RORI DAGRORI DAG
HOMEWORLD: RojiraSECTOR: unknown
FIRST APPEARANCE:
GREEN LANTERN 2nd series # 67
(March, 1969)
TALES OF THE POWER RING feature
"The First Green Lantern!"
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Humanoid male, orange skin, brown hair
KNOWN RELATIVES: none
HISTORY:
Three billion years ago, Rojira had been the home of two races. One, the Ruulans, was a race warlike creatures resembling Earth's starfish. The other race, the Jirenn, was a peaceful humanoid race. The two races were seperated by a barrier of volcanic disruption.
The red-hued Rulanns fought amongst themselves, except during their dormant period. The creatures would suddenly freeze, turning yellow-hued while they rejuvenated their energies. The Ruulans would quickly regenerate lost limbs, or a new body if necessary. Though they were warlike, they could never know true defeat, or victory.
One day, a Ruulan named Korad had found a way through the volcano field. Emerging on the other side, he discovered the Jirenn. Lashing out at the humanoids, he killed one of them. Surprised by his discovery, he telepathically summoned other Ruulans.
The Jirenn had never fought, and were helpless against the Ruulan. Rori Dag, one of the Jirenn, stepped out to lead his people. As much as they tried to fight Korad, it was too much for them. The Ruulan picked up a rock to crush Rori Dag. Suddenly, Korad turned yellow and motionless. Then a small blue man appeared with a power ring and battery.
He was one of the Guardians of the Universe. The Guardians decided to use living agents as their intermediaries, to overcome the forces of evil and injustice. To this end, they created the Green Lantern Corps. Each Guardian was to select one species to have a Green Lantern as a representative.
Rori Dag had been selected by the Guardians to be the first Green Lantern. If he was successful, there would be others. The Guardian explained the workings of the ring, and its limitations. He instructed Rori Dag that the ring was never to be used to kill.
When the Ruulan woke, it renewed its attack on the Jirenn. Rori Dag used the ring to create tools to defeat the invader. He then constructed a catapult to hurl Korad over the volcano field, and then closed the pathway through the field.
The Guardian awarded the power battery insignia, as a symbol of the Green Lantern Corps to Rori Dag, Green Lantern of Rojira.
[GL2 # 67]
OATH: unknown
CREATIVE TEAM:
KNOWN APPEARANCES:
'mouse note -
Well, that's the story of the first Green Lantern.
In the story, the outfit Rori Dag was wearing (Hal's without the insignia and mask) was adopted as the uniform of the Corps. I'd like to debate this. Considering all of the other humanoid Jirenn wore loose fitting sleeveless outfits with shorts or skirts, I find it unlikely Rori Dag would be dressed so differently. I'll give the Guardians credit as coming up with the uniform from scratch.
Another interesting thing to note is how quickly Rori Dag constructed the catapult to send Korad back to his land. The highest form of technology on Rojira was gardening equipment.
In and of itself, that's no big deal... but it seems to me, the Guardians were interested in speeding up some races' advancements (sometimes they would isolate races, too). Maybe they recognized Rojira as a planet with potential.
Three billion years later, there would be another Green Lantern of Rojira. This otherwise unnamed Green Lantern came from Rojira, a planet with "one of the most futuristic, super-scientific, and aged civilizations in existence".
If you've read this far, here's my last "conspiracy theory": maybe the Ruulans were Starro the Conquerors' race?
