Description
RED ROOTS
Secret Origins
Guy Gardner had had a tumultuous childhood. His brother had beaten him and discouraged him, and in the meantime would achieve and excel where Guy himself did not. Guy was the second son; an afterthought to his parents. When his mother died, he didn’t feel it the same way his siblings did, because he had never been close with her. When he’d tried to show sympathy to his brother, Gerard beat him more, and it became a daily routine, so that Gerard could feel in control of something, to express his rage at his loss. For that reason, Guy never fought back. At least, he never fought back until the day his little sister Gloria tried to defend him, and Gerard had hit her. Unwilling to let that stand, Guy took a baseball bat and retaliated, but his own rage was too great, and he let it consume him. Injuring his brother’s arm ruined his chances in athletics, which made their father angry, and he beat Guy. Afterwards, though, Gerard had come to him, and apologized for what he’d done over the last year. Guy forgave him, and Gerard never hit either him or Gloria again. Guy tried to become a cop after that, hoping to impress his father, and follow in the family tradition. It hadn’t worked. After being forced to make a tough decision on the job, Guy saved lives, but it cost him everything to do it. All the rage came back for him. He let it take over his life for a while, until he found an opportunity to help his brother, who had been shot by thugs. As he drove Gerard to the hospital, the Green Lantern Ring came to him. Despite joining the Green Lantern Corps, Guy never felt like his membership would last. He was disenchanted by the fact that for all intents and purposes, he was a soldier, not a super-hero. And like a soldier, he was used by the Guardians of the Universe as a sacrificial pawn, abandoned behind enemy lines, where he was tortured and transformed. After so many years of trying to contain his anger by force of will, Guy let it consume him, and he beat the savage Atrocitus with his fists, and stole his Red Power Ring, becoming a Red Lantern instead. Now, having let the rage take over, all that remains of his childhood home is ashes and ruin. All that remains of that past life is his lingering anger.