Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern character Guy Gardner isn’t just defined by his goofy haircut and his proficiency with the cosmic ring; he’s got a surprisingly sad origin story that a lot of people who aren’t familiar with DC comics don’t know about. Gardner came from an abusive home and just worked a normal job before becoming a member of the Green Lantern Corps. A lot of his backstory is explored in the 1992 “Guy Gardner” series where he starts heroically using a Yellow Lantern ring — remember, that’s the one powered by fear.
The flashbacks in issue #11 reveal that Guy’s alcoholic father, Roland Gardner, beat him when he was a child for simply being in the house, and even more so if he messed up at school. To make matters worse, Guy’s dad put his older brother, Mace Gardner, on a pedestal. Roland eventually died from liver failure, something that Guy wouldn’t learn about for many years. His death was retconned for the “Infinite Crisis” crossover event in the mid-2000s, with Roland apologizing for his behavior on his deathbed, but Guy was still subjected to a traumatic childhood.
He may come across as obnoxious as an adult, but Gardner’s sense of right and wrong wasn’t impacted by his difficult past. When he grew up he became a social worker to counsel inmates in prison while also being a gym teacher for school kids, so even before he was a Green Lantern he was still helping people. It’s a compelling backstory with lots of layers to it, but it seems like James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe is taking a few liberties with Guy’s tale, particularly in the way he was selected as a Green Lantern.
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Lanterns tweaks some classic Green Lantern mythology
“Lanterns” is fast becoming one of the best shows streaming on HBO Max. It’s impressive how it slots seamlessly into the DC Universe while also being a gritty crime drama. The series has already established that Guy Gardner got the ring when John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) rejected it after killing Zoe the Manhunter (Poorna Jagannathan). But in the comics, the line of Lantern succession is a little different.
In “Green Lantern” Vol. 2 #59, Hal Jordan discovers that the Guardians of the Universe chose Gardner as his backup in case anything happened to him. He visited Gardner, who was teaching kids at the time, and the two remained friends after that. John Stewart was actually the second backup, suiting up as a Green Lantern only after Gardner was involved in an earthquake.
Even when Gardner eventually became a hero, things didn’t always go right for him, and he was seemingly killed in “Green Lantern” Vol. 2 #116 by way of an exploding power battery. The tragic incident pushed Jordan and Gardner’s girlfriend, Kari Limbo, closer together. They were even going to get married before discovering that Gardner was still alive and was just trapped in the Phantom Zone.
It doesn’t seem like Gardner and Jordan have had a previous relationship in the DCU. There’s still time for “Lanterns” to add more context, but there’s only a few episodes remaining, so it will have to be quick. Casey Bloys, the head of HBO, has confirmed that a second season of “Lanterns” is not currently being developed, though reports suggest that a writers room has been put together to brainstorm potential ideas. If it does go ahead, maybe we’ll get more of Guy’s backstory.
This story originally appeared on TVLine
