GUY GARDNER
Real Name: Guy Gardner
Class: Hybrid (Vuldarian/Earthling) technology-user
Occupation: Green Lantern, formerly teacher, social worker, owner of Warriors bar
Group Affiliation: Green Lantern Corps, Justice League
Known Relatives: Mace Gardner (Militia, brother, deceased), Peggy Louise Gardner (mother), Rolly Gardner (father, deceased)
Aliases: Warrior
Base of Operations: New York City
First Appearance: Green Lantern II #59 (March, 1968)
Powers: Guy wielded a power ring capable of doing almost anything he could imagine as long as it was recharged by his emerald power battery once every 24 hours. Examples of its' powers include flight, phasing, creating giant objects formed of energy, and force fields. The power ring was totally ineffective against anything colored yellow. As Warrior (when Guy had access to his natural Vuldarian abilities) he could morph his limbs into any weapon he could imagine, and possessed superhuman strength and vast superhuman durability.
History: Green Lantern Abin Sur was mortally wounded and crash-landed on Earth. He needed to find a replacement, someone that exemplified fearlessness and honesty and came up with the candidates Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner, and since Hal was closer he was awarded the ring. Years later Green Lantern told Guy he was second in line for the ring, and gave him his own power ring to act as a backup if Hal was ever gravely injured or killed.
(Swamp Thing II #81) - Guy was left on Earth to locate Swamp Thing, whose plant elemental powers could turn the tide of the invasion. He was miffed at missing the action, and confronted Abigail Arcane, demanding to know where her husband was. She said the Dominators had seemingly killed Swamp Thing, and Guy told her they’d return his remains if they were ever found. Abby had been briefly kidnapped by the alien Widowsweed, who’d forged an alliance with the Dominators to find the remains of her husband, who’d crash landed on Earth years ago. Guy saw her ship taking off, and not caring about her motivations, shot it down.
(Green Lantern III #1) - Green Lantern Hal Jordan visited Guy Gardner and the Justice League and despite Guy Gardner's objections, the League offered him a spot on the team. Lantern turned them down, telling them he was trying to get away from superheroics and reconnect with his human side. Gardner caught up with Green Lantern in the mining town of Hope Springs, and got him fired from a farmhand job after spitefully tricking Hal into revealing he was Green Lantern.
(Green Lantern III #2) - Guy somehow felt Hal was acting superior by straying from superheroics. Guy went to get a tattoo and recognized the tattoo artist as Hal's old foe the Tattooed Man. He baited the Tattooed Man into a fight, and their battle led to a small coastal town where Green Lantern Hal Jordan was working as a fisherman, and Hal and Guy defeated the Tattooed Man. Guy's appearance blew Hal's cover and got him fired from his job.
(Green Lantern III #3) - Guy Gardner once again tracked down Hal, this time in Kudz City. Guy didn't believe Hal was trying to quit the superhero life, and refused to stop following him, so Hal challenged him to a fight without power rings. They left their rings in a diner and duked it out. Hal was on the verge of winning when they were arrested for disturbing the peace. Two locals found the power rings and went wild with them, and Hal convinced the jail's warden to release him and Guy so they could stop then new wielders of the power rings. Hal defeated the duo using willpower and reclaimed his ring and gave Guy's back to him. Guy was suitably impressed and promised to leave Hal alone and let him follow his own course in life.
(Green Lantern III #4) - Gardner and the Justice League investigated the disappearance of Evergreen City from the face of the Earth, but couldn't come up with any leads. John Stewart tried to send Gardner a warning through his power ring that the Old Timer was stealing towns around America and transporting them to Oa, but Gardner misinterpreted John's warning as a hallucination and decided to hit the bars.
(Green Lantern III #5-8) - Hal Jordan contacted Guy from Oa and informed him about Old Timer building a Mosaic World. Guy went to Oa, and fought off many inhabitants of Mosaic, who were all fearful that Old Timer would destroy their new homes if they didn't obey him. Guy and John Stewart distracted the Old Timer long enough for Hal to enter Oa's central power battery and send a message to the self-exiled Guardians. The Guardians returned to Oa and battled the Old Timer, a battle that ended in Old Timer's death. They announced they would remain on Oa and rebuild the Corps and would announce new jobs for Guy, Hal and John after they debated the subject. Guy grumbled, he was sure Hal was going to become the one and only Lantern of Earth.
(Green Lantern III #24) - Guy and the Corps responded to a distress signal from Brik, who was battling Star Sapphire alongside Hal Jordan. Guy and the Corps defeated Sapphire and her ally Flicker, who wanted to force the Corps members to fight for him as mercenaries.
(Demon III #27) - The demon Etrigan, backed by conservative think-tank The Right-Wing Legacy Institute, ran in the Republican Party presidential primaries. Guy Gardner was interviewed about the candidate and said he liked his platform of starting more wars and would vote for him.
(Showcase '93 #2, 3) - Blue Devil and his alien friend Morty escaped the planet of Maldor using a teleportation tube that sent them to the Justice League hq. They were confronted by Guy Gardner, who was none too happy about their arrival. Guy didn't like Blue Devil's demonic look, leading to a fight beteen the Justice League, and Blue Devil. The Ironmongers of Maldor pursued Blue Devil and Morty through teleportation, and when they engaged the Justice League in combat Blue Devil and Morty took the opportunity to escape. The League defeated the Ironmongers, who teleported back home.
(Guy Gardner #6) - Guy couldn't resist a chance to brawl with Hal, but the fight ended when Hal suggested they pool their resources to go after Goldface. Guy told him he was following Mr. Gullett's lead that Goldface was in McTeague's Corner in Death Valley, and Hal suspected it was a trap. They argued and Guy decided he would go to Death Valley without Hal so he could show him up. Guy brought Sally along, and a prospector warned them the Corner was haunted, but he was merely distracting Guy before he revealed himself as Goldface's henchman Repo, and had his accomplices Piston and Jocasta attack Guy and Sally.
(Guy Gardner #8) - Guy enjoyed the press conference Bucky Sharp arranged for him after defeating Goldface, and soaked up the public's adoration. Sally told Guy she didn't want to go back to her old job, so Guy gave her startup money for an escort detective agency. Lobo came to Earth to get Guy Gardner's power ring, reminding him of their deal. Guy welshed, and they began a massive fight. Guy was reminded of all the things he'd lost, including his membership in the GLC and Ice, and steadfastly refused to lose his ring. Guy's ring ran out of power, and Lobo beat him to a pulp. Guy's bosses the Gardners of the Universe offered Lobo 50 million Wubs for the ring, and he agreed to sell it to them, and then left the planet. Bucky was the one to alert the Gardners to Guy's distress and they told him Guy would owe them the 50 million Wubs they paid Lobo to get the ring. Guy was angry and fired Bucky.
(Showcase '93 #8) -Fire and Ice showed Guy Gardner and Martian Manhunter Newstime photos of the fashion shoot they had on the lip of an active volcano in Hawaii.
(Guy Gardner: Warrior #17) - Guy worked up the courage to tell of his father, but when he arrived at his childhood home his mother informed him that his father died shortly after his brother Mace committed suicide. Guy realized she was cruising through life like she always did, ignoring everything around her like when his father used to beat him, so he left. Guy was attacked by Militia, a cyborg employed by the Quorum as a vigilante. Militia’d been tasked with killing Guy for taking a life, unaware that it was the Draal duplicate that was the murderer. Guy’s ring cut out during the fight, but he lucked out when the battle ended up on the highway and Militia was hit by a truck. Guy wanted to announce to the world that the real Guy was back, accept no substitutes, so he donned a new leather costume and took the superhero name Warrior.
(Guy Gardner: Warrior #18, 19) - Guy’s ring gave him a flash of the events unfolding on Oa, with Green Lantern slaughtering the Corps and becoming Parallax, but Guy had no way of understanding what he saw. He went for a walk to clear his head, but almost got shot when some thugs tried to rob a grocery store. He went to see Blue Beetle about fixing his ring, but Beetle was out of his depth. Guy wanted superpowers, so Beetle let him borrow exo-armor that was the prototype for Booster Gold’s armor. Wonder Woman confided in Guy that Ice was in the Arctic, but warned him that he had to actually listen to her, and probably wouldn’t like some of the things she had to say. Guy found her, and she refused to be called baby by him anymore and demanded more respect. Guy told her he’d done some soul-searching, and that he’d genuinely try to change. She started to melt, agreeing to start things over with him if he kept his promises. Militia, who was still tracking Guy, interrupted their reunion. The fought, and Militia revealed himself to be Guy’s brother Mace and that he’d faked his death to become an agent for Quorom. Guy’s ring charged up, causing a massive explosion, destroying Militia’s armor. Green Lantern Alan Scott arrived, demanding that Guy and Ice give him aid in finding out why Green Lanterns were turning up dead and without their power rings.
(Guy Gardner: Warrior #20, 21) - Guy reasoned that he could find the source of the missing GLs on Oa, and recruited his Justice League teammates, but asked Ice to stay behind. He didn’t want anything to happen to her if the situation turned out to be too dangerous, and he wanted her to look after Mace. Arisia also demanded to come along in hopes of getting in touch with Kilowog. Approaching Oa they spotted several dead Green Lanterns, and on Oa they found Kilowog’s skull, and Guy mourned his lost friend. The heroes were attacked by power constructs and confronted by the source of the carnage, the power-mad Hal Jordan. Hal told them they should never have come after him, because all he wanted was to resurrect Coast City, but the Guardians and GLC got in his way. He defeated the heroes and destroyed Guy Gardner’s power ring.
(Guy Gardner: Warrior #27, 28, Green Lantern III #60) - Guy Gardner received the Presidential medal of honor and received kudos from Superman and Steel. Sledge assaulted the Washington Monument, and Steel and Guy defeated him, but the battle destroyed the Monument. Guy drove to Baltimore to surprise his mother with a visit for Christmas, but was greeted by Major Force in his old home. Force told Guy he'd killed his mother, and was under orders from Quorum to kill Guy. Guy battled him, and was soon joined in the fight by Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. The heroes were beating Force until he tossed a school bus from a bridge, forcing the Guy and Kyle to save the children and let him escape. They went back to Guys house and discovered the woman Force killed was actually a friend of Guy's mother who was house sitting. They received a tip from rogue Quorum agent Honey that Force was at a Quorum safe house and went there to confront him. The Quorum and Militia backed up Force, and during the battle Guy ripped off Militia's helmet to find it was a robot and not his brother Mace after all. Guy found the real Mace in the safe house hooked to life support, and Force threatened to kill him if Kyle Rayner didn't hand his ring over to the Quorum. The heroes thought he was bluffing, but Force was not, and murdered Mace. Kyle defeated Force and almost killed him for having killed his girlfriend Alex DeWitt, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Guy stepped in and stabbed Force with his hand, apparently killing him. Afterwards Kyle and Guy agreed they had different philosophies about being a hero, but they were still on the same side.
(Green Lantern III #81) -Coast City; Guy was among the heroes who attended a memorial service for Green Lantern Hal Jordan. He spoke at the service, telling the heroes that although he and Hal had different styles he always looked up to Hal as the heroic ideal.
(Green Lantern III #102)- Guy was settling in for a poker game with John Stewart and Sentinel at Warriors when Kyle Rayner arrived and brought in the time-traveling Hal Jordan of 10 years ago. Hal of that time had yet to meet the other heroes in his own time, but they were all happy to see their old friend again.
(Green Lantern III #105) - Guy was interested in adding special effects to Warriors, and consulted John Stewart on some design ideas. They were attacked by Parallax, who'd traveled into the present to find his past self and return him to his own time. Guy and John put up a valiant fight, but were defeated, and Warriors was destroyed in the process. Kyle Rayner saw the devastation, and Guy told him to go after Parallax.
(Green Lantern III #133) -Guy Gardner, Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, Jade and Merayn visited John Stewart, who was recovering from injuries he suffered at Fatality's hands at St. Vincent's hospital. Guy couldn't help but be bored and hope the visit would be over soon because he had Knicks tickets.
(Green Lantern III #134-136) - Kyle Rayner visited John and Guy Gardner. He told them about his confrontation with Nero, the frightening wielder of a yellow power ring. Kyle assembled Guy and the JLA to confront Nero. Nero unleashed a demonic army across NYC, and Guy and the JLA dealt with them all. Nero then attacked Times Square, but was taken down by Kyle Rayner.
(Final Night #1, 3, 4) - Superman organized a summit of superheroes, including Guy, to listen to an alien named Dusk. She'd seen the Sun-Eater snuff out the sun of countless planets, and she was there to warn the heroes that the Sun-Eater was headed towards Earth. Guy and a team of heroes formed a ground crew to deal with the panic that the Sun-Eater's approach would cause. The Eater engulfed the sun, causing worldwide chaos. Guy converted Warriors into a command center and a hospital to treat injured heroes. Earth was saved when Parallax sacrificed his life to dispel the Sun-Eater and reignite the sun.
(Adventures of Superman #522 (fb)) - Guy, Superman and a number of heroes went to Metropolis after it had been decimated during Zero Hour. The heroes contained a group of DMN junkies and then set about rebuilding the city. They couldn't finish the job in one day so Zatanna linked minds with Perry White and Superman to rebuild the city from their memories, using Guy and the other heroes as a power source for her spell.
(Action Comics #709) - Guy's Vuldarian side was taking over because of an imminent alien attack, and he went to Metropolis to see Superman, hoping another alien could help him. Guy lost control and rampaged in the Metropolis Queensland Tunnel. He clashed with Superman, and Terrible Turpin rammed Guy with a motorcycle, distracting him long enough for Superman to freeze him with liquid nitrogen. He took Guy to S.T.A.R. Labs to get help for his condition.
(JLA #5) - Warrior showed up for the JLA membership drive at the JLA Watchtower.
(JLA #38-41) - Guy was among the legion of heroes summoned by the JLA to quell worldwide outbreaks of warfare that were incited by Mageddon.
(JLA: Our Worlds at War #1) - On President Luthor's request Guy, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold went to Krasnoyarsk, Russia to battle an Imperiex Probe that had landed on Earth to hollow out the planet. The Imperiex Probe impaled Guy with his staff, and the battle went bad for the heroes.
(Flash II #209) - Guy and the rest of the world forgot Flash’s secret identity thanks to the Spectre. Flash wanted the heros he knew and trusted to know his identity, so he unmasked for Guy.
(Identity Crisis #1) - Guy was among the number of heroes who attended Sue Dibny’s funeral.
(Green Lantern: Rebirth #1-6) - Guy and John Stewart took Hal to a Yankees game to show him he still had friends, but Hal couldn’t contain the Spectre-Force, and other spectators started confessing their sins to him, forcing him to leave. At Warriors Guy lost control of his powers, creating an explosion that destroyed the bar. John took him to the JLA Watchtower where Martian Manhunter and Dr. Mid-Nite tried to stabilize his condition. Guy’s human DNA wrote over his Vuldarian DNA, making him an ordinary human. Green Arrow went to check in on him, and the GL ring Hal once gave him duplicated itself, and the duplicate ring put itself on Guy’s finger. Guy was once again a Green Lantern, but he was in the possession of Parallax. Guy decimated his friends and flew off. Ganthet later broke Parallax’s control over him. Parallax infected Ganthet and prepared to spread fear throughout the universe, but the newly resurrected Hal Jordan appeared and prepared for battle against the villain alongside Guy and the other GLs. They combined their forces to drive Parallax from Ganthet’s body and trap Parallax in the Central Power Battery. Guy admitted he’d been lying when he said he didn't miss being a Lantern.
(Green Lantern IV #7) - Guy and the Corps were present on Oa when Hal delivered Despero for prosecution for breaking over seven hundred laws in the Book of Oa. Guy poked Despero with a stick through his cage and made cracks that if Hal needed the JLA to take him down he’d gotten rusty since his rebirth. Guy exaggerated the ease with which he once took Despero down with the League, and Hal ignored him.
(52 / WWIII Part Four: United We Stand #1) <Week 50, Day 7> Black Adam arrived in China, and prepared to destroy the entire country. He defeated China's superhero team the Great Ten before China allowed Guy and the American superhero community to square off against him. Black Adam was a god with nothing left to lose, and each punch he threw was intended to kill. His savagery was winning the day until Martian Manhunter reappeared and flooded his brain with his own loss, the death of the entire Martian species. Black Adam was distracted long enough for Captain Marvel to hurl a Shazam bolt at him. Theo Adam was powerless, and left with amnesia. He staggered away unnoticed from the end of WWIII.
(Green
Lantern IV #11-13) - Hal Jordan learned that the Green Lanterns he thought
he’d killed as Parallax had been kept on Biot by the Manhunters. Hal and Guy
ate in the GLC messhall, and Hal reflected that Guy was the first to forgive him
for his actions as Parallax. Turytt and several GLC rookies made it clear that
they thought Hal was a traitor who deserved to die. Guy exacerbated the
situation and a brawl erupted that Kilowog had to break up. Hal did feel
tremendous guilt over his actions, and petitioned the Guardians to go to Biot,
hoping to find the other Lanterns he supposedly killed alive. They told him Biot
was outside their jurisdiction, and that they’d rather not wake the dormant
Manhunters. Hal went against their orders, taking Guy with him and battling the
Manhunters and their new master Cyborg Superman. A number of other Corps members
missing in action were there as well, including Arisia. The Manhunters defeated
Guy and incorporated his body into one of their Highmaster units. Hal revived
the Lost Lanterns he thought he’d killed, but was confronted by the
Highmasters. The Lost Lanterns freed Guy while Hal awoke Arisia and took command
of a Highmaster, using it to destroy Biot and the Manhunters, although Hal was
positive the Cyborg could have survived. The Lost Lanterns were returned to Oa,
and
(Green
Lantern IV #21) - Guy and the Corps began picking up the pieces after the
assault on Oa, and Salakk realized that the Sinestro Corps were picking off
Lanterns across the universe, leaving over 50 dead.
The Lost Lanterns were sent to Qward to rescue Kyle Rayner from the
Sinestro Corps, while the rest of the Lanterns were ordered by the Guardians to
stay on Oa and prepare for another assault. When Hal tried to recharge his ring
using the Central Power Battery he found that the Sinestro Corps had booby
trapped it. He was sent to Qward and confronted by Parallax.
(Green Lantern IV #24, Green Lantern Corps
II #17) - Sinestro communicated with Hal, Guy and John via his power ring as the
Sinestro Corps invaded Earth. He intended to conquer the planet, making it a
symbol of the Sinestro Corp’s power and their ability to control any planet.
He intended to makes saves of the Earthlings, and execute anyone who did not
submit. Hal split from Guy and John to battle Parallax, who was attacking Coast
City. As they fought Hal contacted Guy and John, asking them to find a painting
done by Kyle’s mother that always made him feel close to her, hoping the sight
of it would help him fight off the Parallax infection. Guy was attacked by the
Sinestro Corps, but the GLC arrived on Earth, slaughtering dozens of Sinestro
Corps soldiers, and giving Guy the chance to recover the painting from Kyle’s
house. Hal’s power ring ran out of energy, and he was absorbed into
Parallax’s body, but this gave him a chance to talk to Kyle face to face.
Hal’s support, coupled with the sight of his mother’s painting helped Kyle
reject the Parallax infection. Parallax was ready to try and possess him again
when Ganthet and Sayd appeared and split his essence into four pieces,
imprisoning each one in a GL lantern. Guy, John, and Hal were now responsible
for containing Parallax’s essence, and after Kyle stepped down as torchbearer
and accepted a GL ring he was given the fourth GL lantern. The Sinestro Corps invasion
of Earth was momentarily being fended off by Earth’s superheroes, but the GLC
arrived on Earth to even the odds.
Comments: Created by John Broome & Gil Kane
Guy received a profile in Green Lantern Secret Files and Origins 2005, LA-Z #2 and Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #26 and Who's Who in the DC Universe #11. He received profile in JLA-Z #2 under the JLA (“The International” Era) entry. Guy received a profile in Who’s Who in the DC Universe #7 under the Justice League America entry.
DC Countdown #1 had a flashback of Guy Gardner's time as a member of the Justice League.
Green Lantern III #147 showed an image of Guy when Green Lantern John Stewart talked to his therapist about his superhero career.
In Green Lantern III #150 Ion looked into the past saw Guy Gardner.
In Martian Manhunter II #24 Martian Manhunter told a story about Guy, the JLI and his addiction to choco cookies. This may have been part of Guy’s history, but more than likely it was just an anecdote Martian Manhunter found funny.
Guy had cameo appearances in Green Lantern II #124, Green Lantern IV #8, JLA #117, Justice League of America II #0, 1, 7, Power of Shazam II #10, Sandman II #2, Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Parallax #1 and Wonder Woman: Our Worlds at War #1
Imposter was the one present at Coast City memorial after Mogul destroyed it in Superman II #83.
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