10 Problems No One Wants To Admit About Green Lantern

7. The Hate For Guy Gardner

Doomsday Clock Guy Gardner
DC Comics/Gary Frank

Woe, woe is Guy. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Guy Gardner is constantly seen as DC's most derided Lantern, a hate figure for both GL fans and wider DC readers to rail against whenever he appears - hence the admittedly hilarious "one punch!" moment Justice League: International.

But... that's kind of the point. When Steve Englehart and Joe Staton turned Gardner into the GL corps' very own jingo representative, they did so to provide a foil to John Stewart. Gardner was brash, abrasive and generally unlikeable, but his cartoonishly toxic personality also makes him extremely enjoyable to read, and thus as the years went by, Guy became more and more likeable and heroic - he attained nuance.

Unfortunately, like John, Gardner has found himself taking a backseat since Hal's resurgence. He's still around, and has had the spotlight at numerous points, but he's never been anything more than a backup, and one derided by plenty of readers at that.

Ultimately, Gardner might be pig-headed and combative, but once you embrace it, you're left with a multi-dimensional character. An unlikeable hero? What a concept.

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