During the war, at the behest of the US government, he and some colleagues created the Justice Society of America, a crime fighting team initially created to help British intelligence weed out spies and saboteurs and fight crimes on the home front and abroad. He later joined the All-Star Squad for similar reasons, often war related.

After the war, two villainesses appeared in his backyard. One was Molly Mayne, Alan Scott’s secretary who became Harlequin in an attempt to win Green Lantern’s love. The Manhunters were wary of Alan Scott, thinking him a pawn of the Guardians sent to keep an eye on them. So they provided Mayne with a means—the illusion-glasses that made her Harlequin—to eliminate their biggest obstacle on Earth. She just wanted Green Lantern to capture her so that she could capture his heart, so to speak.

The other villainess was Thorn, who was a criminal to begin with but fell in love with Green Lantern along the way. Harlequin would win out and Scott would marry Molly Mayne, even though he discovered beforehand that he had two children (who would become Jade and Obsidian) by the hand of Thorn; the same hand would take her own life when she realized he had no love for her.

Eventually, the JSA members fell into semi-retirement. After a brush with The Reaper, a vigilante in an increasingly corrupt Gotham City, that left him quite injured, Green Lantern just about stopped crime fighting altogether. As time pressed on and a new Green Lantern hit the scene, along with new versions of his fellow JSA members, they all came out of retirement and took up the mantle again on a part-time basis. Alan Scott’s broadcasting job was lost for a time, and he turned to the Flash for a job in engineering once again.

Spending most of his time with Molly took its toll, however, as the Starheart began to feel a jealousy of sorts and attempted to take over Alan’s life. It rejuvenated him back to his 20s, and he became the Sentinel, growing more and more powerful. Then, during the Zero Hour crisis, which as explained last week was a battle during Parallax’s attempt to recreate the universe so that Coast City would never be destroyed, Sentinel fought Parallax. This resulted in the Dimming of the Starheart***, a permanent reduction of the Starheart’s power. With no ring or lantern, the Starheart now resides within Alan, who still wields the power of the Green Flame and is still somewhat younger than his true age, but not to the previous extent.

no evil shall escape my sight!

Let those who worship evil’s might,

beware my power.. Green Lantern’s light!"

–Hal Jordan of Earth

Hal’s history is very long and complicated, so I’ll try my best to keep it the least convoluted possible.

Harold “Hal” Jordan was one of three sons. He idolized his father, a pilot named Martin Jordan, and dreamed of becoming a pilot too. Tragedy struck; his father was test-flying a new model jet that suffered fro a pressure drop, and Hal watched as it crashed, killing the elder Jordan.

Undeterred, Hal entered West Coast College and earned a degree in aviation engineering before joining the Air Force. Rising through the Air Force ranks, he eventually became a test pilot for experimental aircraft. During a test run of a new stealth bomber, his co-pilot tried to hijack the plane at gunpoint, offering a cut of the profits to Jordan in return for its sale to Russian interests. Hal refused, and their fight ended with both pilots parachuting to safety as the plane crashed into the Alaskan wilderness. His co-pilot wasn’t found, and Hal was discharged to set an example.

His degree earned him a job quite quickly, however, as a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft Corporation, his late father’s employer. He eventually dated the boss’s daughter, Carol Ferris. Hal fell out of favor with his boss, however, and ended up breaking up with Carol and losing his job. His mother eventually talked his boss into re-hiring him, albeit at a lower salary and with few responsibilities. This would be the beginning of a rollercoaster relationship with Carol and Ferris Aircraft.

Still, Hal held his head with pride. Even through the questions he had about life and his future, he had faith that things would turn out for the best. It was this faith and courage that Green Lantern Corps member Abin Sur sensed when his ship crashed into Earth after a fight with the evil Legion. He transported Hal to his craft and bequeathed him the Green Lantern Ring****, which as the card suggests, augmented Hal’s willpower and allowed him to tap into the universe and its energies in ways previously undreamt of.

Hal fought Legion and then, discovering the Corps through his ring, sought out a fellow Green Lantern to take him to Oa. Tomar Re was the Lantern who brought Hal to Oa, introduced him to the Guardians, and turned him over to Kilowog, who would train Hal in the ways of the Green Lantern Corps. Hal was further trained by Sinestro while in prison for a drunk driving offense, and he helped Sinestro battle an uprising on Korugar. When the two were arrested by the Fists of the Guardians, Hal was the one who helped to show that Sinestro, Green Lantern of Korugar was actually abusing his power as a Korugarian dictator (he had discovered this while helping to quell the riots).

Hal’s continued success in fighting villainy on Earth would garner him fame as a Green Lantern. He was a founding member of the Justice League, a group of heroes who pooled their strengths and resources to fight crime in an organized fashion, much as the older Justice Society did. This was Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of Earth—raw willpower, but no truly defined or refined powers yet.

Hal’s tenure as a Green Lantern interfered with his work and his personal life; he would quit Ferris Aircraft more than once, and his on-again/off-again relationship with Carol Ferris culminated in her engagement to Jason Belmore, her consequent breaking of the engagement, and Hal’s discovery that she was secretly the Star Sapphire. The whole debacle caused Hal to retreat for a while, making a countryside pilgrimage through the States with his good friend Oliver Queen (the Green Arrow) and Oliver’s girlfriend, Dinah Lance (the Black Canary). The three of them were joined by Guardian Appa Ali Apsa, who was sent to Earth to try to understand the questioning attitude that Hal Jordan had. Was it a side effect of being human that caused Hal to question the Guardians’ methods and challenge their authority in ways that no other Green Lantern ever had?

The journey was, in many ways, a disaster, culminating in Apsa being stripped of his immortality and powers for becoming too human; he saved Hal’s life at the potential expense of the planet. Apsa was exiled, and Hal parted ways with the other heroes, returning to Carol and her company. It would not last long, however, as Hal’s argumentative nature and his questioning of authority got him exiled from Earth for one year by the Guardians as punishment for refusing an assignment.

Upon his return, he found himself in a bind, as his commitments to an assignment from the Guardians meant that he was too late to save Carol Ferris and Ferris Aircraft from the Demolition Team. If not for the timely save from another hero, it could have meant the death and destruction of all he held dear. Disgusted by the Guardians and their decisions, Hal quit the GLC, deciding to live out the rest of his life with Carol as Hal Jordan, a man with no universal commitments to hold him back. Unfortunately, their bliss would be short lived—Carol merged completely with the Star Sapphire, becoming self absorbed, callous, and cruel. Hal rejected this side of her, and she left Earth to rule the Zamarons with hatred of Hal and of men boiling within her.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths hit the universe shortly thereafter, and Guy Gardner was given a chance to prove himself as a Lantern. The Guardians did not realize that he was brain damaged from a previous battle. Hal convinced the Guardians to let him join the battle against the Anti-Monitor’s forces, using a ring with an alternate power source. The deranged and violent Gardner attacked him, however, and left him for dead in deep space, taking his power ring. Rescued by a group of Green Lanterns coming to reinforce Hal and Guy, they fought Guy, who had allied with some of the fiercest Emerald Enemies. This led to a decisive battle between John Stewart and Guy Gardner, won by John, who swooped in to save Hal from Guy. Hal and John regrouped with the others to discover that many of the Green Lanterns had been killed in battle, including Tomar Re, who fell to Goldface. With his dying breath, Tomar Re bequeathed his ring to John Stewart, naming him heir and therefore returning Hal’s ring back to him. Hal rejoined the Corps as a true Green Lantern and John became a Green Lantern in his own right, rather than as a replacement.

At this point, the Guardians and Zamarons left the universe and the Sectors’ boundaries were eliminated. Hal led a group of Green Lanterns on Earth, including Kilowog, Arisia, John, Katma Tui, Ch’p, and Salaak. After the birth of the New Guardians during Millennium, Sinestro returned to Earth, where he fought the assembled Green Lanterns and was defeated. The Green Lanterns decided to execute Sinestro to end his reign of terror and evil once and for all. They were unaware, however, that the Guardians (who chose the Korugarians as their new mates when the Guardians formed on Oa) had made a deal with the Zamarons stating that neither they nor their charges would ever kill a Korugarian as a sign of goodwill to their former mates. If they did, the Central Power Battery would be destroyed. The Battery exploded when the Lanterns executed Sinestro, forcing Hal to enter the Central Power Battery with Appa Ali Apsa to try to stop the impending chain reaction from destroying the entire universe. After a battle between Hal and Sinestro’s spirit, the end result was that every Green Lantern Ring except Hal’s, Guy Gardner’s, and Ch’p’s was destroyed. When Apsa eventually went completely mad and the Guardians were forced to return and kill him, they named Guy Gardner Green Lantern of Earth and sent Hal out into the universe to find and train new recruits for the newly re-formed Corps. Once the ranks were filled again, Hal convinced the Guardians to return his old job to him, but only under the condition that he and Guy decide the matter between themselves. Hal tried to convince Guy with words, but being the hothead that he was, Guy attacked Hal, forcing them to duke it out mano e mano, no rings allowed. This represents an older, more robust Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of Sector 2814, who is stronger in will and gains courage even when he is the last man standing. Hal ended up winning, and Guy was forced to quit the Corps and surrender his Ring. Hal remained Green Lantern or Earth, taking over as leader of Justice League Europe and happily settling in to his old position.

Then, disaster struck again. To sum up what I went over in detail last week, Coast City was destroyed, sending Hal over the edge of insanity and causing him to become Parallax. He destroyed the Central Power Battery again, killing most of the Corps along the way; killed a resurrected Sinestro and Kilowog; and tried to reshape the universe into his own image. He was eventually talked down and convinced to atone for his crimes by saving the world from the Sun-Eater, destroying it and recharging the sun. This cost Hal his life. Sacrificing himself to save the Earth was a final heroic act for a hero gone mad.

When the Spectre, Jim Corrigan, finally earned his place in heaven, the heroes of Earth decided to give the mantle to Hal, whose soul was imbued with the Spectre’s power. This decision was made because Hal’s was the only soul that had the willpower necessary to harness the Spectre’s power. He was no longer Hal Jordan of Earth, but instead a force who roamed throughout the Earth offering vengeance for misdeeds or redemption for valor. His card reflects this power, as vengeance is translated into endurance loss for your opponent when your characters are stunned.

John Stewart

Orphaned at a fairly young age and raised by relatives, John would end up as an architect, but work for a black architect was hard to come by. So, when Hal Jordan came looking for a backup Green Lantern to replace the injured Guy Gardner, John Stewart readily accepted the ring and uniform. He threw away the mask, though, claiming he had nothing to hide and didn’t need to hide his face.

Early on, while saving a racist senator, John ended up dousing him in oil as payback for the senator’s policies. Hal, although he agreed in principle, taught John a lesson in responsibility by forcing him to guard the senator. John ended up stopping a would-be assassin, uncovering a plot by the senator to fake his assassination, murder a police officer, and blame the blacks for rioting. The senator’s plan was to win the presidency on a dangerous race card. This entire scenario helped John to learn that patience and responsibility could walk hand in hand with his own agenda, and that sometimes doing things the “proper” way could lead to better rewards in the end.

Filling in as Green Lantern several times over the next few years while Hal was ill or off earth, John even served a temporary stint in the Justice League when Hal could not. He helped to save Hal from a near-fatal illness. When Hal was exiled from Earth for a year, John took his place under the guiding wing of Green Arrow, with whom he teamed up to stop the alien villain Crystayl. It was during this battle that John felt a moment of doubt, losing his concentration and willpower and failing to save some citizens of Star City. He recovered and helped Green Arrow beat their enemy and free the citizens.

After the Demolition Team totaled Ferris Aircraft, Carol Ferris hired John as an architect to help rebuild it. It was at this time that Hal Jordan returned from his exile and subsequently resigned as a Green Lantern. John Stewart was summoned to Oa, where he was named Hal’s permanent replacement. Surprisingly, John at first refused to take on the responsibility, as he felt that the Guardians were unable to fully comprehend and respect his needs as a Green Lantern. It wasn’t until Katma Tui called him a coward that he sought to prove her wrong by taking up the mantle of Green Lantern, accepting the entire Green Lantern uniform, mask and all.

 

 

After unwittingly causing Eclipso to be sliced and diced by a laser beam and then damaging a space shuttle he was trying to save, John decided he needed more training. He went to the Guardians to ask them for help. Unwilling to give up Hal’s identity, they instead sent him to Katma Tui for training. She accompanied him to Earth just in time for John Stewart’s identity to be exposed on national television by a jilted reporter who was miffed that he had refused to tell her his origin and history. Katma altered her skin color from red to black in order to blend in on Earth and not draw more attention to John than necessary.

Laid off by Ferris Aircraft for fear that his identity might cause it to come to harm, John was surprised to learn that Hal Jordan had recommended him. Hal clumsily explained that he had known him by reputation. Katma, knowing Hal’s identity and still angry that Hal quit, planted a kiss on Hal to try to split him up from Carol and perhaps to have him return to the fold. Her explanation to John was revenge on Ferris for laying John off. After a successful battle with Sonar and his henchmen, it would be John Stewart on whom Katma planted a kiss, and not for any form of revenge.

During the Crisis, John was brought to a gathering of heroes by Harbinger to help save the positive universe at five crucial points in time. John would fight in 1879 alongside heroes and villains from both eras, while Katma remained on Earth in our era. He then joined a group of Green Lanterns who traveled through the portal into the Anti-Matter Universe to battle the Qwardian forces of the Anti-Monitor, simultaneously rescuing Hal Jordan and defeating a brain damaged Guy Gardner.

After the Crisis, John and Katma helped to reform the Corps, and with the one Lantern per Sector rule abolished, they formed a seven-Lantern Earthbound team—the two of them alongside Hal Jordan (returned to the Corps), Arisia, Kilowog, Ch’p, and Salaak. Their relationship growing, John and Katma eventually married; two Lanterns side by side, patrolling the galaxy and safeguarding Earth.

Then, the worst form of tragedy struck John as Carol Ferris ◊ Star Sapphire murdered Katma. Already succumbing to depression, John joined a group of heroes in a battle against Darkseid. There, he inadvertently caused the destruction of a planet (Xanshi), and his ring relayed through him the death cry of every inhabitant. On the verge of suicide, only the Martian Manhuner’s intervention stopped him.

John was then asked by the increasingly demented Appa Ali Apsa to take care of the Mosaic World on Oa. John did that for a time, and once Apsa was destroyed and the Guardians returned, John joined the short-lived Darkstars. They were a galactic police force not unlike the Corps. There, John found romance again and became team leader. Then, the Darkstars battled Grayven, killing many and leaving John paralyzed. John retired to Earth, giving up the superhero status for romance with fellow Darkstar Merayn Dethalis, a return to architecture, and the mentoring of Kyle Rayner.

When Hal Jordan regained his sanity just before sacrificing himself, he visited John and cured his paralysis. John later accepted Kyle’s offer to become the Green Lantern of Earth and join the Justice League once again. Unlike other rings, John’s current power ring has no Yellow Impurity and does not need to be recharged.

Guy Gardner, Strong Arm of the Corps

Guy was descended from the Vuldarians, a warrior race of galactic orphans whose home world was destroyed. They eventually settled on Earth, awaiting the time when they could properly couple with Earth women and create a half breed warrior of considerable power. The result of their hundreds of years of incubation experimentation was Guy Gardner, born in Baltimore to a prejudiced, alcoholic father who favored Guy’s older brother, Mace.

Idolizing General Glory from his comic books, he fashioned himself after Glory’s sidekick. Desperate to gain approval from his father, he tried to shine in his father’s eyes but only received beatings for his efforts. He then tried the opposite—theft, crime, and crudeness—but again received only beatings. It was his older brother, Mace, who saved him from being put in jail for car theft at eighteen, giving Guy a little money and telling him to straighten out and get a job. Guy managed to get a few jobs and found his way to Michigan University, where his GPA was high and he even made the football team. Playing alongside John Henry Irons, who would much later become Steel, it was Guy’s catch that won a bowl game for Michigan University during his senior year.

Unfortunately, bad timing once again hit as his heroics were overshadowed by his brother being shot in a gangland retribution. Thrown off of the force for corruption, his brother drowned himself. His father drank himself to death shortly afterwards, finding Mace’s death too much to bear.

He finished college, and after a blown knee ruined his chances in the pros, became a social worker. The job was as therapeutic for him as it was for the cons he counseled. Guy was also one of Abin Sur’s two choices to be the next Green Lantern (Hal Jordan won out solely because he was closer to the dying Lantern). Ironically, after Hal Jordan was jailed for ninety days for DUI, Guy was his caseworker when Hal got investigated for the murder of his cellmate (for which he wasn’t responsible).

After a prison riot brought on by an inmate’s plan to steal Hal’s power ring, Guy realized that he had taken his aggression out on the inmates who tried to hold him hostage. Figuring that his aggression would only increase, he left his job. Meanwhile, the Guardians discovered that Guy was Abin Sur’s alternate choice for Green Lantern and made him Hal’s official alternate, prompting Hal to visit him.

Guy eventually became a gym teacher for special ed. children. On a field trip, they encountered an 8.0 earthquake just outside of Coast City that trapped one kid on a damaged bridge. Attempting to save the child, Guy caused the bus to lurch forward, hitting him in the back. It was only Hal’s timely intervention as Green Lantern that saved Guy and the child. Guy would be bedridden for a long time, prompting the Guardians to choose John Stewart as a new alternate to begin training with Hal.

It took a long time for Guy to recover, but when he finally did, he settled down with a fortune teller named Kari Limbo. Their life would be disrupted a couple of times, once by a visit from a future Guy Gardner who caused them some grief before Hal sent him back to his own time. Afterwards, Hal visited Guy and told him that he was Abin Sur’s original choice as alternate Green Lantern. Hal asked him to take over as Green Lantern while Hal went to Oa to repair his ring. He gave Guy a duplicate ring and told him to use his battery in Oliver Queen/Green Arrow’s apartment. Green Arrow would fight alongside Guy and help him learn the ropes, though Guy unknowingly had a Guardian implant that gave him basic knowledge of the ring and its uses.

Unfortunately, Hal discovered that the battery, not the ring, was damaged. Green Arrow’s vision of the battery exploding when recharging the ring came true just as Hal tried to reach Guy to stop him. The resulting explosion appeared to tear Guy apart, but it actually sent him into an alternate dimension. Back on Earth, Kari, thinking her fiancee was dead, fell in love with Hal and asked him to marry her. Guy, in another dimension, was tortured by fragmented glimpses of Kari and Hal falling in love on his home Earth. Kari, having visions of Guy at the altar, realized she still loved him.

Guy, meanwhile, found his way into the Phantom Zone. There, noting a disturbance, Superman went with Hal Jordan to explore it. Hal ended up face to face with Guy, who wanted him dead. Thinking that Hal had stolen Kari from him and had even set up the blast with Kari so they could be together, Guy attacked Hal, forcing Hal and Superman to retreat. Hal would tell Kari about Guy’s survival, and their wedding would be called off.

Meanwhile, Sinestro found Guy and brought him to Qward. His anger and aggression towards Hal made him the perfect puppet, and by the time Hal rescued him, his mind was irreparably damaged. Guy was catatonic and would remain in a coma for quite a while, Kari staying at his side. When Hal quit the Corps, his successor, John Stewart, visited him in the hospital, wishing him well and promising to return often.

During the Crisis, six Guardians split from the rest to create a separate Central Power Battery and form a new Corps to battle the Anti-Monitor’s forces. They chose Guy as the first member, recovering him from his coma after years of trauma. When Hal discovered Guy desecrating Abin Sur’s tomb in search of a ring, a Guardian appeared to them. To Hal’s chagrin, the Guardian told Guy that he’d been revived to bear a ring into battle. Guy was brought to Oa and given a customized costume and ring. Returning to Earth, Guy’s first choice for his strike force was The Shark, whom he revived and freed, battling John Stewart and Hal to do so. Hal was brought back to Oa and given a ring by the surviving renegade Guardian on the proviso that he followed Guy’s lead. When Hal mentioned his suspicions that Guy might be “damaged goods,” the Guardian agreed and told Hal that the damage might be beneficial in an attack on Qward.

Meanwhile, Guy continued his recruiting drive, which included Hector Hammond, Sonar, and Goldface. He ordered them not to attack Hal on pain of death. Hal thanked him and tried to offer a white flag, but Guy refused. During a battle against the Weaponers of Qward, Guy turned on Hal and attacked him, taking his ring and leaving Hal for dead. Hal was rescued by a group of Green Lanterns sent to back them up in case Guy turned, and Guy ended up fighting and losing to John Stewart in a Battle of Wills.

With the villains turning on Guy for his near-destruction of the universe and the GLC turning away in disgust, Guy made his escape. He ended up on Zamaron, where he partnered with Star Sapphire and Hector Hammond, hoping to take Hal down. They were defeated, and Hal brought Guy and Star Sapphire to Oa to stand trial. The Guardians were leaving and they judged that Guy could keep his ring, but that he must undergo proper training on Maltus with the Honor Guard and Appa Ali Apsa, who was left in charge of the Corps.

Gardner did the menial tasks he was charged with, but he grew more and more angry and sought to escape. His first attempt was thwarted by the Honor Guard, but his second attempt succeeded, and he made his way to Earth.

Once on Earth, he declared himself Green Lantern of Earth. When the Lanterns on Earth refused his pronouncement, he fought them. Pursued by the Honor Guard, they subdued Guy, but Hal stopped them from stripping him of his ring. He took Guy as his charge and offered to provide proper training. This decision rankled some of his teammates, and Kilowog actually left the team because of it.

After several mishaps (including nearly causing World War III when he invaded Russia to bring back Kilowog) and arguments with his fellow Lanterns, Guy left them to join Justice League International. He considered himself leader of the team, though the team didn’t quite agree, and Batman kept him under control and in line. His one tiff with Batman ended with Bats KO’ing Guy with a single punch. When he came to, he thwacked his head on the conference table while looking for his ring and developed a split personality. He drifted from obnoxious, rude, and sexist Guy to polite, friendly, and proper Guy and back again.

Later, when Hal crushed Guy’s ring after defeating him in combat for the mantle of Green Lantern of Earth, Guy sought out Sinestro’s ring. He found it and adopted a new costume, dropping the Green Lantern moniker. When Hal attacked Oa and the Central Power Battery during his period of madness, Guy went to Oa to find out what happened, only to discover the aftermath of Hal’s assault. He joined other heroes in their attempt to take Hal down, and even though he was the last hero to fall, Hal took his eye and his ring as a consequence.

Returning to Earth, Guy discovered his Vuldarian heritage and his destiny to be a hero, even after his losses. He called himself Warrior and discovered that he could shift his body into any form of weaponry, use his power to fly, and fire concussive blasts. Guy Gardner, Warrior’s function as an unaffiliated team attacker reflects Guy’s final realizations that he no longer needed to depend on his ring and that he could be a hero even without the Corps.

Kyle Rayner, Last Green Lantern

Kyle was a military brat. His father moved the family from city to city, settling in Los Angeles when Kyle was still a baby. When Kyle was three, his father went on a mission to South America and never returned. Kyle was raised by his mother, and poverty forced them to live in a trailer. As a child, Kyle was absorbed by stories of Superman, pretty much ignoring Green Lantern’s existence. He had a fascination with comics from a fairly young age, drawn to the images.

When his mother finally received an Army pension and bought a house, Kyle felt oppressed by her overprotectiveness and left home for art school when he turned eighteen. He won a scholarship but didn’t make it all the way through college, instead dropping out to become a freelance artist working for a greeting card company.

When Hal went ballistic and totaled the Central Power Battery on Oa, he crushed his ring and left Oa, leaving Ganthet behind to reform the ring and head to Earth in search of a new Green Lantern to take on Hal. Ganthet first approached Guy Gardner, but he was turned down. Kyle Rayner was the first person Ganthet found after Guy’s dismissal, and after a few hasty words, Ganthet left the ring with Kyle and disappeared. Kyle put the ring on and was transformed into a Green Lantern. His first battle against the villain Ohm was clumsy but a victorious, and after being mistaken for the original Green Lantern, his girlfriend suggested he redesign the costume to individualize his identity.

Kyle’s victory cheer didn’t last long, as Mongul returned to Earth seeking vengeance after his defeat at the hands of Superman and Hal Jordan. He didn’t differentiate between Green Lanterns and attacked the novice Kyle, nearly killing him before Superman intervened and saved his life.

Then, in true Green Lantern fashion, disaster and tragedy befell Kyle as his girlfriend was brutally murdered by Major Force, who was looking for the power ring. When Kyle returned home to find his girlfriend dead and the perpetrator still there, he beat Major Force. He was on the verge of killing him in retaliation when his ring ran out of power. Major Force turned the tide and viciously beat Kyle, demanding to know the purpose of a glowing green rock he had found in the same alley where Kyle got his ring. It became quickly apparent when it transformed into a lantern and recharged Kyle’s ring. Kyle likely would have killed Major Force if the L.A. Special Crimes Unit had not arrived just then to take control of the situation.

When Kyle returned to the apartment after some time alone, he was approached by Alan Scott, who told Kyle the history of the ring and explained what had happened to Hal and what he had done. Called forth by Superman, Kyle joined a group of heroes to fight Extant and Parallax and prevent them from destroying and recreating the universe. At one point, when the Teen Titans attacked Extant, Kyle jumped in front of a blast intended for Donna Troy, shielding himself from the blast and possibly saving her life. This was Kyle Rayner, Green Lantern of the Universe, finally growing into his powers and protecting his allies from attack.

Kyle’s heroics may have helped to defeat Extant in the end, but they weren’t enough to stop Parallax from successfully wiping the universe clean. Saved from being wiped out by Waverider, it was Kyle who helped to overcome Parallax. The two Green Lanterns fell into the re-creation of the universe and ended up on what was left of Oa. Kyle was forced to destroy Oa when Hal tried to suck the very energy out of the planet itself. Kyle then discovered that his ring would only work for him, making him truly the last Green Lantern.

On his way back to Earth, Kyle encountered the New Teen Titans and Donna Troy, who, in addition to saving, he had a crush on as a boy. He ended up romancing Donna and joining the Titans.

Meanwhile, Ganthet had tracked down and tested Kyle, deeming him an unworthy candidate for the ring. Before he could react, Parallax appeared and demanded the ring for himself, becoming Green Lantern once again and sparking a fight between Kyle and Hal. Ganthet sought out the Justice League to help put a stop to Hal once and for all. It was Kyle, with his willpower and determination, who convinced Hal that he could never be a Green Lantern again. Kyle would later convince him to save the Earth by sacrificing himself to recharge the dying sun and destroy the Sun-Eater.

His relationship with Donna went through a troubled patch, and she left him when her ex-husband and son were killed in an accident and she was too sick with grief to maintain their relationship.

Kyle set off to learn as much as he could about being a superhero from John Stewart, Batman, Captain Marvel, and Wonder Woman, among others. He helped the Darkstars defeat Grayven, then joined the Justice League and befriended the new Green Arrow.

Then, in a time twisting event, Kyle ended up in the future, fighting an evil Corps. When he was sent back in time, he missed his era by ten years and ended up friends with a young Hal Jordan. Hal ended up returning with Kyle to Kyle’s time and fighting Parallax with Kyle, though Hal would have no later recollection of these times. Before he returned to his own time, he gave Kyle a power ring and made Kyle promise to restart the Corps. Asking Jade to stand in as a Lantern on Earth, Kyle attempted, and failed after several mishaps, to restart the Corps.

Kyle returned to Earth, fought with Jade, split up, and then reconciled and got back together with her—two Lanterns in Love. He got a regular art gig as a comic artist. He then acquired a new enemy, Nero, who could counter just about all of Kyle’s constructs with his own yellow power that had been bestowed upon him by the Weaponers of Qward. While Kyle’s ring did not have the Yellow Impurity, he still needed every ounce of creativity and imagination he could muster to defeat Nero.

Kyle then came to realize that he was growing more and more powerful. He had been unconsciously absorbing all of the energy that Hal Jordan had left behind when he sacrificed himself. Kyle began to exhibit godlike powers, dubbing himself Ion and trying to create a universal utopia by splitting himself into multiple Kyle Rayners who separately monitored and patrolled the universe.

He eventually realized that he was becoming too powerful and decided to become Green Lantern again. He re-created Oa and created new Guardians, leaving Ganthet to take care of the Guardians Reborn.

After a series of difficulties, Kyle left Earth to find himself. Fighting the Crime Syndicate and others, Kyle made peace with himself and returned to Earth, only to find that he’d lost his job; that Jade, feeling neglected, had left him; and that the JLA had replaced him with John Stewart. After moving in with his mother and visiting his two ex-girlfriends’ graves (Alex and Donna), he returned home to find Major Force, who had staged Kyle’s mother’s death in an attempt to wrangle the ring away from him. He restrained himself from killing Major Force, instead banishing him to deep space. Kyle then left Earth to find a place to be at peace.

It was while traveling that he discovered the Parallax entity and proved that Hal wasn’t responsible for his actions as Parallax. Kyle was instrumental in returning Hal Jordan’s soul to his body. Hal reclaimed the title of Green Lantern of Earth, and John Stewart is still the resident Lantern of the Justice League. This leaves Kyle’s future wide open.

Q&A Time

I’ve decided to answer questions as they come in, appending them to the articles. Some of the questions asked of me were answered directly in the article. Here are the others.

Michael G. asks:

Can you give me a little background information on Booster Gold? He seems like an important character in the world of Manhunters! 

In a nutshell, Booster seemed to betray the Justice League and join up with the Manhunters. He later claimed that he was a double agent, infiltrating the Manhunters to stop them from within. He did stop a bomb in the Manhunters’ Underground Complex from destroying the Earth, which lends some credence to his story. I don’t recall ever seeing a conclusion to whether or not he was a double agent, but he did rejoin the Justice League, so obviously they believed him.

Tom M. asks:

I had believed Sinestro was killed after Hal had broken his neck. If that is true, how did Sinestro come back to life?

Sinestro and Kilowog were both resurrected in the recent “Green Lantern: Rebirth” miniseries.

Klatial asks:

If only the people the rings are meant for can use them, what’s the story of Malvolio, who apparently could use the ring he took from his father after he killed him?

My article from last week was actually misleading. It’s not so much that no other being can employ the rings, but rather that those who can are few and far between. Some villains have been able to employ the rings, and certainly more than a handful have been able to employ the yellow power given by the Weaponers.

Lord Malvolio was a special case because he was the son of a Green Lantern. Most children of Green Lanterns have shown proficiency in wielding the rings, possibly because they have the same level of willpower that their parents have. Jade is the perfect example. She’s a special case because her father’s powers were derived from the Starheart and not the Central Power Battery, but she still has natural Green Lantern powers that could only have been derived genetically from her father.

Vijaeth asks:

What does the “T” in Jack T. Chance stand for?

A good question! The answer is: I have absolutely no clue. It’s not mentioned in his first appearance (“Justice League Quarterly #1”), nor does it appear in #8. Anyone who has an answer to this, please fire off an email!

And finally, Canadian Bacon commented:

I thought that having more rings would actually amplify the power more than having just one, and that’s why Hal took all the rings and added them to his own when he first went ballistic and killed the other Green Lanterns. Then, when Sinestro was facing him in that same story arc, he said that since he had all the rings, his defeat would be a foregone conclusion.

I may be misunderstanding something here, but I was just wondering about it.

That’s a tough one. Different writers employ different ideas, but in theory, it doesn’t matter how many rings you have because they all channel the power from the same place in the same way.

It is entirely possible that Hal used the rings to drain the power of the Battery more quickly, but frankly, Hal has always “functioned” differently than anyone else in the Corps.

Send any new questions you may have to Kergillian (at) hotmail (dot) com, and I’ll do my best to answer them ere too long in this column.

* Some of the others include Katma Tui, who was based on Earth during her romance with John Stewart; Kilowog, who was on Earth serving the Russian Rocket Red program and Justice Leagues International and Europe; and G’Nort, also briefly in Justice League International, who later shared the title of Green Lantern of Earth, much to [Guy Gardner’s chagrin.

** It’s interesting to note that Hal Jordan’s oath was actually recorded as being said by Alan Scott in 1943. However, Hal is credited with that oath in the DCU. It’s also interesting to note that it was originally “In blackest night,” but Hal, in the comics, changed it to “In darkest night” to be “a little more PC.”

*** While the card’s image and game text suggest the inefficiency of the Starheart’s power against wood, for flavor’s sake it also represents Alan’s more permanent loss of power and willpower after Zero Hour.

**** Abin Sur’s card allows you to do just that. When he is out of action, he can “seek out” a replacement Green Lantern character from your deck to put into your hand for a future turn. The Ring Has Chosen does the same, reflecting the power of the ring used by the Green Lantern to search for that replacement.

Also known by his screen name Kergillian, Ben Kalman has been involved in the Vs. community since day one. He started the first major player in the online community, the Vs. Listserv, through Yahoo! Groups, and it now boasts well over 1,600 members! For more on the Yahoo! group, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Marvel_DC_TCG.