GREEN LANTERN (Guy Gardner) | BIOGRAPHY | |
Created by John Broome and Gil Kane |
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: Guy Gardner
Occupation: Green Lantern
Homeworld: Earth
Space Sector: 2814
Citizenship: American
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Rolly (father, deceased); Peggy Louise (mother); Mace (brother, deceased); Cardonne (ancient Vuldarian ancestor, deceased)
Group Affiliation(s): Green Lantern Corps, Justice League
Gender: Male
Height: 6'; variable (as human/Vuldarian hybrid)
Weight: 180 lbs.; variable (as human/Vuldarian hybrid)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red
First Appearance: Green Lantern Vol. 2 #59 (March 1968): "Earth's Other Green Lantern!"
Creators: John Broome and Gil Kane
HISTORY
The life of Guy Gardner was touched by the stars billions of years before he was even born. He would have great power and fight many battles, most of them with himself. He wielded the power ring of the Green Lantern Corps, and that of its greatest enemy, only to have it taken away. He would finally learn his true destiny, that of a Vuldarian Warrior.
Over five billion years ago, the planet Vuldar was home to a heroic warrior race. The Vuldarians were bred to protect their quadrant from the dominating factors of evil, an evil known as the Tormocks.
The Tormocks were led by the sadistic genius Bronkk. With the aid of other armies, the Tormocks slaughtered the bulk of Vuldarian warriors and lead a decimating attack on unguarded Vuldar. Their drones, the Kraggz, captured most of the women. For their support, the Tormocks killed their alien allies. The Tormocks do not share victories.
With the destruction of Vuldar, the remaining warriors made their way across thousands of quadrants, trading their advanced science for the genetic material of each sector's mightiest warriors, adding them to Vuldarian bloodline. They continued searching the space sectors looking for species they could endow with abilities and powers to help overcome the Tormocks' might. They taught these species for the day the Tormocks would come burning through the heavens, destroying everything in their paths. Despite their best efforts at "seeding" planets, the Vuldarians were near extinction.
Centuries ago, the Vuldarians came to Earth, settling in the Nabba Jungle. The native humans were anatomically and structurally compatible to the Vuldarians. They could interbreed both species, continuing the lineage. The humans treated the Vuldarians as gods, soon they selected a woman for marriage. This first joining was tainted by the tribe's jealous witch doctor, Muddakka. The result was fatal for the woman, it created the creature known as Dementor.
The Vuldarians settled in the jungle to conduct more research. Subsequent attempts would prove more fruitful. The Vuldarians found it would take centuries of incubation to create a successful merger of the two races.
Surprisingly, this would all be the prelude to an event in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. The event was the birth of Guy Gardner.
Guy's childhood was rough, he had an alcoholic father, full of anger and prejudice. His father's only soft spot was for his older son, Mace. The hero of his school, Mace Gardner won many trophies in athletics, particularly football. Guy's mother would turn a blind eye towards her husband's abusive behavior. The young Guy Gardner found a hero in the comic book adventures of General Glory. He was so enthralled with the General's exploits that he had his hair cut in the distinctive bowl cut of General Glory's sidekick, Ernie.
Life's lessons were hard on Guy. Despite everything, he still craved the approval Mace had been getting from their father. At thirteen years old, Guy learned that Mace could never do any wrong in his father's eyes. Instead of going to college as their father planned, Mace decided to join the Baltimore Police Academy. Guy was sure this would anger their father. It didn't. His father's pride for his elder son only grew. Guy decided he would do something to win approval in his father's eyes. He worked extra hard building a short wave radio as a school science project. Returning home late, Guy found his "perfect" brother smoking pot. This would hurt the old man if he'd found out, and Mace was scared of losing favor with his father. Guy seemed to understand this, he kept Mace's secret. Weeks later, Guy chose the wrong moment to show his father the science project. He had been fired from his job as a crane operator for drinking on the job. The sight of Guy angered his father and the child received yet another beating.
At sixteen, Guy decided if he couldn't be like his brother he'd be the complete opposite. On one particularly eventful day he'd said some smart remarks to a girl during a fire drill at school, stole a car from a parking lot in Rosedale, and barely managed to escape police pursuit. Later at Scotty's restaurant, the girl's boyfriend, Joey Stomp, and a couple of his pals beat up Guy, sending him to the emergency ward. This didn't change anything in Guy's life, he would repeatedly get in trouble with the law and get taken to juvenile hall.
One week after his eighteenth birthday was a different matter. Guy was caught by the police trying to steal a car, he would be dealt with as an adult. Instead of taking him to City Jail, they took him to the High School football field. There his brother Mace was waiting. Guy had screwed up one too many times for Mace. A wisecrack from Guy was answered by a couple of hard hits from Mace. Guy had assumed Mace enjoyed hitting him as his father did, but things were different. He told Guy to straighten out and get a job, giving him some money to start out. Mace was giving Guy a second chance.
Guy got a number of jobs. He soon received his high school equivalency and was able to pay his way to college. He hit the books, holding a solid grade average in his undergraduate studies at Michigan University. Guy even won a few football games in his junior year. At home, however, his accomplishments were still overshadowed by Mace.
In his senior year, Guy still had his sense of humor, putting "Atomic Balm" in John Henry Irons' jock strap. The Michigan U football team made it to a bowl game, Guy was held to the last quarter. They were behind three points, on the other team's forty yard line with no time on the clock. Guy was on the ten and wide open when he caught the ball. Sixty million people saw Gardner win the game.
The studious Irons went on to become a weapons designer, quitting when he learned his weapons were being used by kids on the streets of America. Irons then became a construction worker before becoming the superhero known as Steel.
Guy would go home a hero, though no one would meet him at the airport. His brother Mace had been shot five times by a large caliber handgun, and a bullet severed his spine. The worst of the news was still to come. The police department's Internal Affairs Division had been investigating Mace Gardner for shaking down drug peddlers. Mace had been raking in one thousand dollars a week. The pushers decided they wanted to get rid of Mace and had left him for dead. The police department hushed the matter, not wanting the press involved. Mace was off of the force. A short time later, Mace apparently drowned himself in the river. Guy's father didn't have much to live for after Mace's death. His alcoholism consumed him, and he died soon after.
Guy finished college, a Liberal Arts major earning degrees in Psychology and Education. He was drafted by Cleveland to play in the pros but injured his knee in mini-camp. Enraged by his accident, Gardner lost control and tore up the weight room.
He realized he had to channel his aggression and decided to help others who had destroyed their own lives. Guy soon became a social worker counseling prisoners. His destiny was growing nearer, blazing an emerald trail through the stars.
Abin Sur of Ungara, a member of the fabled Green Lantern Corps was mortally wounded in a battle with the creature known as Legion. The Green Lantern crash landed in the Sierra Madres mountain range. His ring fulfilled its last function: to find a worthy successor. The emerald energies circled the planet, selecting numerous candidates, narrowing the possibilities between test pilot Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner. Due to his proximity to the crash site, Hal Jordan was chosen.
Prior to his induction to the Green Lantern Corps, Jordan had been involved in an automobile accident while driving under the influence of alcohol. His new life with the Corps made him realize the responsibilities of his actions. He plead guilty to the charges and was sentenced to ninety days in a state correctional facility. While in the prison, Jordan was wrongly suspected of the murder of his cell mate. Jordan's caseworker was Guy Gardner.
The staff would have been surprised to learn about Jordan's dual life. By day he was one of hundreds of prisoners, by night he was a Green Lantern. Jordan was undergoing training from Sinestro, the Green Lantern of Korugar. Unfortunately, more than one of the prisoners knew about Jordan's power ring.
Gardner disapproved of Jordan's new cell mate, "Gentleman" Willie, a "revolving door" criminal. Jordan defended Willie from another convict, one that Jordan had put away as Green Lantern. The convict realized he could use the power of Jordan's ring, and planned to use it to stage a mass breakout.
The convicts started a prison-wide riot and Guy Gardner was taken hostage. Their plan had one flaw: Jordan had not been seen in the prison for two days.
Jordan's absence from his cell was due to an uprising on Sinestro's homeworld of Korugar. Armed with Khundish weaponry, the populace had driven off the oppressive Sinestro. Sinestro then convinced Jordan to join him in hiding from the Green Lantern Corps. Sinestro planned to use the prison as a refuge from pursuit. The two arrived in the midst of the riot.
One of the inmates held Gardner as a hostage for Hal's ring. Although the inmate gained the power ring, it was only for a moment. He was easily beaten by Sinestro. The stress had become too much for Gardner, who attacked the defeated prisoner before being pulled off of him by Jordan. Sinestro wished to wipe the humans' memories when they were interrupted by a trio of robotic enforcers... The Fists of the Guardians.
Sinestro and Jordan were placed under arrest and ordered to Oa, the Guardians' homeworld, for investigation of the anti-Green Lantern uprising on the planet Korugar. Sinestro was found guilty of the charges leveled against him and stripped of his power ring and honors. He was banished to the antimatter universe of Qward.
Jordan returned to the prison to contain the riot. The rest of his sentence was uneventful. He saw Gardner before leaving, and the two talked for a while. Gardner decided not to continue as a prison social worker, he believed the job brought out his aggressive nature.
Life went on for both Gardner and Jordan. While Jordan was on Oa for further training, he learned Guy had also been chosen to be Green Lantern. The Guardians of the Universe played a postmortem scan of Abin Sur's final thoughts. The advanced technology could simulate events that could have occurred had Gardner received the ring instead of Jordan. The "history" ran similar to that of Jordan's with the exception of a mission to the planet Ghera. In this scenario, Gardner contaracted a plague from which he died. Upon his death he chose Hal Jordan as Green Lantern. In reality, Guy Gardner was to be Jordan's alternate, a role he would fulfill in time. Upon learning this, Jordan went out to see the would-be Green Lantern.
The fact that Gardner did not appear surprised by Hal's visit or mention Hal's emerald identity could be attributed to a mind-wipe by the Guardians of the Universe. Though this cannot be proven, the Guardians have altered Gardner's mind a number of times.
Guy Gardner became a physical education teacher. The job brought out the best in him, as he was teaching sports to special education kids. Gardner took his students on a two month cross country field trip. A few miles outside of Coast City, their bus ride was cut short by an earthquake measuring eight points on the Richter scale. The students got off the bus, but one child, Suzy Delancy, was trapped on the ruins of a canyon bridge. The young girl was scared, and Gardner could not coax her back to safety. He bravely stepped to the edge to pull her back. His weight was too much for the damaged bridge. The school bus lurched forward, striking Guy in the back. Guy and Suzy would have died but for the timely action of Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Guy was brought to a nearby hospital. His otherwise perfect health was credited for his survival, still, he would be bedridden for months. The Guardians designated another substitute for Jordan. He would train a young Detroit architect by the name of John Stewart.
It was a few months before Gardner was able to get out of bed. He returned to Baltimore, he was able to walk with a cane. It would be a little while before he was fully recovered. Visiting a carnival, he met fortune teller Kari Limbo. She told Gardner he would be a heir to grandeur involving the color green. He had an iron will, strict moral ethics, and a deep line of fate. He would be the last of a great tradition.
Although he did not believe in fate and fortune, he did ask Limbo out on a date. The two quickly fell in love. After the carnival had moved on, Guy would travel to meet her on weekends.
The two lovers were soon planning their future together. Spending an afternoon in the park, Guy was ready to propose to Kari. On what could have been one of the happiest days of their lives, visions of the future came to them. A trio of heroes were thrown through a time rift by the supervillain known as Extant.
Lady Blackhawk was pulled from the past with future versions of John Henry Irons as Steel and an armor-clad Guy Gardner. The existence of two Guy Gardners in the same time frame caused them considerable pain. The future Guy Gardner's body morphed uncontrollably, and he struck at those around him.
This in turn was seen by Coast City's resident protector, Green Lantern Hal Jordan. He did not recognize Gardner, and he believed the future Guy Gardner was responsible for the strange peril Coast City was facing which was actually due to the effects of Zero Hour. The fight was short-lived, as the time rift pulled Gardner back into the future.
With the coming of winter, Kari Limbo returned to the shop she owned in St. Louis. Gardner and Limbo were surprised to be visited by Green Lantern. He revealed his identity as Hal Jordan and told Guy how he had almost been chosen by Abin Sur.
He asked Gardner to fill in for him while he went to Oa for repairs on his power ring. Jordan beleived the ring had been damaged in a fight with the Crumbler Hal gave Guy a power ring. Guy found he had some knowledge in the use of the ring, having been given a mental implant from the Guardians. Guy would use Jordan's battery which was in Oliver Queen's apartment.
In Star City, Green Arrow had a strange vision of the power battery exploding, shattering the Green Lantern before he vanished. Green Arrow was concerned about what he had seen, but decided against telling Gardner for fear of worrying the rookie superhero. He would await the return of Hal Jordan. As Earth's newest Green Lantern, Guy Gardner helped Green Arrow fight the mysterious floating eyes of Professor Ojo.
On Oa, the Guardians discovered the defect was not with the ring, it was the power battery which had been damaged. Jordan was issued another power battery and warned of possible time distortions from the damaged battery. It was dangerous and should be destroyed upon reaching Earth.
Guy Gardner enjoyed the life of Green Lantern. On a night patrol, he came across the floating eye of Professor Ojo and managed to destroy it. He was proud of his accomplishment and returned to Green Arrow's apartment to recharge the power ring in private.
Returning to Earth, Hal learned of Oliver's vision of the battery. Hal recalled the Guardians' words regarding the time distortions and the danger of the faulty battery. He quickly tore town the bedroom wall to reach Guy before he touched the battery, but it was too late. In a blinding flash, Gardner was torn apart by arcs of emerald energy. There was nothing left.
Jordan brought the sad news to Gardner's fiancee. She struck him in anger, but eventually realized it was not his fault. Not wanting to be alone, Kari moved in with Dinah (Black Canary) Lance. Kari Limbo's psychic powers proved very helpful to the trio of super-heroes. Over a short period of time, she and Jordan found they had fallen in love. As their love grew, so did Kari's sense of a soul calling out for her. As a gypsy woman, she did not wish to be alone. After Hal had almost been killed in a fight, Kari asked Hal to marry her.
Though it appeared Guy had been completely annihilated, he had actualy been thrown into another dimension by the blast. The confusion and damage caused by the exploding battery was only compounded by abuse he received in the dimensions beyond Earth. He could manage glimpses into the real world where he saw Jordan and Kari Limbo falling in love.
On the day of their wedding, Kari had a vision of someone dear to her was in agony. In a trance, she drew a symbol in the dust that was later learned to represent a dimension beyond the Earth's, a phantom zone. Investigating further, Superman was pulled into the zone by a tendril of green energy. Kari fainted at the alter, she was overcome by visions of Guy Gardner being blasted apart by the exploding battery. She hadn't stopped loving Guy.
Arriving in the phantom zone to help Superman, Hal was attacked by power ring generated objects. He was soon face to face with his attacker, Guy Gardner. The alternate Green Lantern wanted Jordan's death. He had seen into the real world and watched as Jordan had "stolen" Kari Limbo from him. Guy was used by the wraithlike prisoners of the zone to fight Jordan and Superman. The two heroes had to retreat.
Jordan returned to Kari Limbo to tell her Guy had survived. She could not marry Hal while Guy still lived. He was her first love and to marry Hal would not be fair to anyone.
Gardner was taken to Qward by Sinestro as a way to hurt the Green Lantern of Earth. Seeing Jordan and Limbo together made Guy believe they had planned his death in the power battery explosion. His rage grew towards his fellow Green Lantern. Gardner was used as a puppet by Sinestro, his power ring controlled by the villain.
Though Jordan finally did rescue Gardner, it was almost too late. Gardner's mind was severely damaged. The diagnosis for his recovery was far from optimistic. Guy was brought to Mercy Memorial Hospital. Though she loved both Green Lanterns, Kari Limbo would stay with Guy. She could still not marry Hal Jordan while her first true love was alive. Hal returned to the stars to battle Sinestro.
Guy remained in a vegetative state for many years. The medical staff at the hospital detected unusual alpha wave patterns but could not discover the cause. Unknown to even Gardner himself, he was brought by Dementor into a nether-region he jokingly called "Comaville". Gardner suffered more mental manipulation at the hands of the Vuldarian-altered demon.
Deep in his coma, Gardner could still feel the inner call of the Green Lantern Corps to battle against one of their deadliest foes, Krona the renegade Guardian and his master, Nekron, Lord of the Unliving. The battle would be fought and won in the stars, far from Earth. Yet even this was merely a small taste of disaster that awaited the Green Lantern Corps.
Many months after the battle with Krona, Hal Jordan resigned from the Green Lantern Corps. He hoped to live the rest of his days as a normal human. The responsbility of Space Sector 2814 was given to John Stewart. Jordan visited Guy in Broome Memorial Hospital, wishing the former ring wielder the very best. He pledged to visit Gardner often, as he felt they had a kinship in their experiences as Green Lanterns.
In the deepest reaches of time and space, matters beyond Earth were drawing close. The outcome of these events would once more change Guy Gardner's life. During the so-called Crisis on Infinite Earths, a splinter group of the Guardians decided a lack of an alert to the growing antimatter anomalies meant something was seriously amiss. They began to power a secondary Main Battery with their own energy.
These six Guardians planned the creation of a small, new Green Lantern Corps. They would use selected individuals to destroy the Anti-Monitor and return order to the stars. Whatever their guilt for the actions of an ancestor was, they would guard the universe, not "until the end" but "until there is no end."
They chose Guy Gardner as the first of this new Corps. In the space of days, they brought Gardner from the depths of his coma. Guy awoke for the first time in years.
On Oa, the monitor of Universal Anomalies detected a new power, capable of destroying whole worlds. On Earth, the skies grew red... Guy Gardner left the hospital, determined to find the power he had so long been denied.
The Guardians attempted to warn the Green Lantern Corps of the threat of the Anti-Monitor. They were struck down by a blast from the Central Power Battery. The Anti-Monitor turned the magick of the Central Power Battery against them, imprisoning fifteen of them in a stasis beam from which they could not be freed.
On Earth, Guy Gardner started desecrating the burial site of Abin Sur, the predecessor of Hal Jordan, looking for the power ring. He was interupted by Hal Jordan, who had drove up to Abin Sur's grave to visit his predecessor. The two were blinded by the emerald glow signifying the arrival of a Guardian. He had come in the hour of the universe's gravest crisis to award the ring of power to Guy Gardner.
The Guardian explained how his comrades had fanned the spark of life remaining within Gardner. He was brought back from his coma in order to be granted a ring. Soon Guy would fully recover. The small group of Guardians would have brought Guy further by then, but they dared not act directly until the Crisis had begun. In a wisp of energy, all three vanished....
The Guardian brought Gardner to Oa. Jordan had grabbed on to the pair, but fell unharmed to the planet's surface, far from the Citadel. Gardner was taken to meet the other renegade Guardians.
The increase of the anti-matter effect choked off all other power from the battery. Power rings across the universe lost their emerald energy. Jordan made his way to the Citadel where he met a handful of free Guardians. They had given up the fight against the Anti-Monitor, and sent Jordan home to Earth.
Guy was angered by his treatment at the hands of the Guardians. For years he was allowed to remain in a coma while the Guardians did nothing. The Guardians countered his charges, for he was only a standby for one of 3600 Green Lanterns. They had never authorized his enrollment into the Corps, and did not concern themselves with a Green Lantern's personal crises. With John Stewart embroiled in the Monitor's battles, they now wanted to enroll Guy.
Gardner was given a customized uniform, resembling that of the Guardians' trio of robotic enforcers. Gardner's ring and battery was powered by the life energy of the six Guardians. He would seek out evil and destroy it as the first of the new Corps. The Guardians plans were shortlived. A wave of antimatter swept across their gathering. Five of the Guardians were instantly killed. Gardner swore his allegience to the surviving Guardian and flew home to Earth.
Keying in on precise emanations while warping time back over itself, Guy Gardner was able to revive the Shark, who quickly defeated him. The Shark left Gardner, searching for the mind of Hal Jordan.
Hal revealed his secret identity to John Stewart, hoping to offer his experience as a Green Lantern and warn about Guy Gardner. They were suddenly attacked by the Shark. John defeated the Shark, imprisoning him in an emerald bubble. Guy soon arrived to free the captive Shark. For his protection, Stewart sent Jordan into space in a power ring created bubble.
In the ensuing fight with Guy, John paused to aid the Shark in his airless bubble. The Shark and Gardner double teamed Stewart and made their escape. Guy convinced the Shark to join his strike force.
Retrieving Hal Jordan from space, Stewart was surprised to find Hal was no longer in the power ring bubble. He had vanished without a trace. Stewart could not find Gardner, who had ordered his ring to counter any tracking attempts.
Jordan had been transported to Oa by the Guardian that had given Guy the ring. He was now prepared to trust Jordan with a ring, provided Jordan follow Guy Gardner's lead in the mission. Jordan argued against the use of Gardner, citing his mind had been damaged somehow by his years in a coma. While the Guardian agreed with Jordan's observation he believed Gardner had been damaged in a manner which removed any doubts he might have about achieving his objectives. Guy Gardner was the perfect choice to lead an assault on the moon of Qward.
Gardner and the Shark made fast work freeing Hector Hammond from confinement. Sonar, Throttle and Blindside were freed by Guy with the offer to join or die. Hector Hammond had plotted to take over Guy's group before he was shut down by the Green Lantern. Gardner went off to free Goldface from prison.
The growing strike force was soon apprehended by two Green Lanterns. Katma Tui and John Stewart planned to return the criminals to prison. Surprisingly, they were ordered to stop by Hal Jordan. Although he was wearing regular street clothes, he was backed up by the power of the verdant ring. Jordan sided with Gardner in his attack on Qward's moon. No sooner had Gardner and company departed when Sinestro arrived, telling Stewart and Katma of the error of Gardner's mission.
At the very edge of the solar system, Gardner's small army prepared for the assault on Qward. Guy warned his group not to attack Jordan under the penalty of death. The former Green Lantern thanked Gardner, and was glad that Gardner had finally become a Green Lantern. Gardner considered Hal a jerk.
In Qwardian space, the group engaged the Weaponers. Jordan refused to kill his enemies and would return to the positive matter universe. Gardner would not let Jordan leave with the power ring and he attacked him for it. Gardner pulled the ring from Jordan's finger, leaving him for dead.
Jordan was later rescued by the Green Lantern Corps. He had taken the life support off of a dead Weaponer and survived until they found him. The Corps joined in the battle, against the Weaponers and Gardner's group.
On the dark moon of Qward, Guy prepared to destroy the birthplace of the Anti-Monitor. Jordan tried to stop him, but without his power ring he was unable to prevent the inevitable. Guy's blast was thrown off by John Stewart. The two Green Lanterns fought a battle of wills but the pressure was too much for Gardner. He was knocked out by the effort. Somewhere far beyond the Green Lantern Corps, the Anti-Monitor fell. The Crisis was finally over.
Soon after, the criminals turned on Gardner. They realized if they had followed his lead they would have destroyed the very universe. Though they were in no shape to attack Gardner in Qward, they vowed revenge on the Green Lantern.
Unwilling to face the villains or the Green Lantern Corps, Guy quickly escaped to look for allies. He found one likely candidate on the planet Zamaron in Sector 2813. There, he proposed a partnership with Star Sapphire, a queen who had lost her Zamaron followers. They were joined by the mental projection of Hector Hammond and together the "Triumvirate of Terror" planned an unsuccessful ambush of Hal Jordan. They were easily beaten by the veteran Green Lantern. Hammond was incapacitated on Earth, Jordan brought Sapphire and Gardner to Oa for judgement by the Guardians.
Meeting with the surviving members of the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians announced they were leaving our universe with their mates, the Zamarons. The Corps was given independence from their sector assignments, they could now patrol the universe as they saw fit. Apros and K'ryssma of the Green Lantern Corps Honor Guard were to protect the mortal Guardian, Appa Ali Apsa, on Maltus. Hal Jordan and John Stewart were assigned to Earth, the prophesied birthplace of the next race of immortals.
Because he had been chosen as a Green Lantern by an Oan, the Guardians would let Guy keep his power ring, provided he met one requirement. He would have to undergo training on the Guardians' homeworld, Maltus. He would work with the Honor Guard and Appa Ali Apsa while rebuilding the world which was ravaged in the Crisis. He reluctantly agreed.
The conditions on Maltus angered Gardner. He despised the tasks he was to perform, such as bring water across space to the planet. He was considered too violent in his defense of Maltus from an attack by an armada of starships from Palomaris, who needed women for their world.
Maltus' overcrowding atmosphere and the lack of training by Appa Ali Apsa, who Guy thought was a wimp anyway, gave Guy the idea of sneaking away. The Honor Guard members confronted the Green Lantern from Earth. While they were satisfied with his work they could not abide by his escape plans. They easily beat Gardner, and Apros invaded Gardner's mind, disabling him. They did not tell Appa Ali Apsa of the confrontation - but there would be no second time.
Guy waited until for a more opportune moment to escape. He took advantage of sulfur storms to escape Maltus. On Earth, Gardner declared himself leader of the Green Lantern Corps of Earth. His fellow emerald warriors balked at this, and Gardner attacked.
The Honor Guard pursued the errant Green Lantern to Earth. Subduing Gardner, they were prepared to take his power ring from him when they were stopped by Hal Jordan. The Earth based Green Lanterns offered to take Gardner as their responsibility. They felt he would eventually need to learn how to fit into society and was better off learning on his homeworld. Satisfied with this offer, Appa Ali Apsa returned to Maltus with the Honor Guard.
Despite Appa Ali Apsa's approval, the Green Lanterns were not in complete agreement. Kilowog was opposed to the aspect of someone as irresponsible as Guy Gardner as a Green Lantern. The Bolovax Green Lantern left his teammates, eventually assisting the Soviet Union in the creation of the Rocket Red Brigade.
Due to the machinations of G. Gordon Godfrey, a wave of anti-superhero sentiment swept the nation. Gardner was one of many superheroes affected by the public's growing mistrust of their superhuman protectors.
The true identity of Godfrey was revealed to be Glorious Godfrey of Apokolips. In service to Darkseid, Godfrey had used his powers to destroy Earth's "legends" by manipulating the thoughts of the American people. The government quickly imposed a ban on super human activities. Godfrey was ultimately defeated when he put on Doctor Fate's mystic helmet, in a futile attempt to gain the Lord of Order's powers. It was through the organization of Doctor Fate that the super heroes banded together, and soon reformed the Justice League.
Learning of Kilowog's activities in the Soviet Union, Guy Gardner invaded the U.S.S.R. to bring back three "defecting" Green Lanterns and almost started World War Three in the process. He went one-on-one with Kilowog until the Bolovax Green Lantern learned he had been betrayed by the Soviets.
Following his latest arguement with the Green Lanterns, Guy went on to become one of the charter mebers of the new Justice League (later Justice League International). He considered himself leader, though his teammates didn't recognize his claim to the title. Alongside Batman, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel, Doctor Fate, Doctor Light, the Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle and Oberon, Guy quickly made a bad impression. Batman appeared to be one of the few people able to keep Gardner in line.
The League's first case had actually been set up by Maxwell Lord. A group of terrorists at the UN were stopped by the Justice League earning them instant recognition. Their next case involved a return to the U.S.S.R. for Gardner as they came into conflict with the Rocket Red Brigade. The Justice League had been sent to the Soviet Union to block the Heroes of Angor from dismantling the Soviets' nuclear arsenal.
New members, such as Booster Gold, joined the League, but command of the team was still a sore spot for Guy. He took off his ring to fight Batman but was KO'ed with one punch from the Dark Knight. Coming to a while later, he hit his head on the underside of console while trying to find his ring.
Green Lantern Hal Jordan was visited by Maxwell Lord to assist the new Justice League, but Jordan felt the participation of Gardner would screw up the reputation of the League. Though Lord wanted Jordan's help, he didn't want the veteran Green Lantern's advice.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
As a Green Lantern, Guy Gardner possesses a power ring and power battery.
During his brief time as a Red Lantern, he possessed a red power ring.
While he was known as Warrior, Guy had the ability to morph his body into living weapons.
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of Green Lantern in chronological order click here
PROFILE REFERENCES
Who's Who in the DC Universe #11 (July 1991)
Who's Who in the DC Universe Update 1993 #2 (January 1993)
Green Lantern Secret Files #1 (July 1998)
Green Lantern Secret Files #2 (September 1999)
JLA-Z #2 (December 2003)