Guy Gardner #10
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeGuy Gardner #10 closes the two-part 'Manifest Destiny' arc by delivering a pivotal character pivot: after working as a hired gun for the alien 'Gardners of the Universe,' Gardner explicitly resolves to leave mercenary life and rejoin the Justice League, a narrative reset that refocuses the solo series. The issue also quietly resolves the ongoing Qwardian ring subplot — the Guardians of the Universe learn his ring is recharged yet choose to let him keep it — establishing an uneasy institutional tolerance for Gardner that would shape his relationship with the Corps going forward. It marks the final appearances of supporting alien characters Lord Blaze and Stickfast, closing out the brief ensemble that writer Will Jacobs built across issues #9–10. As a relatively self-contained space-adventure chapter mid-series, the issue illustrates the creative team's ambition to push Guy beyond Earth-based superhero antics into cosmic morality plays, a register the title would lean into further as it evolved toward the 'Warrior' era.
In "Manifest Destiny," Guy Gardner faces an existential threat as the Ophidians unleash a psychic plague designed to erase all life by turning minds against themselves. With his ring as his only ally, Guy must free his teammates from the alien influence and confront a foe whose very existence challenges the meaning of heroism. Written by Will Jacobs and illustrated by Joe Staton, with inks by Terry Beatty and colors by Anthony Tollin, this 1993 issue features a cover by Joe Staton and Terry Beatty that captures Guy’s pivotal moment of decision—choosing to walk his path alone.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The Guy Gardner ongoing series launched in October 1992 as a continuation of the Guy Gardner: Reborn limited series, with Will Jacobs (solo credited from around issue #5 onward after co-writing duties with Gerard Jones) handling scripts and Joe Staton penciling throughout the early run, inked by Terry Beatty — the same Staton who had co-designed Gardner's iconic bowl-cut blue costume for the series' first issue. Issue #10 was published with a July 1993 cover date (May 1993 on-sale) under editors Kevin Dooley and Eddie Berganza, with Dick Giordano serving as Executive Editor. The series would run through issue #16 before being retitled Guy Gardner: Warrior, reflecting a more dramatic power-set transformation for the lead character.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover-dated July 1993; part 2 of a two-part story begun in Guy Gardner #9 (June 1993), titled 'Manifest Destiny.'
- Written by Will Jacobs; penciled by Joe Staton; inked by Terry Beatty; colored by Anthony Tollin; lettered by Albert DeGuzman; edited by Kevin Dooley and Eddie Berganza.
- Central plot: the alien Ophidians use mass hypnosis to make civilizations destroy themselves; Guy's Qwardian Yellow Ring renders him uniquely immune to their mind control, making him the only one who can perceive and fight the invisible invaders.
- Guy teams with Green Lantern Boodikka to destroy the Ophidian spacecraft by merging their willpower against the psychic feedback — an early demonstration of grudging cooperation between Gardner and the Corps.
- Lord Blaze and Stickfast (both introduced in issue #9) make their final comic appearances in this issue.
- Issue ends with Guy Gardner declaring he is quitting the mercenary 'Gardners of the Universe' team and returning to the Justice League — a significant character direction reset mid-series.
- The Guardians of the Universe, informed by Boodikka that Guy's ring is recharged, elect to let him continue using it rather than reclaim it, acknowledging his work serves the same ends as the Corps.
- The Guy Gardner ongoing series ran 45 issues (October 1992–July 1996); it was retitled Guy Gardner: Warrior beginning with issue #17, after the title's first sixteen issues under its original name.
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The Gardners of the Universe battle the Ophidians, an alien race bent on destroying all life in the universe by hypnotizing populations to kill themselves off. Guy uses his ring to free the minds of his teammates and pursue the Ophidians whose ship self-destructs. Guy disbands the so-called Gardners of the Universe and decides to remain solo.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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