FIRST APPEARANCE:
GREEN LANTERN 2nd series # 9
(November-December 1961)
"The Battle of the Power Rings!"
HISTORY:
Located in a central position in the Milky Way galaxy, the planet Yquem was an unremarkable world, apparently lacking any indigenous life forms. Yquem's importance in history was as the site for a gathering of Green Lanterns including Tomar-Re, Xax, and Chaselon. Their first conference on Yquem was designed to serve as a way for Green Lanterns to learn from each other.
Unfortunately for the members of the Green Lantern Corps, someone else saw the meeting as an opportunity to strike at them. Renegade Green Lantern Sinestro posed as Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of Earth and, unbeknownst to the Corps, created a monster for them to battle. Meanwhile he blanketed Yquem in a yellow cloud so as to attack Oa unopposed. He was eventually defeated outside the Oan Citadel by Hal Jordan. The Corps freed themselves before they also went to Oa.
[GREEN LANTERN 2nd series # 9]
During the next Green Lantern meeting on Yquem the emerald warriors held a trial of one of their own. Hal Jordan stood accused of misconduct and faced possible expulsion from the Corps. Due to his previously spotless record of service, the Guardians of the Universe decided Jordan would be tried by his fellow Green Lanterns. The charges, which Jordan freely admitted to, dealt with the Earth Green Lantern's unusual behavior in three separate circumstances.
In the first incident, Jordan broke into a Coast City bank and used the power ring to temporarily paralyze everyone in the building. Though he could have taken everything in the vault he did not and left as suddenly as he came.
The second incident involved a confrontation at a Coast City charity event. The Green Lantern threatened a ticket taker after he was asked for a one hundred dollar admission fee. Jordan's temperament reasserted itself moments later.
The third and most serious incident dealt with Jordan's unwillingness to save a Coast City man's life. The man was hanging from an upper story of a Coast City office building and Green Lantern ignored cries for help from the man and the onlookers on the ground. It was only at the last possible instant that Jordan used the power ring to create a bed of springs to prevent the falling man from hitting the concrete below.
The Green Lanterns took Jordan's prior record into account and the fact he had finally done the right thing before it was too late. They gave a stern warning to the Green Lantern of Earth that he should never repeat his actions or he would forfeit his power ring and role as Green Lantern. Strangely, Jordan demanded they strip him of the ring and rank then banish him to the antimatter universe of Qward. After the Green Lanterns discussed the issue, they agreed to honor Jordan's puzzling request.
Once the deed was done, a few of the Corps secretly followed Jordan. They believed there was something behind Jordan's odd behavior and they found it in the form of Sinestro. The former Green Lantern had developed a mind control machine that he used on the unsuspecting Hal Jordan. Sinestro tried to get Jordan to commit evil acts but Jordan's better nature won out before any damage was done. It was Sinestro that made Jordan demand the Green Lanterns banish him to Qward. Once there, Sinestro tried and failed to persuade Jordan to join him.
Though Sinestro caught the Green Lanterns in a yellow death trap, their ingenuity helped them escape and finally capture their nemesis. Sinestro was imprisoned on a remote, uninhabited planet somewhere in the positive matter universe. Though put under the influence of the same mind control device he used on Jordan, Sinestro would later escape to plot his next attack on the Green Lanterns.
[GREEN LANTERN 2nd series # 11]
There are no other reported adventures on the planet Yquem. It is not known if Yquem holds any importance to the remaining members of the Green Lantern Corps.
CREATIVE TEAM:
In the early issues of Green Lantern, Oa and the Guardians were kept as mysterious as possible and the Green Lantern Corps (not officially named the Corps at that point) was much smaller in scope, confining itself to one galaxy. The idea of planets like Yquem being used by Green Lanterns seems logical. It might have been a shorter trip for the Green Lanterns and it would also keep the location of Oa a secret.
