Guy Gardner

**Guy Gardner** is a fictional character and hero in comic books published by the American company DC Comics. He first appeared in *Green Lantern* Vol. 2 #59 (March 1968), but his first appearance in *Swamp Thing* comics was in *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2, #81 (Holiday 1988). He was created by John Broome and Gil Kane.

## History

### Early Life

Guy Gardner was born in Baltimore, Maryland to parents Roland and Peggy Gardner. His father was an abusive alcoholic, and frequently beat the young Guy while idolizing his older brother Mace. Mace eventually became a cop. After years of taking beatings and trying to impress his parents, Guy finally gave up. If he could not be as good as his brother, he decided to do the opposite. Guy turned into a juvenile delinquent, frequently getting into trouble and breaking the law. An outlaw and a criminal, he was constantly going in and out of juvenile hall.

After his 18th birthday, his brother finally straightened him out. When Guy stole a car, rather than let him go to city jail, Mace beat the tar out of him, told him to stop making people ashamed of him, get some real clothes and a decent job. He loaned Guy some money, and told him it was the last time anybody else was going to look out for him. Guy started working hard in school again, got a job and paid his way through college. He took his aggression out playing undergraduate football at the University of Michigan. Later, his brother Mace was revealed to be a dirty cop after drug dealers shot him and left him paraplegic. Rather than continue living, Mace committed suicide by drowning himself in a river. Guy Gardner went on to graduate a Liberal Arts Major from college, with degrees in both psychology and education. For a time he worked counseling prisoners, before settling into a more permanent job as a gym teacher for children in special education. Eventually, when Guy's father was dying of liver failure, the two would make peace and spend a week together before the old man passed away.

### Back-Up Green Lantern

When the previous Green Lantern of Sector 2814, an alien named Abin Sur crash-landed on Earth, he had to choose someone to replace him shortly before he died. The two most worthy men on the planet to pass his ring were Guy Gardner, and Hal Jordan. Hal was chosen because at the time he was closer to the crash-site, becoming the first Green Lantern of Earth almost purely by chance.

Should anything ever happen to Hal, or should he be unable to fulfill his duties, Guy Gardner would be Earth's Green Lantern. After finding this out, Hal journeyed to Baltimore and joined the Men's Club where Guy practiced physical fitness. The two quickly became fast friends, although Jordan could not reveal his secret.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Hybrid Physiology:** Being partially alien, Guy was once able to access a host of unique biophysical capabilities once his Vuldarian genes manifested.
	+ **Transformation:** Gardner's alien heritage manifested in a complete bio-molecular metamorphosis which changes and reinforces his physical anatomy. Gain a host of biological tribal marks all across his body which implicates his ancestral heritage.
		- **Metamorphosis:** He could alter his body to form blades, energy guns or other weapons. He could even bio-shift his very physiology, being transformed from a male to a female body type by Dementor.
		- **Organic Construct Creation:** Gardner can even create a host of weapons, shielding, armor or equipment out of his own body with which only he had total control over.
		- **Size Alteration:** Gardner can grow in height and muscle mass whenever he gets heated in the face of battle.
		- **Self-Sustenance:** Can adaptively adjust his own physiology to produce special apparatus's for safe traversal across hostile environments, such as the depths of deep space or surviving in hostile alien environments.
	+ **Superhuman Strength:** He had physical abilities on par with powerhouses like Superman or Major Force.
	+ **Superhuman Speed**
	+ **Superhuman Agility**
	+ **Superhuman Reflexes**
	+ **Superhuman Stamina**
	+ **Invulnerability**
	+ **Energy Absorption:** He was able to spontaneously adapt and augment himself to match anyone or anything he faces, i.e. absorbing and repurposing energy attacks directed at him.
	+ **Energy Projection**
	+ **Adaptation:** Guardner's Vuldarian physiology enables him to reactively and preemptively augment himself in order to increase his rate of survival and chances of victory most any opponent he'd face. Generating new biological organs or reinforcing his body in various ways.
	+ **Flight**
	+ **Accelerated Healing:** He possessed vast regenerative abilities to heal damaged or destroyed tissues and boasting auxiliary replacement organs in the event of catastrophic if not fatal injury.

### Abilities

* **Indomitable Will**
* **Green Lantern Ring Mastery:** Guy's constructs are amongst the most powerful. Guy is so eager to ringsling, and possesses so much raw will power, his ring is often sparking like a leaky water faucet about to explode.

### Weaknesses

* **Power Instability:** Gardner's Vuldarian powers came with a time limit to how long he could use them. Spending hours at a time in his hybrid form weakens his stamina the more he uses it, requiring a 24-hour rest period before he'd be able to transform again.

## Paraphernalia

### Weapons

* **Green Lantern Ring**
	+ **Energy Construct Creation**
		- **Force Field**
	+ **Energy Projection**
	+ **Flight**
* **Star Sapphire Ring**
* **Red Power Ring**
* **Qwardian Power Ring**

## In other media

*Main article: Guy Gardner in other media*