Guy Gardner

Origin

Guy Gardner was born to parents Roland (Rolly) Gardner and Peggy Gardner in Baltimore, Maryland. Guy had a rough childhood and was often beaten by his abusive father. Despite this, Guy always struggled to please his father, but Rolly only seemed to appreciate the accomplishments of Guy’s older brother, Mace. Guy’s only escape was reading comic books that he collected, particularly those of General Glory. He even modeled his own haircut after the General’s kid sidekick as a kid and even when he first became a Green Lantern.

As a kid, Guy tried to do many things to impress his father; for example, he built a radio from scratch for a school project. As he got older, Guy eventually grew tired of trying to please his father, and started getting in trouble at school and later with the law. He got in trouble for stealing cars, getting into fights, and as a result he got sent to Juvenile Hall more than once. Once Guy turned eighteen, his criminal life caught up with him. A couple of police officers caught him trying to steal a car one day, but instead of taking him to jail, the officers took him to see his brother, Mace. Mace had become a police officer himself in their hometown of Baltimore, and Mace enlisted the other officers’ help in setting Guy straight. After giving Guy a bit of a beating, Mace gave Guy a big wad of cash, and told him to start acting right. This moment was a moment of clarity for Guy, and afterwards he went out and got a job. Guy also got his General Education Diploma (G.E.D.), and began an education at the prestigious University of Michigan (U of M). At U of M, he became good friends with John Henry Irons, who would later become the hero Steel.

He graduated from (U of M) and left the school with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Education. He also took many classes in engineering as well as playing in several sports. Sadly, when he came back home to his family, things were worse than before. His brother had been kicked off the force for the extortion of several drug dealers. Mace drowned himself in a local river, apparently from depression. This event drove their father’s alcoholism to a whole new level, and it ended up killing him. Guy always struggled with his anger and aggression, and because of this demon he decided to use his career to help others with the same problem. Guy became a social caseworker and helped prison inmates. One of these inmates ended up being Hal Jordan. Hal was in the correctional facility because of an alcohol problem. This most likely resonated with Guy because of his own father. While Guy and Hal ware in prison during a huge prison riot, Guy lost his temper, and in a rage he attacked one of the inmates. Hal ended up pulling him off. After this, Guy had to leave this career path, believing it only fueled his natural anger and aggression. His next job was as a Physical Education teacher for special education children. Guy loved to teach and loved his new job, and students loved him as well and regarded him as their favorite teacher.

It is at this time that a fatally wounded Abin Sur crash-landed his ship on Earth. Abin Sur was a member of an intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. In his last act as Green Lantern he used his Power Ring to scan all the people of Earth. The ring was to search for one that was honest as well as without fear. The ring found two who were worthy of the ring, but the best choice, Guy Gardner, was too far away, and Abin Sur told the ring to choose the closer target – Hal Jordan. Hal eventually found out about Guy, and he always kept Guy in the back of his mind in case he ever needed a replacement. When Abin died, the ring bonded itself with Hal, and Hal became the famous Green lantern of 2814.

Creation

Guy Gardner was created by Gil Kane and John Broome in March, 1968.

Character Evolution

Silver Age: Earth One

His first appearance was in Green Lantern #59. He started out as a “what if” kind of story line. He didn’t even appear again until issue Green Lantern #87 in a cameo a few years later. This was John Stewart‘s first appearance.

Modern Age: New Earth

Guy went through many changes in the modern era and his popularity soared. This later waned and then soared again. It was as if no one knew what to do with the character. He was a critical character in the Crisis on Infinite Earths and Legends and was a foil to Hal. When he was kicked out of the Green Lantern Corps, he took it upon himself to get his own power and take Sinestro’s ring. Once that was gone, he simply started carrying guns, and his name was changed to Warrior. He was then given Iron Man (like) suits made by the Blue Beetle. These were also short lived. His origin was then changed and he was suppose to be a alien with latent powers. None of these later events ever gave the character the popularity he had. He seemed to peak at the time of the yellow ring and went downhill from there. Guy was kind-of killed and came back without any powers and showed back up with the yellow ring. This was not ever explained in great detail it was more of a retcon to bring the character back to his former standing. It wasn’t until the Green Lantern Rebirth that Guy came full circle to the character he was.

Guy Gardner is widely known for his brash quotes. He has lipped off to just about everyone in the DCU and he is truly without fear.

1. “Too late, bug! One soon-to-be corpse coming up.” Guy talking to Blue Beetle about Doomsday ( Justice League America #69)
2. “Take your pick! Burial or cremation?” – Guy talking to Doomsday (Justice League America #69)
3. “Don’t wuss out, boy scout! Put this Doomsday guy in a pine box or I’ll crawl offa this gurney and kick both o’yer butts!” – Guy talking to Superman. ( Adventures of Superman #497)

Post-Flashpoint: Earth-0

Since the reboot of the DC Universe into the new 52, Guy’s history has change greatly. Guy has joined the Justice League International team (the first of its kind in current continuity). He also never met Martian Manhunter before the Keepers storyline. But all of Guy’s Green Lantern history is still intact before Flashpoint event.

Major Story Arcs

Silver Age: Earth One

Hal meets Guy

Guy works a few years as a teacher until one day he’s on a field trip with his students to California. While on the field trip, a destructive earthquake rocks a bridge the class is crossing in a school bus. The school bus careens toward the edge of the bridge, and falls off. Everybody on the bus escapes through the emergency exit in the rear of the bus except Guy and a young girl. Guy is trying to save her when the bus gives out, and the two plummet to their death. Luckily, Hal Jordan as Green Lantern saves both of them. Hal recognizes Gardner as the man who worked with him in prison, and the man whom Abin Sur originally chose to receive his Power Ring. The two are brought to solid ground, but the accident has broken Guy’s legs. For just about a year, Guy is bedridden, or forced to use a cane or crutches to walk.

Once Guy heals enough to walk on his own, and things start to return to a normal, he finds he is still racked with guilt over the near death of his entire class. Depressed, Guy takes a break from teaching, feeling he is unable to do the work anymore. Guy started to travel the country and see places that he had always dreamed of visiting. It is on Guy’s travels that he meets Kari Limbo at a state carnival. She is a fortune teller, and during the reading of Guy’s future, she tells him that he will inherit a part in a great tradition involving the color Green. Guy and Kari soon fall in love and she joins Guy as he travels the country. Guy and Kari truly love each other and with Guy’s proposal, they get engaged. Life really starts to get better for Guy and he is truly happy.

Guy lost in the Phantom Zone

Unknown to Guy, Hal Jordan began to have trouble charging his Power Ring. Assuming it was a problem stemming from the Central Power Battery, Hal decides to go there and investigate the problem. He leaves Earth, but before leaving, he confronts Guy about being a Green Lantern and what his role has been. Guy has a hard time, but he does come to terms with it and accepts his role as Green Lantern. Hal leaves him with a new Power Ring, and Hal’s old Lantern. Hal didn’t know that the problem he was having was actually inside his old Lantern, and as a result the battery explodes. Guy is severely injured and suffers a concussion when he tries to charge his ring for the first time. Guy is flung into the Phantom Zone. Everyone believed Guy was incinerated by the explosion. It is because of this that Guy spends some time in the zone. He also had to learn to fend for himself and suffer with his concussion with no medical help. The odd part about the zone was he was able to actually look out into Earth. From his vantage point, he saw Kari mourning his apparent death, and he saw Hal consoling her. Worse yet, he sees Kari and Hal eventually become lovers, and the longer Guy watched, the more his past issues of rage and anger overwhelm him.

While in the Zone, Guy encounters a demon named Sapol. It desperately wanted to escape from the Zone, and conquer the outside world. It may have done just that but with Guy’s remaining power he defeats Sapol. The battle only makes Guy’s physical and psychological damage worse. Guy continued to watch Hal and Kari’s life together making his state even worse. In one last ditch effort to escape the zone, Guy tried to reach out to Kari’s psychic abilities. On the very day Kari and Hal were to be married, Guy finally managed to touch her mind. Kari entered a trance, and drew a picture in the dirt of what she saw from the other dimension.

Hal quickly got Superman‘s help but, in their rescue attempt they are both pulled into the Phantom Zone as well. As soon as Hal and Superman enter the zone, they are immediately attacked by a furious Guy. He was furious and felt that Hal had in fact stolen Kari from him. He also believed that Hal had purposely tried to kill him with with his faulty battery. Guy was so enraged that Superman and Hal retreated out of the zone. After Hal and Superman leave, Guy is pulled into the anti-matter universe known as Qward by the ex-Green Lantern Sinestro. Guy is used by Sinestro, who fuels his rage especially toward Hal Jordan. Superman and Hal not giving up, defeat Sinestro and return Guy home. Unfortunately, once there, Guy’s injuries catch up to him and he becomes comatose. He could not even be reached psychically by Kari, nor anyone else. While Guy lay in his hospital bed, Kari breaks up with Hal, and John Stewart becomes the next Green Lantern from Earth. Hal and John fought as Green Lanterns for a long time all the while Guy remained in his coma.

Guy as a Green Lantern

While Guy Gardner was deep in his coma, he could still feel his connection with the Green Lantern Corps. He could see through his mind’s eye the battles with Krona and Nekron. It was after these battles that Hal grew weary of the space faring and dangerous life of a member of the Corps and resigned. Hal left the responsibility of Sector 2814 to John Stewart. After this the being known as the Anti-Monitor, comprised of anti-matter energy, was devouring entire Universes unknown to anyone at the time. The very fate of the entire Multi-verse was at stake and help was needed from everyone. The Guardians of the Universe, detected this terrible event and were torn as to what they should do. Six Guardians felt that they should break their vow to not intervene, and take action. They created their own Power Battery, and began assembling a small Green Lantern strike force.

The first Green Lantern, chosen was Guy Gardner. Even though Guy had only been a Green Lantern a short time, he exhibited a level of willpower never before seen. The Guardians woke him from his coma. Waking from his coma, one of the first things Guy does is visit the crash site of Abin Sur. When he gets there he is met by Hal Jordan. Hal was coincidentally there for his annual visit to the burial site. Before the two could say a word, they were met by one of the Guardians. The Guardian told Guy that with the entire Universe on the brink of destruction, he was the only Green Lantern that the Guardian’s felt could spearhead their assault on the Anti-Monitor. The Guardian immediately teleported Guy to Oa and gave Guy his own Power Ring. At the main Citadel, Guy and Hal met the other five Guardians. The Guardians tell Guy that his Ring and Battery would be fueled by their very life force, because the anti-matter had destroyed the energy within the original Central Battery. They bestowed upon Guy a new uniform that resembled their now-outdated Fists of the Guardians robots. Guy was tasked to lead the assault force and they would assemble on the moon of Qward, the birthplace of the Anti-Monitor.

As the meeting between Guy and the Guardians concluded, a destructive wave of anti-matter swept across Oa. This killed five of six Guardians. The final Guardian gave Gardner his blessing, and sent him out to assemble his strike force. Unknown to anyone Hal had actually hitched a ride when Guy was teleported to Oa. After Guy leaves, Hal confronts the Guardian, and offers his assistance as a veteran Green Lantern. The Guardian accepts, and grants him his own Power Ring under one condition. That he follow Guy no matter what. Reluctantly, Hal agrees, and goes off to find Guy. On Earth, heroes across the Universe attempt to stop the Anti-Monitor. Guy himself sets in motion a plan to destroy the moon of Qward and hopefully the crises at hand. Guy revives the Shark, an old villain of Hal’s, and persuades him to assist in his mission. Guy also recruits Hector Hammond,Sonar, Throttle, Blindside, and Goldface. Just as the team is assembled, Green Lanterns John Stewart and Katma Tui intervened. They planned on sending the majority of the team back to prison, and to arrest Guy. Before they are able to, Hal informs the two lanterns that Guy was handpicked to stop the Anti-Monitor, and that no one would be allowed to stop him. The team then sets off for Qward and their mission.

John Stewart and Katma Tui get discouraged and are approached by Sinestro. Sinestro tells them that if Guy’s phalanx on the moon of Qward were to be successful, the Anti-Monitor would actually grow in power. John quickly departs to inform or stop the team. As John rushed, Guy and his strike force encountered several enemies defending Qward. Things become heated and Hal clashed with Guy. At this, Guy tosses Hal out of the team. The final straw being Hal refusing to use lethal force. Guy ends up stranding Hal on the anti-matter world. As Guy’s army approached Qward to finish their final objective, John stepped in, and attacked Guy. He informed Guy about the error in his mission, but Guy refused to listen. Hal (having been rescued by John along the way) also tried to talk Guy out of it. John felt that the only course of action would be to forcefully stop Guy and his team. Guy and John have an immense battle for some time. John left as the victor and imprisoned Gardner. He then sends Guy’s team back to Earth, and the Anti-Monitor is eventually stopped by several heroes from the Multiverse.

Modern Age: New Earth

Justice League

When the Crisis is over, the remaining Guardians are freed from their anti-matter prison.Guy is held accountable for his actions. They then told Guy that if he were to remain a Green Lantern, he must train on their home world of Maltus, and help them rebuild several worlds that were left in ruins after the crisis. Guy unhappily agreed to their demands. With all that happened, Guy became an angrier and more violent man than he had been and his ego zooms off the charts. Guy ends up serving the Corps loyally and gains a reputation as a very effective and powerful Green Lantern. Hal once again became the official Green Lantern of Earth and is tasked with a Universe-wide recruiting mission for the Corps. Guy is left as the representative Green Lantern of Sector 2814.

Shortly after the events of the Legends crisis, the world realized that it needed a new Justice League. This new league would not be restricted to Americans only, but it would protect the Earth as a whole. In this environment, Maxwell Lord begins recruiting members for his own new League. Max invites new members including Guy, Batman, Blue Beetle, Black Canary, Doctor Fate, Martian Manhunter, and Captain Marvel, among others. This marked the beginning of the Justice League International, and the beginning of a more fun-loving and happier time in the DC Universe. Guy often clashed with most of the League, specifically Batman, but then, most of the League clashed with itself. Guy fancied himself as leader of the team, he was not highly respected, most of the members answered to Batman or Martian Manhunter or Max. Maxwell even went to Hal and offered him a position on the team, but Hal refused to join if Guy was a member. Hal said that Guy’s presence is cancer to the team’s integrity. Max then withdraws his offer, saying that he didn’t need Hal’s advice.

One famous moment in the JLI’s time together was when Guy finally challenged Batman’s leadership abilities. The argument got heated, and Gardner removed his Power Ring, saying that all he needed was his bare hands to take Batman down. Guy was promptly knocked out with a single punch. He woke up angry and started searching for his ring that was tossed under a computer console. While under the console, he is startled by a rat and hit his head knocking him out again. After Guy awakes this time, he in fact develops a split personality. This separate personality would emerge whenever Guy would get hit on the head. When that would happen, Guy became the polar opposite of his everyday arrogant, sexist, violent, cruel and ego ridden self, and developed a humble, modest, sweet, pacifist side.

When Tora Olafsdotter, otherwise known as Ice, joined the team, Guy becomes infatuated. Unfortunately for him however, most of his advances are shot down. Guy remained vigilant though, and he eventually got her to say yes to a single date. Guy’s date did not go well though, when Ice found out they were going to a Rooster Fight, he also said that Tora had “cottage cheese thighs”. After that, Ice refused to even speak to Guy for quite a while. Guy’s actions infuriated teammate Beatriz DaCosta (Bea), also known as Fire. Bea is Tora’s best friend and she often berated Guy, who developed contempt for her because of this. Finally though, Guy convinced Tora to give him one more chance. She agreed on the stipulation that they go wherever she wanted, and that he act like a perfect gentleman. Guy agreed, and the two went to see the Ice Capades. It was all going well until Blue Beetle decided that he needed to play a prank on the unsuspecting Green Lantern. He recruited the help of Kilowog to build a giant-sized bobble-head Guy Gardner to skate on the ice. When the robot came out, the entire audience laughed and jeered at Gardner, but he managed to control himself, at least while he was on the date. Afterwords, Ice felt that she got more of an insight into who Guy really is, and how dedicated he is to her.

Guy got his revenge on Blue Beetle. Beetle had got more and more lax on his eating habits and started exercising a lot less. It wasn’t long before Beetle developed quite the spare tire. Disgusted with himself, he started to get himself into shape and Guy took much delight in making fun of Beetle. Beetle got angry and the two of them decided to settle their differences in a boxing ring with no Lantern Ring. Guy couldn’t wait to make Beetle pay. Unfortunately for Guy, Beetle was a much better fighter. Guy had superior strength but he had been fighting crime behind a ring, and Beetle had always been a hand to hand combat master. Beetle started making Guy look very foolish and Guy got so fed up he cheated and started to beat the tar out of Beetle. This action upset everyone in the group including Ice.

The Justice League International

The Justice League International went through many such events. The League also faced the massive threats of the Dreamslayer and Despero. Dreamslayer possessed Maxwell Lord, and used him to manipulate the League. He ended up murdering several people, and was eventually defeated by the Silver Sorceress. Despero managed to escape from the mother ship of Lord Manga, and attacked Earth. This fight was a tremendous battle for the league, and it took a huge combined force to stop Despero’s onslaught.These events though, and the resulting devastation, eventually lead to the disbanding of the Justice League International. The Justice League stayed in existence but only in various forms. Guy stayed on as a member of the Justice League America for a short time but couldn’t stand Superman who was the new leader of the league. Guy could see that Ice had a crush on Superman and that only angered him more. Eventually Guy decided to leave the league all together. He eventually came back, but only after he lost his Green Lantern Ring and got the Yellow Power Ring.

After Guy left the League, he was back to being the alternate Green Lantern of Sector 2814. However, when Guy provoked Hal too many times, Hal destroyed Gardner’s Power Ring. Hal was punished for his actions, but Guy was not allowed another Power Ring due to his reckless fights with other Lanterns. This infuriated Guy, and he felt that he needed to have power and that he was meant for it. Guy began hatching a plan to gain another Yellow Qwardian Ring of former Green Lantern Sinestro. The ring was inside the Crypt created by the Guardians of the Universe. Using his Justice League connections, Guy contacted the intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo. Guy and Lobo had often clashed because of their similar and harsh personalities. Despite this, Lobo agreed to help Guy. The two eventually found the Crypt, and Guy discovered exactly what he came for. He battles the very spirit of Sinestro to get the ring. When Guy won and donned the ring, he discovered that it was drained of power. It didn’t have a Lantern battery, and as far as Guy knew, there was no such battery that it could draw power from. Another flaw was that the Ring’s language was Korugarian, the native language of Sinestro‘s people so he couldn’t figure out how to charge it.

On their way back to Earth, Lobo and Guy found themselves attacked by a member of the Green Lantern Corps. Guy thought he was doomed, but the more the Green Lantern attacked him, he realized that his new Ring was gaining power. Guy began to fight back, and the ring grew even more powerful. Guy was victorious, but from that point on, the only way he knew how to recharge his Ring was to battle against other Green Lanterns. Guy had many adventures while he used the yellow ring. He even rejoined the Justice league America although he still hated Superman. Superman only let him join the league on Batman’s advice. Batman basically told Superman to keep his friends close and his enemies even closer. With Guy’s yellow ring, he didn’t have to put up with Hal anymore either. With the exception of getting Ice back, things were going well for Guy until Doomsday showed up. Doomsday defeated the Justice League America with ease. He put Blue Beetle in a coma, ruined Booster Golds power suit, destroyed Ice’s powers and seemingly killed Superman. Guy was hurt badly as well and was beaten so bad he couldn’t see because the swelling had shut his eyes. Despite being blind he still fought Doomsday. Guy literally fought Doomsday until he could no longer stand.

Guy as The Warrior

The League would not be the same again. Eventually Guy had to leave again. After leaving the league, things really started to go down hill for Guy. Much to his terrible dismay, as well as the rest of the league, Ice died at the hands of the Overmaster. The death of Ice tormented Guy for a long time, he could not get over her loss. The same was the case for Fire. After all, what’s Fire without Ice. Their mutual disdain for each other and mutual grief ended up in a soap opera-like affair. Their emotions got ahead of them and they both agreed afterwards, that they should just stay friends because that is what Ice would have wanted. It was also during this time in Guy’s life that Guy’s older brother Mace seemed to reappear after everyone thought he was dead. He now called himself Militia and fought against Guy as a secret operative with a group called the Quorum. Militia seemed to be virtually insane. Militia survived their encounter though, and much later he went on to plague the lives of the Birds Of Prey, and continued to fight Guy. However, Guy’s life took yet another dramatic turn, along with the lives of Green Lanterns everywhere, when Hal lost his mind.

Hal’s home town of Coast City had been destroyed and Hal attempted to use his ring to bring everyone back. The Guardian’s forbade Hal from doing this. Hal in his own rage assaulted the Corps itself. Hal went strait to Oa killing all the Green Lanterns in his path. He collected more and more rings as he went on. When reaching Oa, he absorbed all the energy of the remaining Lanterns, and killed them. The Guardians desperate, released Sinestro from his prison within the Central Power Battery. Hal snapped his neck, and burned Guy’s dear old friend Kilowog to ashes. The Guardians then transferred all of their power to one of their own, Ganthet. Ganthet uses the power to travel to Earth. Hal then entered himself into the Battery, and emerged infused with all of its remaining power. He changes his name to Parallax, and in his own twisted way, did not intend on letting anything stop him from making things right.

Ganthet, now on Earth, began a desperate search for somebody worthy enough to become the last Green Lantern. He first approached Guy Gardner, but Guy refused. The closest being he could then find before Parallax reached Earth was artist Kyle Rayner. Kyle was reluctant, but accepted, and was then given a reconstructed Power Ring. Ganthet then returned to Oa, leaving Kyle to fend for himself. When Guy learns of Hal’s transformation to Parallax he leads a team of his former comrades to stop him on Oa. Parallax defeats everyone but Guy. Guy stands his ground for as long as possible while using up all the willpower Parallax has left. Unfortunately, in the battle, Parallax destroys Guy’s yellow ring, one of Guy’s eyes, and leaves him for dead. Fortunately, Ganthet is able to teleport Guy safely back to Earth.

Vuldarian

Guy’s heroic stand was not in vein, as afterwards Parallax was eventually defeated by several other heroes. Guy left without power, did every thing he could to stay a superhero, he even created a new name for himself. He tried fighting crime with no powers and he tried to be a Superhero with a couple of robotic suits made for him by the Blue Beetle. These suits were similar to the suit Beetle made for Booster Gold. There were several variations for both suits. Guy had at least two types one was red and the other yellow. Nothing really worked. Guy eventually found new powers embedded deep in the Nabba Jungle in the Amazon. Upon exploring an ancient temple, Guy finds a chalice filled with a strange liquid. Guy is drawn to the chalice and feels compelled to drink from it. It was then that Guy underwent a radical transformation. Guy was hit with a knowledge of hundreds of years. He knows about a dying race of humanoids called the Vuldarians and how they came to Earth. They were a proud race of warriors and had amazing shape-shifting abilities.

Their numbers were dwindling, they came to Earth to save their race. The Vuldarians discovered that their DNA is compatible with humans. The Vuldarians began procreating with local tribes. Unfortunately, their unique DNA would take years to integrate with humans completely. The last colony of Vuldarians died, but their genes continued to swim through the human pool for some time until, hundreds of years later, the integration was successful. Guy was this descendant. When Guy learned all of this, he was blown away. He then realized, quite abruptly, that the waters from the chalice had activated his dormant Vuldarian powers. His eye regrew, and he could suddenly, and painfully, change his body into a myriad of weapons. As he transformed, he grew to a massive seven-feet, and became covered in some sort of ritualistic Vuldarian tattoos. For some time, Guy was unable to transform back unless he was given ample time to focus. He also took a long time to learn how to use his new powers to create more powerful weapons. With time though, he gained complete control over his body, and even had the skill required to heal wounds.

After Guy finally got the hang of his new abilities, he once again got back into his superhero groove. He fought foes like the sadistic Dementor and his brother Militia. Guy even opened a bar called “Warriors” which served as his own base of operations, a superhero hangout, and a museum. It kind of looked like Hard Rock Cafe for Superheroes. Guy fought as the hero Warrior for a long time. He even developed a much more even keel nature. He made friends of heroes he previously hated. He was somewhat sappy in his mannerisms and became much more of a bland personality. It was as if the Guy of the past never existed. His personality had changed completely. His actual gender even changed for a short time. Gardner became less and less important to his fellow heroes. He did continue to fight on and was almost killed in the ” Our Worlds At War” storyline. He ended up trapped in a small part of General Zod’s country of Pokolistan, and when he escaped; his new goal was to take on more seedy tasks that more upstanding heroes wouldn’t take part in.

The Superbuddies

Maxwell Lord, claiming that he finally wanted to do something for unselfish reasons, enlisted the help of his old robotic friend L-Ron to recruit Superheroes from the International League era for a new team he was forming. He ended up successfully acquiring the Elongated Man, his wife Sue Dibny, Mary Marvel, Blue Beetle, Fire, Captain Atom, and Booster Gold. The Superbuddies were born and moved into their new base of operations: a strip mall in Queens, New York. However, on moving day, they discovered who’s going to be working next door: Guy Gardner! Guy is opening a bar called “The Dark Side” with reformed super-villain Dick Hertz, aka Blackguard. The Superbuddies are none-too-pleased to find that their former and presumed unstable teammate is going to be their neighbor, and make it quite clear to him. Guy doesn’t help himself when he fondles Mary Marvel, and is almost killed for it. He apologizes later on, admitting that it was inappropriate. The team is surprised, but forgive him. Mostly.

Several things happened after that, that caused quite a bit of confusion regarding Guy Gardner’s own past. Booster Gold inadvertently sends half of the team to Hell when messing with some of Doctor Fate’s belongings. Power Girl comes in to assist Maxwell Lord and Sue Dibny in getting them back. Guy Gardner stops by, and tells them to let him have a whirl at it. Power Girl mentions his Vuldarian abilities, asking “weren’t you dying, or mutated, or something?” Guy’s response is “I got better.” No other explanation is given for the absence of his shape-shifting powers. He grabs the artifact in question, and ends up sending himself and Power Girl to Hell as well.

It was apparently intentional, with Guy saying that the best way to rescue somebody is to find them first. However, much to the surprise of everyone, Guy revealed that he still had his Yellow Power Ring. Power Girl asks him about it, and he says that he’ll never be without it again. While in Hell, Guy and Fire discover their deceased teammate Ice. They both try and get her out with them, but when Fire makes the mistake of looking back at her on their way out of the fiery pits, Ice thanked them for everything, and disappeared, leaving Guy and Beatriz shattered. Eventually, they find the team, and after entering yet another parallel dimension, they are rescued by a particularly angry Doctor Fate. The arc ended, and the Superbuddies were apparently disbanded.

Back as a Green Lantern

Throughout the years while Guy was absent from the Green Lantern Corps, much changed. Despite his attempt to build a bar called the Dark Side he apparently still had his Vuldarian powers and his bar Warriors. Hal Jordan had redeemed himself from evil by reigniting the sun, and became the new Spectre. After the Guardians and the Green Lanterns had been all but obliterated years earlier, Kyle Rayner became the last Lantern in the Universe. He spent much time with the JLA, but eventually left when he realized what his duty as a Lantern truly entailed. His responsibility was to every designated Sector of the Universe. All 3600 of them. And when he gained the power of Ion, he revived the Guardians of the Universe on Oa. Sometime later, in Sector 2999, Kyle learned something about an ancient creature. It was called Parallax.

On Earth, things were drastically changing as well. Sue Dibny had been murdered, shaking the world of superheroes everywhere. Old friends learned of their distrust for each other, and big things were brewing across the globe. Hal Jordan began conflicting the spirit of the Spectre within him, and started acting irrationally. When Guy and John Stewart tried watching a baseball game with him, the people around them began confessing their sins. The Spectre was breaking his will. Within the Spectre, the will of Parallax was corrupting. Hal disappeared, and began dispatching violent justice on criminals elsewhere. Green Arrow became suspicious, and took Hal’s old ring out of storage. Guy and John went back to Warriors, and while having a drink, Gardner’s abilities suddenly caused him to erupt in a glorious flash of energy. The bar exploded, and Guy was dying. Elsewhere, Carol Ferris visited the ruins of the old hangars in Coast City. Suddenly, everything there was restored to perfection, and various pieces of the City appeared out of nowhere, most notably Hal Jordan’s old apartment building. John brought Guy to the JLA Watchtower, where the Martian Manhunter, Mr. Terrific, and Doctor Mid-Nite looked him over. It appeared that when he exploded, his Vuldarian DNA was being rejected by his Human DNA. In essence, he was becoming completely human again. As he recovered, events began to unfold that would change the Universe forever.

Kyle Rayner crash landed in a ship from the center of the sun, bearing with him the body of Hal Jordan. Two teenagers found him, and he told them to tell everybody that “Parallax is coming.” Back in Coast City, Hal Jordan appeared before Carol Ferris, but he seemed distraught. The two began reminiscing about the old days at the Air Force base. However, the JLA had noticed the sudden reappearance of Coast City, and went to investigate, leaving J’onn, Mid-nite, Green Arrow, Mr. Terrific and Guy on the Watchtower. When the JLA touched down in Coast City, John suddenly started acting differently. He blasted the League, and even took down Superman. Suddenly, something began to happen to Hal Jordan. The Spectre tried to retreat, but Parallax held it and Hal there. Back on the Watchtower, the ring that Ollie had gotten earlier split in two, and one made its way for Guy as he lay on his med-bay bed. J’onn, reading his thoughts, detected three things: Confidence, arrogance, and fear. Guy stood up, and said, “You know what they say, J’onny Boy?” His ring flashed brilliantly. “Beware my power.” Garbed in his old uniform,Guy blasted down to Earth.

Kyle, recovering from his crash, tried as hard as could not to use his ring to heal himself. Then, Kilowog landed before him, Power Ring in tow. He was acting the same way Guy and John were, and for some reason, he tried to get Kyle to use his ring, which Kyle refused. Kilowog went for Hal’s body, but suddenly Ganthet appeared before them. He told Kilowog to cease his actions, but the Lantern wanted a fight. Fortunately, he fell quickly under Ganthet’s power. The Guardian teleported Kyle and the coffin to the Watchtower, where Kyle found an unconscious Martian Manhunter, Dr. Mid-Nite, and Mr. Terrific. However, Ollie was still awake. He explained what happened with Guy, and Kyle explained what’s been going on.

Hal Jordan was never “Parallax” at all. Eons ago, a yellow demon comprised entirely of Fear rampaged throughout the Universe. Its name was Parallax. The Guardians of the Universe eventually captured it, and imprisoned it inside the Central Power Battery. Because of this, Lanterns could only be beings without fear, so that Parallax could not infect their minds. This caused what Green Lanterns commonly referred to as “the Yellow Impurity”. It made it so that Power Rings couldn’t affect the color Yellow. The Guardians went so long without dealing with the demon that they eventually simply forgot about it. However, when Hal Jordan’s home town of Coast City was destroyed, his mind began to slip. Parallax got a grip on him. Eventually he possessed him, and escaped when Hal entered the Battery years ago. Now, Parallax was possessing the power of the Spectre, and infecting Lanterns from the inside out through their rings. The threat of Parallax was even greater than before. It turns out that Sinestro has been working with the demon, and he attacks Ollie and Kyle in the Watchtower.

On Earth, Guy and John try to attack Ganthet under the influence of the demon, but Ganthet frees them. Kilowog wakes up as well, and the four of them converge on Parallax, who is using Spectre’s power. He scoffs at them, but when the JLA, Teen Titans, and JSA all arrive as backup; Parallax realizes that he may have a fight. Hal Jordan’s spirit is suddenly freed from the Spectre and the Yellow demon, but as he heads toward “the light”, Ganthet pulls him back to the Watchtower, and to his body. Hal wakes up, and is a Green Lantern once more. He defeats Sinestro with Kyle’s help, and the two finally shake hands. They head back down to Earth, and join Guy and the other Lanterns in the battle with Parallax. The demon possesses Ganthet, but the gathering of Lanterns finally manage to teleport it back into the Central Power Battery, and Guy Gardner had played a central role in its capture. With this, the Guardians gather in the main Citadel on Oa, and declare that recruiting will now begin for the new Corps.

The Green Lantern Corps

After the fallout from the fight, Kyle and Guy are called to Oa. There, they are told that along with Kilowog, they are to train all 300 new recruits for the Corps. Guy isn’t happy with it, and as he decides to leave for Earth, Kilowog convinces him to stay, saying that he needs Gardner’s help in training them. Guy accepts, but only at Kilowog’s request. Several of the rookies are scared, but only one doesn’t want to stay. Soranik Natu of Korugar is to be the new Green Lantern of Sector 1417, the sector of former Green Lantern Sinestro.

On Korugar, people shun the Lanterns, considering them to be disgraced and cursed. When Soranik first used her ring to perform neurosurgery on a young Korugarian boy, she is considered dead to her people. During the rally on Oa for new recruits, she expressed the desire to quit the Corps. Salakk allows it, and she is carried off into space by her ring toward Korugar. Later Kyle and Guy receive a vision that shows Soranik stranded somewhere in the Vega System of Sector 2828. Before Guy and Kyle leave to help her, they are informed that a pact between the Psions of Vega and the Guardians of the Universe restrict any Green Lanterns from entering the system. The two decide that the life of Soranik is more important, and continue regardless of the agreement. They eventually locate Natu inside of a waste facility in the Vega system, but she appears dead. Suddenly she returns to life, and reveals that she ingested her ring, and willed it to keep her body alive but to shut down her mind, so that the creatures on the planet would just consider her biological waste. She tells Kyle and Guy that on her way back to Korugar, she could feel the presence of the previous Lantern of her sector. He had died trying to contain a star that exploded, and the black hole that stood in its place absorbed Soranik. She ended up in the Waste Facility, and sent out rescue signals with her ring.

Gardner convinces her to honor the memory of the previous Lantern of Sector 1417, and continue her training as a Lantern. She agrees, and dons her own unique uniform. The trio depart the mysterious planet, but before they can vacate the Vega system, they receive an emergency signal from Kilowog, who is nearby. He had apparently been sucked into a black hole in a separate Sector, along with two other rookie Lanterns. Gardner, Rayner, and Soranik seek them out, but find themselves suddenly embroiled in battle with several bounty hunters working with the Spider-Guild. Apparently, the Guild had been forcibly collapsing stars and using them for energy, and creating a network between the black holes that they could access. The next star on the list: Oa’s. After battling the bounty hunters, the three Lanterns locate and rescue Kilowog and his two rookies.

As they book it out of the system, they suddenly receive a “Code Zero” alert. Code Zero is only raised when Oa itself is under siege. The team enters transluminal speed, and make it back to Oa. Once there, it appears that the Spider-Guild has emerged from the Oan sun, and have commenced a massive attack. Guy Gardner rallies all the Lanterns at the Central Power Battery, where they all recharge their Rings at once. Then, in a coordinated effort, they all unleash their Rings’ power at the fleet, and destroy their connection to the Oan sun. His actions impress the Guardians a great deal, and Salakk promotes him to Lantern Number One of the Honor Guard. In his new position, Guy has authority over most other Lanterns, save for a handful, and is tasked with taking on missions that other Lanterns could not. He must “think outside of the box”, according to the Guardians, who believe that Guy is perfect for the role.

Infinite Crisis

When Ted Kord, otherwise known as the Blue Beetle, was found dead, the entire world of DC’s heroes shattered around them. Booster Gold, after being told of Ted’s demise, began a desperate search for his killer. He was assisted by Wonder Woman, the only person who believed Ted’s claims of a conspiracy before his death. Unfortunately, while the two were in space looking for one of Batman’s “Brother MKII” satellites, Guy Gardner sought them out. He quickly cast Wonder Woman aside, spurning her help. He claimed that it should be the members of the old Justice League International to find Beetle’s killer. He took Booster to the home of Beatriz DaCosta, otherwise known as Fire, to recruit her in their search. However, when they arrive at her condo, she is already deep in an investigation of Kord Industries’ financial problems, trying to uncover Ted’s apparent conspiracy. She asks them whether or not Ted had any dealings with Maxwell Lord, at which point mystery surrounding his death unravels. Max had been siphoning funds from Kord Industries, and using them to finance his own project in Switzerland. Max was now Black King of Checkmate, and he had hijacked Batman’s Brother Eye system. When Ted discovered this, he was killed.

Unfortunately, before the three of them can act, Max’s Project is activated: Project OMAC. All over the world, under the control of Brother Eye, nanites overwhelm the bodies of selected individuals, turning them into unstoppable meta-human killing machines. Gardner and Booster find Rocket Red and Martian Manhunter already embroiled in an epic battle with several of the OMACs in a Russian desert. At Rocket Red’s request, Guy traps all of the present OMACs and Red inside of a bubble. Rocket Red self-destructs, saving them temporarily. Elsewhere, Wonder Woman snaps the neck of Maxwell Lord, killing him. When this happens, the Brother Eye becomes sentient, and commands all OMACs to obliterate every meta-human on Earth. Beatriz is sent to the hospital, but Guy must leave her bedside after being called to assist in battle with the OMACs elsewhere. Booster leaves for the future again, feeling somehow responsible for Beetle’s death, believing he could have prevented all of this had he used his knowledge of the future earlier. After Guy finishes dispatching several hundred more OMACs alongside a handful of other heroes, he and the other Green Lanterns are called to Oa.

When Superman of Earth-Two, Alexander Luthor of Earth-Three, and Superboy of Earth-Prime returned from their pocket universe in order “cleanse” ours, the Infinite Crisis began. Alex had built a device from the Anti-Monitor’s carcass, and planned on using it to bring the Multi-verse back, and find the perfect Earth, and then collapse the Multi-verse once more. However, before he could finish, the Superboy of the main DCU destroyed his machine. Unfortunately, Conner was promptly and violently killed by the unimaginably powerful Superboy-Prime. The repercussions felt from the destruction of the machine tore through the Universe. The world in which our heroes lived was changed. Various pieces of the Multi-verse folded over into their own, and history was changed in various places. Batman had captured his parents’ killer, and Superman developed his powers at a much younger age. The heroes fighting in the Rann-Thanagar War were ripped apart over and over and over, and then teleported to various parts of the Universe. Fortunately, on Earth, Batman was able to stop the rampaging OMACs with the help of Booster Gold, who had returned from the future once more. Superboy-Prime, feeling that his and Alex’s plan was falling apart, left Luthor for dead. He blasts away from Earth, heading for Oa. He plans on creating a new Big Bang, making a new Universe in his image.

In space, before Superman and Kal-L (Superman of Earth-Two) could catch up with him, Superboy-Prime confronts the entire Green Lantern Corps, with Guy leading. He easily plows through a 300-mile-thick wall of willpower generated by every single Lantern, and then fights the Lanterns themselves. Guy Gardner calls out a “Code 54”, telling the Lanterns that the use of extreme and lethal force has been “granted, and encouraged for this crybaby”. Superboy manages to kill several Green Lanterns, but the two Supermen finally reach him. They take him through the Red Sun of Krypton, removing them all of their powers. They crash on Mogo, and Superboy-Prime kills Kal-L. Superman manages to beat Prime into submission, and Guy Gardner meets them there. He oversees Prime’s capture, and develops his prison within a Red-Sun Eater, with a rotating watch of 50 Lanterns on “Prime Duty”.

The Crazy One

A year following the rampage of Superboy-Prime, Guy Gardner has continued to lead the Green Lantern Corps valiantly. His efforts have turned rookie Soranik Natu into an expert Lantern. He has assisted other Lanterns such as Hal Jordan, now returned to his role as Green Lantern of Sector 2814, Kilowog, and even Kyle Rayner, now calling himself Ion once more, after absorbing the power of the Starheart from Jade in the Crisis. At one point, Guy even got the Shore Leave he had been waiting for, but even then he could not stay out of trouble. Bolphunga the Unrelenting followed him, and attacked him when he was without his Power Ring. Even then, Guy managed to escape unscathed.

More recently, Guy had been punished for helping out Hal on a restricted mission, which ended him up doing “Prime Duty”, where he could not eat, sleep, talk, or partake in any other such activities for four weeks. While there, he must remain awake and alert, allowing his Ring to take care of all his sustenance needs and bodily functions. His willpower must be focused on keeping Superboy-Prime completely imprisoned in his cell. He carried out the task successfully, and was relieved after his allotted shift was over. In the miniseries Ion: Guardian of the Universe, Kyle Rayner interacted with several heroes from the Tangent Universe, including the Tangent Green Lantern. They fought him, but when Kyle won, he obtained the Tangent Green Lantern’s Power Battery. He eventually left it with Guy for safekeeping. This leads into the Tangent: Superman’s Reign series.

Guy, now a much more respected lantern, became part of the Corpse within the Green Lantern Corps. The Corpse is a Black Ops division of the Green Lantern Corps. Members of the Corpse forsake their rings for other powers provided by the Guardians. In the Corpse, Guy was tasked with locating Von Daggle. Von Daggle is a Durlan who was a past member and leader of the Corpse. Guy himself informed Daggle of his reinstatement and that he was to be the leader of the Corpse. Under Daggle’s command, Guy went to the home-world of the Dominators. The Corpse defeated a super-scientist, super-evolved Dominators. The problem with the Corpse was its use of lethal force. This upset Guy and he knew he had to quit. When Guy told Daggle, he wiped Guy’s mind. Afterward Daggle joked that humans never make the cut.

The Sinestro Corps War

Superboy-Prime and Cyborg Superman escaped their incarceration when the Sinestro Corps war raged on Oa. This war took the lives of the Green Lanterns on Prime Duty. Later many Green Lanterns were taken prisoner by Parallax including Guy, John and Hal . The Green Lanterns were tortured but three of them got away when Hal found and rescued Guy and John. The rescue almost failed when Guy was nearly killed by Parallax. The three Green Lanterns go back to Earth only to find a huge force of Sinestro Corpsmen about to wage war on the Green Lantern’s home planet. Hal saves his family from Parallax who is possessing Kyle. He also tries to save In an Kyle from being possessed. Guy was also supposed to help Kyle but he is bushwhacked by the Sinestro Corps until Green Calvary show up. This becomes a turning point for the Green Lanterns because they are allowed to use deadly force with their rings. When Hal and Guy are able to work together they finally save Kyle from Parallax. As Parallax, tries to escape he is caught by Ganthet and Sayd.

When the dust settles Kyle gets another ring and joins the Green Lantern Corps once more. The fate of Parallax is grim as he is divided into sections and a part of him is kept in the batteries of Guy, John, and Hal. The Guardians keep them in their batteries because of their exceptionally strong will. They do this despite the fact that Hal and Kyle were both possessed by Parallax at different times. This marks the first time that the batteries look different from one another. In the past they had all looked the same for each lantern. Guy’s battery even had a University of Michigan sticker on it. After the Sinestro Corps War, Guy was finally reunited with Ice. Ice had been resurrected. Ice had been found alive in a Rocket Red exo-suit by the Birds of Prey. Guy and Ice had a tumultuous relationship but deep down they loved each other. After Guy lost Ice, he realized how much he loved and needed her. Ice did not experience the loss in the same way. Ice was uncertain about having any relationship after being dead, especially because of the time that had elapsed. Guy convinces Ice to meet him again for a date one month later.

Guy decided to live on Oa, and he sets up a bar and grill called “Guy’s Place” He later changes the name to The Big W. One day Guy gets a knock at his door to find Ice standing in his doorway. Ice told him she got to Oa with the help of Green Lantern: Symon Terrynce. Ice was 14 days early for their date. Unfortunately, Guy and Ice are interrupted and Guy has to leave because of his Green Lantern Duties. Guy leaves Ice standing at his restaurant and says he’ll be back soon. Ice responds and says “I’ll be here.” Things don’t go well for Guy and Ice. Just like always their strong personalities end up in conflict. Guy wanted Ice to move in with him on Oa and Ice wanted to live on Earth with her best friend Beatriz (Fire). This upsets Guy because he feels that Beatriz will continue to try to divide them. Just like in the past, their relationship is put on hold and Ice goes back to Earth. Ice however comes back in Blackest Night as a Black Lantern and the two don’t get together then either.

Blackest Night

In Blackest Night, a corrupted Guardian known as Scar, set Red Lantern Vice free in the Sciencell. Scar then attempted to set all of the Sinestro Corps free, while at the same time the Alpha Lanterns were ordered by the Guardians to execute everyone in Sinestro Corps along with all the other prisoners. Guy and Kyle were openly opposed to the execution and tried to convince the Guardians to stay the executions. The Guardians refused and, reassigned Guy and Kyle to Earth for challenging their decree. On Earth, Guy and Kyle go to Coast City for the Memorial Day ceremony. They payed their respects to fallen heroes including Guy’s old JLI teammate, Ted Kord. Guy and Kyle then returned to Oa, and see a swarm of black rings. Guy and Kyle try to repel the rings but they cannot stop the rings from entering into Oa’s Lantern crypt and reviving the fallen Corps member as Black Lanterns. Guy and Kyle then battled the Black Lanterns and Guy is forced to crush the body of Bzzd. Guy is then impaled through the leg by Ke’Haan‘s horn. Guy then disintegrates Ke’Haan and is shocked when the black ring causes him to regenerate.

As the battle rages the Black Lanterns’ power levels register one hundred percent. When this happens they try to devour will by consuming the Central Power Battery. Guy tries to stop them by freeing the Red Lantern Vice. The Red Lantern Vice demolishes the Black Lanterns so badly and quickly they are unable to regenerate. The battle takes another turn when the Alpha Lantern Chaselon unaware of what Guy was doing kills the Vice. After Chaselon kills the Vice he is attacked by the Black Lanterns, who remove the Power Battery inside his chest. As the Battery is about to explode, Kyle seals the Black Lantern and the Battery in a shield bubble as the Battery went off. The Black Lanterns disintegrate in the explosion but Kyle is killed as well. In a rage over Kyle’s death, Guy was sought out by Vice’s red power ring.Guy now has a green and red power ring. Guy then takes his vengeance out on the Black Lanterns and he is able to destroy them easily using both rings. Kyle’s resurrection at the hands of Star Sapphire Miri Riam didn’t stop Guy’s rage When the Black Lanterns are destroyed, Guy’s rage is so uncontrollable that he attacks his friends.

As Guy fights the Green Lanterns including Kyle. Guy with his combined powers gets the best of the Lanterns until Guy fights Mogo. Mogo pulls Guy under Mogo’s surface and cleanses the blood from Guy’s red ring. This works and Guy is informed that only the light of a Blue Lantern can cure him completely. The group then go to Earth to battle Nekron. Guy leads the battle to destroy the Black Lanterns for the final battle. Guy even fights Ice who is controlled by the black ring. Good overcomes evil in the final battle against the Black Lanterns. The Green Lanterns, Earth’s heroes and a white entity all take part in the victory. The white light resurrects many heroes and villains including Maxwell Lord. The man that killed Blue Beetle. Guy tries to restrain him, but Max mind-controls Guy to let him leave.

Emerald Warriors

Guy convinces the Guardians of the Universe to allow him to go into the unknown sectors in search of enemies yet unknown. The rationale for the search was prevent disasters similar to recent events that threatened the universe (e.g. Blackest Night, Sinestro Corps War). Prior to contacting the Guardians, however, Guy made a secret pact with the Guardians, Atrocitus and Ganthet. Early in the story Guy still displays connections to the Red Lantern Corps. Several instances show him struggling with subsiding his rage and the Red Lantern Blood from coming from his mouth. Early in the story Guy attempts to be “purified” of the Red Lantern taint by vising the home planet, Odym. However, Bleeze intervenes and tells Guy that he must use the Red Lantern Rage to aid him in his battle. Also on Odym, Guy learns that for unknown reasons the Green Lantern rings are being drained of their energy.

After reaching the unknown sectors, Guy is overcome by the Red Lantern Rage and vomits a red lantern construct of Atrocitus who explains that the prophecy is now coming to fruition. It is also evident that the Prophesy is what drove the, as yet unknown, pact between Lantern Gardner, Atrocitus, and Ganthet. Images from the prophecy show Guy and Hal Jordan fighting each other viciously, the entities attacking lanterns and other people, Sodam Yat and his army rising, and Green Lanterns fighting other Green Lanterns.

Post-Flashpoint:

Red Lanterns

Guy Gardner has successfully defeated Artocitus in a test of Rage. He was able to remove his Red Power Ring and summon it to him while Artocitus was trying to take it. He then handed leadership of The Corps over to Bleez , Raknorr and Supergirl to guide the next generation of Red Lanterns into future.

Powers and Abilities

Intelligent

Guy Gardner, before his acquisition of any Power Rings, or activating his latent Vuldarian abilities, has all the abilities of an everyday human being. He is quite intelligent, and before injuring his knee, he was a star college football player.

Vuldarian

Guy’s latent Vuldarian abilities granted him the ability to transform his body into a bulking and massive wall of muscle, along with an array of energy, projectiles, and blunt weapons. He was also able to use this ability to heal mortal wounds. His heritage also gifted him with the knowledge of a myriad of different warriors across the Universe.

Equipment

The Green Power Ring

Guy Gardner is the second Lantern to posses the Green, Yellow and red power rings. When Guy is in possession of any of these power rings, he is regarded as an extremely efficient, brutal, powerful and cunning adversary. It is said that his willpower is so immense and so uncontrollable, that not even his Power Ring can contain it. Because of this, even when standing still, his ring is constantly sparking and flashing.

Currently Guy Gardner is the wielder of a Green Lantern Ring. The powers of the Green Lantern Corps allow him to manipulate it by using willpower. The powers granted to him by using it are:

• Animating: A Green Lantern can will things to move how he wants.
• Artificial Intelligence: Every ring has a connection to the Main Battery on Oa, which taps into an artificial intelligence. It acts as an “on-board computer,” telling the wearer what they need to know. It can either respond out loud, or silently directly to the wearer’s mind. The AI contains a large database of information that may be crucial to a Lantern’s success. The ring also translates nearly every language to and from the wearer (though they have difficulty translating profanity), which is why the Corps can communicate with each other. When the bearer of a Green Lantern ring dies, the ring will seek out a suitable replacement for their sector. The AI can be used to play a holographic playback sequence complete with colors across the spectrum based on information in memory banks. The ring can dictate when to pause or stop the playback should an interruption arise where the Lanterns undivided attention is needed. The AI can also alert the wielder of incoming threats or of attempts to manipulate the wielders construct by an outside party.
• Burglar Alarm: A Green Lantern can coat anything with the ring’s beam and thus, if anyone other than himself touches it, his ring will glow, alerting him to the possible theft.
• Communicator: The ring can act as a personal communicator between Green Lanterns. They have also been seen connected to telephones.
• Costumes: The wearer of the ring may create any costume they choose, based on their personal preferences, whenever they choose. The ring projects the costume over any clothes already worn at the time.
• Energy Projection: The rings can also project beams, form protective bubbles and force fields, and fire destructive blasts. Sometimes, depending on the wearer, the beams and blasts make sounds. Kilowog‘s ring is one such example of blasts making sounds.
• Energy Constructs: The rings can construct anything the wearer can imagine from hard-light energy, as long as they are willing to make it. The more determined the wearer is, the more complex and intricate these things can be. The constructs can even be so complex as to form working machines, computers, and even people.
• Flight: The ring allows the wearer to fly in atmosphere or in space, and can achieve incredible speeds, moving from planet to planet in a matter of hours.
• Invisibility: The ring can make the wearer or anything else invisible.
• Matter Manipulation: A Green Lantern can use their ring to manipulate nearby matter, such as water, for various purposes such as a construct that acts like an energy construct but can block something yellow and may serve a purpose that an energy construct couldn’t perform.
• Mind Control: The wearer of the Ring can use it to plant post hypnotic commands or control a person.
• Mirages: The Ring can create mirages/illusions.
• Phasing: The ring allows the user to go through walls.
• Power Absorbing: In the JLA’s first fight with Amazo, it was GL who defeated him by drawing out all of Amazo’s powers. In Green Lantern/ Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances, Kyle defeated Parallax with SS’ power and Thanos with Oa’s energy by drawing out all that extra energy from them which made them unconscious. However he couldn’t hold all that power nor could his Ring like Hal did with Amazo’s powers, so that move isn’t often used with so much power.
• Probing: The ring can probe the Lantern’s or another person’s mind, allowing him to uncover memories or the person’s thoughts.
• Radiation: Besides light based radiation used to create the energy constructs associated with a Green Lantern, the ring can simulate various forms of radiation. One example of this is the ability to simulate the radiation of Green Kryptonite, a form of radiation that is harmful to Superman. However, this ability is no longer valid and has been retconned.
• Recharging: The rings need to be recharged by means of a Power Battery. Other large sources of power may be used to recharge a power ring, however effectiveness may vary. The internal power source of a Manhunter Android is, in effect, the same as a power battery, and can be used to recharge a power ring. During the JLA / Avengers crossover, a Cosmic Cube was used to recharge a depleted ring, although this is not an ideal solution and is available if there are no other options.
• Ring Duplication: Each ring can duplicate itself, creating a second ring which may be given to another as a backup, for protection, or to help the lantern in times of great need. This duplicate ring is exactly like a normal ring.
• Temperature Control: The Ring can increase or decrease the temperature of anything, even something as large as stars, or even create bubbles of intense heat or cold, even down to Absolute Zero.
• Transforming: The ring can transform anyone or anything, be it into an animal, altering their state of appearance, or their size. Once Hal and Alan turned the two Flashes ( Barry and Jay) to light protons in order to free them from prisons.
• Electro-magnetic scanning: The ring can allow(through the use of x rays) the user to see through walls, without the people on the other side knowing. it can also scan along the Electromagnetic spectrum.
• Wormhole/Warps: The ring can open wormholes to cut down on distance.
• Time travel: The ring allows the wielder the ability to travel through time, though the process requires great willpower.
• Healing: A wielder can command a ring to heal him/her/itself of any injures incurred. It can also heal others.
• Energy twin: The ring can create an energy copy of the wielder which is connected to the ring wielder, any information the twin gathers is transferred to the wielder upon touch while others cannot see this twin apart from fellow Green Lanterns.
• Pocket dimension: Within the ring is a pocket dimension which can altered to the wielders specification. It can be used to contain opponents.
• Sub-routines: The power rings have inner programmings or mechanisms which can executed without the users permission. One such sub-routine is the autoshield. This shield automatically protects a wielder from external harm and has been proven to be capable of protecting the wielder from planetary level attacks.

Lantern Status

Green Lantern Honor Guard

Green Lantern Status: Active

Space Sector: 2814, now assigned to Sector 0

Sector Partner(s): John Stewart

Homeworld: Earth

Predecessor: Hal Jordan

Personal Data

• Height: 6’0″
• Weight: 180 lbs.
• Eyes: Green
• Hair: Red
• Citizenship: American
• Marital Status: Single
• Occupation: Adventurer, Green Lantern; former police officer

Other Versions

Flashpoint

In Flashpoint, Guy is the proud owner and bartender of the Australian pub “The Warriors”. He currently lives a peaceful and passive life in the Australian outback. Meanwhile, Traci 13 was sent on a spiritual journey from Madame Xanadu. On the journey, Traci was sent to Queensland Australia. In a dazed and confused state she fall’s from a unexpected teleportation hurricane and spills one of the locals drinks. Guy mistakes this for a bar brawl and is beyond the edge of reasoning with the said thugs. When Guy sees the girl he suddenly becomes talkative and friendly. Traci mistakes Guy’s kind attitude and thinks that Guy is flirting with her. It turns out later that he was kind of hitting on her, but as Guy states her tattoo did make her look older. They start talking and Guy reveals that he was previously a “rage-aholic” until he found Buddhism and moved to Australia.

Other Media

Television

Justice League of America

Guy Gardner first shot at television stardom was a failed pilot about the Justice League called The Justice League of America. Guy Gardner was played by actor Matthew Settle. In the pilot the Justice League who was composed of Martian Manhunter, Flash, Atom, Fire, Ice and of course the Legendary Guy Gardner as the Green Lantern fight a criminal known as the weatherman.

Duck Dodgers

In an Episode of the Loony Toons: Duck Dodgers Guy Gardner has a non speaking cameo role as a Green Lantern who is captured along with many other Green Lanterns by one of Sinestro’s robots. As stated, Guy did not have a speaking role but many other Lanterns did, including Hal Jordan, Kilowog, Ch’p, Boodika Tomar-Re, and Katma Tui. Daffy Duck even plays a Lantern in this episode as he found Hal Jordan’s ring in the pocket of his Green Lantern Uniform that is switched with Daffy’s cloths at the dry cleaners.

Batman: the Brave and the Bold

Guy Gardner’s first real speaking television appearance was on “Batman: The Brave And The Bold”, voiced by James Arnold Taylor. In the teaser for “Day Of The Knight!”, his first episode , Batman and Guy escort an alien criminal to the Oan Sciencellus; Guy runs into Kilowog, who was transporting a criminal from the planet Kw’ell. This criminal was puny, so Guy disregarded him as a threat and dumped his coffee on him; Batman then exclaimed that when Kw’ellians are exposed to moisture, they become massive and strong. The Kw’ellian becomes a powerhouse and attacks Guy, the fight breaking out into the mess hall. Guy and the other Green Lanterns battle the criminal, keeping it distracted long enough for Batman to attach a device to the alien’s head to drain all of the moisture it absorbed, reducing its size and strength. The other Lanterns then make Guy clean up the destruction.

In the full episode, “The Eyes of Despero!”, Guy Gardner, G’Nort, and Sinestro are the remaining Green Lanterns on Oa when Hal Jordan seemingly destroys himself, the Guardians, and the other Lanterns to keep them from falling under Despero’s mental domination. Hal’s ring transports Batman to Oa, where he frees the other Lanterns from a Sciencell with yellow energy bars. Sinestro reveals that Guy was locked up for throwing a hissy fit when the mess hall’s chef cooked his food wrong, and that G’Nort got stuck in the same cell trying to bring him food. Later, Guy, G’Nort, and Sin then use their rings to give Batman a solid-energy battle suit to help them find and battle Despero. When Despero took control of Mogo, the living planet Green Lantern, Batman ordered Guy to keep Mogo busy while Sinestro forms a barrier around Earth. Batman fights Despero, and G’Nort drains Mogo’s battery to break Despero’s hold on Mogo. Guy back-talked Batman, and got punched in the face by the Dark Knight, just like in the comics (this got G’Nort to exclaim “One Punch! ONE PUNCH!”, like Blue Beetle, Ted Kord. Guy then followed Batman’s orders, and ended up fighting Sinestro, who tried to destroy Mogo to keep its power away from Despero. Despero revealed that Sinestro was locked up for taking over the planet of Okaara. G’Nort completed his mission, and the freed Mogo helped Batman defeat Despero. The Guardians and the other Lanterns revealed to be hidden in Hal’s ring, kept by Batman and Guy, ended up defeating Sinestro and trapping him in his ring.

Guy Gardner later appears in “Death Race to Oblivion!”, as a racer in Mongul’s race to decide the fate of Earth, and in “Revenge of the Reach!”, where he helps Batman, Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes), and the other Green Lanterns defend Oa from the Reach. Guy’s vehicle is a souped up monster truck.

Young Justice

Guy Gardner had a non-speaking cameo appearance in the episode “Revelation”. He saved a school bus during the fight with plant creatures in Star City. Barry Allen later nominated Guy for membership in the Justice League, but this idea was quickly and firmly shot down by John Stewart and Hal Jordan.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series

Guy Gardner first appears in the season one episode “The New Guy.” He is introduced as the new Green Lantern of Sector 2814, replacing Hal Jordan while he was off-world fighting the Red Lantern Corps. He is more of a celebrity superhero, even signing an autograph for a female television reporter. He teams up with Hal to defeat the newly-awakened Manhunters. Guy is voiced by Diedrich Bader.