A Fan Favorite Green Lantern is Back, But Why Are They in Hell?

The current run of Green Lantern has been feeding fans of the will-powered Corps well so far, with a large cast of beloved characters from all periods of Green Lantern’s history decorating every issue, alongside some new threats. In the most recent issues, Hal Jordan and his allies have been battling Hal’s longtime enemy Hector Hammond and his mind-controlled coworkers the D.E.O. The strongest Green Lantern and his friends have been battling threat after threat, and Hal has found exactly where they need to go to stop the influx of enemies: hell. Literally, his plan is to go to hell.

At the end of the most recent issue #22, we saw Hal, the Phantom Stranger, and Zauriel use the passageway within St. Patrick’s Purgatory, a church in Ireland, to open a portal to hell. The heroic trio descended into the depths, and soon enough the Phantom Stranger said that he sensed something out of the ordinary. In and of itself, that should be ordinary, given that the group is literally in hell, but the Stranger’s suspicion was proven right when a friendly and familiar voice called out to the group. From the darkness, in his Lantern attire and carrying a lit torch, emerged the fan favorite Green Lantern G’nort. He was quite excited to see the trio, as he says he hasn’t seen a friendly face in quite some time.

Who is G’nort?

G’nort, protector of Sector 68, is a member of the Green Lantern Corps that is beloved by fans. He’s not remembered for any great heroics like Kilwog, or having an interesting and unique character like Sojourner Mullein, or constantly joining and betraying the Corps like Sinestro. No, G’nort’s legacy is that he may possibly be the most useless Green Lantern out of the entire Corps. And that is saying a lot, considering they have one member who is effectively just a sentient squirrel.

While most Green Lanterns are chosen by their rings due to their indomitable will, sense of justice, and ability to overcome any fear in the face of adversity, G’nort received his from his uncle G’newman who was also a Green Lantern. Beyond obvious nepotism, it was later revealed that G’nort and G’newman’s rings came from the Weaponers of Qward, who were impersonating the Guardians of the Universe and recruited the two in an attempt to discredit the Green Lantern Corps with their obvious incompetence.

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G’nort is known best for his bumbling lack of reliability. He more often than not makes solving problems even harder with his assistance, turning a situation like a cat being stuck in a tree to the cat and G’nort being stuck in the tree. Despite his lack of ability, G’nort is loyal to a fault, which makes sense, given that his race of G’newtians are anthropomorphic dog-people. He might not be strong or smart, but his heart is in the right place, and despite it all he can channel his will into his ring, when he remembers how.

Why is G’nort in Hell?

So why is G’nort in hell? Frankly speaking, we have no idea yet. G’nort, though incompetent, is a heroic character. In his original appearances he was briefly a member of the Justice League International, although they only let him join temporarily because he pestered them continuously until they did. Ever since the Flashpoint event reset the DC Universe’s timeline, G’nort hasn’t really shown up in a lot of comics. He’s made a few appearances as a background cameo in several Green Lantern comics, and played a supporting role in The Human Target comic series and starring in the dubiously canon G’nort’s Swimsuit Edition. However, nowhere in any of these appearances does it imply that G’nort had died or deserves to go to hell in any capacity.

It could be quite possible that his new spiritual lodgings are tied to the break in the Emotional Spectrum that this run of Green Lantern has been focusing on. If so, this could mean that we’ll be seeing other Green Lanterns that have tragically passed, such as Kilowog. However, it is just as likely that G’nort stumbled his way into hell and hasn’t been able to find his way out yet. Either way, we’ll have to wait and see how G’nort helps, or hurts, Hal Jordan and his team in the upcoming issues. I, for one, am excited to see the lovable doofus that G’nort is making a comeback.

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