30 Years Ago, DC Changed the Green Lantern Mythos Forever

In every Look Back, we examine a comic book issue from 10/25/50/75 years ago (plus a wild card every month with a fifth week in it). This time around, as there IS a fifth week this month, we head to March 1994 for the debut of a major new superhero in the DC Universe.

In March 1994, the DC Universe saw a big change with the introduction of a fresh new superhero, a young hero who didn’t choose to be a hero, but had the role thrust on him, and he had to adjust to the dramatic change that this made to his previously normal life. I’m talking, of course, of Damage #1…

I kid, I kid, March 1994 actually saw a new legacy hero, a young man who had to adjust to taking on the legacy of a powerful energy-wielding superhero, as his life would never be the same again. I’m talking, of course, of The Ray #1…

No, but really, March 1994 saw a very 1990s superhero get his own series, someone very much of the era, that was unlike other DC superheroes of the time period. I mean, of course, Gunfire #1….

Okay, okay, let’s be serious, March 1994 saw the debut of a new twist on long-running comic book title, with the new approach being very successful. I refer, naturally, to Looney Tunes #1 (which is STILL running to this day, possibly the only comic book launch of 1994 to still be coming out today)…

For some reason, March 1994 was really big for DC in terms of new #1s. It just amused me when I saw all of those #1s.

In any event, the comic I am actually spotlighting today is Green Lantern #51, by Ron Marz, Darryl Banks and Romeo Tanghal, which officially introduced Kyle Rayner as the new Green Lantern (Kyle was given the ring at the end of Green Lantern #50, but also appeared briefly in Green Lantern #48, so this is a whole Incredible Hulk #180/Incredible Hulk #181 dilemma in terms of what is Kyle Rayner’s first appearance)

This was a major shift to the DC Universe.

How did Kyle Rayner come to become the new Green Lantern?

There had been a storyline planned in the lead-up to Green Lantern #50 that would involve Hal Jordan turning on the Green Lantern Corps, and becoming a new superhero known as The Protector. However, even after initially soliciting the issues, DC abruptly decided that it just wasn’t bold enough of an idea. A new writer, Ron Marz, who had been making a name for himself at Marvel as Jim Starlin’s successor on Silver Surfer, was brought in, and he had to QUICKLY write the replacement story for what was called Emerald Twilight, and in the new version of the story, Hal Jordan essentially snapped, deciding to use his ring to try to bring Coast City (which had been destroyed in the Reign of the Supermen) back to life, and when the Guardians told him to stop doing that, he decided to take over the Green Lantern Corps’ power source so that he would have the ability to “fix everything.” He cut a swath through the Green Lantern Corps, and ultimately killed both his good friend, Kilowog, as well as his former friend, Sinestro. He then absorbed the Green Lantern Power Battery, and left as a new being, Parallax. The Guardians then decided to pool their energy into creating one last Green Lantern ring. Ganthet, the only surviving Guardian, then traveled to Earth and presented the ring to seemingly the first human he saw, Kyle Rayner…

Kyle then transforms into Green Lantern, and a whole new era began!

How did Kyle Rayner handle becoming Green Lantern?

The issue opens up in media res, with Kyle getting his butt whooped in the middle of a fight with a supervillain. We then flash back, and see that Kyle, once he realized that he was now Green Lantern, headed to his on-again/off-again girlfriend’s Alex’s place, and there is an excellent sequence where he proves to her that he really IS the new Green Lantern, and he pitches her on a variation of Spider-Man’s deal, where she will take pictures of Kyle as Green Lantern, and she’ll get a job as a successful news photographer…

Alex is so well-developed as a character that her impending death really hit hard.

We then see Kyle struggling as a superhero, but in the end, he wins, and we can see that he really is his own particular type of superhero…

During this period at DC, Mark Waid was doing wonders with Wally West as the Flash, and the new legacy heroes of the DC Universe were starting to come into focus, and Kyle was a major part of all of that, as here was a hero that you could more easily describe as a more Marvel-esque hero, but he was very much coming out in the DC Universe. It was a major change, but when Kyle’s comic book started selling really well, it was a welcome change, as well.

At the end of the issue, Alex tells Kyle that he needs to become his OWN Green Lantern, and this leads to the Darryl Banks’ revamped costume for Kyle, which certainly stood out…

This was an excellent debut issue for Kyle as Green Lantern, but, of course, we know that there will be a dark twist on the horizon with Alex that will become a major part of pop culture history.

If you folks have any suggestions for April (or any other later months) 2014, 1999, 1974 and 1949 comic books for me to spotlight, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com! Here is the guide, though, for the cover dates of books so that you can make suggestions for books that actually came out in the correct month. Generally speaking, the traditional amount of time between the cover date and the release date of a comic book throughout most of comic history has been two months (it was three months at times, but not during the times we’re discussing here). So the comic books will have a cover date that is two months ahead of the actual release date (so October for a book that came out in August). Obviously, it is easier to tell when a book from 10 years ago was released, since there was internet coverage of books back then.