Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, and the electromagnetic spectrum of emotional willpower. The characters are typically depicted as members of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic law enforcement agency.
| Green Lantern | |
|---|---|
Cover of Green Lantern: Rebirth #6 (May 2005) Pictured left to right: Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Kilowog. Art by Ethan Van Sciver. | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | All-American Comics #16 (July 1940) |
| Created by | Alan Scott: Martin Nodell Bill Finger Hal Jordan: John Broome Gil Kane John Stewart: Dennis O'Neil Neal Adams |
| Characters | Alan Scott Hal Jordan Guy Gardner John Stewart Kyle Rayner Simon Baz Jessica Cruz Sojourner Mullein |
| See also | Green Lantern Corps |
The first Green Lantern character, Alan Scott, was created in 1940 by Martin Nodell with scripting or co-scripting of the first stories by Bill Finger during the Golden Age of Comic Books and usually fought common criminals in Capitol City (and later, Gotham City) with the aid of his magic ring. For the Silver Age of Comic Books, John Broome and Gil Kane reinvented the character as Hal Jordan in 1959 and introduced the Green Lantern Corps, shifting the nature of the character from fantasy to science fiction. During the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams introduced John Stewart, a new member of the Corps who was one of DC's first black superheroes. Other notable Green Lanterns include Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz and Jo Mullein.
The Green Lanterns are among DC Comics' longest lasting sets of characters. They have been adapted to television, video games, and motion pictures.