This week, the existence of the "First Lantern" was confirmed in Green Lantern Annual #1. However, his identity still remains a mystery. Who is this enigmatic character? Do the events of Blackest Night answer that question?
If you are a Green Lantern fan, pretty much all you have been talking about is Baz, the Third Army, and the First Lantern. Thanks to previews and this week's annual, we know that Baz is an Arab-American that the ring belonging to Sinestro/Hal will choose as a replacement, and we have seen how the Third Army is raised. So only the First Lantern remains shrouded in mystery. However, if you look back to the pre-DCnU event "Blackest Night," the race of the First Lantern may have already been revealed.
While many of DC's characters were truly rebooted by Flashpoint and the New 52, the Green Lantern mythos remained completely intact. So, all previous continuity pertaining to the Corps is still relevant. Back in Blackest Night #7, one of the Guardians' greatest secrets was revealed; Earth was the true center of the universe, the planet on which life began, and home to the Entity (the being that created all life). However, humans were kept out of the Corps until Abin Sur purposefully crash-landed on earth to allow for their induction to the Corps. But, what if Hal Jordan wasn't the first human to be a lantern? What if the "First Lantern" was/is a human being?
Knowing that earth is the center of the universe, home to the Entity, and the planet on which life began, it would make perfect sense for the Guardians to have chosen a being from that planet to herald their Green Lantern Corps. And a quote from an interview at DCComics.com with Geoff Johns helps to support my claim. Johns said, "The being inside has been imprisoned there for a long, long time. The Guardians consider him their greatest threat, but also their greatest source of power." By definition, their source of power is emotion, specifically will power. And who have the Guardians always feared for their impulsivity and great capacity for emotion? HUMANS. But it is that ability to feel such emotion that makes humans such great lanterns, a fact the Guardians knew and one that may have influenced their choice for the First Lantern.
Only time will tell, but the past has shown us enough that the First Lantern being a human isn't much of a stretch.
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