Welcome back to another edition of Demanded Characters. This week we will take a look at one of the most famous bowl-cut characters in the DCU. He has worn a green ring, a yellow ring, and was able to turn his body into a living weapon. To give him a name other than his own would be an insult; Guy Gardner is all the name he needs.
Looking at the last poll, the fans had a lot to say about Sandy; but the modern costume was the clear winner.
Something that is hard to do when talking about this line is to try to nail down the Big guns of the DCU. When you’re talking about a Martian Manhunter or someone like Wally West you want to make sure that you get the version of the character that they are most recognized for, even if it is not top on your list. Characters like those make it hard to please everyone. Just look at wave 6 Superman, who is near perfect, only the hair makes him look a little dated. All these details bring us to this week’s character, Guy Gardner. This Green Lantern has had fate messing with his life going all the way back to the first appearance of Hal Jordan. Guy was supposed to be the Green Lantern; but he missed out, and while he is a member of the Green Lantern Honor Guard now, he has had an amazing life of ups and downs.
Guy was not always the confident man you see today. He learned at an early age that he had to turn the tables on everyone he met and project his confidence, even though most of the time he came off as a jerk. One of his most famous moments in comic history was when he was punched right in the nose by Batman in the middle of a JLA meeting, for being a jerk. He is not subtle or calm, he is always ready to get into a fight and never follows rules; but all this acting out can be traced back to a traumatic childhood. His father was a drunk, and an abuser, and his brother was a crooked cop. Guy started to go down the wrong path, until he turned it around at college, and was able to help others. From prison social worker to special education gym teacher, Guy threw himself into helping others, which are the qualities the Guardian knew would make him a great Green Lantern. Deep down there is a compassion in Guy that allows people to forgive his brash ways. He has been a Green Lantern, worn Sinestro’s ring, helped stop the Anti-Monitor more than once, and yet deep down he is just a bartender. All of these events have shaped him into the pain in the neck, person you want to have your back in a fight, Guy we have all come to know and love.
Let’s take a peek at his looks through the years and help choose something for the DCUC line.
His original look is something that I think we all want. While it is a bit dated, with the bowl cut and the jacket, it is something that we all want at some point. Not only would this be a classic look for the character, it would help to build up the JLI lineup. We already have Booster, Beetle, Captain Atom, Shazam, and Bats, Guy would help to continue to build the team and give Mattel more of a reason to give us Fire and Ice.
The next look could be a variant or a figure on his own. This costume is from when he gave the Guardians the finger and found Sinestro’s ring. He wore the yellow ring and gave it his own style. While he would stand out in this outfit, I think that it is still a good look for the know it all.
The next look is something for the comic fans of the 90’s. When the corps were gone and he found out he had some different DNA inside of him, he was able to turn his whole body into a weapon. This look is completely different from any of his other looks, and with the great paint that we have seen from Killer Moth to Beetle, I think all his tribal marks would look great on this figure. Give him some snap-on parts like Metamorpho, and you have a winner.
The final look is very similar to the classic look but it has a different feel. The character would look a little aged in this look, with a sharper hairdo and slight tweaks to his costume, he would be the modern Guy. Depending on what versions of John and Kyle Mattel eventually give us, I think this Guy could look great next to the other Lanterns.
So there you have it. I know Guy has had some other looks in the past, but these are the most iconic looks for him. So let’s talk about it and figure out which one should be the DCUC version
Some images courtesy of Comic Vine
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