal now had a particularly useless kid sidekick named Kario, "Hal Jordan's Venusian Helper".

This version of Green Lantern appeared pretty much the same in all the incarnations of Justice League of America and Superfriends throughout the sixties and seventies. Hal's origin story even got told in a time travel story.

WHAT? HAL HAD A KID SIDEKICK?

Yep, Kario was this little blue-skinned kid from, presumably, Venus, but he wasn't very helpful. Despite the fact that GL could ring up any number of fancy spaceships or other means of transport, Kario rode on Hal's back. And, unlike Robin, Speedy, Kid Flash or the other sidekicks, Kario had absolutely no valuable skills whatsoever. He was supposedly a "Junior Test Pilot". Kario has never appeared in the comics....ever.

WHAT ABOUT KYLE RAYNER FROM THAT SUPERMAN CARTOON?

As mentioned earlier in the main FAQ, this Green Lantern was more of a Kyle/Hal amalgamation than a straight adaption of the comics character. This guy was a young wise-cracking cartoonist like Kyle, but he was working for the Daily Planet in Metropolis instead of New York. He was also a brown haired super-jock and natural ready-made hero like Hal. Plus, he had Hal's origin and concept--galatic space cop working for the Guardians of the Universe. Plus, his archvillain was Hal's opposite number, Sinestro, and his costume was a cross between John's costume from MOSAIC and Hal's classic duds.

HOW CLOSE IS JOHN STEWART FROM JUSTICE LEAGUE TO THE COMICS CHARACTER?

Like Kyle Rayner from Superman, John Stewart also took a little from the Hal Jordan version, namely, his military background. Although instead of the Air Force, John was a former grunt in the US Marine Corps, a fitting background for a member of the GL Corps. In the comics, John designs buildings and never served in the military.

The cartoon John is a far more experienced veteran than the comics John. Prior to his appearance in the Justice League pilot, John had been in deep space for 10 to 15 years (which is how the writers both explained the appearance of Kyle Rayner and shuffled the character into limbo).

Unlike the comics, the cartoon John is more conservative and gruff and uses his ring with little flair. In the comics, John has always been very imaginative with his ring. Both the cartoon and comics' versions were trained by KATMA TUI of Korugar, the direct sucessor of Sinestro.

IS KATMA TUI THE RED-SKINNED CHICK?

Yes, she was created by John Broome & Gil Kane during the early sixties. Her story was an allegory for the new feminist movement sweeping America at the time. Katma was a great GL but wanted to give up her career in the Corps to be with her new husband. Thanks to Hal Jordan, Kat realised that she valued her life as GL more than the one she would have as a wife.

Kat remained a popular supporting character in GL for decades to come and yet another love interest for Hal Jordan to lock lips with whenever they were thrust into a dangerous situations together.

After Hal quit the Corps for love, Kat was understandably upset and smacked Hal in the face for being a hippocrite. Afterwards, Kat was assigned to train Hal's replacement, a brash young punk named John Stewart.

Kat and John quickly fell in love and were married. Kat was murdered in the first issue of ACTION COMICS WEEKLY, written by Christopher Priest, the same guy who retconned Hal into a drunk driver in EMERALD DAWN.

WHO'S THE BIG HULKING PINK GUY WITH THE WEIRD FACE?

That's KILOWOG, he was created by Steve Englehart and Joe Station in the late eighties. Kilowog is the last survivor of his world, which was destroyed during the Crisis. Kilowog is a master of technology and bioengineering. Kilowog even designed and created the Red Rocket Birgade in Russia.

It was later retconned that Kilowog was Hal Jordan's trainer in the GLCorps by Keith Giffen in EMERALD DAWN, after he was brought in to replace Christopher Preist.

Kilowog also appeared regularly in Keith Giffen's Justice League comics as their resident super-fixit-man. As a result, Kilowog developed close friendships with J'Onn J'Onzz and Guy Gardner.

Kilowog was killed for shock value during EMERALD TWILIGHT by Ron Marz. He was subseqently brought back to life by Joe Kelly in LAST WILL & TESTAMENT OF HAL JORDAN.

WHAT ABOUT THE GIANT HEAD GUY?

That's GALIUS ZED. I dunno who created him. He was a goofy character who usually acted pretty stupid for a guy with a head that big. Ron Marz killed him off in the comics and the cartoon guys just killed him off too. He won't be missed.

AND WOLFMAN-LOOKING GUY?

That's ARKIS CHUMMUCK of the planet Xanshi, a planet full of cannibals. Arkis was introduced during the early eighties as a potential antagonist for Hal within the Corps. They soon became friends though once Hal learned to accept that cannibalism was actually a very old spiritual tradition on Xanshi.

Xanshi is also notable to John Stewart because he failed to prevent it from being destroyed by the Anti-Life Equation in a NEW GODS story. As a result, the last survivor of Xanshi, a sexy femme fatale named Fatality, wants John dead, dead and more dead.

WHAT OTHER GREEN LANTERNS HAVE APPEARED IN ANIMATED FORM?

Almost all of them thanks to DUCK DODGERS.

Just recently, Daffy Duck accidentally joined the GLCorps in a tongue-in-cheek episode of the Duck Dodgers cartoon. During the episode, hundreds of different GLs appeared, even some of the most obscure ones.

[Fenix]

BY De Selby

quote:Originally posted by Bored at 3:00AM
You can read the story revealing Superman/Guardian connection for free at the nifty "Superman Through the Ages" website.

http://superman.ws/tales2/greatestGL/

But does this 1972 story fit into post-Crisis continuity?



BY Bored at 3:00AM

quote:Originally posted by De Selby
But does this 1972 story fit into post-Crisis continuity?

Considering how few good Superman stories there are in post-Crisis continuity I don't pay much attention to what DC considers to be "in continuity" and "out of continuity". I just pick and choose the stories I like and make my own personal continuity.

For example, in my history of Superman, he NEVER, EVER, *EVER* had a mullet. My version of Superman has a little more sense than that.

Although, if it helps you any, nobody has ever contradicted this story and Grant Morrison alluded to it in JLA.


BY Doc

What I found interesting in your FAQ was the abscence of how close the Guardians of the Universe were to the comics version.



BY Bored at 3:00AM

Actually, the Guardians changed a bit from their appearance in the Superman cartoon and the Justice League cartoon.

In "Brightest Day" with Kyle Rayner, the Guardians wore black and green robes, had no pupils and included a female member.

Once they reappeared in "Darkest Night", they suddenly reverted to their original comic incarnation--which was also used in the old Hal Jordan cartoons in the sixties.


BY soylentphil

Was this on the show?

"Kyle Rayner/Hal Jordan hybrid GL from the Superman cartoon was explained as John's back-up, just as, in the comics, John was for Hal during the seventies and eighties. The Kyal Jordner hybrid is currently somewhere in deep space where the writers never have to deal with him again if they don't want to."

Was this stated in an episode? If so, whcih one?



Bored at 3:00AM

The Kyle situation was sorted out in "Hearts & Minds" and Kyle made a brief cameo in "Hereafter" at Superman's funeral.

[Fenix]

BY SaintAngelDemon

While its reall not important, at all, I just wanted to add in my favorite quote, from a comic book. Hal Jordan used to say it, as he was powering his ring. Kyle said it, at least once, and explained it to Jade.

In brightest day
In darkest night
No evil shall
Escape my sight
Let those who worship
Evil's might
Beware my power
Green Lantern light.

The first comic book that I bought for myself was was Green Lantern Corp Quarterly #5. I was young, and had no idea what was going on, but I remembered seeing Hal in an episode of Suerfriends, when I was even younger. All I remembered was that that dude with the green ring was my favoite.
Anyway... I was sitting in the passenger seat, as my father was driving (one of those damn family vacations). Dad asked what I was reading. I showed him the cover, cause I couldn't actually remember. Suddenly, dad shouted out "IN BRIGHTEST DAY...". I was like "huh?" Dad explained it to me. I hadn't remembered that years earlier mom had given me all dads comics, and dad used to read comics. Now, instead of me reading dad's comics, he reads mine. Sounds stupid, but if not for that experience with dad quoting Hal, I probably wouldn't have ever gotten so much into comic books, and I definitely wouldn't have a GL tattoo planned, for my next tattoo.

Also, thank you, Bored. While I like to think I know more than most on GL, I've learned a little, from this thread.



BY Bored at 3:00AM

Thank yew, thank yew...

It should be noted, however, that the famous GL oath "In Brightest Day..." was originally spoken by Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott. When he first appeared, Alan's oath went like this:

And I shall shed my light upon evil
For dark things cannot stand the light
The light of the Green Lantern!

After Alfred Bester came on board as Alan Scott's writer during the mid-forties, he hated this original oath so much he changed it to the familiar "In Brightest Day..." version.

When Hal Jordan was introduced as the new GL in '59, he was given Bester's revised oath while Alan returned to using his original oath once he'd been reintroduced in '63.


BY Patient Boy


quote:Originally posted by Bored at 3:00AM

Finally, The Anti-Monitor led the Qwardians in a massive assault of the Multiverse that became known as the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. This battle resulted in the destruction of the Multiverse and all memory of its existence wiped from memory (except for a few people like the Psycho Pirate, the Oans, the Qwardians and Hal Jordan).



How does Hal remember? I don't remember seeing him around during Crisis.


BY Bored at 3:00AM

Hal had given up his ring to devote himself to the love of his life, Carol Ferris, immediately prior to Crisis, thereby promoting John Stewart to full-time GL of Sector 2814 for the big event.

However, Carol was revealed to be under the spell of the mysterious Predator, who transformed Carol into a muderous version of Star Sapphire, who promptly kicked the snot outta the powerless Hal.

Once Hal learned about the Crisis, he tried to earn back his ring by participating in a massive battle with the Qwardians within the Anti-Matter Universe while the rest of Earth's Heroes were battling the Ant-Monitor at the Dawn of Time.

As a result, since Hal and company were essentially outside of the positive universe when it was rebooted, they retained memory of the Multiverse. This is why Hal, Kilowog and the rest of the Earth-based GLC still referred to the Multiverse long after everyone else had forgotten it.

Once Hal became the omnipotent Parallax, he gained the knowledge of the Guardians, which he used to try to recreate the Multiverse during Zero Hour.

[Fenix]

BY Bored at 3:00AM

quote: Originally posted by spotlightkid
Good work Bored, you've helped speed up a slow night at work but who was the Predator?
I've an old John Stewart issue he's in but know nothing about him, other than he seemed fairly badass.



The Predator is one of my favorite GL villains, but his story is long and complicated. Most of his back-story was revealed slowly over time, so I'll give you the condensed chronological version.

According to ancient legend, after The Triarch murdered the first immortal of Maltus, Daalon, an army of demons arose from his divine blood, intent on avenging themselves upon his killers and all their future heirs. The demons, content to feast upon the mortal population of Maltus, were opposed by one of their number known only as The Predator. In a war that lasted nearly a century, The Predator hunted down and killed all of his demonic brothers and sisters, but at the cost of his corporeal body. Now a parasitic wraith forced to merge with another being, The Predator turned his attention to the true heirs of the Triarch, the new immortals of Maltus who migrated to the planet Oa; The Guardians, Controllers and Zamarons.

Biding his time, The Predator watched and studied his prey, striking only in secret. Eventually, the demon caused a revolt amongst the Oans' android servants, The Manhunters, by manipulating their ally N'Lasa. Billions of years later, The Predator corrupted the beloved son of a respected Green Lantern and transformed the boy into the cruel Lord Malvolio. A few years ago, he journeyed to Earth and discovered Carol Ferris, the host body of the Zamaron’s queen, Star Sapphire. Following a failed attempt to seduce her as the dashing Jason Belmore, The Predator captured Carol and merged with her, transforming Star Sapphire into a homocidal psychopath and impregnating her with his demonic offspring. While possessing Star Sapphire, Predator murdered Katma Tui, John Stewart's wife.

Eventually, The Predator's scheme was discovered by Hal Jordan, who he swore vengeance upon. Later, the arch-demon Neron stole his new body from him and Star Sapphire,

The Predator has never been seen again, although an army of Predator-like demons was seen on Qward in the Anti-Matter Universe.

Given his powers, The Predator also happens to be one of the main suspects for Hal Jordan's sudden and inexplicable decent into cruelty and murder during his time as Parallax.



BY spotlightkid

Thanks, I'm enlightend! But...

"Given his powers, The Predator also happens to be one of the main suspects for Hal Jordan's sudden and inexplicable decent into cruelty and murder during his time as Parallax."

I presume you mean some merging of spirits or somesuch took place before Hal went to the Bahamas permanently. Fell free to expand...




BY Bored at 3:00AM

The Predator was a demonic parasite who had no physical body, so he had to possess others in order to carry out his revenge against the Oans.

He couldn't possess just anyone though, only the weak-willed liked Jason Belmore and the emotionally traumatized like Carol Ferris (who was stalked and tortured by The Predator) and Arisia (whose mind had reverted to a 13 year old due to a head injury).

When The Predator possessed a host, his personality did not completely take over, but would warp that person's personality into a darker and more violent version--with tendencies towards murder and cruelty. For example, when he possessed Star Sapphire, she went from being a playful and competetive super-feminist to a completely wacko murdering bitch. She also started wearing a more "extreme" armored version of her old costume.

Now, let's see if Hal qualifies as a potential host for The Predator...

Was he emotionally traumatized? Yep, 7 million people had been killed, including many of his friends, lovers and his brother's family.

Did Hal's personality suddenly become darker and more violent--with tendencies toward murder and cruelty? Yep, killing Kilowog and chopping off Broodika's hand made no sense given what Hal was trying to accomplish.

Did Hal change his costume to a more "extreme" and armored version of his old one? Yep.

Did The Predator swear vengeance on Hal only a few issues before Emerald Twilight? Yep.

Would absorbing the Central Power Battery and destroying the GLCOrps help The Predator take revenge on the Guardians? Yep.