THE GREEN LANTERN
No one can forget the Green Lantern. His story began back in 1940 and has never really ended. Here is a superhero who has been killed off twice but just keeps on coming back. Creator, Martin Nodell came up with the premise of a man who had a magic ring that could do nearly anything. The idea went over well and Nodell was teamed up with Batman’s Bill Fringer to come up with the debut issue in July 1940.
Green Lantern was Alan Scott, who found a mysterious green lantern. He made a ring out of the green metal and found its powers were incredible as long as the ring was in contact with the lantern every 24 hours. His costume was unusual for a superhero: a high-collared cape and the colors red, green and purple. The second Green Lantern of 1959 was toned down considerably with an all green, more slick costume.
The Green Lantern caught on and became one of only five DC Superheroes to be published in his own comic. He was a regular in Comic Cavalcade and a member of The Justice Society of America. Within the comic itself, Lantern was able to inspire two more souls into becoming heros themselves: Wildcat and The Red Tornado.
The Green Lantern lost his popularity when superheroes became less in vogue. Suddenly, funny animals were the current craze. But never mind, the Lantern returns again and again starting in 1959.
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