The Green Lantern Oath

I first became familiar with the comic book legend Green Lantern and the Green Lantern Oath through watching CBS's hit comedy show the Big Bang Theory. To say I am a comic book neophyte might not go far enough. I had to do a little investigating to find out more about the Green Lantern and his famous oath.

Clueless me had no idea what the Green Lantern oath was or when it was used. My initial thoughts, completely wrong, that the oath was a creed he lived by and it was something he made his friends say when they found out about his secret identity. I know pretty lame, right?

Green Lantern fans will know that the Green Lantern Oath is delivered when Green Lantern charges his ring the source of his tremendous power. The oath is not needed in order for the ring to charge. Green Lantern just uses the time to reaffirm his oath.

Image from Green Lantern: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The above Green Lantern Oath is the most famous version of the oath developed during the Hal Jordan era. It is the version used by subsequent Green Lanterns.

What this means for comic book neophytes like myself is that there is more than one Green Lantern. So this isn't a Clark Kent equals Superman sort of deal. Different people at different times are given or inherit the ring. For those who like drama like me that means we get a lot more character background and dimension to the character of Green Lantern.

Before Hal Jordan wore the ring, Alan Scott was Green Lantern and he delivered a less poetic oath:

"I shall shed my light over dark evil.

For the dark things cannot stand the light,

The light of the Green Lantern!"

I think this oath may have used the word light a bit too much but it captured the spirit of the superhero nicely.

The most famous version of the Green Lantern oath is thought to be written by Alfred Bester. Bester wrote some of the Green Lantern comics in the 1940s; though in his version the oath said "darkest". It was changed a few years later to say "blackest". Credit for this change is given to Henry Kuttner.

Other Green Lanterns have their own Green Lantern Oath but none stand out as much as the Hal Jordan version.

Comic Style - Ring in front Postcards by greenlantern

The Hal Jordan Oath or the Alan Scott Oath?

I like the Green Lantern Oath and its simple rhyming pattern. Fans of the oath can use the words to make their own custom artwork. You could also put your crafting skill to work on a gift for the Green Lantern fan.

What you will need:

1 12 X 12 Scrapbook Sheet

Alphabet stickers or dye cuts

Stick glue if you are using dye cuts

1 12 X 12 picture frame

Choose a scrapbook paper that you like for your project. This will be used for the background. Use stickers or dye cuts to transcribe the Green Lantern oath in whole or part. Exaggerate certain words by making fonts larger, smaller or by changing colors.

Frame you piece of art and hang it on your wall.

You could also use the Green Lantern oath on tile, canvas, or even Mod Podge it on top of a desk or dresser. Like the power of Green Lanterns ring, the possibilities are only limited by the individual who bears them.

Image by G & A Sattler on Flickr, reproduced under Creative Commons license CC BY 2.0

This movie clip is from the Green Lantern movie starring Ryan Reynolds as the Green Lantern Hal Jordan. In the clips the lantern provides him a little help delivering the oath.

So Green Lantern delivers his oath and the ring is charged. Now what happens? What exactly does the ring do? Why is it so important?

The Green Lantern Ring, or the power ring as its called, is one powerful piece of jewelry. Wearers of the ring can do almost anything that they can conceive. The power of the ring is shaped by the imagination of the individual who wears the ring.

People wearing the ring have been able to turn invisible, create force fields and project energy. The ring has been used many other ways. It has been called on of the most powerful tools in the universe.

The ring is green and depicts the symbol of the Green Lantern. It allows the wearer to create green energy constructs. Green is seen as the color of will power.

When a Green Lantern is incapicitated or dies the power ring is programmed to search out the best candidate it its surrounding sector. The ring selects the new person to become Green Lantern and a member of Green Lantern Corps.

Currently there have been 5 prominent Green Lantern characters: Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner.

All names listed are male. So all Green Lantern's have been men. I wonder if that is a coincidence or is there something about the double x chromosome that makes women unable to harness the green power of will? Maybe they still need to find a strong female applicant. If that is the case, I look good is green. Guardians of the Universe, members of Green Lantern Corps program you ring to pick me. I may not know everything about the history of Green Lantern but I could create amazing things with the aid of the power ring.

According to the Green Lantern movie Hal Jordan seemed to enjoy a steep learning curve. At one point he did not know the oath. I just learned the oath. Do I get extra points?

I would like to see a new Green Lantern character arise. I would like to see a woman wear the power ring. and I would like to see her green will create amazing green energy constructs. How about you?

When I was researching the history of Green Lantern the article A Beginners Guide to Everything Green Lantern extremely helpful. The article does an overview of the main Green Lanterns, their main villains and delves into the history of the blue Aliens from the Planet Oa (these are the being responsible for the Rings and the Green Lantern Corps).

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