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). more...

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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.

Publication history

Golden Age

Green Lantern (sometimes called The Green Lantern in the early days) was created by Martin Nodell (using the name Mart Dellon) 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 Comics. 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. The limitations of the ring were that it had to be "charged" every 24 hours by touching it to the lantern for a time, and that it did not work on wood.

Green Lantern 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 character's last Golden Age appearance.

Read more at Wikipedia.org