15. Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several fictional superheroes in the DC Comics universe. The first was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940). The best-known is Hal Jordan, created by John Broome and Gil Kane in Showcase #22 (Oct. 1959).
Each Green Lantern possesses a "power ring" that gives the user 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 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 new adventures of the Alan Scott Green Lantern. At the beginning of the Silver Age of Comic Books, DC editor Julius Schwartz had writer Broome and artist Kane revive Green Lantern as a new 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 groundbreaking, socially conscious, and award-winning stories that pitted the sensibilities of the law-and-order-oriented Lantern with the populist Green Arrow. Several cosmically themed series followed, as did occasional different individuals in the role of Earth's Green Lantern. Most prominent of these are John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner.
Green Lantern has proven to be one of DC's most popular superheroes. Each Green Lantern was a member of the Justice Society of America or the Justice League, and John Stewart was featured in the Justice League Unlimited animated series.
Alan ScottThousands 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. He is also an honorary member of the Green Lantern Corps.
Hal JordanThe next Green Lantern to see publication was Harold "Hal" Jordan, who in 1959 comics was a second-generation test pilot, having followed in the footsteps of his father, Martin Jordan. He was given the power ring and battery (lantern) by a dying alien named Abin Sur, whose spaceship crashed on Earth. Abin Sur used his ring to seek out an individual who was "utterly honest and born without fear" to take his place as Green Lantern. Jordan became a founding member of the Justice League of America and as of the mid-2000s is, along with John Stewart, one of the two active-duty Lanterns in Earth's sector of space.
John StewartIn the early 1970s, John Stewart, an unemployed architect, was selected by the Guardians to replace Guy Gardner as the backup Green Lantern for Jordan. When Jordan resigned from the Corps for an extended period of time, Stewart served as the regular Lantern for that period. Since then, Stewart was in and out of action due to various circumstances, but by the 2000s began serving with Jordan as one of his sector's two designated regular-duty Lanterns.
Guy GardnerIn the late 1960s, Guy Gardner appeared as the second choice to replace Abin Sur as Green Lantern of sector 2814. This placed him as the "backup" Green Lantern for Jordan. During Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Guardians split into factions, one of which appointed Gardner their champion. He has gone through many changes, including wielding Sinestro's Qwardian power ring, the gaining and losing Vuldarian powers, and readmission to the Corps during Green Lantern: Rebirth. He later became part of the Green Lantern Honor Guard, and oversees new Green Lanterns' training.
Kyle RaynerKyle 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 Rayner is unrevealed. Despite not being cut from the same cloth of bravery and fearlessness as Hal Jordan — or perhaps because of that — Rayner proved to be popular with readers and his fellow characters. Having continually proven himself on his own and with the JLA, he became known amongst the Oans as "The Torch Bearer". He was responsible for the rebirth of the Guardians and the re-ignition of the Central Power Battery, essentially restoring all that Jordan had destroyed as Parallax. Rayner later began operating as the Green Lantern known as Ion.
When Jenny-Lynn Hayden, the superhero known as Jade, was stripped of her powers, Kyle Rayner bestowed her with a copy of Hal Jordan's power ring. When Rayner left to restart the Green Lantern corps, Jade donned the classic Green Lantern uniform and served as Earth's Green Lantern until losing the ring during a battle with the villain Fatality. When the ring was later returned to her, she changed to a modified version of Rayner's Green Lantern uniform. Jade continued to function as a Green Lantern until Rayner used his Ion powers to restore her original powers. Upon her death, Jade gave all her powers to Rayner.
