Future Shock (Green Lantern 51)

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Are you ready? Yeah. Are you with it? [00:00:02] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay, let's go. [00:00:04] Speaker A: You know what to do. [00:00:05] Speaker B: The whole world's watching and counting on you. [00:00:08] Speaker A: And all you people listening out there. [00:00:11] Speaker B: Everybody everywhere. Hang on, hang on, hang on. Welcome to Checkered Past, a loving postmodern examination of the. Go. Go. Check. Branded comic magazines published by DC Comics between February 1966 and August 1967. I'm Dr. Bob and each week I'll be your guide on this trippy tour through 535 mid century masterpieces of graphic noveldom. This Week, Green Lantern 51. Cover date March 1967. Cover price $0.12. Cover artist, Gil Kane. Edited by Julius Schwartz. Featuring Green Lantern's evil alter ego. Written by John Broome. Art by Gil Kane. Are you ready? Are you with it? Then away we go. Go. See how the fluffy clouds move by. [00:01:11] Speaker A: Us See how the clouds move by See how the morning mist can hide. [00:01:18] Speaker B: Us away Hide us away the day. [00:01:20] Speaker A: Is so much fun. [00:01:24] Speaker B: Green Lantern finally gets around to investigating odd objects he has found stuck to his uniform at various times. His power ring reveals the objects originated in the 58th century. Seeking to learn the truth, Green Lantern uses his ring to travel into the future where he is reunited with Chairman Daesor and Iona Vane. His arrival is timely since a criminal called Dr. Strangehate is trying to overthrow the Solar Council. Confused? Don't worry, I'll be right back with doctor Husband to explain everything. Chalk on the sidewalk Writing on the. [00:02:03] Speaker A: Wall Everybody knows it I love Paul. [00:02:09] Speaker B: Tall Paul Tall Paul Tall Paul he's my all Chalk on the sidewalk Chalk. [00:02:20] Speaker A: On the sidewalk Dishes on a tre. [00:02:24] Speaker B: Everybody knows it Everybody knows it Paul loves me with the king size arms with the king size charms with the king size kiss he's my arm Hi. [00:02:38] Speaker A: Hi. [00:02:38] Speaker B: Where you been? [00:02:39] Speaker A: You know, downtown. [00:02:41] Speaker B: Oh, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. I. [00:02:46] Speaker A: Where you been? [00:02:47] Speaker B: Well, I was here at home and I went to the doctor today. [00:02:50] Speaker A: Oh, okay, right. [00:02:52] Speaker B: Everything's working great. [00:02:54] Speaker A: Great. [00:02:55] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:02:55] Speaker A: Good for you. [00:02:57] Speaker B: I complained about a stitch in my side. [00:02:59] Speaker A: And. [00:02:59] Speaker B: And I said it's probably musculature or gas, but I'm a hypochondriac, so I'm sure it's kidney failure. So she said, well, we'll just order a scan, make you feel better about it. [00:03:10] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:03:10] Speaker B: There you go. Yeah. [00:03:11] Speaker A: Get a scan. [00:03:12] Speaker B: I love her. [00:03:13] Speaker A: Oh, that's great. [00:03:14] Speaker B: She's a nurse practitioner. But don't tell. [00:03:16] Speaker A: I go to an osteopath, don't I? [00:03:18] Speaker B: Well, I don't know what that means. [00:03:19] Speaker A: But they Go to school for a little bit longer. It's all about, like interrelated medicine, like how all the systems work together and so. [00:03:28] Speaker B: Yeah, well, you can't get an MD around here. I'm just. I'm never going to an MD again for primary care. My NP is so kind. [00:03:37] Speaker A: Is she? [00:03:38] Speaker B: And she's adorable. She looks like she's about 16. [00:03:40] Speaker A: Oh, great. Well, I had an MD that I followed around for a few practices and I wasn't happy with him and he misdiagnosed me. [00:03:49] Speaker B: Bastard. [00:03:50] Speaker A: You know that pain I was having in my foot? [00:03:51] Speaker B: Uh huh. [00:03:52] Speaker A: It was bone spur. He said it was arthritis and I was on Motrin for far too long. [00:03:57] Speaker B: And he made you think you were old. Yes. [00:03:59] Speaker A: Well, I mean, I did have arthritis in my foot, but I had a bone spur too, so some surgery fixed that, didn't it? [00:04:05] Speaker B: I should say so. [00:04:06] Speaker A: Yeah. Right. [00:04:08] Speaker B: Right. [00:04:09] Speaker A: Green Lantern. Green Lantern. [00:04:10] Speaker B: Wait. I haven't finished telling you about my exciting day yet. [00:04:13] Speaker A: Oh, I'm so sorry. [00:04:15] Speaker B: That's all right. Of course, I had a meeting this morning. [00:04:19] Speaker A: Yes. [00:04:20] Speaker B: And that was it. [00:04:23] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:04:24] Speaker B: And I did find some carnage in the backyard. [00:04:27] Speaker A: Oh, let's talk about the natural things, the natural elements that have been plaguing us for the last 24 hours. Because I have something to share too. [00:04:35] Speaker B: Well, I found like. I don't know what to call it, like wings, plus a bit of backbone of a bird. [00:04:43] Speaker A: Oh my God. Well, I guess Willoughby had a little. Caught a bird. [00:04:49] Speaker B: Well, I don't know. I can't imagine how he would have caught it outside the yard and then brought it inside. So in his mouth. Well, he'd have to jump the fence and all. Sure. He can't do that. [00:05:00] Speaker A: You didn't get a hawk? It wasn't a hawk in the backyard, was it? [00:05:03] Speaker B: No, it was a little something. [00:05:05] Speaker A: Yeah. He could do that? [00:05:06] Speaker B: I don't think so. I think he could. He's so portly. I don't think he could jump over the fence and carry something in his mouth. [00:05:14] Speaker A: Oh, well, can I tell what happened to me yesterday? [00:05:16] Speaker B: Please do. [00:05:17] Speaker A: So yesterday morning I was out on the front porch weeding the flower beds and. And watering and fertilizing. Right? Yeah, the roses and such. And I noticed some small yellow jackets, I guess is what they are coming in and out of the siding and the top corner. So where the front door is in the top corner. And you can't. If you really look, you look on the crease, you can see a tiny little hole. So I stood out there. And I found some Flying insect killer, which is basically for killing flies, whatever. So I tried to kill some, and they were flying around, but they weren't attacking me. They were just flying around me. And, I mean, none of them landed on me and stung me, but they were really small, you know? So I. In my errands yesterday, I picked up a can of, like, wasp and hornet killer, which can spray up to 20ft away. So I soaked that corner, and wouldn't you know, they started coming out, you know? And I didn't get stung because I stayed far away, but I soaked that corner, and then I was like, I think I hear a hive. Like, from standing far away, I thought. [00:06:25] Speaker B: I think. [00:06:26] Speaker A: And so the good thing is this stuff kills for up to four weeks. I'm gonna buy more of it and spray it every day up in that corner. So I got out there this morning, and I saw little bodies all around, right? Little bodies of hornets. But what I did was because of where it's, you know, it's a siding. I went inside the house and got to where the equivalent of the inside would be on the other side of the wall and got a chair and put my ear up to the wall. I cannot stop thinking about it. There was a big hive in. There is a big hive in there. [00:06:59] Speaker B: Did you think there wouldn't be a hive? Did you think they were just hanging out? [00:07:03] Speaker A: I didn't know they'd make that much noise. I don't know how big the hive is. It's. And you know how. You know how terrified I am of hornets. Everyone is okay, but, you know, like, I'm the guy who will pick up a snake and walk around and be like, is this poisonous? [00:07:17] Speaker B: Can't confirm. [00:07:19] Speaker A: I'll kill spiders with my bare hands. Yeah, I will. I have been known to kill mice by stomping on them with my covered feet. [00:07:28] Speaker B: Yes. [00:07:29] Speaker A: So I'm not squeamish. [00:07:30] Speaker B: So you're a murderer. [00:07:31] Speaker A: Well, I will kill vermin. I was terrified. Terrified when I woke up this morning. I was like, what if they got in the house? What if they chewed through the wall? Oh, my God. You know? [00:07:41] Speaker B: Well, I told you that roofer came and said that the attic was full of bees. [00:07:47] Speaker A: Well, he said the attic, not the eaves, you know, and he's not right. [00:07:53] Speaker B: Well, he's out of business now, isn't he? [00:07:54] Speaker A: Yeah, he is. [00:07:55] Speaker B: So anyway, operating fraudulent. [00:07:57] Speaker A: So I have to go buy a couple more cans of this stuff and just spray it. I'll just soak it. There's. They have this kind that's like a foaming kind. [00:08:03] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:08:03] Speaker A: You know, I'm just gonna soak it and hopefully over the next couple of weeks, I will eliminate these. These wasps. These hornets. [00:08:10] Speaker B: Oh, well, if only the red bee would come over. He can control bees. [00:08:16] Speaker A: Oh, tell them to leave. Evict them. [00:08:19] Speaker B: He could. [00:08:19] Speaker A: I don't want no bees, you know. [00:08:22] Speaker B: Well, of course, he'd probably be mad at you now that you murdered so many. [00:08:26] Speaker A: I don't care. [00:08:28] Speaker B: Well, he's the red bee. He puts murderers in jail. [00:08:33] Speaker A: He's a comic book character. We're talking about real bees. [00:08:35] Speaker B: Agreed. [00:08:36] Speaker A: With real wasps. Hornets. [00:08:39] Speaker B: What are. What are. Make up your mind. Are they wasps or hornets? Those are different species. [00:08:43] Speaker A: They're hornets. [00:08:44] Speaker B: Okay. [00:08:46] Speaker A: They're yellow and black. [00:08:48] Speaker B: That's fine. If they were wasps, we would have to move because I wouldn't live in the house with wasps. Well, unless it was Jan Van Dyne, the wasp. [00:08:58] Speaker A: Yeah. Unless they get inside, they start coming inside, I'm gonna freak out. [00:09:03] Speaker B: I had a question on the Internet. [00:09:07] Speaker A: Okay. [00:09:08] Speaker B: We never talked about Fantastic Four. [00:09:10] Speaker A: We didn't? [00:09:11] Speaker B: I don't think so. [00:09:12] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Shame on us. [00:09:13] Speaker B: We did. I. [00:09:14] Speaker A: We. [00:09:15] Speaker B: If I. I've forgotten. If we did. [00:09:16] Speaker A: Are you sure we didn't. On our sister podcast, I. [00:09:19] Speaker B: Well, I thought yes, maybe, but. [00:09:21] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:09:21] Speaker B: This is not our sister podcast. [00:09:23] Speaker A: No, I mean. Okay, we didn't do it on this podcast. I was pretty sure that we talked about it in some sort of format like this, where we were sitting down in front of microphones, maybe. [00:09:30] Speaker B: Anyway, we liked it. [00:09:31] Speaker A: It was delightful. [00:09:32] Speaker B: I liked Superman better, but. [00:09:34] Speaker A: Well, for different reasons. [00:09:36] Speaker B: Well, for one reason, crypto. [00:09:38] Speaker A: Crypto, yeah. But it was beautifully stylized. [00:09:41] Speaker B: Oh, yes. I love the mid century style. [00:09:43] Speaker A: Great story. Nice tension, Excellent character development. [00:09:46] Speaker B: Pedro Pascal, all of them. Sure. [00:09:49] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Lots of heart. It's a great story. [00:09:51] Speaker B: Lots of Pedro Pascal. [00:09:53] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [00:09:54] Speaker B: Johnny Storm was no slouch either. [00:09:56] Speaker A: No. Yeah. [00:09:58] Speaker B: Anyway, back to our story. [00:10:01] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:10:02] Speaker B: Green Lantern number 51, featuring Green Lantern's evil alter ego. I'm not fond of this cover. [00:10:10] Speaker A: No. [00:10:11] Speaker B: Do you know how fond I am of Gil Kane? But this is not his best work. [00:10:15] Speaker A: No. [00:10:16] Speaker B: Looked like he slapped it together at 4:55pm on a Friday. [00:10:20] Speaker A: Right. [00:10:22] Speaker B: And the red background, it's not good. I saw an interesting article, which I skimmed through, about DC's background cover colors in the 60s. [00:10:37] Speaker A: Okay. [00:10:38] Speaker B: Apparently, purple sold best. [00:10:41] Speaker A: Okay. [00:10:42] Speaker B: So I don't know what the story is with red. [00:10:45] Speaker A: I don't know either. [00:10:49] Speaker B: We may never know, because I'm probably never going to be able to find that article again and read it. [00:10:56] Speaker A: So a little backstory here. [00:10:58] Speaker B: Yes. [00:10:59] Speaker A: Or a little. A little reminder. What is this about? Hal Jordan the Traveler. [00:11:08] Speaker B: Well, if you remember. [00:11:09] Speaker A: I don't. [00:11:11] Speaker B: I didn't think you did. [00:11:12] Speaker A: Okay. [00:11:13] Speaker B: Couple of issues ago, he. Well, Carol Faris married someone else or got engaged to someone else. [00:11:24] Speaker A: I remember that. [00:11:25] Speaker B: And he was heartbroken. So he left town, went on the road, and decided that he's only going to use his ring as last resort. Otherwise he's gonna punch. [00:11:35] Speaker A: I remember that. [00:11:37] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. [00:11:37] Speaker A: But it's been a while since we've read a Green Lantern comic. [00:11:40] Speaker B: It has. Because it's not quite published monthly. [00:11:44] Speaker A: Okay. All right. So at this point I do. Yes. I remember that he decided he was gonna use his fists and only use his ring if he had to. [00:11:50] Speaker B: Yes. And he was going to wander the country heartbroken. [00:11:56] Speaker A: Yeah. You ever wanted to wander the country heartbroken? [00:12:00] Speaker B: Not heartbroken, but. Sure, I've wanted to wander the country plenty of times. But if I could be more specific, I've wanted to wander the country in, like, 1964. [00:12:10] Speaker A: Oh, really? [00:12:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:12] Speaker A: Or 1953 in some sort of idealized version. Cause for me, immediately, I think about all the racial riots and tensions and suppression and. [00:12:22] Speaker B: Would not go well for gentlemen of our persuasion. [00:12:25] Speaker A: Exactly, exactly. But I mean, sort of like if you could have the. If you could wander around for a while and spend time in the televised. Sort of idealized. [00:12:35] Speaker B: Yes, exactly. [00:12:36] Speaker A: Yeah. I don't. I wouldn't want to wander around heartbroken, but I have always been sort of enamored with the idea of a wandering sort of time in one's life. If someone could take a year off from work and just sort of walk or. Or motorcycle or just travel around, well. [00:12:57] Speaker B: We'D have to have the long, long trailer. Then we could hang out in trailer parks of the 50s, which were lovely places, according to the film. The Long, Long Trailer. [00:13:09] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:13:11] Speaker B: Marjorie Main lives next door. She's coming to fix your broken ankle. [00:13:14] Speaker A: Oh, I love Marjorie Maine. [00:13:16] Speaker B: Who doesn't love Marjorie Maine? Okay, well, I've got some good news. [00:13:24] Speaker A: What's the good news? [00:13:25] Speaker B: Our story spans 38 centuries, and in it, our emerald clad hero seems time and again to be on the point of succumbing to the fantastic forces of evil unleashed upon him by. Hold tight. Hold tight. None other than his quote unquote imaginary self in the 58th century, Paul Mannings. [00:13:46] Speaker A: Paul. [00:13:47] Speaker B: Paul, yes, of course, could be Paul, space explorer, Green Lantern's evil alter ego. Story by Tiger John Broom. Art by Pussycat Gil Kane. I guess they're making cat jokes here, but I'd have gone with Jumping John Broom and Galloping Gil Kane. [00:14:07] Speaker A: Yeah, sure, but those aren't really hip hips words. Galloping and jumping. [00:14:13] Speaker B: I'm sure when Gil Kane worked for Marvel Comics, it was Galloping Gil Kane or Gallant Gil Kane or. Yeah, Godly Gil Kane, something like that. [00:14:22] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:24] Speaker B: In a Midwestern motel. A traveler in quotes in Tal Jordan. [00:14:30] Speaker A: Oh, wait a second. [00:14:31] Speaker B: What? The editor's note. [00:14:33] Speaker A: Oh, the editor's note. [00:14:34] Speaker B: Okay. [00:14:35] Speaker A: Yes. All right. I thought that was a quote and they were missing. I thought it was an end quote and the. The beginning of the process. [00:14:41] Speaker B: It's an asterisk. I see Hal is traveling light. He's got his lantern and a pasteboard suitcase. But he's brought two items with him. A sliver of strange metal and an odd jewel. He apparently, at some point, found these two objects clinging to his uniform at separate times. And he's always felt a peculiar emotion that he can't explain why. What can these objects mean to him? This mystery has tantalized him long enough. He's going to use his power ring to discover the age of the objects, just as scientists often discover the age of unknown objects by determining their carbon 14 content. I'm honestly shocked that he didn't use his ring the minute he found these objects on his uniform. Yeah, that's what I would have done. Sure. But I've never been granted a Green Lantern ring because I'm too cowardly. You have to be born without fear to be a Green Lantern. [00:15:51] Speaker A: Well, I guess I wouldn't get one either because I'm afraid of wasps and hornets. [00:15:56] Speaker B: Yes, but you might make the grade if you're not afraid of snakes or spiders or motorcycles. Or motorcycles. I think it was actually revealed at some point that Hal Jordan was not actually born without fear, but rather, the ring superimposed its own will upon him and made him ignore his fear. [00:16:19] Speaker A: Oh, that would be nice. [00:16:21] Speaker B: Which is the very definition of courage. You feel fear and do it anyway. [00:16:24] Speaker A: Wouldn't that be nice to have a special ring that suppressed all sorts of fear, like in performing? You know how, like, when you're performing and you're like, oh, is this gonna work out? Is this gonna work out? And you sort of approach something, a very, very difficult passage. Would it be great if it's like, yeah, of course it's gonna work out. Boom. Do it. Knock it out of the park every single time. [00:16:41] Speaker B: Well, I mean, good beta blocker. Do the same thing and you wouldn't have to fight crime. All right. He's getting fantastic results. According to the ring, these objects don't come from the past at all, but from the future. From the 58th century. What? How could he have found them clinging to his uniform when, as far as he knows, he's never even been to the 58th century. The plot thickens. [00:17:10] Speaker A: He has a queer look on his face, doesn't he? On that bottom panel? [00:17:13] Speaker B: Yeah, like he's about to giggle. [00:17:15] Speaker A: Yeah, so? But the X text test pilot would be super tantalized if, as we're about to do, he could peer into the 58th century where. [00:17:29] Speaker B: Fellow members of the Solar Council, we must decide now whether the emergency facing us is serious enough to summon our Solar Director, Green Lantern, to aid us. [00:17:43] Speaker A: Only a crisis grave enough can justify our bringing him here from the long vanished past of our planet. [00:17:50] Speaker B: True, we have only been forced to do so three times before. Chairman Dasor, if you're new here, three times before, Hal Jordan, as Green Lantern, has been summoned to the 58th century to handle some kind of emergency. Because they don't have a Green Lantern on earth in the 58th century. And to minimize confusion on Green Lantern's part, Dave erased his memory and implanted a false personality, that of Paul Manning, so that he thinks he's a resident of the 58th century and also Green Lantern and also the Solar Director, whatever that means. [00:18:33] Speaker A: Conveniently for us, in their discussions, the guy with the mustache decides to sum it up for everybody who's in the room to help us decide, I'll briefly review the situation that confronts us. A mysterious scientist who goes by the name of Dr. Strangehate has undertaken startling experiments in evolution. By his uncanny art, he has evolved creatures who strike fear into the hearts of all who have seen them. He has defied this counsel and set himself outside the law. Further than that, we know nothing about him. Not even his true identity. [00:19:09] Speaker B: Well, you're making fun, but that was the entirety of my hour and a half meeting this morning. Was someone summarizing information that everyone already knew or could have read on the PowerPoint slide that was in front of our faces? [00:19:23] Speaker A: Okay. [00:19:24] Speaker B: His identity, however, is simple enough. Dr. Strangehate was only a pseudonym. His real name is. My name. Paul Manning. [00:19:34] Speaker A: Paul Manning? But that's. That's utterly impossible. [00:19:38] Speaker B: Dr. Strangehate has just entered the room. By the way, I know what you're all thinking. That Paul Manning is merely a fictitious, fictitious character invented by you to serve a purpose. I am aware that each time Green Lantern has been brought to this era, the process has resulted in complete amnesia for him. [00:19:57] Speaker A: In order to stabilize his mind, you had to give him a personal history in this time and a civilian alter ego. For that. You invented a space explorer named Paul Manning. What you didn't realize was that Green Lantern's great willpower plus his mystic ring force actually created me. Without his being aware of it, I came into existence on a far off planet. Since then, I have been amassing knowledge and power. Power enough to destroy this council if I choose. [00:20:25] Speaker B: Ugh. Melting the Zerflex tabletop. No known radiation could do that. [00:20:31] Speaker A: So they created. [00:20:35] Speaker B: So Green Lantern's ring created an independent being. [00:20:39] Speaker A: A human being. [00:20:40] Speaker B: A clone of himself, apparently, which survived beyond Green Lantern's ring being present in the 58th century. Amazing. [00:20:55] Speaker A: It is amazing that a ring could do that. [00:20:57] Speaker B: A ring could do anything with enough willpower behind it. [00:21:01] Speaker A: So he says. I choose merely to depose you. From now on, I shall make the laws and enforce them by the new energies I have discovered. [00:21:09] Speaker B: I only use my energies to depose you and melt your tables. Well, Elona. Elona Vane. She's the gal here. She must summon Green Lantern because only he can handle this power mad alter ego of his. Well, Dr. Strangehate is well aware of what's about to happen. [00:21:32] Speaker A: And he uses his ray gun to destroy the machine. [00:21:35] Speaker B: Blast her. Destroy the machine. [00:21:37] Speaker A: Mm. [00:21:38] Speaker B: To make sure that he can never be brought here again to interfere with my plans. I destroy your machine to summon him. Gasp. [00:21:44] Speaker A: Gasp. [00:21:46] Speaker B: Let this serve as a warning to all of you. The next attempt to disobey my wishes will bring instant annihilation upon you. [00:21:52] Speaker A: Oh, no. Without Green Lantern, they will be helpless. Meanwhile, in the far off 20th century. [00:21:57] Speaker B: Well, so it's not really meanwhile, it's ages and ages ago. Because meanwhile means it's happening at the same time. Which I've been chastised for using the word meanwhile in my introductions. Because it's actually happening at a different time. [00:22:14] Speaker A: True, 38 centuries in the past. [00:22:17] Speaker B: Yes. Now, Hal has had the distinct impression, after using his ring on these objects, that someone's mind was trying to reach him. [00:22:29] Speaker A: There it is again. A faint but unmistakable appeal for help. I've got to get to the bottom of this, Green Lantern. But first, an important matter to be taken care of. [00:22:38] Speaker B: Shall we? [00:22:39] Speaker A: Yes. Once again, the solemn oath is renewed as the power ring is recharged for another 24 hours. [00:22:45] Speaker B: In brightest day, in blackest night, no. [00:22:49] Speaker A: Evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil Smile. Beware my power. Green Lanterns light. [00:22:59] Speaker B: So it's charging for 24 hours. [00:23:01] Speaker A: That is the worst. [00:23:02] Speaker B: Travels into the future. Doesn't that use up the 24 hours? [00:23:05] Speaker A: I don't understand how time travel works. [00:23:08] Speaker B: I don't understand how this ring works, if we're being honest. All right. Penetrating. [00:23:13] Speaker A: So now he gets to travel forward in time. [00:23:15] Speaker B: Yes. [00:23:16] Speaker A: To the best of my knowledge, Green Lantern has never done this. [00:23:19] Speaker B: Traveled forward in time on his own power. I don't know. We'd have to read every issue preceding this. I mean, I'm sure he could have at any time. I think it's so helpful that when you travel through time, the years are projected in fathomless space. Like this. [00:23:39] Speaker A: Yes, in a readable font, isn't it? [00:23:41] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:41] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:43] Speaker B: Well, you know, numbers are numbers. They don't change throughout history or time. We still use the Arabic numeric system, don't we? [00:23:52] Speaker A: Yes, we use Arabic numerals. [00:23:55] Speaker B: Well, there you go. They're sure to last 38 more centuries. [00:23:59] Speaker A: What about Roman numerals? They didn't last. [00:24:02] Speaker B: They didn't last. Well, they're so confusing. Especially when they put it in a crossword puzzle. I don't know all the Roman numerals. I have to guess and guess. [00:24:11] Speaker A: Suddenly, out of the void, a vibrant, verdant figure emerges in the headquarters of the Solar Council. [00:24:17] Speaker B: Gasp. [00:24:18] Speaker A: Green Lantern, I can't believe. [00:24:21] Speaker B: On your guard. Green Lantern Paul Manning will seek to destroy you. [00:24:24] Speaker A: The mental appeal, it came from the girl. She's warning me. [00:24:28] Speaker B: Well, we have to remember, Elona's sweet on Hal Jordan. [00:24:33] Speaker A: She is? [00:24:34] Speaker B: Yeah. Who wouldn't be? [00:24:38] Speaker A: Alright, I've always been sweet on Green Lantern. [00:24:40] Speaker B: I know you have. Now, Hal sees Dr. Strangehate and says, there's something strange about him. He resembles me. Paul Manning, of course, knows that this is his creator. Other under circumstance. Under other circumstances, we might have met in the closest friendship. But not now. [00:24:59] Speaker A: Out of the weapon in Paul Manning's hands, a titanic power flares at the Emerald Gladiator. [00:25:05] Speaker B: Now we can only battle to the death. [00:25:07] Speaker A: My ring acted automatically, shielding me from his radiation pistol, or I would have been done in. Done for. Even so, the impact is incredible. [00:25:16] Speaker B: He swiftly recovers, wields his own weapon. Blasts Dr. Strangehate into the wall. But he's coming right back at him. Apparently, his ring had no worse effect on him than his weapon had on me. [00:25:29] Speaker A: So it appears the two are equally matched in power. [00:25:32] Speaker B: Yes. [00:25:33] Speaker A: So they're gonna revert to fisticuffs. [00:25:35] Speaker B: Well, fisticuffs, Dr. Strangehade's gonna strangle him to death. Yeah, with his bare hands. But, well, Hal's got his fists. That's all he needs. He punches Dr. Strangehate. Dr. Strangehate punches the wall. Hal does a double fist upward cut and knocks him across the table, which was previously melted and is knocked out unconscious. Tko. [00:26:06] Speaker A: Paul Manning is. [00:26:06] Speaker B: Paul Manning is. [00:26:07] Speaker A: Yes. [00:26:09] Speaker B: Ilona gives him a kiss. Right on the smacker. [00:26:11] Speaker A: Right. You're wonderful. [00:26:14] Speaker B: Now Paul Manning recovers to find himself bound and helpless and is taken off to jail. Now Hal is confused. He says, everyone seems to know me. And why does this Manning fellow hate me so much? What does it all mean? So Director Dasor decides that they're going to restore Hal's memories of the 58th century. [00:26:45] Speaker A: By placing a gigantic, cumbersome, massive electronic helmet like device. [00:26:53] Speaker B: Yes. [00:26:53] Speaker A: On him. You would think in the 50th century they would have learned how to minimize size. [00:26:57] Speaker B: You'd think so. But you know, we had that robot revolution. We had the great disaster. So many things have happened in the intervening centuries. [00:27:06] Speaker A: Okay. [00:27:08] Speaker B: Hal learns that thrice he was brought here from the past. Thrice you saved this era from disaster. You were made Solar Director in honor of your exploits. Paul Manning is your fictitious alter ego. But somehow he came into real existence and it is feared he still has unrevealed powers. And Hal recalls it all. [00:27:32] Speaker A: He recalls everything. So after the Crusader has been brought fully up to date, we regret it was necessary to practice a form of deception on you in your previous visits, Green Lantern. But we had no choice then. [00:27:45] Speaker B: You had to pretend to like me, Iona, to play a role as my romantic interest. [00:27:51] Speaker A: I forgot that you like to do that. As his voice she goes. [00:27:55] Speaker B: That was no pretense, Green Lantern. Not after I knew you. We all hope you will exercise in full your powers as Solar Director while you are here, Green Lantern. [00:28:07] Speaker A: I understand, Gomidar. It is I who must supervise the trial of my alter ego, Po Manning. Strange that I must sit in judgment over my other self, the product of my ring and will. Yet he is a menace. And whatever I may feel personally, the law of this era must be obeyed. [00:28:27] Speaker B: We can't go against the law, Dorothy. [00:28:30] Speaker A: Dorothy with the dog is evil. It must be destroyed. [00:28:35] Speaker B: With Solar Director, Green Lantern presiding as judge, the trial of the ring created prisoner gets underway in a thronged and tense courtroom. [00:28:43] Speaker A: And Paul Manning is charged first with carrying out secret evolutionary spirits contrary to the decree of the Solar Council. Second, he is charged with high treason against the Solar government for this vicious Public enemy the state demands the ultimate penalty. What's the ultimate penalty? Death. [00:29:01] Speaker B: Death? I would guess so. A harsh tongue scolding, strongly worded letter from irene Vartanoff. Now, Dr. Strange, hate seems strangely calm, even contemptuous of the proceedings. Either he really has a quirk in his brain, or he has some kind of trump card up his sleeve, which no one suspects. I'd better keep a sharp eye out. Says, oh, sorry, I better keep a sharp eye. [00:29:31] Speaker A: Suddenly a massive crash through the chambers and in stumbles a frightful creature, a giant baby ogre. Giant ogre baby, like the Hulk? Yes. [00:29:45] Speaker B: Now, did he mention previously his evolutionary experiments? [00:29:51] Speaker A: Because they did mention it early on. [00:29:55] Speaker B: Okay, because he's on trial for evolutionary experiments, but this is the first. [00:30:00] Speaker A: He creates creatures that strike fear into the heart. [00:30:02] Speaker B: I see. Okay. Now he has evolved a new human. A strong as Neanderthal man, but with a brain far in advance of all puny present day brains. Behold my Neoman, whom I summoned here by mental commands. Do you still imagine you can put me on trial? [00:30:22] Speaker A: The law must be obeyed, Manning. If necessary, we'll have to eliminate your Neoman. [00:30:27] Speaker B: Be careful he doesn't eliminate you, Grey Lantern, despite your ring. [00:30:31] Speaker A: I'll have to take that risk, Manning. [00:30:34] Speaker B: Now, the willpower of this creature is so tremendous, it's like a tangible force. Force striking and numbing Hal's own willpower and undermining his ring. [00:30:44] Speaker A: Oh my gosh, this is. [00:30:45] Speaker B: You can't hold him off. [00:30:46] Speaker A: Yeah, crazy. [00:30:49] Speaker B: Well, Hal's still got his fists. He turns to his fist power. But with agility startling in one his size, Neoman seizes Green Lantern and squeezes him. Gonna crush him. [00:31:02] Speaker A: Yep. [00:31:03] Speaker B: Hal does another one of these double fisted uppercuts, which loosens Neoman's grip. And if he can weaken him further, he'll undermine his willpower. Be able to use his ring on Neoman. [00:31:17] Speaker A: Yeah. So he punches and punches and punches. [00:31:21] Speaker B: Punches, just like a Sergeant Rock comic. Finally, Neoman is off balance. Hal launches into a bone crunching tackle. And it's assumed that Neoman will be brought down. But even falling, the vicious Neoman manages to deliver a crushing and unexpected blow with his knee, which is the size of a tree trunk. And a moment later, lifting the dazed crusader, his herculean antagonist, hurls him bodily through the air. [00:31:58] Speaker A: Do they not have bullets in the future? [00:32:01] Speaker B: Apparently not. [00:32:02] Speaker A: Flesh. [00:32:03] Speaker B: I don't know if somebody doesn't grab a raid gun or something. [00:32:05] Speaker A: Yeah, flesh piercing bullets or magnetic nets or I don't know, swords. [00:32:13] Speaker B: In the hushed and Horrified courtroom with the champion of justice motionless and still, Dr. Strangehate releases himself from the encircling manacles, then announces that Neoman has won the trial. The trial of strength with Green Lantern. Come, let's go. [00:32:34] Speaker A: Desperate guards seek to bring their weapons to bear on the escaping prisoner and his giant henchman. [00:32:39] Speaker B: But Neo man has power, brain power to freeze them in their tracks. [00:32:46] Speaker A: And Paul Manning grabs Iona. Iona Vane. [00:32:51] Speaker B: Iona. [00:32:51] Speaker A: And they ferret off with her. Oh. [00:32:55] Speaker B: It was Ilona on the previous page. [00:32:58] Speaker A: Iona Vane. Oh, are you sure? [00:33:00] Speaker B: Yes. [00:33:01] Speaker A: Huh? [00:33:04] Speaker B: Oh, maybe not. Maybe I just mispronounced it. I do that once in a while. So Neoman's making off with Iona. Green Lantern is revived, but too late. Amazingly, he has no bones broken because he's in amazing physical condition. Now, his ring is supposed to protect him from mortal danger, but apparently his life was not actually in mortal danger. And Manning would be aware of that as his alter ego. Aware that his ring would shield him from any attempt to destroy him. And that might explain why he and Neoman left without trying it. But they did get away with Iona. Now the doctor says Green Lantern must rest. Doctor says. But there's no rest for Hal Jordan until Paul Manning and his evolutionary freaks are safely in the hands of justice. And Iota Vane. Safely here with all of you. I'm heading for Manning's laboratory headquarters. [00:34:09] Speaker A: Does he know where it is? [00:34:10] Speaker B: Yes. His mental briefing included a description of Manning's hideout and its location outside the city. Okay, unless he's moved very fast, he and his Neomen ought to be there still with Iona. Great guardians. He finds it. But the spectacle below is incredible. [00:34:31] Speaker A: His Neomen. There are more of them? [00:34:33] Speaker B: A small army. [00:34:34] Speaker A: Yeah. Guarding and approaches. As he approaches the fortress. They haven't spied him yet, so he has the advantage of surprise. So what does he do? He blasts behind him to create a rocket effect. Green Lantern zooms down on his formidable adversaries in a screaming power dive. And bowls them over like bowling pins. [00:34:57] Speaker B: Yes. He blasts a beam out of his ring, which is like a force beam of some kind. Knocks him over. Two more of the Neomen pop out of the headquarters and blast him with brain blasts. Now it's a titanic duel of wills. Their force is numbing his willpower. His ring has dwindled to a mere trickle. But he can't let them defeat him, not with Iona inside at the mercy of his evil alter ego. So he's gonna trick them. [00:35:32] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:35:33] Speaker B: He's gonna make them think they're overcoming him. Which makes them Overconfident, even for just a moment, he pretends to be paralyzed. They relax their concentration and it works. He catches them with their mental guard down. [00:35:50] Speaker A: Then he bursts into Manning's stronghold and finds poor Iona strapped down to a table with a laser thing pointed at her. [00:35:58] Speaker B: Yes, she's strapped to the table. Who knows what weird experiment he's going to do? Yeah, well, he's about to tell us. Well, she is, actually. [00:36:07] Speaker A: Yeah, he needs her feminine element, but in taking that from her, he will at the same time take her life. [00:36:14] Speaker B: Aw, gee, no hope for her. So either way, she dies, eh? In that case, I'm sure she'd rather have the slimmest chance of life than no chance at all. [00:36:29] Speaker A: So Green Lantern beams at the device and melts it. [00:36:35] Speaker B: Yes, Right. Yes. Enraged, Paul Manning hurls himself at Hal, vowing to destroy both of them before I'll let you defeat me. He can walk right through the power beam because he's a clone of Hal. I don't know how that works. So the ring has little or no effect on Paul Manning. He's tearing at Hal like a wild animal with insane superhuman strength. Dazed by the intensity of the attack, Green Lantern fails to prevent a quick move by his foe, stealing the ring right off Hal's finger. Now, your ring won't protect you. You could be destroyed. He twists Hal's arm behind his back, thinking that the pain will make Green Lantern give up. But he doesn't know our boy Hal. [00:37:31] Speaker A: No. [00:37:33] Speaker B: He lunges back, plunges both of them off balance, plunges Paul into the wall, gets a grip around Paul's neck and flips him over onto the ground. Well, onto the other wall, actually. It's called wall to wall combat. Then he knocks him against a third wall and he's unconscious. Iona is free, celebrating Hal's triumph. And later. I wish I knew what this meant with the Neomen, dealt with according to the laws of the 58th century. [00:38:18] Speaker A: I don't know. What are you supposed to have did with him? [00:38:20] Speaker B: I don't know. [00:38:21] Speaker A: Ground him up. [00:38:22] Speaker B: But now Hal is asking the members of the Solar Council for permission to try and rehabilitate Paul, to turn him into a useful citizen. They can't refuse his request since he saved Iona and the rest of them. And he aims the power ring at him. [00:38:40] Speaker A: He's gonna do brain surgery on him? [00:38:42] Speaker B: Yes. He can't affect Manning physically, but mentally is another matter. I've got to use all my willpower to penetrate his mind, erase the evil there and wipe it clean. I don't know what these laws of the 58th century are. [00:38:58] Speaker A: They sound brutal. [00:39:00] Speaker B: Well, yeah. And I don't know that this is necessarily a good way to go about things. Erasing someone's memories and whatnot. [00:39:08] Speaker A: It's like a violation. [00:39:11] Speaker B: It's a violation. It's against his will. It's like electroshock therapy. Lobotomies they used to do in the 60s. [00:39:19] Speaker A: Just throw them into a volcano, let them die instantly. [00:39:23] Speaker B: Surely they don't still have volcanoes in the 58th century? [00:39:26] Speaker A: Of course they do. [00:39:27] Speaker B: No, they control the weather and everything. [00:39:29] Speaker A: Okay. [00:39:31] Speaker B: Things of that nature. All right. The operation's complete. Paul Manning is weak and must rest. [00:39:39] Speaker A: Then they put the giant helmet on Paul Manning. [00:39:42] Speaker B: Yes, to show that the operation was a success. Paul Manning is really a new man, capable now of filling a new role in society. Perhaps as a real space explorer, doing good instead of evil. [00:39:55] Speaker A: Mm. I love it when people use their power for good instead of evil. [00:39:59] Speaker B: Sure. Now Hal has figured out that Manning was evil because he was created as part of a fraud. On his previous visits here, he was made to believe that Hal was made to believe he had an alter ego. But that was a cover up to conceal the truth. But it's all cleared up now, right? Iona says. Right. Except for one little matter. When the memory of my past visits was restored to me, I was able to identify these two objects. A metal chip from my statue here in the Solar hall, which I will replace. But this jewel, Iona, belongs to you. [00:40:45] Speaker A: Please keep it, Green Lantern, to remember me by. [00:40:49] Speaker B: Shortly after a final round of goodbyes, Hal announces that his ring will take him back to his own era, 38. [00:40:56] Speaker A: Centuries in the past. [00:40:57] Speaker B: Yes. Even if he forgets me, I'll never forget him. [00:41:02] Speaker A: Farewell. Goodbye. [00:41:05] Speaker B: Bye. [00:41:06] Speaker A: Goodbye. [00:41:06] Speaker B: And even Paul Manning, the first synthetic human to be accepted in society, comes a warm wave and smile. [00:41:14] Speaker A: Goodbye, Green Lantern, my friend. [00:41:17] Speaker B: Goodbye, Paul. Good luck in your new life. What would he we have done without the 21st century Green Lantern? [00:41:25] Speaker A: Says Iona. [00:41:27] Speaker B: Now we have an exciting epilogue. [00:41:29] Speaker A: Epilogue to us from the Guardians. [00:41:32] Speaker B: Yes. Iona's last thought as the Emerald Gladiator disappears above, brings up a curious point. Why does the 58th century not have its own Green Lantern to call upon? And what about Green Lantern's masters, the Guardians of the Universe? Where are they at this time? For the answers, let us turn to the present day world of Oa, home of the Guardians. [00:41:56] Speaker A: They're speaking to each other. Green Lantern of Earth has just returned safely to his own era after dealing with an emergency on his planet 38 centuries into the future. [00:42:05] Speaker B: This proves our vision of the future is an accurate one. [00:42:09] Speaker A: We Guardians, reader, this is to us, yes, are immortal, as you may know, and we have almost limitless powers. But one thing we cannot do is travel in time under penalty of losing our immortality. However, despite that handicap, although we cannot travel into the future, our powers enable us to have glimpses of it. And not long after, we perceived that after Hal Jordan, Earth would not need another Green Lantern for thousands of yards. [00:42:39] Speaker B: We foresaw that certain emergencies would arise in the 58th century, but we also foresaw that the people on Earth in that era would be clever enough and sufficiently advanced scientifically to bring Hal Jordan from the past to aid them. Which they did time and again. Thus, in all that future era, there will exist no Green Lantern on Earth, but only one in the space sector that includes the planet. Boy, what these Guardians don't know with their future vision. [00:43:08] Speaker A: Ah, I know, right? Meanwhile. [00:43:11] Speaker B: Wait a minute. [00:43:12] Speaker A: What? [00:43:13] Speaker B: First of all. [00:43:14] Speaker A: Okay, here we go. [00:43:16] Speaker B: In just a few years of comic time, there will be, in fact, seven Green Lanterns operating on Earth, one of whom, Salaac, will be brought to the 58th century and given the fake identity of Paul Manning. So I guess this clone Paul Manning, I don't know what happens to him because they bring this other Green Lantern to the future and give him the Paul Manning identity. [00:43:42] Speaker A: Well, I guess they didn't work this out on the dream vision board at D.C. headquarters. In the Green Lantern. [00:43:47] Speaker B: No, they certainly did not. [00:43:49] Speaker A: The wall. [00:43:50] Speaker B: No, also not too far. After that, the Guardians will. Well, I'm not up on my Green Lantern modern day knowledge, but they. There's girl Guardians at some point and they. I'm not going to even talk about it. I don't know what happened. Someone's going to write in and tell me. [00:44:19] Speaker A: Okay. [00:44:20] Speaker B: Suffice it to say, their vision of the future is not accurate. In fact, there was a Green Lantern on earth in the 30th century. And then after that, all Green Lanterns were banned from Earth because that Green Lantern turned evil. Also, there's currently like four Green Lanterns on Earth, so they don't know what they're talking about. [00:44:45] Speaker A: Well, I guess Earth is a pretty significant place to have four Green Lanterns. [00:44:48] Speaker B: It is significant, Ashley, because that's the nexus of the next evolution of life. Yeah, yeah, Rob needs a lot of protection. [00:45:02] Speaker A: I guess so, yeah. Meanwhile, back on Earth, a scarcely noticed figure steps into the street. [00:45:10] Speaker B: People here would find it hard to believe that I've just returned from the far future. But then Just looking at me, they'd hardly suspect that I'm Green Lantern. I've got to move on to a new city, find a new job. [00:45:22] Speaker A: Which city? What kind of job? I don't know. All I do know is I'm hunting for something. Maybe I'll know when I've found it. After all, my masters, the Guardians, may be able to see into the future, but I can't. While they just told us they can't see into the future. [00:45:40] Speaker B: But you know, if you could see into the future, Hal, you'd know that you're headed for an exciting career in insurance Adjustment. That's. Sir. That's true. [00:45:52] Speaker A: That's true. [00:45:53] Speaker B: Spoiler alert. Well, that's the end. [00:45:57] Speaker A: Well, I always love an issue of Green Lantern. [00:45:59] Speaker B: I know you do. I've got some more exciting news. [00:46:04] Speaker A: What? [00:46:06] Speaker B: Next episode is our 300th episode? [00:46:11] Speaker A: How is that possible? [00:46:13] Speaker B: Well, time just keeps going by. We just keep recording. And that's such a rich life. I should say so. It's a 80 page giant. [00:46:24] Speaker A: Oh, God almighty. Okay, go ahead. [00:46:27] Speaker B: Starring Supergirl. [00:46:29] Speaker A: Oh, okay. Now things are looking up with one. [00:46:32] Speaker B: Of my very favorite stories that I've read a billion times. [00:46:35] Speaker A: Which one? [00:46:38] Speaker B: The story of the Bizarro Supergirl and the first baby born on Bizarro World. [00:46:46] Speaker A: Oh, reader, listener, you can't tell that I'm smiling. [00:46:51] Speaker B: Also, the secret of Comet, the Super Horse's secret identity. [00:46:56] Speaker A: Comet the Super Horse, will be in it too. [00:46:58] Speaker B: Yes, of course. And who knows, there's a couple of other stories we have the option of reading. [00:47:04] Speaker A: Oh, that sounds wonderful. [00:47:04] Speaker B: We'll have a guest star on the program. [00:47:08] Speaker A: We will? [00:47:09] Speaker B: Yes. Chuck. [00:47:11] Speaker A: Great. [00:47:12] Speaker B: The host of our sister podcast, Nerd Orchestra, where you can find us every month. It's very exciting. If you're into movie soundtracks and nerd movies, it's right up your alley. [00:47:24] Speaker A: Great. [00:47:25] Speaker B: You can also find us on social media at gogochuckpod. You can rate and review us on all your favorite podcast platforms. And you can find us right back here every week, including next week with our 300th episode. Crap, I gotta find a new theme song. [00:47:44] Speaker A: Oh, is that what you do? Every hundred episodes? [00:47:46] Speaker B: Every 50. [00:47:47] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:47:48] Speaker B: Yeah. So, looks like I'll be busy tomorrow around my busy meeting schedule. [00:47:55] Speaker A: Yes. [00:47:56] Speaker B: Anything to add? [00:47:57] Speaker A: No, it's just good to be here with you. [00:47:58] Speaker B: Good luck with the hornets. Thanks, everybody. Bye, Mr. Wind. Just keep us sailing Keep us sailing. [00:48:10] Speaker A: Along in the sky there's no curtain Guess we'll have fun. So everyone, come on. Hey, you on the ground. [00:48:20] Speaker B: Take a look up and see what we found. [00:48:28] Speaker A: Birds come up to guide. [00:48:30] Speaker B: Us when you're beside me we can. [00:48:33] Speaker A: Fly oh, we can fly we can. [00:48:47] Speaker B: Fly hey, everyone on the ground let's fly.