While the character has yet to make a huge splash in live-action, fans were excited by the announcement thatHBO Maxwas developing a live-action series for the streaming network calledGreen Lanternthat would focus on a unique group of Lanterns, led by Finn Wittrock as the popular but as-yet unadapted Guy Gardner.
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Gardner will be joined by other members of the Green Lantern Corps like Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz, and the Silver Age GL Alan Scott along with alien Lanterns like Kilowog and Sinestro. With all of these largely unknown characters set to appear inGreen Lantern, it’s time to hit the comic rack and begin preparing with a few of their greatest storylines that may be adapted for the series.
10The Worst And Best Version Of Guy Gardner Starred In His Own Self-Titled Series
While Guy Gardner first appeared during the continuity-heavyCrisis on Infinite Earth’s maxi-series and starred as amember ofJustice League International, he really became to shine on his own in his self-titled series by Gerard Jones and Joe Staton, which featured his rough personality at its most extreme.
The series explored his drive to be a hero even without the backing of the GLC which led to his use of a yellow Qwardian power ring and an extremely 90’s costume. While the series' low sales led to a drastic reworking of Guy Gardner into the alien hero Warrior, it still serves as a great introduction to the character that helps explain his status in the DCU.
9JSA: The Golden Age Explored Alan Scott’s Difficulties As Green Lantern After WWII
While it was originally considered an out-of-continuityElseworldstale, James Robinson and Paul Smith’sJSA: The Golden Agehas been partially canonized over the years to become part of the established history of characters like Alan Scott/Green Lantern.
Earth’s first human Green Lantern who was unaffiliated with the GLC fought with his fellow heroes during WWII, thoughThe Golden Ageexplored Alan Scott’s time in court during the McCarthyism era following the war and the struggles he faced alongside the rest of the JSA.
8Kilowog’s Origin Was Revealed In Blackest Night: Tales Of The Corps
Kilowog is analien from Bolovax Vikwho served for years as the head trainer of the Green Lantern Corps who was known for his hard but loveable training style that helped prepare new Corps members as protectors of their individual space sectors.
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While he appeared in a number of storylines over the years that included some time working with the USSR, it wasn’t untilBlackest Night: Tales of the Corps#3 by Peter J. Tomasi and Chris Samnee thatfans got to seehis own training as a Green Lantern and the tragedy that led to his own future as the GLC’s drill instructor.
7Sinestro Rejoined The Green Lantern Corps During The New 52 Run
The inclusion of Sinestro on the live-actionseries from HBO Maxis very interesting, though it’s unclear which role the former Green Lantern will take on the series as he has been both the GLC’s greatest hero and most powerful enemy over the years.
Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke brought the character back to the GLC during the New 52 run ofGreen Lanternas he was again chosen by a power ring with the intention of helping him redeem himself for his past actions, which may play a role in the HBO Max series.
6Guy Gardner And Kilowog Begin To Rebuild The GLC In “To Be A Lantern”
Dave Gibbons and Patrick Gleason put Guy Gardner and Kilowog together inGreen Lantern Corpsas the long-time friends began to put the GLC back together after the return of Hal Jordan duringGreen Lantern: Rebirth.
While the series introduced a few new members of the Corps, it’s likely those roles would be taken over by new heroes like Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz in HBO Max’sGreen Lantern. Regardless, the series is a fantastic look at Guy Gardner and Kilowog’s friendship that also explores their history as Lanterns without making readers dive back decades.
5Earth 2: The Gathering Featured A Younger Modernized Version Of Alan Scott
The New 52 reboot of the DC Universe introduced a new younger version of Alan Scott along with a number of other JSA characters with James Robinson and Nicola Scott’sEarth 2series, which featured a number of changes for the first Green Lantern.
Not only was Alan Scott revealed to be gay for the first time in DC history (a change which has carried over to the returned original version), but his abilities were also drastically altered to further connect him to Earth as the avatar of the Green and wielder of the elemental Green Flame as protector of all life on the planet.
4Simon Baz Became A Green Lantern During the Rise Of The Third Army Storyline
Simon Baz was the first new Green Lantern introduced in the New 52 era as he was chosen by the merged rings of Hal Jordan and Sinestro in the pages of Geoff Johns andGreen Lantern#0 before he debuted in the regular series for theRise of the Third Armystoryline.
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Baz was thrust into the fire almost immediately after becoming a Green Lantern, but he proved himself early in a great debut against the deadly Third Army, dark versions of the GLC who could assimilate and corrupt new hosts to build their army and eventually take over every living being.
3Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz Were Paired Together As Earth’s Protectors In Green Lanterns
While Jessica Cruz made her comic debut in the pages ofJustice Leagueand soon joined the team as Power Ring, she didn’t officially join the GLC until the final moments of theDarkseid Warevent, which might be a lot to explore before the HBO Max series.
Thankfully she was teamed up with fellow rookie Simon Baz as Earth’s protectors in Sam Humphries and Robson Rocha’sGreen Lanterns, which also recaps the characters' origins before training them through extensive trial and combat to make them better members of the GLC.
2Guy Gardner Became The Leader Of A Powerful Rival Corps In Red Lanterns
Guy Gardner’s relationship with the Green Lantern Corps hasn’t always been the most stable, as his established issues with authority have often seen him venture off on his own, or even seen him join with a rival Corps.
After Guy Gardner was asked to go undercover with the Red Lanterns in Charles Soule and Alessandro Vitti’s “The New Blood” storyline that eventually saw Gardner challenge Atrocitus to become the new leader of the Red Lantern Corps as he tried to guide the rage-filled Corps in a more useful direction while dealing with his own anger problems.
1The Green Lantern Corps Fought One Of Their Own’s Army During Sinestro Corps War
Sinestro’s role in HBO MaxGreen Lanternhasfans hoping that means we’ll finally see a live-action adaptationof theSinestro Corps War, which saw the long-time Green Lantern villain form his own powerful Corps using the yellow energy of fear that was powered by the dark avatar known as Parallax.
The Green Lantern Corps were forced to defend themselves in an all-out war with some of the worst and most dangerous Lantersn they had ever encountered, which would be the perfect confrontation for the live-action series to build up to over the course of the series.
