POL MANNINGPOL MANNINGSECTOR: 2814
FIRST APPEARANCE:
as Pol Manning:
Hal Jordan -
GREEN LANTERN 2nd series # 8
(September-October, 1961)
"The Challenge From 5700 A.D.!"
Salakk -
GREEN LANTERN 2nd series # 214
(July, 1987)
"I Think, Therefore..."
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
Hal Jordan -
Male Human
Eyes: brown
Hair: brown, white at temples
Height: 6'
Weight: 186 lbs.
Salakk -
Reptillian alien, four arms, purple skin, male
Eyes: White
Height: 6' 11"
Weight: 207 lbs.
KNOWN RELATIVES: Iona Vane (wife)
HISTORY:
In Earth's 58th Century, the Solar System had been united under one government, a political organization known as the Solar Council. This was a loose technocracy, headed by Chairman Dasor, and consisted of approximately nine representatives. The Council had a full time secretary, Iona Vane. The worlds of the Solar Council were populated with humans, and genetically modified humans, suited to their alien environments.
It would seem that the unification of the Solar System should have brought a time of peace to Earth. Perhaps it did, for a while. The early 58th Century appeared to be a time of great vulnerability for Earth.
Lacking the might of earlier eras, the Solar Council itself was repeatedly under attack from internal and external forces. Their present offered great danger, and with their future uncertain, the Solar Council would need the champions of the past.
In the year 5700 AD, the Solar Council developed the timescope. Adding a matter transporter, they created a device to bring anyone they chose from the past to the present. Lacking a suitable candidate for Solar Director, the Council chose one from the past.
In the course of their researches, they came across the champion known as Green Lantern. They chose Hal Jordan, from a time early in his career as a Green Lantern. An unfortunate side effect in their method of time travel caused an individual's memory to be completely erased. Lacking a personal history, the displaced subject would be an amnesiac, of little use to the Solar Council.
Dasor had his secretary, Iona Vane, prepare a fictitious biography and personality for a "Pol Manning", an asteroid explorer and the Solar Director. His long absences from Earth would remembered as a mission to deep space. As part of the "history" Pol Manning was given a romantic interest, a part Iona agreed to play. This "information" was implanted in Hal's mind when he arrived in the 58th Century. The persona of Pol Manning would be used many times over sixteen years.
During his "first" adventure, Pol Manning had to battle the Zegors, a race of super evolved gila monsters. The Zegors had seized a sizable portion of North America and were advancing on Star City. Green Lantern was successful in defeating the hostile forces. The grateful people of Star City built a statue in Green Lantern's honor.
[GL2 # 8]
In 5702 AD, Pol Manning was needed to put down a revolt of three traitorous generals. It was discovered that their minds were seized by Ferenc Aldebaran, a famous magician in the 58th Century. He too was defeated by Green Lantern.
[GL2 # 12]
The year 5706 saw the spread of a virulent disease on Earth. Called the Red Virus, victims found their skin turn crimson, with small horns growing from their foreheads. A more dangerous symptom was the victim's tendency towards evil, and an attempt to disguise the effects of the disease. The Solar Council had no choice but to call for Green Lantern.
As Pol Manning, Green Lantern rose to the challenge. The quarantined city of New Astra had been over run by Viros, the name given to victims of the Red Virus.
The viral emanations of the victims combined to make a Super-Viro, capable of defeating any opposition. This Super-Viro had many powers, such as matter manipulation and telepathy, which he used against the emerald warrior.
The Super-Viro had turned a deadly radiation cannon on to Green Lantern. Unfortunately for him, Green Lantern caused the weapon to overload, stunning his opponent. Green Lantern was then free to eliminate the virus from the infected populace. Once again, Green Lantern returned to the 20th Century.
[GL2 # 47]
The trips through time had been unnoticed to Jordan, but his power ring's charge would be depleted much sooner than he had realized. It was some time before he had the opportunity to investigate clues that he had inadvertently picked up from the future. A power ring scan of a jewel he had found on his uniform, revealed it had come from another time. To solve the mystery, Green Lantern traveled to 5707 AD.
While there, he not only discovered the actions of the Solar Council, but battled another Pol Manning, a sinister replica of himself. Green Lantern's great willpower and his power ring had created an evil duplicate Pol Manning, known as Doctor Strangehate. Green Lantern halted his plans of conquest, and was able to erase the evil in his mind. Presumably, this new Pol Manning became a space explorer.
[GL2 # 51]
Hal Jordan visited his new friends in the future many times. During one visit in 5708, he defeated a world dominating computer which was accidentally given sentience.
[GL2 # 66]
Months later, the Solar Council was faced with the threat of the Gordanians. Allied with the Psions, the Gordanians were on the treshold of victory. Despite an imperfection in their time transmitter, the Council had no choice but to bring Green sLantern into the future. Since Jordan had visited the future on his own, he did not need the Pol Manning identity, he would be fed his true history.
In the 20th Century, Green Lantern was attempting to rescue his friend Thomas Kalmaku from a falling building. Instead he was plucked from his time. The time transmitter failed, and he did not reach the 58th Century.
A disturbance in the time stream left Jordan in the 22nd Century. His memory had been wiped clean by the action of the transmitter.
In that time, he assisted Rick Starr, the Space Ranger, in defending Earth from an earlier attack by the Gordanians. In this time, the Gordanians were working for the Citadel. They were attempting to tear the Earth from its orbit, to be sold as raw material. Green Lantern devised a way of defeating the invaders, but was again pulled through time.
Finally arriving in 5708, Green Lantern recovered enough of his missing knowledge to drive back the Gordanians. Iona Vane wished to join him in the 20th Century. Though she had originally been acting out a part, she had really fallen in love with him. Unfortunately, at that time in his life, Hal was in love with Carol Ferris, and could not return Iona's feelings. To avoid breaking her heart, he erased her memories of their times together.
Hal Jordan stopped at the 22nd Century to help the Space Ranger before returning to the 20th to aid Tom Kalmaku.
[GL2 # 136-137]
Unknown to Hal, Iona was deprived of a significant portion of her life history. Over the next three years, she would suffer confusion, growing panic and eventually madness. The only hope for her recovery would be the restoration of her life with Pol Manning.
In 5711, the Solar Council was threatened by the B'rks, a race of sentient "monks", the result of experiments by Dr. U'bx in the 20th Century. Once again, the Solar Council used their timescoop. They did not realize Hal Jordan was off Earth when they reached back to take Green Lantern. The scoop took Salakk, the Green Lantern of Slyggia, from the 20th Century. His memory and that of Iona Vane's had to be rewritten to accommodate this obvious change.
[GL2 # 213]
In the 20th Century, with the help of Dr. Ub'x, fellow Green Lantern Ch'p tracked Salakk to the 58th Century. There they met the B'rkrs, a group of monks that had evolved from Dr. Ub'x's experiments in the 20th Century. The B'rkrs were fighting with the Solar Council for a recognized homeland.
They were forced to fight the confused Slyggian, restoring his rightful memory. Enraged, Salakk lashed out at Iona Vane. Salakk realized Vane was as much a victim as he had been.
Arisia and Hal Jordan were called to the future to mediate the war between the Council and the B'rkrs. Ch'p was so caught up in finding monks like himself that he joined the B'rkrs, against his fellow Green Lanterns. Hurt by Ch'p's betrayal, Salakk demanded Ch'p be removed from the Corps.
[GL2 # 214-215]
Salakk decided to remain in the future with Iona Vane, eventually marrying her. One night, he was puzzled by the lack of Green Lanterns in the 58th Century. Salakk travelled to Oa to find it a wasteland. Asking the Oan sands, he learned the Green Lantern Corps had been destroyed in the late 20th Century, a result of the execution of Sinestro. After five years in the future, Salakk returned to the past to warn the Corps.
[GL2 # 223-224]
If the Solar Council needed Green Lantern after the year 5716 is unknown. Although Hal Jordan had been brought to 5700 AD to protect Earth from the crisis in time known as Zero Hour, it is not known what effect his failure in this adventure had on Earth's future.
[ZH # 4]
OATH:
Jordan:
"In brightest day, in blackest night,
no evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evil's might,
beware my power... Green Lantern's light!"
Salakk:
"And I shall shed my light over dark evil,
For the dark things cannot stand the light,
THE LIGHT OF THE GREEN LANTERN!"
CREATIVE TEAMS:
Hal Jordan/Pol Manning
Salakk/Pol Manning
KNOWN APPEARANCES:
'mouse note -
Although Pol Manning was just a fabricated identity, he is nonetheless worthy of mentioning. Written in the Silver Age, the stories of the 58th Century offer a possibility of the return of the Green Lantern Corps.
In GL2 # 51, it was revealed there was no Green Lantern on the future Earth because the Guardians felt the world would not need one for thousands of years. This jibes with the pre-Crisis LSH story in which the United Planets forbade the GLC from acting in their space. As a side note, the Guardians reveal they cannot travel through time or they risk giving up their immortality.
In GL2 # 223, it was revealed Oa had been ruined, and the GLC was disbanded. The Corps returned once more, although for a short time before it was destroyed once again. This time, it resulted in the destruction of all the power rings in the universe. The only ring left was the ring created by the Guardian Ganthet and given to Kyle Rayner.
I recall a reply Kevin Dooley wrote in a letter column regarding the 58th Century and the return of the Corps. The basic response was that time itself would change over the centuries. I've always gone by the simple motto, "if it can happen once, it happens twice".
So how can the Corps return? This is only part of one of my ideas.
Evidentally, a "pre-Kyle" power ring still works in the future, even without the Guardians. In the 58th Century, Salakk's ring obviously worked... so did Hal's, Ch'p's, and Arisia's. Did Ganthet *just* change the ring, or did he change the way rings receive their power? Assuming it wasn't destroyed, would a power ring from *before* Ganthet's action work in a time *after* it? The answer is obviously yes. Would it work against yellow? No? Depends on how you look at it... I think it just might.
First off, the yellow impurity *is* removable. That was proven in the Yalan Gur entry. Rereading the appearances of Pol Manning, it occured to me that in the future, Green Lantern was never defeated by anything colored yellow. He was threatened by a yellow death ray, and by a Gordanian in yellow armor, but there were never any direct actions involving the color yellow. You would think that his enemies would take advantage of this weakness. As Hal Jordan, he believed (rightly so, in most cases) that he was powerless against yellow. As a ring is fueled by willpower as much as emerald energy, he would be effectively defeating himself by crushing his own willpower!!! He would *make* himself powerless against yellow.
Now all we need is a pre-Kyle power ring to test this out.
I propose that the power rings, arguably an extention of the Guardians, keep a frame of reference to their "original" time line. Sort of how Barry (Flash) Allen could "relax his internal vibrations" to return to his original time. This could go on to explain why John Stewart's ring gave out while he was in the late 19th Century during the Crisis... the ring knew that in the 20th Century it's power was cut off by the Anti-Monitor.
These stories appear to have been unaffected by Crisis, perhaps they weren't altered by Zero Hour. I believe there are plans underway to have some time travel in an upcoming GL issue.
Did you ever wonder why the GL creative team chose 5700 instead of some other year? Julius Schwartz explained they simply took the year from an office telephone number, Plaza9-5700.
