Writer: John Broome
Artists: Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson
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| via DC Comics Database |
Of course, as devotees already know, that's not quite the beginning for Green Lantern. The character first emerged in 1940 during comics' Golden Age. The hero's basic equipment was already there: a magic lantern (inspired by that of a New York subway worker) and a magic ring to go with it. When the character was re-introduced in the late '50s, he got a Space Age origin story and the snazziest costume in comics.
I think the appeal for me with GL over other DC heroes is simply the fact that the basic set up is so wonderfully weird, even by comic book standards. Abin Sur, Hal Jordan's predecessor as GL of Earth's sector, lies dying in his crashed spacecraft. The Lantern selects Jordan out of all the planet's inhabitants as best suited to carry on the responsibility. Jordan takes it on with very little understanding of his powers or their purpose. His Ring has to be recharged with the Lantern every 24 hours - such a modern world hindrance for a superhero. Best of all is his weakness: he has no power over things that are yellow - so arbitrary!
Oh, then there's the Oompa-Loompas...er, excuse me...Guardians who run the Green Lantern Corps for the entire universe from their home planet of Oa. GL knows nothing about them, yet he obeys them unquestioningly. The one time he is brought to meet them, albeit in virtual form, his memory is wiped immediately afterward.
Beyond the trappings, Green Lantern faces all of the same problems the other superheroes do, fighting evil-doers and managing his love life. The early stories in this collection don't do a whole lot for character development but seeds are already planted for the broader GL universe, one of the most fascinating in comics. I'm definitely in it for the long haul with this character.
I always found Hal Jordan to be a bit of a pain as a character. Very straight-laced and self--important. It wasn't until the destruction of his home city and the Parallax storyline that he showed any depth. When they brought him back recently they seemed to go back to the old version (Barry Allen isn't much better) and he feels very anachronistic in the modern superhero pantheon. Like having John Wayne in a modern action movie. Although the Duke in The Matrix would have been interesting.
ReplyDeletemood
Moody Writing
I will agree that Hal Jordan is nothing special. Character development is more Marvel's area than DC's. It's the GL world I like rather than the hero himself.
DeleteHal is ok, I still prefer John Stewart. Guy Gardner is underrated because he is a wind bag.
ReplyDeleteI like Guy Gardner. A cranky superhero is fun. In New 52, Sinestro became GL. That was inspired!
DeleteI've never been a huge fan of Green Lantern since his powers are so infinite. I'd probably enjoy the early stories and the Geoff Johns stories though. Did you know it was originally based on Aladdin? A magic lantern that grants wishes?
ReplyDeleteI did see that on Wikipedia! The original creator Martin Nodell wanted to use Alan Ladd as the alias for the similarity to Aladdin. Cool!
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