Iāve taken a deeper dive into DC comics recently, and I have something I gotta say.
Guy Gardner just needs a chance to escape his past.
While his bowlcut and joke-character era are important, they were filled with throwaway c-rank hero antics and writers who, lets face it, didnāt like him. But heās not as bad as people think when they hear the name Guy Gardner. Heās more than just that lantern Batman knocked out with one punch (which was deserved, but still).
The more I read about him or things heās included in, especially more recent media, Iām awestruck that he doesnāt get at least a little more love.
So here are the reasons I think Guy Gardner is better than you think he is.
āI never took a punch that hurt as bad as any he gave me.ā
Guy didnāt have it easy growing up. His father was an abusive alcoholic who berated and beat him daily for nothing, just because he was there, because he was āthick headed.ā But despite everything he went through and the horrible upbringing he had to endure, Guy didnāt fall into the same cycle as his father did. Yeah, he has a bad attitude, heās pretty cocky and he hides behind that bravado, but he never turned to villainy.
He became a social worker in older media, working to help people who are in his situation to escape it, like Iām sure he wished someone would have helped him. In more recent media it has been retconned that heās a cop, which I like less, but heās still a good one. He goes out of his way to help people and make their lives better, as best he can. No one walks away from that sort of history unscathed, so his aggressive persona is no surprise. But heās a Green Lantern, and a hero despite it all.
Just to begin with the fight pictured above, Guy took on that Yellow Lantern without his ring and nearly died, but he won. He has some of the strongest willpower there is, and the sheer bravado to back it up. His fellow Lanterns, mostly, know that while heās problematic that he will get the job heās given done. And if they donāt right away, theyāll soon learn it.
Guy very easily could have been who the ring went to over Hal, if it werenāt for Booster Goldās time stream shenanigans causing him to be further than Hal was from the ring (which was how it was supposed to be, Booster was making sure things stayed how they were meant to). Thatās all it came down to. Distance. He was also a candidate for Johnās ring, but if I recall he was helping someone and lost out again.
And his creativity with his constructs and how quickly he can work with it is astounding.
(More on this topic also in Intelligence below)
āCāmon kid⦠canāt d-do this without you.ā
Believe it or not, heās a reliable partner both work-wise and in romance. Heās trusted to mentor new Lanterns, and is a high ranking Lantern himself for a reason. Heās rough around the edges, a little too forward, blunt and a tiny bit horny (ā¦okay very horny) but all of that goes out the window when someone is in danger.
He cares for others despite how his persona may make it seem. He listens more than people think, and he understands others more than he lets on. A good example of this is actually in a silly comic about superhero dating. While he was showboating and being a bit of an arse, he retained every single thing she told him. (And for context, she was using him for an article about how BAD it would be to date a superheroā specifically him. Rude much?)
āNothingās gonna stop me from being at your side if you need someone or something.ā
And to his partners he does show great care and love for them, even if heād rather be seen as the tough guy.
So, yeah, despite it all thereās someone with a very large heart behind his attitude. Heās bold, heās loud and far too confident, but you also know heās someone you can turn to.
āI figured out the receptors in my brain I need to stimulate.ā
This is one of the bigger points for me, because as much as he fucks around this man is incredibly intelligent. Heās been shown to deep dive into research, study and learn whenever he needs to. So much so his entire room was at one point a terrible mess.
But even more so this man was able to save himself from dying after being cut in half. I debated putting his in Willpower, but itās more a testament to his quick thinking and knack for learning.
He was able to use his ring to recreate his lower body, which included all organs which functioned to keep him alive. Eventually he even perfected it enough so that it would take less effort to maintain. Then to stop himself from ever having to sleep (and his lower body subsequently disappearing and killing him) he figured out how to stimulate his brain with his power ring to release the chemicals he needed without actually having to sleep. He would have needed to figure this out within a day or two at most while dealing with the severe trauma he would have experienced.
So few people would have had the wherewithal to even save themselves to begin with, let alone trick your brain in such a way so quickly. And accurately.
And thereās so much more to his character than the shit end of the stick he was originally given. Thatās not to say he isnāt an arrogant little bastard, but when people hear āGuy Gardnerā they laugh, without realizing how much his character has evolved.
Heās able to be his bratty self, sing songs about his ass, showboat and still be a good person while maintaining that humour.
So yeah, I think more people need to give Guy Gardner a chance.