Guy Gardner (comics)
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- This article is about Guy Gardner, the comic book superhero. For the astronaut, see Guy Gardner (astronaut).
Guy Gardner is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He is a core member of the Green Lantern family of characters, and for a time (late 1980s and early 1990s) was also a significant member of the Justice League family of characters. He was created by John Broome and Gil Kane in Green Lantern #59 (March 1968), although the character was changed significantly in the 1980s by Steve Englehart and Keith Giffen who turned him into a boorish, jingoistic parody of an ultra-macho 'red-blooded American male'. This remains the character's most recognized interpretation to date.
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History
Early Life
Gardner's roots lie in Baltimore, where he was raised by his parents, Roland ("Rolly") Gardner and Peggy Gardner (maiden name unknown). Rolly was an abusive, alcoholic parent, and beat Guy repeatedly. Guy worked very hard in school to try and win his father's approval, yet all his achievements were dismissed out of hand by Rolly. Instead, Rolly lavished attention and compliments upon Guy's older brother Mace, who, it seemed to Guy, could do no wrong in their father's eyes.
During his mid-teens, Guy finally decided that nothing he ever did was going to be good enough to win his father's affection, and the young boy turned to juvenile delinquency. Guy was straightened out from his downwards spiral by his older brother Mace, who had become a police officer. Mace's pressure and advice knocked some sense into Guy, and Guy then went to college, working his way through to support himself, and emerging from Michigan University with bachelor's degrees in Education and Psychology. During his time at Michigan U, he also became a nationally renowned football hero, but had to abandon that career due to injuries.
After college, Guy worked as a social welfare caseworker, dealing with prison inmates and their rehabilitation. He abandoned this line of work, however, fearing it brought out his innate more aggressive nature. Moving on, he became a teacher for children with disabilities.
Green Lantern Corps
When the alien Green Lantern Abin Sur crashlanded on earth after being mortally wounded by the villain Legion, he commanded his power ring to find a man honest and fearless enough to pass his power on to. The ring found two suitable candidates — Guy Gardner and Hal Jordan. Because Jordan was closer at the time, he was chosen over Guy as the one to receive the ring.
Several years later, during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Guardians of the Universe recruited Guy into the Green Lantern Corps to help battle the forces of the Anti-Monitor in the anti-matter universe of Qward. He went on to serve the Corps for a number of years, eventually taking Jordan's place as the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 when Jordan was on a mission to recruit new members into the Corps.
During his tenure as Earth's Green Lantern, Guy became a founding member of the Justice League International after the original JLA was disbanded during the DC Universe-wide crossover, Legends. In a famous sequence, Batman, annoyed by Guy's taunts, defeats the Green Lantern with one punch.
Warrior Years
Eventually, forced to abandon his Green Lantern Ring, Guy acquired the yellow power ring of Sinestro and his own comic series began with him using that ring. The yellow ring did not use a battery to recharge but actually needed to be used against Green Lanterns to restore power. Gardner found this out by accident when a Green Lantern Corps member fought him while he had absolutely no power.
As the yellow ring of Sinestro spoke Sinestro's native language, Guy was entirely unable to communicate with the ring although it seemed to understand him to a degree. He was to become Warrior.
Guy Gardner discovered that his past was not what he thought it was. He was actually the decendant of a space-traveling race called the Vuldarians. This discovery eventually lead him to discover new powers within himself. These powers allowed him to resume his role as a super-hero and he adopted the nom-de-guerre Warrior.
Return to the Corps
Years laters these powers were stripped from him when Parallax possessed Gardner and several current GLs. His original ring was restored to him while Parallax utilized him for attacks. Eventually Parallax was defeated by a combination of GLs which included Gardner.
Gardner now is again on the prowl with the Green Light at his beck and call.
Other Links
- The Book of OA (http://glcorps.dcuguide.com/book2.php)
- The Green Lantern Shrine (http://members.tripod.com/~Lantern_light/)