By now you should have seen the new Green Lantern headed our way. Baz will the next Earthling who joins the ranks of the Green Lantern Corps but he's already shaping up to be different from the others.

There are 3600 sectors and some have several Lanterns to protect it. Earth resides in sector 2814 which has already produced Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner. Sector 2814 might be a busy but there's another reason a new Green Lantern is needed.

There are five things that makes Baz a little different. If you've read GREEN LANTERN #12 and GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #1, you have an idea why and how a new Lantern is needed and created. There will be spoilers below, so be sure to read those in preparation for this week's GREEN LANTERN #0.

Descent and Background

This is the first obvious difference. We're all for equality and the Lanterns of Earth have mainly been white dudes. We have had John Stewart since 1971's GREEN LANTERN #87 but with the different ethnicities on Earth, it's about time we see something different. Baz has been reported as being an Arab-American. How many Arab-American comic book characters can you name? There aren't many. While a character's race shouldn't make a difference, it'll be great to see a different viewpoint at times.

A Gun and a Mask

The members of the Green Lantern Corps have slight variations in their costumes. Those that do choose to wear a mask usually go for the domino-type masks. Baz is going a different route.

Baz also has been seen with a gun. It appears to be a regular gun as well. A Green Lantern with a gun? This definitely sets him apart from Hal, Guy, John and Kyle. Even with Stewart's military background, he's never felt the urge to carry an actual gun. He's made a green construct gun before so why doesn't Baz simply do that?

His first appearance in GREEN LANTERN #0 should answer the question about why he would have a gun and a mask.

Rings

Yes, that's meant to be plural. Where will Baz get his power ring?

In GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #1, Hal Jordan and Sinestro are in for the fight of their lives. After the Guardians of the Universe step in and help Black Hand take on the two Lanterns, the rings start to report their vital signs are threatened. They are even reported as being deceased while they are still struggling. Because Hal's ring was created by Sinestro's, he mentioned the rings would be fused back into one.

This does happen but there is an error. Assuming these reintegrated rings make their way to Baz, there's the possibility that the rings could work a little differently. Will the ring still have the power of a single ring or could it be twice as strong since it's now made up of Sinestro and Hal's rings? (Poor Hal and Sinestro). There's also the possibility that the ring won't work as well as it should if there was an error.

Guardians' Control over Baz

The Guardians are ready to wipe out the entire Green Lantern Corps, as well as the other Corps. When they witnessed the end of Hal and Sinestro, they could have recalled the fused power rings. Because the ring is still allowed to seek out a replacement and because of the error in the ring, this is likely to lead to cause more problems for the Guardians. Unless they are allowing the ring to seek out Baz. After all, a Green Lantern wearing a full mask and carrying a gun is a departure from what has normally come from Earth. They could see this as another way to help them put an end to the Corps.

We could end up seeing Baz as another tool of the Guardians but because they are creating the Third Army and have brought out the First Lantern, there doesn't seem to be a need for another Green Lantern. That and the error in the ring will likely give Baz some independence.

Motives

Will Baz be a worthy Lantern? We (and the GL Corps) have to hope this is the case. The tattoo on his arm apparently says "Courage," so that's definitely a plus. He may look angry, wearing a full mask like a thief and carrying a gun, but even with the ring acting up a bit, we have to assume it would choose wisely.

Baz will also become a member of Steve Trevor's Justice League of America. That would seem like a good thing but as seen on the cover of GREEN LANTERN #14, he seems to be at odds with the current Justice League.

Let's not forget that image from "The Near Future" in the NEW 52 FREE COMIC BOOK DAY issue. He was also fighting Superman and the Justice League.

The cover to GL 14 could easily be a misunderstanding. With Hal no longer around, the team might be wondering who Baz is and what exactly happened to Hal. Baz might not want to willingly have a discussion with the team which would naturally lead to a typical comic book conflict.

His allegiance to the upcoming Justice League of America could paint a different story. Steve has a couple good reasons to be upset at the Justice League (and Wonder Woman) after JUSTICE LEAGUE #12. Looking at the other members of this team, some don't appear to be too stable. Does that make Baz a perfect candidate or is he just easy to manipulate because he's new. Perhaps Trevor or the government will have some way to persuade him to join.

Baz's story is about to begin. He is definitely not your average Green Lantern. We'll have to keep a close eye on him to see what he fully is about and why he was chosen to become a Lantern. We have seen many new Lanterns over the years but this gives the feeling that things definitely won't be the same.

he looks like a legit new character

I'm looking forward to this character's story. I think Geoff Johns knows whats he's doing. I do wonder how Baz will feel about joining a Justice League.

LLLLLL Does anyone know how to upload scans to the thread using a samsung galaxy s3? BBBBB

Can't wait to see how will his constructs be like

I can't find someone who looks like they just walked out of a green lantern BDSM club cool.

I think the combo of that style of mask, gloves and a regular gun makes him look like a burglar. Granted, the green indicates that he's a fun burglar, but even so.

Eh.

@SimonM7 said:

I think the combo of that style of mask, gloves and a regular gun makes him look like a burglar. Granted, the green indicates that he's a fun burglar, but even so.

Heheheh. Brilliant.

hey, did you all catch superman 3 on tv? boy, if superman ever did go crazy like that, we sure would be in trouble. luckily we have smart people like lex, ross webster and richard pryior to formulate plans incase of such an emergency.

Go for new! The new the better!!!!

To be honest...I don't like him

This looks straight up disgustingly bad.

is it unmasculine for a male to end a text message with 'ttyL' instead of 'talk to you later'?

DC is so edgy, guys.

Looks annoying. I bet he'll be the guy that suggests killing villains every issue, only to have the entire JLA smack him down every issue and make him seem like a weakling.

Why can't green lanterns do something other than be green lanterns? We don't have 12 Batman clones, we have Batman, 4 Robins that grew up into separate entities, a couple Batgirls and some other faces such as Batwing to consider; why can't we have a Green Flashlight or something?

While I appluad diversity in comic book characters, I have to wonder about the motivation for creating new green lanterns every few years. Is it a lack of willpower on the part of the writers? :)

I would be more impressed with the diversity notion if Baz had not been yet another North American.

As for the design...well he looks like a thug from da hood and I cant help but wonder if DC is yet again walking into the stereotype department the same way they did with Steward.

Gret diversity for noother reason that just to b diverse! WHy not make him...what s the point!

This one gives me a negative first impression. Looks almost like a racist stereotype a Cartman would dream up.

Hope there is more to this package than the box art.

Great article tony

spoiler

هال جوردان سيختفى لمدة عام ثم سيظهر فى نهاية الحرب الاهلية ل دى سى

Looks a lot like John Stewart (if somehow he was disgraced enough by his own nose to hack it the f**k off) . The guns, the machismo... I know he's an all new character, but a GL with a f*****g GUN?! This guy must be a pretty g*******d unimaginative d****e b*g...

"Oh, hey, I got a GL ring. Hold on while I reload my .45, which I keep in this holster I've manifested with my willpower alongside my costume instead of a creating an actual weapon, like this gun I'm holding, which I bought at a gun show in Dallas earlier this week, but I digress because there is this wave of endless Third Army assimilators who will totally absorb the s**t out of my organics so I'm going to primitively hurl these tiny lead balls at you through a combustion propulsion method instead of disintergrating you with green power ring that in fact was the reason for me beginning this rant in the first place! I forgot to mention, these is cop killer rounds! Yippie kay yay!" said Baz as he used the ring to tattoo his own future irrelevance on his forearm.

I kind of wish that Baz will turn out to be the illegitimate son of Bane who is trying to make up for the sins of his father. It would explain the mask and the skin tone but I doubt that will be true. The design makes me think of the character Rage from Marvel. It's always weird to see super heroes with guns. When it comes to a series like One Piece I can't get enough characters with guns but it works in that universe because most of the characters are either in the military or straight up criminals. I'm not opposed to heroes with guns but when you have the god like power of a green lantern ring it seems kind of moot. My interest in Baz will depend on the kind of constructs he uses. I would love to see a big green luchadore ring that he huricanranas villains inside of.

This looks very interesting. Although I won't pick it up past the #0, I really want to, though.

gloves, a mask, and a gun....background of the new GL seems interesting, just hate the costume

just from face vaule of that cover, someone with arguably the most powerful object in the DC universe using a gun just makes my headspin.

did the guardians just stop checking for qualifications in the 80s? power rings seem to be the easiest thing to come by these days and this is on a planet that in no way deserves / needs more than one lantern

I don't mind the gun and that's not the worst GL costume I've seen. I'll be open minded for now.

I didn't read the spoiler section because I still have to read Green Lantern #12 and the Annual but I'm really excited about Baz and looking forward to see what he is going to be like.

Another male human lantern...why can't we have a female, an animal, a sentient chair or something from another world ?

And seriouslly this new lantern smell like making green lantern of earth 2 gay, making more money because "we at dc we are open minded".

@Outside_85 said:

I would be more impressed with the diversity notion if Baz had not been yet another North American.

Hit the nail on the head. Have there been any non-American Green Lanterns from Earth?

@wowylied said:

Another male human lantern...why can't we have a female, an animal, a sentient chair or something from another world ?

And seriouslly this new lantern smell like making green lantern of earth 2 gay, making more money because "we at dc we are open minded".

Johns has stated this is personal to him because he and Baz have a lot in common. He doesn't do diversity for the sake of it, only if there's a story. There's articles on the net about it.

@darkrider: يا شكرا على المعلومات

@wowyliedsaid:

Another male human lantern...why can't we have a female, an animal, a sentient chair or something from another world ?

And seriouslly this new lantern smell like making green lantern of earth 2 gay, making more money because "we at dc we are open minded".

I imagine that there haven't been any non-human GLs from Earth because I think they'd have to be more sentient or more intelligent to be able to wield one of the Green Lantern rings. There is the exception of Dex-Starr, the Red Lantern cat, but that's rage, which is a very base emotion. Willpower is a bit more complex and requires a more developed brain to experience.

And as @Rixec said, Johns doesn't do diversity just for the sake of it. I actually think Johns may be investing a bit of himself in this character. This is somewhat of a superficial judgement, but the fact that he chose to create an Arab-American GL is telling because Johns himself is Arab-American.

@Dane said:

This looks straight up disgustingly bad.

How so? It hasn't even come out yet.

Bane is white.

I can't wait for it to come out. I hope he will be a cool Lantern.

I can't believe the amount of hate people have for him, and not a single story has come out featuring him. People are impatient.

I, like most everyone else, am extremely skeptical about Baz. The mask and gun just make him look like a hood. Regardless, I'm kinda excited to pick up GL #0 tomorrow.

Why is no one saying what I'm thinking? He looks startlingly like what a terrorist would look like if he got a GL ring. It's a weird, unfortunate design choice.

Personally, Im really excited to see a brown guy in comics. As being a brown guy and more specifically an indian guy, i always wanted to see some more of them in comics, espcially considering that india has like the second highest population in the world yet the only character I know if is thunderstrike of the x-men.(He kinda doesn't count because he took over for another native American's identity). I understand why its hard to incorporate other races randomly into mainstream comics, especially when dealing with a demographic that is mostly catered white males (I know thats an unconfortable truth but it is true in majority of the comic readers) and the fact that most of these characters have been around for decades and so you really cant make an indian superman or an Arab batman. I've told other brown people about this character and they really can't wait to see him unveiled. THis response is coming from people who normally dont pay that much attention to comics. That being said, when they first announced this character I was a little worried because I thought they were trying to make an arab terrorist get a ring which would really really piss me off. Espcially since that would really only inflame negative sterotypes. But an arab american who hopefully isn't a terrorist? I can dig that, hell i can deal with angry misunderstood lantern because I can get where he is coming from culturally (which kinda makes sense if u really think about it or have experianced it first hand). And to answer another person who asked how is there 5 green lanterns from earth, in reality theres three. Baz is wearing Hal Jordan's ring, and guy gardner and stewart have rings as well. Spoliers: (Hal lost his when he got sucked into the black divide and Kyle Rayners been excomuncated from the green latern corps. the guardians just couldn't take off his ring. Which makes him techincally not part of the corps any more) Three rings from earth is possible cause its already done on korugar. (Sinestro, the doctor chick and the royal princess, though they might have died, I'm not sure)

I don't like two things from what little I know of the character:

• Why make another American Green Lantern? If you're going for diversity, maybe don't give us something we already have 5 of. Earth is a bigger place than that.
• I'm not sure giving DC's first major Arab character in the new 52 a ski-mask and a handgun (which he shouldn't need, which means it isn't incidental) was the best idea.

@darkrider said:

Great article tony

spoiler

هال جوردان سيختفى لمدة عام ثم سيظهر فى نهاية الحرب الاهلية ل دى سى

I don't think he'll be gone even that long.

Well they killed the Indian Firestorm after three issues so that seems like a point against him...

If the power ring is the most powerful weapon in the galaxy, why does he have a pistol? it seems pointlessly redundant.

The earth has only 2 white green lanterns.hal jordan and guy gardner.john stewart is black but kyle rayner is.........HISPANIC!!!! not white.lol. its nice to see a hero of arab decent though with baz.

@herrweis said:

The earth has only 2 white green lanterns.hal jordan and guy gardner.john stewart is black but kyle rayner is.........HISPANIC!!!! not white.lol. its nice to see a hero of arab decent though with baz.

@herrweis: thank you for mentioning that and slamming the idiot who thought that a majority of the green lanterns were white! BOOM!

I do wish they would ditch the gun though.

@BlueLantern1995 said:

@herrweis said:

The earth has only 2 white green lanterns.hal jordan and guy gardner.john stewart is black but kyle rayner is.........HISPANIC!!!! not white.lol. its nice to see a hero of arab decent though with baz.

Hispanic isn't a race. Kyle Rayner is 100% White AND 1/2 Hispanic (On his father's side).

That's why when you fill out a government form it says:

Race? White/Black/Asian/American Indian/Pacific Islander

Are you hispanic? yes/no

You can be an Asian Hispanic for instance.

"We're all for equality and the Lanterns of Earth have mainly been white dudes. We have had John Stewart since 1971's GREEN LANTERN #87 but with the different ethnicities on Earth, it's about time we see something different."

Except the problem with John Stewart is that he has never been treated like a real lantern. Readers dont care about him because writers always give him poor and uninteresting storylines. They dont have any clue on what to do about him, so they put him like a redondant supporting character. What a shame and waste of great potential.

when Sinestro and Hal looked into the Book of Black in Green Lantern #11, it seems as if Baz was holding a gun before the Green Lantern ring chooses him, so I don't think it will be permanent. Its just the cover of the #0 issue.

First a gay green lantern now an Arab.....

Gotta say DC have some balls.......(looks very very interesting)

Way to go DC push the envelope

@mr_iq:

I don't really see it as pushing the envelope to have an Arab Green Lantern. I think racism is way overblown by many people. Most Americans care about your character not your color.

I look forward to seeing more about this new Baz.The gun is definitely interesting.