10 Bronze Age Comics That Changed DC & Marvel Forever

Green Lantern Vol. 2 #76-#89 (April 1970-May 1972)

Batman wasn't the only DC icon to get a Bronze Age facelift from O'Neil, whose recent death was a loss of one of comics' great pioneers, and artist Neal Adams.

Under their guidance the Green Lantern title had an abrupt turn from cosmic adventuring to grappling with very down to earth social issues. This was the beginning of comics engaging as much with social justice as the criminal kind.

Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Lantern, had seen sales of his title diminishing throughout the late 60s, meaning that a change in focus was inevitable. Jordan was seen as being out of touch with the concerns of ordinary readers.

For this new socially conscious age Hal was paired up, largely on the basis of a matching colour scheme, with Green Arrow. Oliver Queen had himself been recently revamped with a natty new beard and a plot that saw him losing his wealth and gaining a better understanding of life on the street.

The result was an odd couple pairing which defined the socio-political morality of these two major DC heroes going forward: the socially progressive, left-wing Arrow becoming a foil to Lantern's old fashioned conservatism.

The Green Lantern/Green Arrow run included the infamous story dealing with Arrow's sidekick Speedy and his heroin addiction, tackling a major new subject for comics.

In other issues they dealt with evil landlords, exploitative corporations, environmentalism and Native American land rights. Yes, some of these earnest stories have aged better than others, but they undoubtedly changed the sort of things comics were allowed to focus on.