Green Lantern #50
Green Lantern #50 is one of the most structurally disruptive single issues DC published in the 1990s: in the span of 52 pages it dismantled a franchise that had existed since 1959, killing the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians of the Universe (save one), Kilowog, and Sinestro, while transforming Hal Jordan — the Silver Age Green Lantern — into the supervillain Parallax. The issue simultaneously served as the debut of Kyle Rayner as the new Green Lantern, a character who would carry the ring as the sole active Lantern for nearly a decade before Geoff Johns restored Jordan in Green Lantern: Rebirth (2004). Its audacity — permanently villainizing a 35-year-old hero rather than quietly sidelining him — made it a flashpoint for debates about legacy characters, editorial authority, and the moral weight comics could impose on their protagonists that continued to resonate across the medium for years.
In "Emerald Twilight, Part Three: The Future," Hal Jordan’s descent into madness reaches its peak as he turns on the Guardians of the Universe, destroying Oa and killing Sinestro and Kilowog in brutal fashion. With the Central Power Battery in ruins and only Ganthet surviving, the last hope lies in a desperate act: Ganthet races to Earth to pass the final Green Lantern ring to Kyle Rayner. Written by Ron Marz and illustrated by Darryl Banks, with inks by Romeo Tanghal and colors by Steve Mattsson, this pivotal issue marks a turning point in the Green Lantern mythos—its cover by Banks and Tanghal captures the moment’s crushing weight.
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"Emerald Twilight" was originally plotted by outgoing writer Gerard Jones as a story involving two rival sets of Guardians, but DC's senior editorial team — publisher Paul Levitz alongside group editors Mike Carlin, Dennis O'Neil, and Archie Goodwin, coordinated by Green Lantern editor Kevin Dooley — concluded that concept would not attract new readers and scrapped it, plotting the Hal Jordan breakdown themselves and handing the scripts to incoming writer Ron Marz. Marz, joined on issue #50 by penciler Darryl Banks and inker Romeo Tanghal, has publicly stated that the broad editorial parameters were fixed before he arrived and that he worked within a directive rather than originating the destruction of the Corps, though he has also defended the storytelling ambition of the resulting arc. The milestone nature of the #50 issue was underscored by its oversized 52-page format, a glow-in-the-dark cover, and a gallery of pin-up pages by several guest artists, all signaling that DC intended the issue as a landmark transition point rather than a routine chapter.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Written by Ron Marz with interior art by Darryl Banks (pencils) and Romeo Tanghal (inks); edited by Kevin Dooley. Published March 1994 by DC Comics.
- Final chapter (Part 3 of 3) of the 'Emerald Twilight' story arc, spanning Green Lantern (Vol. 3) #48–50, subtitled 'The Future.'
- First appearance of Hal Jordan as Parallax: after draining the Central Power Battery on Oa, Jordan emerges in a new black-and-silver costume and adopts the Parallax identity, becoming a recurring DC villain.
- First appearance of Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern: Rayner (who had a brief cameo in #48) receives the last surviving power ring from the Guardian Ganthet in this issue and officially assumes the mantle, making him the sole Green Lantern in the universe.
- In-story deaths of Sinestro (killed by Hal Jordan), Kilowog (incinerated by Hal Jordan), and all Guardians of the Universe except Ganthet, who survives to pass the ring to Rayner.
- Kyle Rayner's original costume — designed by Darryl Banks — debuted here and remained his signature look from 1994 through approximately 2002.
- Reprinted in: Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight TPB (1994), Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight/New Dawn TPB (2003), Green Lantern: A Celebration of 75 Years, and Green Lantern: 80 Years of the Emerald Knight: The Deluxe Edition.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight #[nn] (1994), Crepúsculo Esmeralda #[nn] (1995), Green Lantern: A New Dawn #[nn] (1998), JLA - Die neue Gerechtigkeitsliga Special #1 (1998), Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight / New Dawn #[nn] (2003), Green Lantern: A Celebration of 75 Years #[nn] (2015), Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner #1 (2017), Green Lantern: 80 Years of the Emerald Knight The Deluxe Edition #[nn] (2020), Colección Héroes y Villanos #29 (2022), Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner Rising Compendium #[nn] (2024)
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