Emerald Dawn -Sands of Oa GUY GARDNER

GUY GARDNER

HOMEWORLD: Earth

SECTOR: 2814

FIRST APPEARANCE:

GREEN LANTERN 2nd series # 59
(March 1968)
"Earth's Other Green Lantern!"

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:

Human male
Height: 6'
Weight: 180 lbs.
Hair: Red
Eyes: Blue

KNOWN RELATIVES:

Rolly, (father)
Peggy Louise, (mother)
Mace, (brother)

GROUP AFFILIATION: Green Lantern Corps

HISTORY:

Though the Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814, ABIN SUR of Ungara, fulfilled his final duty by passing his POWER RING and BATTERY to Earthman HAL JORDAN, the test pilot from COAST CITY, California was not the only possible candidate found by the ring. School teacher GUY GARDNER of Baltimore, Maryland would have been chosen but for Jordan's proximity.

Sometime after Jordan's acceptance into the GREEN LANTERN CORPS, his masters the GUARDIANS OF THE UNIVERSE brought him to OA for an intensive two day seminar in their higher techniques. Jordan was shown many wonders, particularly a machine which stored data taken from brains after death. The technique was known as a "mental post-mortem," and the Guardians had used it to record Abin Sur's last hours on Earth.

Another machine of the Guardians was able to compose different possibilities in the future, based on alternate postulates of events. After programming information into the computer core, the machine was able to play an alternate possible history, starting with the hypothetical moment that Guy Gardner, rather than Hal Jordan, was chosen as Green Lantern.

Gardner faltered at first, until he realized his will power was needed to make the ring work properly. He created an oath he recited with each charging of his power ring. Guy kept his new found abilities a secret as he resumed his life as a school teacher in Baltimore. His new life as Green Lantern started in East City as the new hero foiled a gang of saboteurs that had been striking at arms factories.

Green Lantern fought a variety of supercriminals such as SONAR, the SHARK, BLACK HAND and DOCTOR POLARIS but it was his victory over the renegade Green Lantern SINESTRO that brought Gardner to Oa. There he learned of the Guardians of the Universe and the source of his ring's power.

Returning to Earth, Gardner found himself traveling through high-powered energy explosions. Investigating an isolated planet, Ghera, Green Lantern discovered two robots battling each other. Their radiation weapons release devastating blasts, some of which were the explosions in space he had been caught in. The robots saw Gardner as an intruder and opened fire on the ring wielder. The power ring easily defeated the automatons and Gardner probed the robots, one blue, one orange, to learn they were controlled by children.

The adults of Ghera had died eons before when they were wiped out by a yellow plague. The children remained immune to the disease but strangely found their growth arrested as they never grew older. Bored, the ageless children began playing war games and had divided into two camps, one blue, one orange.

Green Lantern chose to stay on Ghera until he had brought peace to the world. He was soon caught in the mental grip of Gor, one of the blue children. The children believed he was some superior type of robot and sent the Green Lantern against the orange children. Gardner destroyed an attacking bird craft, a fish-shaped submarine and finally a dragon-tank created by the orange children.

Gardner found himself in the middle of a mental tug-of-war when Orm, one of the orange children, tried to wrest control of him from the blue children. Gardner was able to use the battle to free himself then encase himself in power ring armor. Gardner's experience as a school teacher help him calm the children and make them realize their war games were hateful and destructive.

The blue and orange children chose to unite to create a new Ghera. Gardner was able to use the ring to make the children of Ghera normal once more. They would grow up to become adults and continue their civilization. Green Lantern planned to check on the children in the future but now had to return to Earth to recharge his power ring.

Gardner recharged with seconds of energy remaining in his ring. No sooner had he completed his oath then he realized he had caught the yellow plague. His skin had turned yellow and breathing was difficult. The power ring could not fight the yellow plague and its effects on adults was fatal. As Gardner grew weaker, he knew he only had a short time to find his successor. The ring searched the Earth until it found Hal Jordan. Gardner died before he could tell the test pilot his sacred oath as Green Lantern but Jordan would follow in Gardner's footsteps as the newest ring wielder of Space Sector 2814.

The Guardians' machine ended the alternate history at that point. It has yet to be seen if other possibilities were explored based on Gardner receiving the ring from Abin Sur.
[GREEN LANTERN 2nd series # 59]

OATH:

On worlds afar or scenes at home,

wherever the cause should make me roam,

always I vow to fight the good fight--

to combat evil with all Green Lantern's might!

-GL2 # 59

CREATIVE TEAM:
Writer: John Broome
Art: Gil Kane & Sid Greene
Colorist: Shelley Eiber
Editor: Julius Schwartz

KNOWN APPEARANCES:
GREEN LANTERN 2nd series # 59.