What a Guy!
Guy Gardner may be the least-liked Green Lantern of Earth, but he’s one of the most interesting.
MENTION Guy Gardner and what comes to most comic book fans’ minds is how he got KO’d by Batman with one punch, just one punch, in 1986’s Justice League #5.
While that iconic moment didn’t transform the Dark Knight into One-punch Man, it permanently painted Guy as an overrated character and has confined him to B-grade stature ever since!
It’s an ignominious fate for a character who holds the mantle of Green Lantern and is turning 50 years old this month, but a few panels and a “Bonk!” sound effect really did permanently condemn his career.
The folks behind that horrendous one-punch event were J.M. DeMatties, Kevin Maguire and Keith Giffen but they were not the main protagonists behind this “Anti-Guy” movement. The real culprits were none other than Steve Englehart and Joe Staton – the creative team responsible for Guy’s 180-degree transformation from reformed gym teacher turned Green Lantern to ultra-macho red blooded American. But why am I defending this smug, sexist, egomaniacal, loudmouthed and insensitive showboater in the first place? Well, despite all his less than respectable characteristics (which were retconned into his character), one thing stands out about Guy: he was actually Abin Sur’s first choice to replace him as Green Lantern, not Hal Jordan!
Still, after 50 y comic-relief Green Lantern, not even Guy can argue that Hal was the best man for the job. But since it’s not every day that a comic character reaches half a century old, here’s a shoutout to one of DC Comics’ most overlooked characters.
The other guy
Co-created by John Broome and Gil Kane, Guy was the “other guy” who should have got the Green Lantern post.
You see, when a terminally injured Abin Sur crash landed on Earth, he had precious little time to find a replacement. The ring identified two names – Guy and Hal. Had he been closer to the crash site, Guy would have been Sector 2814’s Emerald Guardian instead of Hal! However, an alternative scenario shared in Green Lantern (Vol.2) #59 showed that even if Guy had been chosen first, he would have died early in his career and Hal would still have taken over in the end.
After missin ut the first time, Guy later missed out again (to John Stewart this tim by a school bu hile attempting to rescue a student from an earthquake incident
When his tu donthering(1 9’s Green Lantern Vol.2 #116), a faulty power battery got him trans
Phantom Z ne and eventually left him and in a comatose state.
Crisi of opportunity
Thi series of unfortunate events left Guy in limbo for almost tw decades, until Crisis On Infinite Earths
(1 th DC Universe was in a urbulent state and there was a need for more Green Lanterns. H ad resigned and Jo tewart was the G of Sector 2814. Instead of finding a replacement for Hal, the creative team of St ve Englehart and Jo Staton wanted not ju ne GL but a Corps in , and they dug G ut from the archives. Conveniently, the mental and physical injuries Guy suffered over the years made it easy to remould him into an anti-hero.
While future tales attributes Guy’s impulsive and arrogant behaviour to abuse he suffered as a child (his father was a hard man to please), another contributing factor is the Guardians’ lackadaisical attitude towards his welfare – it seems that Guy’s comatose state could have been cured in a matter of hours but they only choose to revive him in their hour of need.
In-Justice League
Guy’s highest-profile opportunity came when he was inducted into the (then) newly formed Justice League International. While his other team mates wished that it was Hal or John, they had to tolerate Guy’s anti-establishment attitude ... until Batman decided to show him who’s the real Big Kahuna. In the classic Justice League International #5, Guy and Bats have a showdown that Bats ends abruptly with one punch!
That punch certainly knocked all the stuffing out of Guy, as the next few issues saw him develop a gentle-and-milder personality, one that provided plenty of comical moments. Eventually, Guy reverts to his obnoxious self, which leads to a showdown with Superman and inevitably leads to him taking a brief hiatus from the League.
What the Hal!
Having played second fiddle to Hal on numerous occasions, the last straw came when the two met (Green Lantern Vol.2 #25) to decide on the numero uno GL of Sector 2814.
Having been reinstated as a GL, Hal didn’t get first dibs on Sector 2814 or his original power ring (which was in Guy’s hands).
With the League and Corps in attendance, the duo decided to settle it old-school style – minus the power rings and just pure guts! Once again, Hal’s brains triumph over Guy’s brawn – leaving Guy ringless, powerless and teamless.
Power crazy
That fall from grace moment would have shattered most heroes but let’s not forget – Guy isn’t your ordinary hero. Despite losing his ring, he is adamant about continuing his one-man battle against vice and crime. From using his bare fists to heavy firepower – which leads to severe beatings and crushing defeats – Guy’s redemption comes in the form of the thendeceased Sinestro’s yellow power ring. Aided by Lobo, he succeeds in claiming the ring on Oa and even thwarts Sinestro’s soul.
The newfound power ring gives him the edge over the other GLs and it makes Guy fearsome again ... until it experiences a massive power surge, courtesy of Parallax.
Resourceful as always, Guy resorts to an exoskeleton suit made by Blue Beetle, before discovering a red armoured suit that allows him to generate weapons just by thinking about them!
Ridiculous as it sounds, he also discovers that he is a descendant of the Vuldarians (a space-travelling race), which enables him to transform his entire body into a living weapon.
Seeing red
In DC’s New 52 universe reboot, Guy is part of the Green Lantern Corps along with John Stewart. Though his abrasive and arrogant personality remains, he plays a prominent role throughout the New 52 universe, even becoming leader of the Red Lanterns at one point. If you think about it, the rage of red does suit Guy a lot more than green!
A Guy reborn
Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern: Rebirth event in 2005 (not to be confused with the current DC Rebirth continuity) not only paved the way for Hal’s reinstatement as a good guy (after his stint as supervillain Parallax), but also offers Guy a chance to redeem himself as a Green Lantern.
Not only is he reinstated as a GL, he even gets a front row seat to the reversal of the event that made him such a derisively comical character all those years – as Hal decks Batman with one punch!
Despite his intolerable nature, Guy is a complex character who has earned the respect of the Guardians (who made him a trainer for rookie GLs) and even Superman. In the Man of Steel’s case, they had major differences with each other but Guy fought valiantly during the Death Of Superman event and was among the first to feel and fall to Doomsday’s might.
As much as we hate to admit it, every team needs a Guy Gardner type of hero/member who will save the world based on his gut feeling. Happy 50th birthday, Guy Gardner!