Abin Sur
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Abin Sur | |
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Green Lantern power ring |
Abin Sur is a
Publication history
Abin Sur first appeared in Showcase #22 and was created by John Broome and Gil Kane.
Fictional character biography
Originally a history professor on the planet Ungara, Abin Sur is appointed Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814 in the mid-1860s. As a child, he became best friends with Ruch Ehr and later, by association, Munni Jah. The two of them were a couple and Abin secretly loved Munni, but never spoke openly of this.
Recruited by the Green Lantern known as Starkaor, he is known to have come to Earth on several occasions. In the
Crash and death
While on patrol, he is attacked and pursued by the being known as
For a brief time during
In the afterlife Sur is able to help Jordan again when Jordan enters the realm of the death lord, Nekron. Jordan is attempting to stop Nekron from entering the living universe and destroying it. Jordan manages to incite the spirits of the deceased members of the Corps to destroy the god long enough for the Guardians to drive Krona and his forces back and seal the portal. Before the sealing was complete, Sur helps his successor exit the realm while saying how proud he was of Jordan. Abin Sur later sacrifices his soul to assist the Swamp Thing in rescuing his infant daughter Tefé Holland from the demon Nergal in Hell.
Abin Sur's afterlife is further disrupted when unknown events send him back to Earth. He attempts to assist the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner in investigating the situation but is torn away against his will.[6]
It is later revealed that part of his soul was still being tortured in Hell while his spirit was acting as a companion to Hal Jordan during his brief stint as the
During some point in his life, Abin sires a son,
The Prophecy
During
"Blackest Night"
In the "Blackest Night" storyline, the finale of the prophecy becomes reality. A black power ring reaches Abin Sur's grave on Ungara and bids him to rise.[18] A flashback to Sur's past reveals that he once had a sister named Arin, whom Sinestro was romancing before her death due to unknown circumstances.[19] Indigo-1, leader of the Indigo Tribe also claimed to have met Abin before his death. Black Lantern Abin and Arin arrive on Korugar shortly after, ready to confront Sinestro and Hal Jordan.[20] They are defeated by the combined efforts of Jordan, Sinestro, Indigo-1, and Carol Ferris, who join their lights together to destroy the black rings, rendering Abin and Arin's corpses inert. Before dying, Abin states that he recognizes Indigo-1.[21] In Blackest Night #5, the Indigo Tribe oath is revealed, and includes a line which mentions a lantern and Abin Sur's name. Due to the Indigo Tribe oath being spoken in an unintelligible language, no further details are known.[22]
During Krona's takeover of the Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro and other ring-wielders are briefly trapped in the Book of the Black and experience visions of their pre-ring pasts, with Sinestro encountering a pre-Tribe Indigo-1 locked in a prison and trying to find out where Abin Sur has imprisoned her, but Sinestro departs to focus on his own escape rather than try to rescue her, leaving her history a continued mystery.[23] It is later revealed that Abin Sur had discovered the Indigo light on the planet Nok during a mission, which he along with Natromo forged it into a battery, with Abin Sur bringing Indigo-1 who was allegedly his worst enemy and responsible for the death of his daughter to the planet to become the first Indigo Tribe, all subsequent members of the Tribe being selected as the worst psychopaths of their worlds. Abin Sur did this as he foresaw the danger that the Guardians of the Universe would pose once the "Blackest Night" had passed, and sought to find a way to stop the Guardians by changing them due to the impossibility of killing them.[24]
DC Rebirth
Subsequently, in DC Rebirth, Abin Sur appears in an unknown world of Emerald Space where the Green Lantern Corps were memorial in the afterlife. When Hal Jordan is transported into Emerald Space after defeated Sinestro in battle, Abin Sur introduces himself and explains to Hal that he does not belong to Emerald Space.[25] When Hal is about to returned the universe. Abin Sur then tells Hal that the Green Lantern Corps are awaits him to find hope.[26]
Abin Sur's home planet of Ungara has been featured during a storyline about refugees. Two Lanterns, Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz, bring 'Molites' to Ungara, but not all are welcoming. Simon and Jessica make friends with several Ungarans who honor the nobility of Abin Sur and thus have no problems with the Molites.[27]
Spaceship
The question was raised of why Abin Sur needed a ship, but in the Green Lantern Origins serial, it is stated that out of paranoia of the prophecy of his destruction, he navigated the cosmos in a ship filled with weapons, not trusting the powers of his ring, as the prophecy stated that his ring would fail him when he needed it most.
Pre-Crisis explanation
In the story "Earth's First Green Lantern," Jordan revealed that he wondered that himself and asked his ring to explain.
The ring told the story of how Abin Sur found a world which was still at a Middle Age stage of advancement even though it should have been in the atomic age, and discovered a parasitic energy being species that fed on sentient beings' "I-factor," a substance that enabled inventiveness, attacking civilizations and stalling their development, as they had no I-factor themselves. Sur captured them to stop their destruction, placing them in a bubble, but one of their number had escaped as it was attacking another world and vowed to free his brethren. To do so, he tracked down Sur's planet and created a disaster by making a volcano erupt to force him to appear to stop it. Since Sur did not mask himself, the being recognized him immediately and followed him to his home. As Sur neglected to charge his ring before going to sleep, he was unable to stop the being from taking control of him.
With the being in control of his body and about to force him to go and free his fellows, Sur tricked the being into thinking that he would not be able to do so because the ring would be low on power after the trip there while in reality the ring's charge is purely time based. The being decided to have Sur take a ship to the destination, but before leaving, Sur managed to get a hold of his invisible power battery without the creature noticing. On the ship, Sur piloted the ship and waited until he moved into a green colored planetary
According to Jordan, this account prompted him to keep a secret identity as a security precaution and to carefully navigate around Earth's radiation belts.
Post-Crisis explanation
In Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2 (1986) story "Tygers", writer Alan Moore answered the question with a story of how the hero once visited Ysmault, a prison planet for an ancient race of demons, the Empire of Tears, vanquished millennia ago by the Oans. He was on a rescue mission and felt he could not wait for instruction from the Guardians.
While there, Abin Sur met a demon named Qull of the Five Inversions, a humanoid with a gaping mouth in his chest and a tongue-shaped head, crucified by three glowing spikes topped with the symbol of the Green Lantern Corps. This unholy messiah predicted the hero would die when his power ring ran out of energy at a critical moment, while he was fighting an opponent or unprotected in hard vacuum. Abin Sur, worried by this prophecy, began using a starship for interstellar voyages, as an additional safeguard.
A decade later, fleeing his enemy, his spaceship collided with a girdle of yellow radiation around Earth that rendered his starship and his power-ring useless within moments. Had he relied on his ring alone, he realized, he might have tested the planet's magnetosphere before rashly entering it. Thus, while Legion may have wounded him, it could be argued that it was Qull that was actually responsible for Abin Sur's death, having sown the seeds of doubt in the Green Lantern's mind.
Green Lantern: Secret Origin
In the Secret Origins arc (Green Lantern vol. 4), Abin Sur's final fate was tweaked again to incorporate elements of the
Other versions
Crime Syndicate
In the Crime Syndicate's universe, Abin Sur's ring hosted the malevolent, ancient entity Volthoom. When Abin crashed to Earth, the ring chose a cowardly janitor employed by Carol Ferris.[28]
Earth One
The corpse of Abin Sur is discovered in the asteroid belt by astronaut turned miner Hal Jordan, along with his Ring and Battery, as well as a deactivated Manhunter. The Lantern was presumably killed in the initial purge of the Green Lantern Corps by the Manhunters.[29]
Flashpoint
In the alternate timeline of the
In Darkest Knight
In this alternate universe, Bruce Wayne, unsure and confused over his chosen vigilante mission, is picked as Abin Sur's successor. He receives the ring moments before Abin passes away from his spacecraft-inflicted injures.[35]
Society of Super-Heroes
On an alternate Earth just after World War 2, Abin Sur assists in a war against Vandal Savage's inter-dimensional army. This Abin had horns, making him look like the classic archetype of Satan, a fact he is well aware of.[36] He is then called upon to protect the entire multiverse against a rampaging cosmic army. Assisted by dozens of other heroes, they manage to force a stalemate.[37] This Abin continues his heroism by joining the cross-dimensional team called 'Justice Incarnate'.[38]
Superman: Red Son
In
Superman: Last Son of Earth
In the story, Superman: Last Son of Earth, Abin Sur failed to protect Earth from a meteor that nearly destroyed the planet, resulting in the deaths of all but one million people, due to him being preoccupied by another conflict elsewhere in his sector. He is later seen towards the end of the novel picking up Kal-El's Green Lantern Power Battery and Ring due to the latter's resignation from the Corps.
Superman/Batman: Absolute Power
In Superman/Batman: Absolute Power, Sur's ring is passed on to Uncle Sam when Wonder Woman attempts to rally a resistance against the dictatorship of Superman and Batman.
World's Finest
In Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl, a world with no male protectors of Gotham or Metropolis, Abin has been a long-time member of the Justice Society. He bonds closely with Supergirl, as Abin had visited Krypton many times and she treasures his recollections of her long-lost home planet.
In other media
Television
- Abin Sur appears in the Challenge of the Superfriends episode "Secret Origins of the Super Friends", voiced by Dick Ryal. Lex Luthor travels back in time in an attempt to steal Abin's power ring before Hal Jordan can get it, but the Super Friends also travel back in time to foil his plot.
- Abin Sur appears in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "In Brightest Day...", voiced by an uncredited Peter Mark Richman. This version was killed by Sinestro while his power ring chose Kyle Rayner.
- Abin Sur appears in the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special. This version was killed by a bear.
- Abin Sur appears in the Teen Titans Go! episode "Orangins".
Film
- Abin Sur appears in Justice League: The New Frontier, voiced by Corey Burton. This version was caught in the explosion of a US spacecraft called the Flying Cloud while it was traveling to Mars. Due in part to Hal Jordan co-piloting the spacecraft, Abin passed his power ring on to him before he dies of his wounds.
- Abin Sur appears in Green Lantern: First Flight, voiced by Richard McGonagle. This version possesses horn-like appendages and four-fingered hands. He was tasked by the Guardians of the Universe to work undercover in Kanjar Ro's gang after they stole the yellow element. However, one of Kanjar's underlings discovered Abin's identity and mortally wounded him. After stealing a ship, Abin crash-landed on Earth, was found by Hal Jordan, and passed his power ring on to him before he died of his wounds.
- Abin Sur appears in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, voiced by Arnold Vosloo. Similarly to the events of "Green Lantern: Secret Origin", this version previously worked with Sinestro and was warned of his impending death and Sinestro's betrayal by Atrocitus. Additionally, his power ring was originally wielded by Avra, the first Green Lantern to use their ring to create constructs.
- Abin Sur appears in Green Lantern (2011), portrayed by Temuera Morrison.[39] This version previously fought Parallax and used a starship to evacuate planets that the entity targeted. After being fatally wounded by Parallax, Abin flees in one of his starship's escape pods, crash-lands on Earth, and passes his power ring onto Hal Jordan before he dies. Abin's body is subsequently discovered and taken by the Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO), who task Hector Hammond with performing the autopsy, which results in Hammond being infected by Parallax's DNA.
- The Flashpoint incarnation of Abin Sur makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. This version died before he could pass his power ring on to Hal Jordan and his body and spaceship were recovered by the U.S. government, which they later use in an attempt to stop the war between Atlantis and Themyscira.
- The Superman: Red Son incarnation of Abin Sur appears in the self-titled film adaptation. Following his death, this version and his ship were discovered by the U.S. government in 1967 off-screen. After several failed attempts at removing his power ring for study before cutting off the finger it was on, President John F. Kennedy and Lex Luthor bring in Colonel Hal Jordan to determine if he can use the ring. By 1983, U.S. scientists successfully reverse-engineered the ring and granted its capabilities to Jordan and a small team of soldiers so they can fight the Soviet Superman.
Merchandise
- Abin Sur received a figure in Mattel's DC Universe Classics line as part of a two-pack with Hal Jordan. Additionally, a figure of Abin as a Black Lantern was released individually in a later wave.
- The Green Lantern (2011) incarnation of Abin Sur received a figure in the associated tie-in toy line.
References
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 2 #149 (February 1982)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 2 #26 (1964)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 2 #55 (September 1967)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 2 #182 (1984)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 3 #32-35 (November 1992-January 1993)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 3 Annual #7 (1998)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 4 #14 (November 2006)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 4 #15 (November 2006)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 4 #16 (January 2007)
- ^ a b Green Lantern vol. 4 #25 (December 2007)
- ^ a b Green Lantern vol. 4 #29 (March 2008)
- ^ a b Green Lantern vol. 4 #30 (April 2008)
- ^ a b Green Lantern vol. 4 #33 (July 2008)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 4 #27 (January 2008)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 4 #35 (October 2008)
- ^ Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1 (July 2007)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 4 #20 (May 2007)
- ^ Blackest Night #2 (August 2009)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 4 #45 (August 2009)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 4 #46 (September 2009)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 4 #47 (October 2009)
- ^ Blackest Night #5 (November 2009)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 4 #66 (May 2011)
- ^ Green Lantern vol. 5 #9 (May 2012)
- ^ Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #9 (November 2016)
- ^ Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #10 (December 2016)
- ^ Green Lanterns #33-35 (2017-2018)
- ^ Justice League vol. 2 #26 (Feb 2013)
- ^ Green Lantern: Earth One vol. 1
- ^ Flashpoint: Abin Sur – The Green Lantern #1 (June 2011)
- ^ Flashpoint: Hal Jordan #1 (June 2011)
- ^ Flashpoint: Abin Sur – The Green Lantern #2 (July 2011)
- ^ Flashpoint: Abin Sur – The Green Lantern #3 (August 2011)
- ^ Convergence: Superman #1 (April 2015)
- ^ In Darkest Knight one-shot (1994)
- ^ Multiversity: Society of Super-Heroes #1 (2014)
- ^ Multiversity #2 (April 2014)
- ^ Dog Days of Summer #1 (2019)
- ^ "Comic Book & Sci-Fi Movie News - Heat Vision - The Hollywood Reporter". Heatvisionblog.com. Retrieved 2011-01-15.