Green Lantern Biography, History of

Once they were a corps 3,600 strong, wearing the most powerful weapons ever devised on their fingers. The Green Lantern Corps acted as an intergalactic police force, doing the bidding of the Guardians Of The Universe.

Each Green Lantern possessed a power ring that could create hard-light projections by drawing energy from the Central Power Battery on the Guardian's homeworld of Oa; however, the rings were ineffective against anything yellow. The Green Lantern Corps suffered a fatal blow at the hands of Hal Jordan, but Kyle Rayner may be the best hope for restoring this ancient force of justice and order.

Alan Scott
Eons ago the Guardians of the Universe trapped most of the universe's magical energies into an orb called the Starheart. A fragment of this object gave rise to Alan Scott's ring and power battery. Unlike Corps equipment, Scott's mystical ring worked fine against yellow objects, but was powerless against wood.

Scott helped establish the Justice Society of America during World War II. After many decades he discover that his body had been infused with the energy of the Starheart and that he no longer required a ring. Scott briefly took the identity of Sentinel before reclaiming the Green Lantern mantle.

Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan was both the Corps' greatest champion and its worst nightmare. As Green Lantern and protector of space sector 2814, Jordan founded the Justice League of America alongside Aquaman and the Flash. He battled a legion of galactic foes including the fallen Green Lantern Sinestro. But when the Cyborg Superman demolished Jordan's home, Coast City, he went mad with grief. Enraged when the Guardians barred him from recreating Coast City, Jordan destroyed the Guardians and their Corps - becoming the god-like villain Parallax. Though Parallax died during the Sun-Eater crisis, Jordan's spirit lived on as the new Spectre, until he was resurrected.

Guy Gardner
Originally passed over by Abin Sur in favor of Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner enjoyed a checkered career as Green Lantern. Gardner became known for his belligerent, cocky stance, marked by his constant attempts to prove himself as the one, true Green Lantern. Garner served with the JLA but later lost his right to wear a power ring. He briefly wore Sinestro's yellow power ring, then embraced a new role when de discovered his heritage as genetically altered warrior engineered by the alien Vuldarians.

Kyle Rayner
When Hal Jordan shattered the Green Lantern Corps, the last remaining Guardian gave a power ring to a new hero - Kyle Rayner of Earth. Although he seemed to have been selected at random, Rayner worked hard to prove himself worthy of the Green Lantern legacy. His upgraded ring has no weakness against the color yellow, and Rayner has handled himself well against the super-villain Major Force (who murdered Rayner's girlfriend) and the Lantern-hunting killer, Fatality. Kyle forged friendships with Green Arrow II and the Flash, and has kindled a romance with Alan Scott's daughter, Jade. Rayner assumed the identity of the near-omnipotent Ion before bleeding off much of his power by resurrecting the Guardians. Kyle Rayner recruited members to restore the Corps to its former glory.

Swan Song
Although Kyle Rayner worked to restore the Green Lantern Corps, his actions seemed to bring about the twilight of his career. After returning from outer space, Kyle learned that his girlfriend, Jade, had moved on and that the JLA was doing well with John Stewart in the role of power-ring wielder. Kyle's subsequent battle with Fatality showed that he still had plenty of spirit, but other factors - including the revelation that Major Force had returned to orchestrate Fatality's attacks - were harbingers of change for Earth's Green Lantern.

John Stewart
Originally Hal Jordan's backup Green Lantern, John Stewart has become one of the greatest ring-bearers, despite a career filled with unimaginable pain. Stewart accidentally destroyed the entire planet Xanshi, then suffered when his wife, Kama Tui, died at the hands of Star Sapphire.

He earned a measure of peace as the caretaker of a patchwork "mosaic world" on Oa, and later became a member of the Darkstars (an intergalactic peacekeeping force that is a rival to the Green Lantern Corps). Injuries suffered in the line of duty left him paralyzed from the waist down, and he briefly worked as an architect until Hal Jordan, as Parallax, restored the use of his legs. Now, John Stewart works with the world's most powerful super heroes as a member of the JLA, and has helped quell interplanetary threats including Fernus, a Burning Martian who tried to trigger a nuclear holocaust. His most recent misfortune has been the breakup of his relationship with Merayn, a former Darkstar.

Brought to you straight from - The DC Comics Encyclopedia, The Definitive Guide To The Characters Of The DC Universe - Published by DK Publishing, Inc. Copyright 2004. p.132-133.