Black Hand ( William Derek Hand ) is a supervillain and a recurring foe to Green Lantern .
170-708: A power ring is an object featured in American comic books published by DC Comics . The power ring first appeared in All-American Comics #16 on July 14, 1940. The first appearance of a power ring was in All-American Comics #16 on July 14, 1940, the flagship title of comic book publisher All-American Publications , which featured the first appearance of Alan Scott . Creator Martin Nodell has cited Richard Wagner 's opera cycle The Ring of
340-487: A naturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons - heroes who squabbled and worried about the likes of paying the rent. In contrast to the super-heroic do-gooder archetypes of established superheroes at the time, this ushered in a revolution. With dynamic artwork by Kirby, Steve Ditko , Don Heck , and others, complementing Lee's colorful, catchy prose, the new style became very popular among teenagers and college students who could identify with
510-432: A coroner 's office and funeral home , the logo of which is the same symbol William eventually adopts at the beginning of his criminal career. While still a young boy, Hand has a severe preoccupation with death and the dead that includes implied necrophilic tendencies. No particular trauma or event seems to have inspired this; even as a toddler, William is deeply fascinated by death and dead people, calling them "pretty". It
680-527: A mental breakdown . Shortly before the events of Green Lantern: Rebirth , Black Hand's device locates a spare power ring that Green Arrow holds in case of emergency. Hand tries to claim the ring for himself, but he is stopped by Green Arrow and Hal Jordan (who is serving as the Spectre ). As Hand attempts to wield the power ring, the Green Arrow pins the villain's hand to the wall with an arrow, and
850-488: A script . After the art is prepared, the dialogue and captions are lettered onto the page from the script, and an editor may have the final say (but, once ready for printing, it is difficult and expensive to make any major changes), before the comic is sent to the printer. The creative team, the writer and artist(s), may work for a comic book publisher who handles the marketing, advertising, and other logistics. A wholesale distributor, such as Diamond Comic Distributors ,
1020-498: A tabloid -sized, 10-by-15-inch (250 mm × 380 mm), 36-page magazine with a card-stock, non-glossy cover. An anthology , it mixed humor features such as the funny animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger" with such dramatic fare as the Western strip "Jack Woods" and the " yellow-peril " adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring a Fu Manchu -styled villain, Fang Gow. Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) brought
1190-455: A 68-page giant selling for 10¢. Distributed to newsstands by the mammoth American News Company , it proved a hit with readers during the cash-strapped Great Depression , selling 90 percent of its 200,000 print, although putting Eastern Color more than $ 4,000 in the red. That quickly changed, with the book turning a $ 30,000 profit each issue starting with #12. Famous Funnies would eventually run 218 issues, inspire imitators, and largely launch
1360-417: A Black Lantern, used to remove their victims' hearts and drain them of emotional energy, can sever the connection between other Black Lanterns and their black ring. Time travel can deactivate a searching black ring. Some characters have been shown as able to resist black rings for various reasons, including being immortal, being at complete peace after death, or being a Red Lantern. The first white power ring
1530-411: A Guardian, although Hal Jordan was apparently able to overpower this restriction when he killed the renegade Guardian, Krona, in the final battle. It has been claimed in-universe that only a pure form of willpower can use the ring effectively. When Green Arrow tried to use Hal Jordan's power ring against Sinestro, it caused him great pain and difficulty because (according to Sinestro) Green Arrow's will
1700-430: A Red Lantern's true love, is capable of restoring a Red Lantern. An orange ring is powered by avarice (greed) and unlike the other Corps, only one living individual can wield the power of the orange light since orange ring-bearers are so consumed with greed that they cannot bear the thought of sharing power with others. Larfleeze is the user of the orange light, but Lex Luthor briefly shared that power with him during
1870-498: A Siegel/Shuster creation from the slush pile and used it as the cover feature (but only as a backup story) in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). The duo's alien hero, Superman , was dressed in a cape and colorful tights. The costume, influenced by Flash Gordon 's attire from 1934, evoked circus aerial performers and circus strongmen, and Superman became the archetype of the " superheroes " that would follow. In early 1939,
SECTION 10
#17327803962302040-547: A black ring was able to revive Black Hand back on Earth once again, albeit in a slightly vulnerable state. Yet with the heroes of the world missing or dead, Black Hand wandered through the city as it is engulfed in riots, raising up dead people as zombies. Blaming Hal Jordan for all that happened to him, he makes his vendetta against the Green Lantern a lot more personal as he goes to the place where Hal's father Martin Jordan
2210-409: A brand-new Lantern costume with a gray color scheme and a teardrop-shaped symbol on his chest. As a Sorrow Lantern, Nathan's exact capabilities and limitations are still unknown. He can fly but unlike the other lantern corps, Nate generate mist from his power ring instead of the normal protective aura. He can also create mist constructs and is able to force his emotions onto others so that they can feel
2380-610: A copy of his ring to Kyle, which has the ability to replicate itself. Kyle attempts to use Hal's ring to restart the Green Lantern Corps, with limited results. The apparently random induction in the Corps, more than once contested by Ganthet as simple chance during most of the Green Lantern (vol. 3) run, is later retconned into the very first induction of a new breed of Lanterns. Since the Corps has become aware of
2550-420: A device that can manipulate the energy of Green Lantern power rings . It can obtain this energy by directly draining it from a ring or through the residue a power ring gives off. Like power rings, however, the device needs to regularly replenish its energy to operate. Hand usually recharges his device during battles with Green Lanterns and has been shown to use it to help him locate nearby power rings. The device
2720-684: A dying sun's age. Blue rings can also grant precognitive visions to their wielders. The Indigo Tribe, wielders of the indigo light of compassion, make their first extended appearance in Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #1 (July 2009). Unlike other Corps, the Indigo Tribe carry carved, lantern-like staves with them. In Blackest Night #5, it is established that Indigo Tribe members use their staffs instead of power batteries to charge their rings. In addition to being able to store indigo light energy, they are also capable of replicating
2890-599: A giant construct of Mera. Originally, a Blue Lantern's energy was the only known power source capable of neutralizing the Red Lanterns' influences, and are also the only means of removing a red power ring from its user without killing them. Mogo managed to purify Guy Gardner during the Blackest Night but as Guy has not been cured by a Blue Lantern, traces of the Red Rage remain. Also, a Star Sapphire, working with
3060-633: A hero, his greed and anger causing him to tap into both the Red and Orange rings, but when he is forced to face the damage that he has done, he reverts to an Indigo ring long enough to remove the Phantom Ring himself. While Green Lantern villain Sinestro had his own version of the power ring since 1961, a yellow one that exploited the one color Green Lanterns were ineffective against, in the late 2000s writer Geoff Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver worked
3230-469: A limited charge. In earlier appearances, they required recharging every 24 hours, but more recently they possess a fixed amount of regular charge: that is, the charge is good for 24 hours of 'typical' use, but extended or extensive use will drain the charge more quickly. Green Lantern rings typically reserve a small portion of their power for a passive force field that protects its wielder from mortal harm. In dire emergencies, that energy reserve can be tapped at
3400-804: A member of the Empire of Tears on the prison planet Ysmault, forged the first Red Power Battery from the innards of Qull, the being who tells Abin Sur the prophecy of "the Blackest Night". Red power rings are powered by rage, feed on the rage of their users and anyone nearby, and are charged by the blood of those the user kills. Unlike Green Lantern rings, which provide a helpful commentary to their user, red rings are depicted as constantly emitting violent commands ("Kill", "Rage", "Pain", "Hatred", etc.), driving their wearers insane with rage and reducing them to little more than snarling beasts. The rings, however, seek out beings with great rage. A user's red ring functionally stops
3570-670: A member of the Sinestro Corps, one must free themselves from a small prison. With their yellow power ring completely drained of its energy, they must provide it with the spark it needs to accomplish this feat by facing their own greatest fear. Originally Yellow rings could be charged by Manhunter androids that have yellow power batteries built into themselves, which in turn are connected to the Central Yellow Power Battery on Qward. There are also portable batteries similar to those used by Green Lanterns. Aside from
SECTION 20
#17327803962303740-603: A million copies a month each; comics provided very popular cheap entertainment during World War II especially among soldiers, but with erratic quality in stories, art, and printing. In the early 1940s, over 90 percent of girls and boys from seven to seventeen read comic books. In 1941, H. G. Peter and William Moulton Marston , created the female superhero character Wonder Woman , who debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) and Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman in 1942. MLJ 's Pep Comics debuted as
3910-459: A new mass medium . When the supply of available existing comic strips began to dwindle, early comic books began to include a small amount of new, original material in comic-strip format. Inevitably, a comic book of all-original material, with no comic-strip reprints, debuted. Fledgling publisher Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications, which would evolve into DC Comics , to release New Fun #1 (Feb. 1935). This came out as
4080-475: A power ring's effectiveness. During Identity Crisis , the villain Deathstroke was able to use his own willpower and physical contact to prevent a wounded Kyle Rayner from operating his ring, at least momentarily, although this was taxing enough to leave Deathstroke completely open to attack from others. More abstractly, a weakening of resolve and will can impair the ring's effectiveness. For example, during
4250-485: A power ring, a restriction which makes use of the rings by average individuals incredibly difficult. For instance, when Green Arrow used a power ring to attack Sinestro, it pushed the hero's body to the point of exhaustion (and for all his effort he was only able to generate a single arrow, which did little to Sinestro other than annoy him). Mind control, hallucinogens, psychic attacks, "neural chaff" and other phenomena that disrupt thought processes will all indirectly impair
4420-578: A power surge that kills his guards. He begins having visions of the dead planet Ryut and the Black Power Battery. After the visions, he roams the desert, hearing "Death" calling to him. It instructs him to reclaim all the souls it has lost in the DC Universe, including Superman and Hal Jordan. Black Hand returns to his family's house, kills his two brothers, his mother, his father, and then finally commits suicide. While these events unfold,
4590-510: A profound impact upon the American comic-book industry. Their popularity, along with mainstream media attention and critical acclaim, combined with changing social tastes, led to a considerably darker tone in comic books during the 1990s nicknamed by fans as the "grim-and-gritty" era. The growing popularity of antiheroes such as Wolverine and the Punisher exemplified this change, as did
4760-459: A protective aura (which creates distinct feathered and organic shapes), and create violet light constructs. Violet rings have several unique abilities. They can create crystals which can be used to imprison members of other Lantern Corps on the Zamaron planet. Over time, the rings of the prisoners trapped in stasis within the crystals are infused with violet energy. After spending enough time inside,
4930-603: A public park. He is seen in the Infinite Crisis mini-series as a member of Alexander Luthor Jr. 's Secret Society of Super Villains and one of several heroes and villains observed by Kal-L and Superboy-Prime . Black Hand's origin is rewritten in the Secret Origin storyline of Green Lantern and further enhanced in the Blackest Night storyline. In this origin, William Hand's parents run
5100-586: A scream after his capture, hoping to be released from the Tribe's captivity; but much of the text is in the Tribe's language, thereby remaining indecipherable, except for a few names and four translated phrases. Black Hand is later revealed to be in an unknown location on Earth somewhat trapped inside of Proselyte, the compassion entity, as the members of the Indigo Tribe gather around them. When Indigo-1 and Black Hand confront Hal Jordan, Barry Allen , Sinestro , Saint Walker and Larfleeze , Black Hand explains that
5270-419: A separate writer and artist , or there may be separate artists for the characters and backgrounds. Particularly in superhero comic books, the art may be divided between: The process begins with the writer (often in collaboration with one or more others, who may include the editor and/or the penciller) coming up with a story idea or concept, then working it up into a plot and storyline , finalizing it with
Power ring (DC Comics) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5440-441: A success, and Eastern Color that year produced similar periodicals for Canada Dry soft drinks , Kinney Shoes , Wheatena cereal and others, with print runs of from 100,000 to 250,000. Also in 1933, Gaines and Wildenberg collaborated with Dell to publish the 36-page Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , which historians consider the first true American comic book; Goulart, for example, calls it "the cornerstone for one of
5610-520: A superhero, science-fiction and adventure anthology, but after the title introduced the teen-humor feature "Archie" in 1942, the feature's popularity would soon eclipse all other MLJ properties, leading the publisher to rename itself Archie Comics . Following the end of World War II, the popularity of superheroes greatly diminished, while the comic-book industry itself expanded. A few well-established characters such as Superman , Batman and Wonder Woman continued to sell, but DC canceled series starring
5780-482: A thin periodical originating in the United States , on average 32 pages, containing comics . While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics , which included the debut of the superhero Superman . This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II . After the war, while superheroes were marginalized,
5950-402: A third of all North American sales in the early 1950s. Its 90 titles averaged a circulation of 800,000 copies per title for every issue, with Walt Disney's Comics and Stories peaking at a circulation of three million a month in 1953. Eleven of the top 25 bestselling comic books at the time were Dell titles. Out of 40 publishers active in 1954, Dell, Atlas (i.e. Marvel), DC, and Archie were
6120-423: A tie', Hand sews himself a costume using a family cadaver pouch and begins calling himself "Black Hand". Jordan apparently never connects William and his energy-absorbing weapon to his earlier fight with Atrocitus. Never revealing his weapon's true origin, Black Hand continues to fight him over the years, retreating to a desecrated grave after each failure. While being transported to prison, Black Hand experiences
6290-696: A user, violet power rings must be accepted by the wearer. Black power rings are fueled by death, instead of light from the emotional spectrum. In the concluding issues of the Sinestro Corps War , Superboy-Prime hurls the Anti-Monitor into space. His dying essence crashes onto the dead planet of Ryut and is encased in the Black Central Power Battery. Black Hand becomes the first Black Lantern after killing his family and committing suicide; Scar comes to him and regurgitates
6460-458: Is "simulated energy" and thus does not provide the full range of abilities. For example, a Green Lantern charged thusly can create constructs and a uniform, but cannot fly. Like all power rings, indigo rings are capable of the default Corps abilities of flight and protective aura generation. Indigo power rings give their users the ability to perceive compassion in others and to force compassion onto those who feel none. Paradoxically, indigo light has
6630-623: Is awake and attacks them, but he is getting hit back with a huge grappling hook sending him to the Source Wall by Hal's colleagues on the spaceship. Black Hand is not through, but the Source Wall dragged him to it and he tried to reach out as the Source Wall consumes Black Hand. Black Hand was eventually released from the Source Wall and established the Dark Church of the Black Hand, a cult that worships Death . Black Hand possesses
6800-419: Is because hope requires willpower to enact it. While within the proximity of a Green Lantern's ring, a blue ring can heal wounds, neutralize the corrupting effects of a red power ring, block the energy-stealing properties of orange rings, drain power from yellow power rings, and recharge a green power ring to twice its maximum power level. This effect can also negatively impact a green ring, as close proximity to
6970-486: Is buried and raises him and all the corpses in the cemetery. Black Hand removes one of his own hands and takes one of Martin's hand in its place, hoping to kill Hal Jordan with his father's own hand. Following the Forever Evil storyline, Black Hand raises a dead circus and raises the dead crowds to watch the stunt performers die. Hal Jordan interferes, but is not here to fight him and asks to ally themselves against
Power ring (DC Comics) - Misplaced Pages Continue
7140-426: Is depicted during the Blackest Night event. The exact capabilities and limitations of white power rings are still unknown, but they have been shown as capable of providing their bearers with the default Corps abilities of flight, protective aura generation, and light construct creation. Their most notable and unique ability to date is the power to resurrect the dead. The first instances of this ability were shown not by
7310-401: Is expended when it is in use. For example, after the destruction of Oa, Kyle's ring has more power than ever before and does not need to be recharged for an extended period of time. Unlike Hal Jordan's ring, it is unable to make copies of itself. After Kyle became settled into his role as the new Green Lantern, a Hal Jordan from the past visits Kyle's time after his own death as Parallax. He gives
7480-473: Is experiencing due to the many attacks made by Lord Premier Thaaros. The first member of the Sorrow Lanterns is revealed to be Nathan Broome, Carol Ferris’ ex-fiancee, who wallows in sadness as he looks at the wedding ring he’d gotten for Carol after she left him at the altar without any explanation to go save Hal Jordan. As sorrow consumes Nathan, the ring changes and becomes a Power Ring, giving Nathan
7650-455: Is implied that his first kiss was with a corpse. At first, William tries to control his urges by engaging in taxidermy , but his hobby becomes a source of concern after he kills the family dog in pursuit of his favored pastime. Subsequently, William is sent to psychologists for the remainder of his life with the Hand family. William simply shrugs off every attempt to "cure" him, learning how to hide
7820-403: Is later seen after Black Lanterns Elongated Man and Sue Dibny kill Carter Hall / Hawkman and Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl . Hand enters the room and proclaims that Hawkman and Hawkgirl will not escape death this time. Two black rings fly from Batman's skull, and Hand commands the two fallen heroes to rise. Black Hand is also present when the Spectre is taken over by a black ring, gloating to
7990-607: Is later seen held in captivity by the Indigo Tribe , chained to the tribe's trademark power staff. From Blackest Night #2, a back-up feature "The Book of the Black: The Burned-In Thoughts of William Hand" chronicles Black Hand's childhood memories and his own personal opinions regarding each of the seven colors of the Emotional spectrum. In the end, his thoughts of the Indigo Tribe turn out to be
8160-580: Is limited only by the ring-bearer's willpower; whatever the wearer imagines, the ring will create. When active, a power ring will encase its user in a protective, life-supporting force field. This force field allows the user to fly, travel through inhospitable environments ( outer space , underwater, etc.), and enter hyperspace to move vast distances quickly. The ring also generates its wearer's Green Lantern uniform, which appears over their normal attire and can be removed at will. The uniform varies from Lantern to Lantern, based on anatomy, personal preference, and
8330-550: Is restored and the ring instantly returns to full power. The ring, though, does have some psychic defenses: Guy Gardner's ring, apparently, is able to put up psi-shields around him and Blue Beetle in their battle against the Ultra-Humanite . There is also a limit to the amount of willpower the ring can take, as seen when John Stewart attempted to use his ring to re-build a destroyed planet, only to have his ring inform him, " Willpower exceeding power ring capabilities ". In
8500-418: Is revealed to be William Hand. Atrocitus locates and attacks Hand, believing the black power literally lies within his body. Atrocitus is stopped by Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Sinestro , while Hand (encouraged by a strange voice) pockets the weapon and flees the scene. He is later seen breaking into a hospital morgue, trying to steal one of the corpses there. When he is confronted by a security guard, he uses
8670-514: Is such that he has become one of the strongest heroes in the Legion of Super-Heroes. The Elders of Oa chose Kala Lour in the 31st century to wield the power of the Gold Lantern ring, thanks to his ability to feel great happiness and joy. The Gold Lantern ring allegedly contains the power of the combined energies of the emotional spectrum and their various abilities. This makes Gold Lantern one of
SECTION 50
#17327803962308840-464: Is taken symbolically as the beginning of a new era, although his success was not immediate. It took two years for the Flash to receive his own title, and Showcase itself was only a bimonthly book, though one which was to introduce a large number of enduring characters. By 1959, the slowly building superhero revival had become clear to DC's competitors. Archie jumped on board that year, and Charlton joined
9010-450: Is to start a life of crime. After extensive study, he becomes an expert criminal and evades police continuously. William develops a penchant for speaking in old clichés. He also tends to break the fourth wall , speaking directly to the reader about his plans to confront Hal Jordan. His criminal behavior escalates, and he becomes a costumed supervillain, dubbing himself "Black Hand" (an inside joke he conceives that refers to his status as
9180-491: Is unique throughout the history of the Green Lantern characters, and was, for a time, the only working power ring in the DC Universe. His ring is not dependent on the Central Power Battery and is free from the yellow impurity, but does not prevent mortal damage automatically. The ring no longer needs to be charged every 24 hours; instead, its use is based on how much power it absorbs when recharging and how much
9350-508: The Green Lantern: Rebirth storyline, Sinestro was seen wearing a new yellow power ring. Before he could be defeated Sinestro retreated to the anti-matter universe where he spent a year creating his Sinestro Corps. Yellow Power rings are now fueled by fear instead of willpower, but function the same as their green counterparts. Members of the Sinestro Corps are chosen for their ability to instill great fear in others. To become
9520-544: The Millennium crossover, Hal Jordan fights a Manhunter who psychologically attacks him, to make him doubt that the people he is protecting value the principles he is fighting for. Jordan's resolve begins to weaken and his ring loses effectiveness, until one of his charges strikes the Manhunter, declaring that she does deeply value Jordan's principles as well. With this dramatic affirmation, Jordan's faith in his cause
9690-537: The Cyborg Superman on the planet Biot. These Lanterns are referred to as the "Lost Lanterns". Any attempt to kill using a green power ring was automatically diverted and, in some cases, resulted in the ring locking out the user. This restriction was rescinded by the Guardians to combat the Sinestro Corps, then for the general execution of their duties. The rings are, apparently, still unable to be used against
9860-667: The Flash and Green Lantern and converted All-American Comics and All Star Comics to Western titles, and Star Spangled Comics to a war title. The publisher also launched such science-fiction titles as Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space . Martin Goodman 's Timely Comics , also known as Atlas, canceled its three formerly high-selling superhero titles starring Captain America (created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ),
10030-613: The Human Torch , and the Sub-Mariner , briefly reviving the characters in 1954 only to cancel them again shortly thereafter to focus on horror, science fiction, teen humor, romance and Western genres. Romance comics became strongly established, with Prize Comics ' Young Romance and with Young Love , the latter written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; those two titles' popularity led to an explosion of romance comics from many publishers. Dell 's comic books accounted for
10200-619: The Library of Congress as "a short-lived newspaper tabloid insert" and not to be confused with Dell's 1936 comic-book series of the same name. Historian Ron Goulart describes the 16-page, four-color periodical as "more a Sunday comic section without the rest of the newspaper than a true comic book. But it did offer all original material and was sold on newsstands ". The Funnies ran for 36 issues, published Saturdays through October 16, 1930. In 1933, salesperson Maxwell Gaines , sales manager Harry I. Wildenberg , and owner George Janosik of
10370-729: The McNaught Syndicate , the Ledger Syndicate , and the Bell-McClure Syndicate . These included such popular strips as cartoonist Al Smith 's Mutt and Jeff , Ham Fisher 's Joe Palooka , and Percy Crosby 's Skippy . Eastern Color neither sold this periodical nor made it available on newsstands , but rather sent it out free as a promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped from Procter & Gamble soap and toiletries products. The company printed 10,000 copies. The promotion proved
SECTION 60
#173278039623010540-757: The Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on comic book indecency from April to June 1954. In the wake of these troubles, a group of comics publishers, led by National and Archie, founded the Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the Comics Code, intended as "the most stringent code in existence for any communications media". A Comic Code Seal of Approval soon appeared on virtually every comic book carried on newsstands. EC, after experimenting with less controversial comic books, dropped its comics line to focus on
10710-456: The Waterbury, Connecticut , company Eastern Color Printing —which printed, among other things, Sunday-paper comic-strip sections – produced Funnies on Parade as a way to keep their presses running. Like The Funnies , but only eight pages, this appeared as a newsprint magazine. Rather than using original material, however, it reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from
10880-570: The " Blackest Night " storyline. Both Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner have briefly become Orange Lanterns, the former by taking the Battery from him and the latter by mastering Avarice by getting past Larfleeze in a fight and recharging his ring from Larfleeze's battery, altering his appearance to match each, and elevating himself to White Lantern status once he mastered all the lights of the Emotional Spectrum. The orange ring allows Larfleeze
11050-521: The " black sheep " of the Hand family). In preparation for an inevitable battle with the Coast City-based Green Lantern ( Hal Jordan ), Hand makes his most noteworthy invention: a device capable of absorbing the residue of a Green Lantern power ring 's energy from any object that it touches. Once fueled by this energy, his device can be used similar to a Green Lantern ring. During one crime spree, he uses his device to persuade
11220-535: The 1960s, DC, and then Marvel, began to include writer and artist credits on the comics that they published. Other notable companies publishing comics during the Silver Age included the American Comics Group (ACG), Charlton , Dell , Gold Key , Harvey Comics , and Tower . Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll were featured, as the anti-authoritarian underground comix made waves in 1968, following
11390-457: The 1970s coincided with the appearance of comic-book specialty stores across North America. These specialty stores were a haven for more distinct voices and stories, but they also marginalized comics in the public eye. Serialized comic stories became longer and more complex, requiring readers to buy more issues to finish a story. In the mid-to-late 1980s, two series published by DC Comics , Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen , had
11560-419: The 21st century. Some fans collect comic books, helping drive up their value. Some have sold for more than US$ 1 million. Comic shops cater to fans, selling comic books, plastic sleeves ("bags") and cardboard backing ("boards") to protect the comic books. An American comic book is also known as a floppy comic . It is typically thin and stapled, unlike traditional books . American comic books are one of
11730-545: The Blue Lantern Corps, hinted to be the result of some external force, but after it broke into the seven different rings of the seven Corps, Kyle accepted a return to his original Green Lantern ring, while the other six rings flew off to find new wearers. In the DC Rebirth era, Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz found themselves facing Frank Laminski, a man obsessed with becoming a Green Lantern himself, who acquired
11900-702: The Book of the Black to reveal the plan of the Guardians of the Universe to replace the Green Lanterns Corps; as he opens the Book, Sinestro and Hal Jordan are sucked into it and drawn to Black Hand. Although Hal and Sinestro are able to destroy Black Hand's makeshift army of reanimated corpses by detonating Sinestro's old yellow power battery, they are unaware that Black Hand has witnessed a new prophecy in
12070-541: The Book of the Black: Hal Jordan will become the greatest Black Lantern. After trying to reanimate Hal's father, Black Hand is on the verge of being defeated by both Hal Jordan and Sinestro. The Guardians intervene, charging him up — which apparently grants him enough power to kill both his adversaries — before teleporting him in the Chamber of Shadows for unknown purposes "until he is needed". When Black Hand
12240-678: The CCA) stopped publishing crime and horror titles, which was their entire business, and were forced out of the market altogether, turning to magazine publishing instead. By 1960, output had stabilized at about 1,500 releases per year (representing a greater than fifty percent decline since 1952). The dominant comic book genres of the post-CCA 1950s were funny animals, humor, romance , television properties, and Westerns . Detective, fantasy , teen, and war comics were also popular, but adventure, superheroes, and comic strip reprints were in decline, with Famous Funnies seeing its last issue in 1955. In
12410-487: The Corps. He defeats most of the Corps on his way to Oa, enters the Central Power Battery and absorbs most of its energies, along with the yellow impurity, to become the villain Parallax. With the Central Power Battery destroyed, all the remaining power rings stop working. In desperation, Ganthet , the only surviving Guardian, uses what little power remains to create a new power ring and gives it to Kyle Rayner. Kyle's ring
12580-572: The Cube's "serious mojo". Kyle has recently shown an ability to use his ring to communicate with members of the other six Corps, despite them operating on a different 'wavelength' as his ring that would normally prevent such communication, convincing the ring to draw on the emotions of hope and fear that he himself was feeling and use that to communicate with them. After the start of the New Guardians storyline, Kyle has been able to tap any color of
12750-524: The Guardian Scar arrives at the Hand house. She pronounces that the self-sacrifice "pleases him" and regurgitates the first Black power ring, which reanimates Black Hand. She reveals that Hand is the physical embodiment of death, in the same manner that Ion is for willpower, Parallax is for fear, and the Predator is for love. Hand then announces that he will use his new power to finally extinguish
12920-574: The Guardians of the Universe, who also create the Green Lantern Corps . No hard upper limit to the power ring's capabilities has yet been demonstrated; it is often referred to as the most powerful weapon in the DC universe. The power ring's most distinctive effect is the generation of green, solid-light constructs, mainly weapons, the precise physical nature of which has never been specified. The size, complexity, and strength of these constructs
13090-542: The Life Equation and his arms were being turned to stone. He blames Hal for his plight and fled to deep space via the Boom Tube. In the aftermath, Black Hand was unable to raise the dead due to effects of the Source Wall. Black Hand arrives on an alien planet, turning everything he touched to stone. Black Hand becomes lonely when Hal arrives to confront him but Black Hand still blaming Hal for his plight, attacks
13260-465: The Marvel/DC crossover JLA/Avengers , after Photon drained and absorbed the energy from Kyle's power ring, Kyle was able to will his ring to recharge itself from the energies of a Cosmic Cube , coating Kyle in a chrome-blue glow and Kirby krackle . He recited Hal Jordan 's Green Lantern oath during the task and implied he believed the oath would help his ring "hold together" under the strain of
13430-490: The Medusa Mask to force two Black Lanterns to experience the fullness of the Emotional Spectrum, irritating their black rings enough that they removed themselves and fled. Superboy-Prime took control of a black power ring and was forced to experience all of the emotional spectrum except for hope, forcing the ring to shift abilities and uniforms as his emotions went out of control. The ring ultimately detonated. The "touch" of
13600-609: The Modern Horror age. But as of 2009 historians and fans use " Bronze Age " to describe the period of American mainstream comics history that began with the period of concentrated changes to comic books in 1970. Unlike the Golden/Silver Age transition, the Silver/Bronze transition involves many continuing books, making the transition less sharp. The development of the " direct market " distribution system in
13770-598: The New Gods of New Genesis. Hal Jordan explains that New Genesis has stolen the entire Power rings for a weapon as the Life Equation for their pursuit. Black Hand agrees to aid him and sends the dead people to return to their graves. In the battle, Black Hand unleashes the spirits of the fallen Green Lanterns to the ensuing battle against the New Genesis soldiers that occurs near the Source Wall. Black Hand stops
13940-580: The Nibelung and the sight of a trainman's green railway lantern as inspirations for the combination of a magical ring and lantern. Alan Scott's ring is powered by the Green Flame, a magically empowered flame contained within a metallic alien orb that was found and forged into a lantern and ring by a lampmaker named Chang. Later writers revised this to be a fragment of an object called the Starheart,
14110-547: The Phantom Ring, an early prototype of the Green Lantern rings created by the Guardian of the Universe Rami, which could, theoretically, be worn by anyone as opposed to later rings choosing their wearers. The Phantom Ring is capable of channeling the entirety of the emotional spectrum, but unlike Kyle's ring after he 'evolved' into a White Lantern, which channeled the entire spectrum at will, the Phantom Ring shifts through
14280-542: The Spectre turns his hand to coal, remarking that now "he can live up to his name". Missing his right hand and insane from the trauma, Hand flees. After hearing of Hal Jordan's resurrection, he decides to live in the rebuilt Coast City to stay close to his foe. While on board an airplane, he is targeted and abducted by the Kroloteans , gremlin-like aliens. They perform experiments that enhance his powers and abandon him in
14450-407: The abilities of green power rings, but do not retain the same protection against blue or violet rings. The blue light of hope can also nullify his insatiable hunger when he is near a bearer of it. The first yellow ring is acquired by Thaal Sinestro following his banishment to the antimatter universe of Qward , and could only be recharged by fighting a Green Lantern. After Sinestro was imprisoned in
14620-591: The ability to heal individuals with great empathy and to expose people to pain they have inflicted on other people. Indigo Power Rings can teleport their users and others over intergalactic distances. This ability utilizes a great deal of power from an indigo power ring, and Indigo Tribe members try to use it sparingly. At the conclusion of the Mystery of the Star Sapphire story-arc, the Zamarons realize that
14790-407: The angsty and irreverent nature of characters like Spider-Man , Hulk , X-Men and Fantastic Four . This was a time of social upheaval, giving birth to a new generation of hip and more counter-cultural youngsters, who found a voice in these books. Because Marvel's books were distributed by its rival, National, from 1957 until 1968 Marvel were restricted to publishing only eight titles a month. This
14960-526: The assembled magic users (such as Blue Devil and Zatanna ) that their powers are useless against his "lord's" might. When the Black Lantern's power levels finally reach one hundred percent, the Black Power Battery teleports itself to the outskirts of Coast City, right on top of the Hand Mortuary. Black Hand watches in delight as Nekron finally rises. More black rings recruit the bodies of
15130-473: The back cover. Despite the publication of a series of related Hearst comics soon afterward, the first monthly proto-comic book, Embee Distributing Company's Comic Monthly , did not appear until 1922. Produced in an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -by-9-inch (220 mm × 230 mm) format, it reprinted black-and-white newspaper comic strips and lasted a year. In 1929, Dell Publishing (founded by George T. Delacorte, Jr. ) published The Funnies , described by
15300-478: The bandwagon in 1960. In 1961, at the demand of publisher Martin Goodman (who was reacting to a surge in sales of National's newest superhero title The Justice League of America ), writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four for Atlas, which now re-named itself Marvel Comics . With an innovation that changed the comic-book industry, Fantastic Four #1 initiated
15470-543: The battery is restored, Black Hand's indigo ring tries to reach him, but Black Hand kills himself rather than return to the Indigo Tribe. A Black Power Ring later emerges from his corpse, reviving him as a Black Lantern. Following his reanimation, he returns to Earth and murders everyone in a Chinese food restaurant and then raises his family from the dead to "have dinner" with him. He lays out his plan to kill and reanimate as many people as possible, reanimating his victims as undead murderers. Meanwhile, Sinestro takes Hal Jordan to
15640-449: The battle as the New Genesis soldiers surrounded them. He smirks to see the Source Wall was a mass grave. Black Hand reanimates the grave of the Source Wall to attack the New Genesis soldiers. Black Hand then enters the Boom Tube to invade New Genesis' homeworld. Suddenly, Black Hand's powers were being effected with the horde of the Source Wall that are being subsequently resurrected by the leader of New Genesis, Highfather, and his misuse of
15810-521: The belief that it is vulnerable to yellow, until Hal Jordan—here the President of the United States, previously approached to become the new Green Lantern before he decided to go into politics—dons the ring to fight off Sinestro, correctly deducing that it has no true vulnerabilities, with the Guardians explaining the truth to the heroes. American comic book An American comic book is
15980-522: The bloodlust and self-hatred of anyone they come in contact with, assimilating them into the Ultraviolet Lantern cause. Powerful wielders of the ring can infuse their targets with the UV power and bind them to their rings on a cellular level. In the 2020-21 Legion of Super-Heroes comic series, Gold Lantern wears one of the newest power rings introduced to the DC universe. The power of his ring
16150-481: The blue central power battery will overcharge a green ring, causing it to implode (taking the user's hand with it). If a Blue Lantern wishes it, it can also dampen the hunger caused by the orange light. A noteworthy ability of blue rings is the power to scan a target's psyche and create illusions based on their hopes. A blue power ring is capable of feeding off the hope of other beings, eschewing constant recharging while still performing impressive feats, including reversing
16320-404: The central battery was responsible for the yellow weakness (which his ring did not share as there was no Central Battery at the time it was created). In Green Lantern: Rebirth , writer Geoff Johns revealed that the "yellow impurity" was the result of Parallax , a yellow-energy being made of pure fear, being imprisoned in the Central Power Battery. This change also allowed characters to overcome
16490-530: The charge from his power ring when he attacked her with it, later reusing the energy to attack others. Others may be able to track a ring's user by the energy trail it leaves behind. In the revised Post- Infinite Crisis origin of Green-Lantern nemesis, Black Hand , Black Hand's ring-draining device was originally constructed as a "cosmic divining rod" by Atrocitus to track Green Lanterns on Earth. Originally, power rings were unable to affect objects colored yellow, though Lanterns have typically found ways around
16660-414: The comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw a gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in the wake of television and the impact of the Comics Code Authority . The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained the dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into
16830-534: The comic-book debut of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , the future creators of Superman . The two began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval", doing the first two installments before turning it over to others and, under the pseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", they created the supernatural -crimefighter adventure Doctor Occult . In 1938, after Wheeler-Nicholson's partner Harry Donenfeld had ousted him, National Allied editor Vin Sullivan pulled
17000-483: The concept of a spectrum of power rings, revolving around the colors of the rainbow as well as a corresponding emotion from which they derive their abilities. The storylines " Sinestro Corps War " and " Blackest Night " introduce the rest of the spectrum, along with its emotions, corps and rings: red ( rage ), orange (greed), yellow (fear), green ( willpower ), blue ( hope ), indigo (compassion), violet (love), black (death), and white (life). Atrocitus ,
17170-533: The correlation between the emotion detected and the color seen is inverted. A combination of two different lights of the emotional spectrum can neutralize black rings, rendering them vulnerable. Once a black ring is destroyed, the corpse it animates becomes inert. Black Lanterns are vulnerable to white light, described in Blackest Night #3 as the "white light of creation". Other methods exist for destroying Black Rings. Kimiyo Hoshi and Halo can destroy black power rings using their light-based powers. Conner Kent used
17340-480: The countercultural era. Legal issues and paper shortages led to a decline in underground comix output from its 1972 peak. In 1974 the passage of anti-paraphernalia laws in the US led to the closing of most head shops, which throttled underground comix distribution. Its readership also dried up as the hippie movement itself petered out in the mid-1970s. Wizard originally used the phrase "Bronze Age", in 1995, to denote
17510-464: The country. Some cities passed laws banning comic books entirely. In 1954, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham published his book Seduction of the Innocent , where he discussed what he perceived as sadistic and homosexual undertones in horror comics and superhero comics respectively, and singled out EC Comics due to its success as a publisher of these genres. In response to growing public anxiety,
17680-402: The current incarnation of the Corps, the ring originally possessed programming to prevent the wearer from killing sentient beings. Hal Jordan was thought to have used power rings to kill a number of Corps members during Emerald Twilight , though he did tell Kilowog that he "left them enough power to survive". During the Sinestro Corps War event, they were revealed to be alive, held prisoner by
17850-527: The darker tone of some independent publishers such as First Comics , Dark Horse Comics , and (founded in the 1990s) Image Comics . This tendency towards darkness and nihilism was manifested in DC's production of heavily promoted comic book stories such as " A Death in the Family " in the Batman series (in which The Joker brutally murdered Batman's sidekick Robin ), while at Marvel the continuing popularity of
18020-471: The early days of comic books, this practice had all but vanished during the 1940s and 1950s. Comic books were produced by comic book companies rather than by individual creators (EC being a notable exception, a company that not only credited its creative teams but also featured creators' biographies). Even comic books by revered and collectible artists like Carl Barks were not known by their creator's name— Disney comics by Barks were signed " Walt Disney ". In
18190-595: The elder Oans subdue him to use his black ring to open a door to the Dead Zone to rescue Simon, but Sinestro unintentionally went with him, while Black Hand has vanished into the Dead Zone. Hal soon makes the ultimate sacrifice by killing himself to harness the power of the black ring, escape the Dead Zone, and stop the First Lantern Volthoom. When the power ring turns Hal into a Black Lantern, Black Hand's body disintegrates into dust. Some time later,
18360-426: The emotional spectrum that he is feeling at the time, eventually progressing to the point where he can channel the power of all seven Corps, 'evolving' into a White Lantern . The Guardians have stated that, unlike a normal Green Lantern's ring, his ring is too contaminated with different emotional energies for them to track his location. His White Lantern ring was essentially destroyed after he tried to use it to restore
18530-460: The emotional spectrum, and the crippling effects the yellow light of Fear radiated by Parallax has over the green light of Will radiated by Ion, the Lantern rookies are not chosen anymore by merely people unable to feel fear, but from people able to feel, and overcome their fear. Since Kyle had always been able to do so, wrestling against his fears for his entire life, his ring gained immunity against
18700-456: The expense of that protection. Power rings are usually recharged by a Green Lantern's personal battery, which resembles an old-fashioned lantern made of dark green metal. The user typically points the ring towards the lantern and usually gives the Green Lantern oath (below) while recharging the ring. These batteries are directly linked to the Central Power Battery on Oa and do not themselves need recharging. Various devices and abilities can drain
18870-514: The first black power ring. As noted by Ray Palmer , the structure of black rings is similar to dark matter . The symbol on black power rings (a triangle pointing down, with five lines radiating up) is the same symbol used by Green Lantern villain Black Hand and his family. Black power rings are wielded by the deceased. In addition to the abilities granted to them by the rings, Black Lanterns retain any superpowers they may have had in life. If
19040-564: The first blue power ring. The home planet of the Blue Lanterns and the Central Blue Power Battery is the planet Odym, an idyllic planet orbiting the star Polaris . Blue power rings are fueled by hope; they give their users the most power, but they must be near an active Green power ring to tap into their full potential. Otherwise, the blue rings are only capable of the abilities of ordinary Green Lantern rings. This
19210-750: The first known proto-comic-book magazine in the US, The Yellow Kid in McFadden's Flats , in 1897. A hardcover book, it reprinted material—primarily the October 18, 1896, to January 10, 1897, sequence titled "McFadden's Row of Flats"—from cartoonist Richard F. Outcault 's newspaper comic strip Hogan's Alley , starring the Yellow Kid . The 196-page, square-bound, black-and-white publication, which also includes introductory text by E. W. Townsend , measured 5 by 7 inches (130 mm × 180 mm) and sold for 50 cents. The neologism "comic book" appears on
19380-476: The form of purple/violet light, supplied by Umbrax (a living Phantom Galaxy) and the ambient negative emotional energy from the user and their surroundings to provide the default Corps abilities of flight, protective aura generation, and light construct creation. Their most notable and unique ability to date is the power to infect others with the most hateful, self-destructive, and primeval elements held deep within their hearts and mind. Ultraviolet Power Rings feed off
19550-504: The general public the items he has stolen have, in fact, never been touched. For a while, he retires from a life of crime and attempts to run an adult theatre. This lifestyle change is disrupted by Guy Gardner and his girlfriend Ice . Black Hand develops a phobia of superheroes. While trying to reorganize his life into more peaceful pursuits, he encounters Justice League members at the World Trade Center restaurant and has
19720-505: The identities of others for Larfleeze in the same way. The orange light also has the power to absorb the energy of other power rings, but it cannot absorb constructs produced by violet or blue power rings. By being in constant contact with his main power battery, Larfleeze has become one with his power source. This allows him to maintain a power level high enough to support an entire Corps of orange light constructs even when separated from it. Larfleeze and his constructs are resistant to magic and
19890-636: The intention of any individual, but by the ring itself. They are also shown "overriding" power rings of other colors, turning them white for a period of time. Introduced as a brand new piece of the Emotional Spectrum following the fall of the Source Wall, the Ultraviolet Corps tap into the Invisible Emotional Spectrum and unlike most Lantern Corps which use physical rings, brand its members with Power Ring tattoos. Its members are capable of using Ultraviolet energy which takes
20060-495: The intention of converting Sinestro into one of the tribe. With his ring depowered, Hal tricked Black Hand into manifesting the green energy of willpower and using him as a battery to recharge Hal's ring; however, the charge was still limited compared to what the ring would have been capable of if recharged normally. Black Hand is freed when guardian Natromo destroys the Indigo Central Power Battery. When
20230-483: The introduction of the Comics Code Authority in the wake of Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency , which, ignoring the social problems caused by the wars of 1939–45 and 1950–52, sought to blame those problems solely on comics. While there was only a 9% drop in the number of releases between 1952 and 1953, circulation plummeted by an estimated 30–40%. The cause of the decrease is not entirely clear. Television had begun to provide competition with comic books, but there
20400-486: The largest in the US, distributes the printed product to retailers. Another aspect of the process involved in successful comics is the interaction between the readers/fans and the creator(s). Fan art and letters to the editor were commonly printed in the back of the book, until, in the early 21st century, various Internet forums started to replace this tradition. The growth of comic specialty stores helped permit several waves of independently-produced comics, beginning in
20570-628: The late 1940s and early 1950s horror and true-crime comics flourished, many containing graphic violence and gore. Due to such content, moral crusaders became concerned with the impact of comics on the youth, and were blaming comic books for everything from poor grades to juvenile delinquency to drug abuse. This perceived indecency resulted in the collection and public burning of comic books in Spencer, West Virginia and Binghamton, New York in 1948, which received national attention and triggered other public burnings by schools and parent groups across
20740-539: The light. Black Hand spies on Hal Jordan and the Flash as they pay their respects at the unmarked grave of Batman . After the two heroes depart, Black Hand unearths Batman's corpse and, speaking his own oath, begins the process of recruiting the deceased hero. While holding Bruce Wayne's skull, Black Hand tells the mysterious force behind the Black Lanterns (residing in Sector 666) that no one escapes death. He
20910-437: The limitation by indirect manipulation. The reason why the rings were unable to affect yellow objects has changed significantly from writer to writer. In early stories, it was because of a necessary design flaw. Gerard Jones revised this, in a story that revealed that the Guardians could change the weakness randomly and at will. After the destruction of the central battery, Ganthet revealed to Kyle Rayner that an "imperfection" in
21080-451: The limited quantity of comics printed in each press-run) continued to grow and diversify, with a number of small publishers in the 1990s changing the format and distribution of their comic books to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The " minicomics " form, an extremely informal version of self-publishing , arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than
21250-480: The living as colored auras that correlate to the emotional spectrum. Multiple emotions read as a multicolored aura, while unreadable emotions come out as white or black. A state of suspended animation is also enough to fool a black ring's senses. Emotionless hearts, such as the Scarecrow 's, render their bearers equally invisible to Black Lanterns. When facing beings with warped mental states or otherwise addled minds,
21420-433: The major players in volume of sales. By this point, former big-time players Fawcett and Fiction House had ceased publishing. Circulation peaked in 1952 when 3,161 issues of various comics were published with a total circulation of about one billion copies. After 1952, the number of individual releases dropped every year for the rest of the decade, with the biggest falls occurring in 1955–56. The rapid decline followed
21590-494: The majority use the Corps' official oath as a sign of respect. This practice has been abandoned with the reinstating of the Green Lantern Corps. As additional Corps have been introduced into DC continuity, with their own power rings, corresponding oaths unique to each Corps have been formulated as well. After the destruction of Coast City during the " Reign of the Supermen! " story arc, Green Lantern Hal Jordan goes mad and betrays
21760-451: The mid-1970s. Some early examples of these – generally referred to as "independent" or "alternative" comics – such as Big Apple Comix , continued somewhat in the tradition of the earlier underground comics , while others, such as Star Reach , resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned ventures or by a single artist. This so-called " small press " scene (a term derived from
21930-574: The most lucrative branches of magazine publishing". Distribution took place through the Woolworth's department-store chain, though it remains unclear whether it was sold or given away; the cover displays no price, but Goulart refers, either metaphorically or literally, to "sticking a ten-cent pricetag [ sic ] on the comic books". When Delacorte declined to continue with Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , Eastern Color on its own published Famous Funnies #1 (cover-dated July 1934),
22100-529: The most powerful ring-bearers in the universe. While the ring's power cannot be denied, there's some doubt about the origins of Gold Lantern's ring as the Elders of Oa are not trully the Guardians of the Universe, but other beings who seem to have sinister motives. Introduced during the Absolute Power event, the Sorrow Lanterns appears to be the physical manifestation of the misery the Emotional Spectrum
22270-401: The most prurient manifestations of his necrophilia and accept the role of the "black sheep". As part of his newly written background, his energy-absorbing weapon is now portrayed as being built by Atrocitus , a fervent enemy of the Guardians of the Universe . Atrocitus comes to Earth looking for the being who will coordinate the events that come to be known as the Blackest Night ; that being
22440-421: The offer, concluding that he cannot trust them in the search for the entities with this new information. Then the being responsible for abducting the emotional entities appears with Parallax, proclaiming that any who feel emotion cannot be trusted. Black Hand confronted the imprisoned Hal Jordan on the Indigo Tribe homeworld, the Tribe having abducted Hal and Sinestro (who is now a Green Lantern once again) with
22610-542: The page count had to be some multiple of 4. In recent decades, standard comics have been trimmed at about 6.625 x 10.25 inches. The format of the American comic book has been adapted periodically outside the United States, especially in Canada and the United Kingdom . While comics can be the work of a single creator, the labor of creating them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be
22780-399: The people who perished when Coast City was destroyed. When Flash attempts to attack Nekron, Black Hand steps in, using Batman's skull as an "emotional tether" to weaken the heroes, inspiring such an intense emotional reaction that Nekron is able to release a new wave of black rings to 'recruit' the resurrected, such as Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Arrow. Jordan and Flash only just escape
22950-532: The power battery, his ring was left in the Crypts of the Green Lanterns on Oa , where it was eventually taken by Guy Gardner , who used it until it was destroyed by Parallax. The Qwardian Weaponers later forged two more rings to be used against the Green Lantern Corps, wielded by Fatality – which self-destructed as she tried to remove the ring, exploding her left arm – and Nero. Upon his return to life in
23120-432: The power of other emotional lights, providing indigo power rings access to the abilities of other Corps. To use the power of another Corps, Indigo Tribesmen must be in the vicinity of one of that Corps' members. Without that closeness, their access to the abilities of that emotional light fades. While channeling another Emotional energy, an Indigo Tribesman can be used as a Battery to charge the ring of that Corp. However, this
23290-461: The power of the Star Sapphire gem is too great for them to control so they forge a Violet Power Battery and power ring out of the Star Sapphire gem, using the bodies that sparked the Star Sapphire as a mediator. This allows them to distribute its powers throughout an entire Corps of Star Sapphires. Violet power rings are fueled by the emotion of love. They allow their wearer to fly, generate
23460-493: The prisoner will emerge as a Star Sapphire. The rings can also detect when a love is in jeopardy, locate it, and then create a connection to the embattled heart that can be used as a tether. Sapphires are also shown as being able to show others their greatest love. Star Sapphires are able to teleport to escape attackers, while their constructs release a disorienting dust when destroyed. These two abilities can be combined effectively to avoid being pursued. Violet power rings can restore
23630-505: The publication of Robert Crumb 's irregularly published Zap Comix . Frank Stack had published The Adventures of Jesus as far back as 1962, and there had been a trickle of such publications until Crumb's success. What had started as a self-publishing scene soon grew into a minor industry, with Print Mint , Kitchen Sink , Last Gasp and Apex Novelties among the more well-known publishers. These comix were often extremely graphic, and largely distributed in head shops that flourished in
23800-420: The recently deceased to life by drawing power from the heart of one that loves them. Although Violet Power Rings do not have a particular weakness to other colors, they are more susceptible to controlling their user by their own power. Love is one of the two emotions on the far ends of the emotional spectrum, and has a much stronger influence over its user. Unlike the Star Sapphire gem, which could force itself on
23970-546: The recharging limitations common among the various Corps, their only known weakness is that their power can be drained by a Blue power ring or disrupted by a Red Power Ring. According to Ethan Van Sciver, the ring's symbol is based on ancient carvings made by beings who had looked into the gullet of Parallax and survived. As the Sinestro Corps War ends, former Guardian of the Universe Ganthet creates
24140-408: The result of the Guardians of the Universe collecting and isolating most of the magic forces in the universe. This early version of the ring is shown as being powerless against wooden objects. When the Green Lantern character was reinvented, beginning with the introduction of Hal Jordan , the magic ring concept was replaced with a scientifically based one. The new version of the ring is created by
24310-408: The ring bearer's body is severely damaged or destroyed, the black ring will partially reconstruct the body, restoring it to a working state. However, this is seen less as a limitation of the ring and more as emotional warfare, as the haunting, zombie-like appearance of Black Lanterns leaves those who were close to them in life emotionally vulnerable. Black Lanterns' rings are able to read the emotions of
24480-410: The ring has 'cured' him of William Hand's sickness. This prompts the others to realize that, with their rings, the Indigo Tribe cannot feel any emotion besides compassion. Hal implies that given Hand's role in the Blackest Night, other Indigo Tribe members may have committed evil deeds in the past. Although the Indigo Tribe offer to take the remaining emotional entities into protective custody, Hal rejects
24650-431: The ring of its power against the will of its wearer, or absorb or store its energies for later use. Doctor Polaris constructed "power absorbers", both man-sized and in the form of a fortress, that drained Hal Jordan's ring's charge and transferred it to Polaris for his own use. A Manhunter robot drained most of the charge from Hal Jordan's ring using devices hidden under its face-plate and Hal later recharged his ring from
24820-443: The ring, the head injury he inflicts upon himself during his suicide is erased, restoring his body to a working state. When the first Black power rings choose wearers, they present themselves to the deceased without a charge. The rings (which constantly ask for "flesh") are recharged by killing living beings and removing their hearts; each heart restores .01 percent power to every ring in the Corps. Black Lanterns are also able to read
24990-457: The rogue Green Lantern, but using his power Gauntlet, Hal manages to defeat him as Black Hand's stone touch is ineffective against it. Hal returns to the Source Wall with Black Hand and asks Relic, who had been studying the Source Wall, to find a way to undo Black Hand's power effects from the Source Wall. Relic reveals that there is something outward of the Source Wall that it can consume of any stone material to return to its origin. When Black Hand
25160-425: The same abilities as other Corps: flight, aura projection and orange light constructs. As a side effect of wielding the orange light, Larfleeze is burdened with an insatiable hunger that is never quelled regardless of how much food he eats. The power of the orange light allows Larfleeze to steal the identities of those he kills, transforming them into an "Orange Lantern" construct. These Orange Lanterns are able to steal
25330-580: The same fate when Flash takes them both two seconds into the future to disrupt the rings' connection to them. The Black Lantern Corps are ultimately defeated when the White Entity is used to convert several Black Lanterns into White Lanterns before bringing Black Hand back to life when a white ring attaches to him, reviving him and forcing him to regurgitate several white rings, freeing the Anti-Monitor and destroying Nekron's physical form due to Hand serving as Nekron's tether to this plane of existence. He
25500-492: The same sorrow that it was inflicted on him. He's able to reduce Dove to tears with his mere presence, and he goes on to do the same to Star Sapphire. The sorrow that infects her is so overwhelming that it renders her incapable of fighting back, but Star Sapphire's love for Hal is stronger, though, and she overpowers the Sorrow Lantern with that love. In the alternate universe of Superman & Batman: Generations , it
25670-629: The satirical Mad —a former comic book which was now converted to a magazine format in order to circumvent the Code. DC started a revival in superhero comics in 1956 with the October 1956 revival of its former golden age top-seller The Flash in Showcase #4. Many comics historians peg this as the beginning of the Silver Age of American comic books, although Marvel (at this point still known variously as both Timely and Atlas ) had started reviving some of its old superheroes as early as 1954. The new Flash
25840-642: The severed head of the destroyed Manhunter. Alpha Lanterns used technology similar to the Manhunters' to drain power rings. The device used by recurring Green Lantern foe, Black Hand , drains power ring energies from rings themselves, their constructs or objects that have been affected by them, for later reuse by the device's wielder. In the Marvel Comics / DC Comics crossover JLA/Avengers , Marvel superhero Photon , following an initial encounter with Kyle Rayner, successfully prepared herself to absorb
26010-464: The small presses. The development of the modern American comic book happened in stages. Publishers had collected comic strips in hardcover book form as early as 1842, with The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck , a collection of English-language newspaper inserts originally published in Europe as the 1837 book Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois by Rodolphe Töpffer . The G. W. Dillingham Company published
26180-417: The social norms of their race. Power rings are able to give off electromagnetic radiation of various frequencies. This radiation can be focused by the wearer into a beam, similar in appearance and effect to a powerful laser . They also allow real-time communication between the different alien species of the Corps, translating all languages in the universe. Originally, Green Lantern power rings typically held
26350-478: The spectrum one color at a time depending on which emotion that the wearer is feeling most strongly at any moment (even if it's just for a second), creating the risk of them becoming compromised by the ring's power. The ring does not have an external battery, but relies on the wearer's own life-energy, creating the risk that they would destroy themselves if they pushed themselves too far. Laminski almost kills Simon and Jessica when he confronts them after trying to act as
26520-754: The success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at National Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response, Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman , who debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The period from the late 1930s through roughly the end of the 1940s is referred to by comic book experts as the Golden Age of comic books . It featured extremely large print-runs, with Action Comics and Captain Marvel selling over half
26690-586: The three major comic book industries globally, along with Japanese manga and the Franco-Belgian comic books . The typical size and page count of comics have varied over the decades, generally tending toward smaller formats and fewer pages. Historically, the size was derived from folding one sheet of Quarter Imperial paper (15 in × 11 in or 380 mm × 280 mm), to print 4 pages which were each 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 by 11 inches (190 mm × 280 mm). This also meant that
26860-428: The user's heart, tainting their blood with red energy, and forces it out of their body through their mouth as a highly corrosive substance. The red ring's energy is also capable of corrupting the energies of other power rings, keeping them from functioning properly. The aura of a red ring is savage and rough in comparison to a green ring, but can be used similarly with sufficient focus, as Atrocitus demonstrates by creating
27030-523: The various X-Men books led to storylines involving the genocide of superpowered "mutants" in allegorical stories about religious and ethnic persecution. In addition, published formats like the graphic novel and the related trade paperback enabled the comic book to gain some respectability as literature. As a result, these formats are now common in book retail and the collections of US public libraries . Black Hand (comics) Black Hand first appeared in Green Lantern (vol. 2) #29 (June 1964) and
27200-514: The weapon to kill him, after which saying to himself that the death was 'good'. The mysterious voice that tells Hand to steal Atrocitus' weapon for himself traps him under its thrall, influencing him into resenting the Green Lanterns . He believes that as they are beacons of light, they upset the perfect balance of darkness and death. Trying to extinguish the light of willpower but unwilling to fight Green Lantern while dressed in 'a suit and
27370-548: The yellow impurity and his particularly fortified will was instrumental in bringing about the rebirth of the Corps and setting an example to follow for the newer recruits. Before giving up the power of the Central Battery, Kyle further modified his ring. He gave the ring a permanent back-up charge (so his ring could never be totally powerless). He also designed a recall feature that if his ring were ever removed from his hand, it could be summoned by him wherever he was. In
27540-492: The yellow weakness by recognizing and facing the fear behind it. By far, the most significant limitation of the power ring is the willpower of the wielder. The requirements needed to wield a power ring have changed sporadically during the history of Green Lantern titles, often creating continuity confusions. Allowing power rings to fall into the wrong hands has been a common plot device in many previous Green Lantern stories. However, only people with exceptional willpower can use
27710-417: Was "cynical". It has also been shown that the user's stamina is drained with every construct. When Green Arrow fires a small arrow-like construct from the ring, he describes the experience as feeling like losing a week's worth of sleep. When he questions Kyle Rayner about this, Kyle affirms that the feeling is normal. It was believed for a long time that only the Guardians could create new rings, but Hal Jordan
27880-408: Was a cloud with a silver lining, and proved the making of Marvel, allowing the company to concentrate its brightest and best talent on a small number of titles, at a time when its rivals were spreading their creative talents very thin across a huge number of monthly titles. The quality of Marvel's product soared in consequence, and sales soared with it. While the creators of comics were given credit in
28050-434: Was able to prove this wrong when he reforged his ring after the disappearance of the rest of the Corps while using Krona's prototype gauntlet. All power rings need periodic recharging. When doing so, many Green Lanterns recite an oath while the ring charges. The oath is not required to charge the ring, but is recited to reaffirm the person's commitment to the Green Lantern Corps. While many Green Lanterns create their own oath,
28220-464: Was also a rise in conservative values with the election in 1952 of Dwight Eisenhower . The Comics Code Authority, a self-censoring body founded to curb the juvenile delinquency alleged to be due to the crime and horror comics, has often been targeted as the culprit, but sales had begun to drop the year before it was founded. The major publishers were not seriously harmed by the drop in sales, but smaller publishers were killed off: EC (the prime target of
28390-526: Was created by John Broome and Gil Kane . He is based on and named after DC writer and Batman co-creator Bill Finger . William Hand is born an inventive genius. His family the Hands are renowned in Coastville (a suburb of Coast City , California). However, he grows to dislike them early in life. He feels the best way to distance himself from them, especially his three brothers (David, Peter and Joe),
28560-585: Was imprisoned in the Chamber of Shadows, he reanimated the elder Oan (who was killed by the Guardians) for information about where the Guardians have put him in, but is only told that the First Lantern is a danger for the universe. Later, Green Lanterns Simon Baz and B'dg are sucked into the Book of Black and drawn to Black Hand. When they began battling Black Hand, he sends Simon to the Dead Zone where Hal and Sinestro are trapped. Green Lantern B'dg and
28730-436: Was later revealed as being Atrocitus' creation, though it was previously assumed that he invented it himself. In Secret Origin , this device was quoted as being a cosmic divining rod, designed by Atrocitus to locate William Hand and defend himself against Green Lantern interference. After his suicide, Black Hand is reanimated by Scar when she releases the first Black power ring, making him the first Black Lantern. Reanimated by
28900-488: Was stated that the rings' weakness is actually only based on what the users believe the rings are vulnerable to; Alan Scott —whose ring here is a lost Green Lantern ring rather than the Starheart—believed that his ring was vulnerable to wood because he was caught off-guard by someone wielding a wooden block the first time that he used the ring. After Scott's retirement, the ring was passed to Kyle Rayner, who uses it with
#229770