“In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night, no evil shall
escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might, beware my power, Green
Lantern’s Light!”
- Oath of the Green Lanterns
The initial concept of the Green
Lantern was created by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger (co-creator of Batman).
His name was Alan Scott, the first Lantern, although at the time of his
creation, he was considered the only Green Lantern. The character debuted in
All-American Comics #16 in July of 1940, becoming one of the first Golden Age superheroes
after Superman and Batman. Much like the Flash (another Golden Age creation)
Alan Scott’s first superhero costume choice was a few details short of being
“super”. While the Flash wore a long-sleeved shirt with a helmet resembling the
god Hermes’ and wings on his boots, Alan Scott wore a green mask, with a green
cape and a baggy, red shirt, yes, red. Needless to say the costume was poorly
designed, but is still instantly recognizable as Scott’s suit nonetheless. The
ring itself went through some alterations throughout the Lantern’s history. The
ring we know today is powerless against the color yellow, the color of fear,
while the ring of the Alan Scott was only useless against wood (for some
reason).
Alan Scott, a railroad engineer,
comes across a green lantern after a train crash. Strange energy from the
lantern tells him of his new powers and how he must use those powers to protect
the planet. After becoming wildly successful in All-American Comics, Scott was
awarded his very own comics-title. Not too long after that, Scott joined his
fellow Golden Age heroes in the pages of All-Star Comics, home to the Justice
Society of America, the very first superhero team of DC. Now starring in three,
on-going titles, Green Lantern’s success boosted his popularity and became
almost as recognizable as Superman and Batman, in America at least.
Notable villains of the DC Universe
who began their careers in the pages of the Golden Age Green Lantern include:
The Icicle, Solomon Grundy, Sports-master and the eternal Vandal Savage.
Issue #38 of GL Comics saw the
cancellation of the character in June of 1949. After the resolution of the
Second World War, superheroes had all but died out. Characters like the Flash
Green Lantern and many others faded away, with only DC’s trinity of popular
heroes survived (Superman, Batman and Wonderwoman). It wasn’t much longer
before All-Star Comics was too cancelled ending the run of the Justice Society.
Alan Scott had made his final appearance in the Golden Age, but certainly not
his final appearance in comics. Fans of the hero believed him to be gone
forever by the time the early 1950’s rolled around. No one would have predicted
that in October of 1959, the character would return: reborn in the Silver Age,
the Green Lantern of space sector 2814, Hal Jordan.
Be sure to check out “Green Lantern’s Light: Part Two” in a
couple days.
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