Ten Goofiest Moments in Green Lantern #76-85

With the release this weekend of Green Lantern, I figured I'd devote two days to goofy moments related to the film's release. let's look at the first ten issues of the Green Lantern/Green Arrow team-up in the pages of Green Lantern #76-85. Here's a look at the goofiest moments in the first ten issues of Green Lantern.

All ten issues were written by Dennis O'Neil and penciled by Neal Adams. Adams also inked #76 and 85. Frank Giacoia inked #77 and 78. Dan Adkins inked #79. Dick Giordano inked #80-83 (with some assists from others along the way). Bernie Wrightson inked #84.

As always, this is all in good fun. I don't mean any of this as a serious criticism of the comics in question. Not only were these writers certainly never imagining people still reading these comics decades after they were written, great comics often have goofy moments (Kirby/Lee's Fantastic Four is one of the best comic book runs of all-time and there were TONS of goofy stuff in those 100 plus issues!).

SPECIAL MENTION

The most famous scene in all of the Hard Travelin' Heroes stories is this one from Green Lantern #76. I don't feel right putting it on the goofiest moments list, but it is too famous to not mention, so here it is...

Some think it is goofy, some think it is not. You decide!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

I just like how Green Arrow tries to work atomic fission into the discussion about his new trick net arrow in #78...

In #76, Hal saves a slumlord and he thinks the public will praise him...

I just love the sight of Hal taking a can to the noggin.

This bit in #83 is meant to be funny, but still, I think it is worth showing it. Check out the little nod to Hitchcock's practice of making cameos in his films...

In #84, there is a cute (if goofy) nod to fellow comic book artist Mike Kaluta with the name of the plastic being produced at this factory town...

10. Don't know much 'bout Geography....

In #77, we learn that the Guardians don't know what mountains are...

Huh?

9. Subtle, they ain't...

If there's one thing these stories are, they are certainly not subtle. The opening to #85, though, is one of the more over-the-top bits in the series...

They forgot to have a nun walk by and spit on him and a group of innocent looking kids come by and steal his wallet.

8. A public service message from #85...

This is your ring construct...

This is your ring construct on drugs...

How awesome is seeing what a ring construct would look like if Green Lantern was high on smack?

7. You said it, Green Arrow, not me...

I decided to take Green Arrow's comments below as meta-commentary on issue #83...

6. Quite a plan...

In #77, the owner of a mine is secretly compelling the miners to rise up against him because he wants them to attack while they're angry and unprepared so that he can quash any future rebellions with a dramatic show of force. But that is not the reason why he is having the town's local singing star killed. Nope. Check out his logic for why...

So you think that reporters doing puff pieces on a new hit musician (and that's providing he ever becomes famous in the first place) will uncover your scam? That's a pretty thin motive behind killing a guy, even for a bad guy.

Go to the next page for the top five!

5. Green Arrow Invokes Godwin's Law

Really, Green Arrow, Green Lantern is like a Nazi? And I love that Hal just goes along with it. "Yeah, maybe you're right, maybe I am a bit of a Nazi."

4. And yet...

In the following issue, #77, they actually fight Nazis!!!!!

Remember what I said about this run and subtley?

3. That's it, Ollie, blame the victim...

In #78, a bad guy hypnotizes Dinah...

After they stop the bad guy, Ollie decides to sermonize some more, and for some reason, decides to throw some blame Dinah's way...

I love the way she says "he hynotized me!" and Ollie essentially says "you were asking for it." Damn, Ollie. Luckily, you can tell O'Neil realized that this was a weird approach, as the next couple of issues have Ollie going overboard the other way.

2. Green Arrow's Burden...

Perhaps the epitome of Green Arrow's patronizing sermonizing happens in #79, when he dresses up as the ghost of a famous tribal leader to inspire the members of the tribe to stand up to the white man...

You have to wake up pretty early in the morning to get more patronizing, Ollie...

1. The most bizarre Nixon reference ever...

In #83, Adams and O'Neil decide to make Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon the bad guys of the issue. Only Nixon in the issue is a little girl with magic powers...

Besides the bizarreness of having Nixon being a little girl, their commentary is, in and of itself, odd, as it seems to imply that Agnew was controlling Nixon, which we obviously all know now not to be the case, but I don't know if it was even believed back then....