(Image Credit: HBO Max)
Guy Gardner actor Nathan Fillion and the writers of Lanterns have averted a major retcon mistake from the comics. There have been many changes to the histories of almost every superhero published by DC over the past few decades. However, the “Bad Optics” episode of Lanterns confirmed the DCU version of the current Green Lantern retained his classic origin.
Surprisingly little has been revealed of Guy Gardner’s history in the DCU to date. He first appeared in Superman as an acerbic but good-hearted man. This was well in keeping with his classic portrayal. However, nothing was revealed of his family or his life before becoming a superhero.
Lanterns Episode 6, “Bad Optics”, reveals one important fact regarding the history of Guy Gardner. Reunited after a decade, Hal Jordan asks John Stewart if he had seen the “gym teacher” on the news. This, coupled with an interview with Nathan Fillion, confirms that the DCU Guy Gardner has retained his classic background, rather than the one presented in a 2011 retcon.
(Image Credit: HBO Max)
“Because we haven’t delved into his particular past in any great detail, I’m able to go through his history and cherry pick what I want to pull from to portray the character,” Fillion explained to Variety. “For me, he’s this tremendous jerk — he has to have a reason to be a jerk. …the way he was raised, his relationship with his father wasn’t tremendous. So he has this need to prove himself.”
Fillion’s Guy Gardner true to character’s roots
Fillion’s explanation offers a concise summary of Guy Gardner’s classic origins. He was introduced in 1968’s Green Lantern #59, as a teacher who almost became Green Lantern instead of Hal Jordan. Later stories further fleshed Gardner out, revealing him as the survivor of an abusive home. However, he overcame these rough circumstances, putting himself through college. He ultimately earned degrees in psychology and education, choosing to work with special needs students.
(Image Credit: DC / Neal Adams)
This gave rise to an incident that forever changed Guy’s personality, which Fillion referenced in the interview. In Green Lantern/Green Arrow #87, Guy was hit by a bus trying to save a student, and put into a coma. When he woke up, he had a more aggressive personality. This developed into the macho man of action Gardner presented as in later comics.
“The coma is what flipped that switch for Guy Gardner,” Fillion claims. “I think he has a little bit of brain damage.”
This history was erased during the 2011 New 52 reboot of the DC Universe. In the new reality, Guy Gardner was the middle child of a Baltimore family with a history of service as police officers. While no longer physically abused, Guy was still neglected by his father in favor of his older brother. This grew even worse when Guy was kicked out of the BPD, due to an undefined incident involving multiple civilian casualties.
(Image Credit: DC / Fernando Pasarin)
This retcon was retconned by later stories which restored the classic Guy Gardner origin. Most Green Lantern fans disliked the implication that only police and military were worthy of being Green Lanterns. This flew in the face or the original concept that anyone who was brave enough could wield the ring.
How Lanterns and Nathan Fillion did Guy Gardner right
(Image Credit: DC Studios)
Given the liberties Lanterns’ writers took in adapting John Stewart and Hal Jordan, Green Lantern fans were fearful of what might be done with Guy Gardner in the DCU. The show gave Stewart multiple brothers when his current history gave him a single sister. By contrast, Jordan was said to have no family when he was the middle child of three brothers in the comics.
However, thanks to Fillion’s research, the DCU has a version of Guy Gardner that is true to his classic comics origins. While brash and boastful, he has a good heart underneath all the bluster. He may be a jerk, but Guy is still a stand-up guy where it counts.
