Black Canary

Born into a family of crime fighters, Dinah Laurel Lance follows in their footsteps, assuming the costume and identity of her mother, the original Black Canary.

Origin:

The current Black Canary, Dinah Laurel Lance is the daughter of the former Black Canary and member of the Justice Society of America, Dinah Drake Lance and private eye Larry Lance. As a child, Dinah was inspired to be a crime-fighting heroine just like her mother and the other former JSA members whom she loved like aunts and uncles. Growing up, she developed the "Canary Cry" and with the help of numerous mentors, including the former JSA member Wildcat, she developed her fighting skills. Today, she is one of the world's most skilled fighters and a prominent member on her small team of crime-fighters, The Birds of Prey.    

Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters

Starting with this three-issue miniseries, Dinah moved to Seattle with Green Arrow to start a new life, opening her own florist shop “Sherwood Florist”. Her move to Seattle, though, began a slow spiral downward in her life. Dinah had decided to join an operation to bust a drug ring, but failed. They kidnapped Dinah and proceeded to torturing her, causing her to lose her fertility and Canary Cry. Eventually Green Arrow would save her but Dinah would not be the same after this.

From then on, she started to attend extensive counseling, and was able to recover psychologically from the events. However, Dinah’s relationship with Ollie would take a turn for the worst. With years of trust issues having accumulated from being abandoned and walked out on several times by him and having learned of his fathering a son with Shado (albeit unwillingly) and taking money from her business, she finally broke off their relationship after she walked in on him kissing her young florist shop assistant.

She came pretty close to hitting rock bottom after learning of Green Arrows death from Connor Hawke who turned out to be yet another one of Oliver’s offspring. Although her life seemed to be spiraling out of control she continued to fight for justice.

Birds of Prey:

During Dinah’s downward spiral, Oracle (aka: Barbara Gordon) would ask Black Canary to work as an agent for her, and they would form the Birds Of Prey. When she began working with the Birds of Prey, she decided to get rid of the blond wig and bleach her hair blond. At first Dinah did not get along with Oracle, but eventually the two put their disagreements aside and became best friends, learning that they had so much in common. Later it was revealed during one of the early Birds of Prey issues that Dinah had been married to a man named Craig Windrow when she was very young, but divorced him soon after. Her ex-husband made an appearance in a Birds of Prey storyline where he was seeking her help but in fact, wanted her to return to him after he had stolen money from the mob. When Dinah began dating a European man who later turned out to be Ra's al Ghul, she was seriously injured and the only way to save her was to dip her into the Lazarus Pit. The Lazarus Pit would restore her meta-human ability in the “Canary Cry” and her fertility. 



AQUAMAN

Aquaman is the King of the Seven Seas and ruler of Atlantis. He is one of the founders of the Justice League of America and one of DC Comic's most recognized heroes.

Origin:

Young Arthur with his parents (Tom and Atlanna)According to his first origin story, Aquaman a.k.a. Arthur Curry was the son of Atlanna, an Atlantean princess banished from Atlantis due to her interest in and frequent visits to the surface world; and Tom Curry, a surface man and lighthouse keeper. One night, amidst a terrible storm, Tom Curry would find Atlanna thrown up on the shore by storm-tossed waves, and rescue her from harm. Both Curry and Atlanna made the lighthouse their home and developed a strong bond that would quickly lead to a sentimental relationship, which in turn, would later lead to the birth of Arthur Curry.   Tom Curry accepted his relationship with Atlanna, and though he always knew there was more to her than she would let on, he'd never ask her about her origins.  After Arthur was born, all of that became even more irrelevant as his presence there cemented the bond between the two.

Young Arthur was found by his father playing underwater two years after his birth after he had apparently been there for an hour without drowning.  Several years later, both Tom and Arthur himself would learn the truth about Atlanna's origins, as she would reveal that she came from the lost continent of Atlantis while she lay in her deathbed. Atlanna would also reveal to Arthur that he had inherited her ability to live and breathe underwater, as well as her power to communicate with and control all marine life.

After Atlanna's death, Arthur's father became determined to train him both physically and mentally so that he would one day be in complete control of his powers. Arthur was also taught by his father to view himself as someone special, as a savior of the oceans, as The King of the Seven Seas.

Aquaman, Later, after his father's death, Arthur Curry would leave the lighthouse which had been a home to him and his family for years, to venture into the oceans and find his true destiny. He would later become the king of Atlantis and marry Mera, a visitor from an other-dimensional water-world known as Xebel. He would also take young Aqualad under his wing and fight the forces of evil side by side with the occasional help of his wife, Mera.

Flash!

Known as the "Scarlet Speedster" or "The Fastest Man Alive", the mantle of The Flash has been donned by five different heroes over the years; Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West, Jesse Chambers and Bart Allen have all served as the Flash.

Bart Allen
Bart first appeared in full in Flash volume 2 issue 92 in July of 1994, having previously appeared briefly at the end of issue 91. He was created by writer Mark Waid and artist  Mike Wieringo.  

Bart's life flashes by, Born to  Don Allen and  Meloni  Thawne, the fourth Flash,  Bart Allen, actually hails from the future, unlike the other Flashes before him. In his time, the 31st Century, Bart's father and Aunt Dawn were killed by the Dominators when they took over the planet. They then captured Bart but luckily he was saved before any harm could come to him. Being born with super-speed, Bart suffered from a hyper-metabolism and aged at an exponentially increasing rate. Traveling with his grandmother, Iris West, Bart went to the past and met Wally West, the third Flash, who was able to help stabilize Bart's metabolism and stop his aging at roughly 14 years old.

Gaining experience and Young Justice
Bart was actually mentored greatly by Max Mercury and Wally West. Bart served as Impulse instead of Kid Flash for a time due to his immaturity. While Impulse, Bart founded Young Justice alongside Robin and Superboy, with Wonder Girl soon joining afterwards. The group disbanded after the deaths of Omen and Donna Troy, which they found themselves to be partially at fault for. 

New Teen Titans and Kid Flash
Bart and the others were recruited by Cyborg to become a part of the new Teen Titans. On the team's first mission Impulse is attacked by Deathstroke and undergoes surgery for a destroyed kneecap. Recovering quickly due to his rapid healing, Bart emerges a 'year' (to Bart, not even actually a day) of self-exile in the public library as Kid Flash. Bart grew very close to his teammates and was there when things started to go nuts during Infinite Crisis.

After Superboy-Prime attacked Conner Kent (Superboy) in Smallville and injured or killed many Teen Titans, Bart joined with Flashes Wally West and Jay Garrick to stop the rampage of Superboy-Prime, by running him at top speed into the Speed Force. Jay reached his limit before entering the Speed Force and Wally turned into energy and vanished, leaving Bart alone with Superboy-Prime. Barry Allen, Johnny Quick and Max Mercury, all of whom had previously been absorbed into the Speed Force, appeared and aided Bart. After taking Superboy-Prime into the Speed Force, Barry told Bart that "Wally is waiting for you". After they disappeared, Jay claimed that the Speed Force was gone.

Bart spent four years in an alternate reality's Keystone City, with Max, Barry, Wally, and an alternate version of Jay Garrick. There Superboy-Prime managed to escape from his prison, and the alternate Jay failed to stop him. All the speedsters rallied together to return to their dimension so they could warn everyone about Superboy-Prime. However, they knew that not even the fastest men alive could get there before the insane Boy of Steel. Barry suggested to Wally that he somehow absorb the entire Speed Force, but cautioned that it might kill him. Bart bravely volunteered, because Wally had his family to think of, and Barry was incapable of it because he was already dead. Wally handed him the ring and Barry gave Bart his Flash suit, which would both help Bart survive his journey.

Evolution to becoming the Flash, Bart reappeared in Tokyo wearing his grandfather's costume. He later helped the heroes against the army of escaped super-villains in the Battle of Metropolis. Bart then explained to the nearby  Wonder Girl that his grandfather's uniform was the only thing that could survive the trip back from where he had been, and that he was the only one there "who could still run". Bart then unleashed his anger against Superboy-Prime for killing Conner Kent, pummeling him at super-speed and forcing Superboy to retreat from the battle.   

Bart would become the Flash when Jesse Chambers lost her powers, but not for long. He would die at the hands of his Rogues, in a plan orchestrated by Bart's evil twin Inertia.     

Return of Bart Allen
During the Legion of Three-World's event, Bart Allen was resurrected by the Legion of Superheroes. During Superboy Prime's assault, Bart returned as Kid Flash, alongside his old pal Superboy, just in time to help save the day. Bart then returned to the present in his teenage form and decided to remain Kid Flash. When Barry Allen returned, Bart was initially angry that Max Mercury did not escape the Speed Force as well, as he felt no real connection to Barry but in many ways considered Max to be like a father to him. This didn't stop Bart from helping out Barry in his time of need though, as Professor Zoom returned to haunt the Flash family once more. Through the course of events that would form a Flash family rebirth, Max indeed did return, much to Bart's delight. The united forces of the various speedsters then pooled together to stop Zoom once more. Not long after, Bart rejoined the Teen Titans in their time of need, aiding the team in Dakota and in the process becoming a full time member again.

Green Arrow

An Archer Superhero, dressed in a manner similar to Robin Hood, who fights crime with specialized trick arrows.

Green Arrow was originally created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941. Along with his sidekick Speedy, Green Arrow was essentially treated as a more light-hearted version of Batman. Idle millionaire Oliver Queen found himself stranded on a desert island, and taught himself archery to survive. Eventually, criminals came to the island. He used his archery skills to defeat them, and decided to keep fighting crime as a hobby. Shortly after beginning his career, Green Arrow met Roy Harper, an orphan who'd been raised by a Native American mentor on an isolated mesa. The boy was even faster with the bow than GA, and picked up the name "Speedy.

While never a major hit in The Golden Age of Comic Books, Green Arrow and Speedy sold decently, and were members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, DC Comics' second superhero team. After World War Two, the pair was moved to Adventure Comics along with Aquaman. As pet characters of editor Mort Weisinger, they were published continuously as backups to the Superboy feature all the way from 1946 to 1960. GA and Speedy then jumped to World's Finest until 1964. During this time period, Green Arrow changed very little, sticking to short, fun stories in which he used trick arrows to thwart criminals and save lives. Perhaps the best remembered stories are the short run in 1958 by Jack Kirby.

In 1969, however, artist Neal Adams gave Ollie a new costume and his now-trademark forked beard. Inspired by this striking new look, writer Dennis O'Neil followed this up with a storyline in which Oliver Queen lost his money. A few nights on the street, dealing with the social services net from the bottom, radically altered Green Arrow's politics. From (at best) a "limousine liberal", Green Arrow became an outspoken champion of the poor and oppressed, advocating progressive social policies as a cross between Robin Hood and Abbie Hoffman. Also around this time, Green Arrow became romantically linked to Black Canary, at that time an immigrant from Earth-Two.

Green Arrow was then teamed up with Green Lantern Hal Jordan in a series of socially relevant stories in which the "by-the-book" Hal and "plays by his own rules" Ollie deal with issues like racism, political corruption, pollution and overpopulation. Speedy had not been seen adventuring with his mentor in some time and this was made a plot point when it was revealed that Green Arrow's neglect had allowed Roy to become addicted to heroin. He recovered from this with help from Black Canary.

After some years of being teamed with Green Lantern or appearing in back-up stories, in 1983 Green Arrow got his own mini-series for the first time. It sold decently, but was not followed up until 1987. As part of its new "mature readers" line, DC gave writer/artist Mike Grell the chance to reinvent Green Arrow again in The Longbow Hunters mini-series, followed by an ongoing series. Some radical changes were made, moving GA from the fictional Star City to Seattle, discarding the trick arrows for the most part, removing Black Canary's sonic scream and generally avoiding the more comic-booky elements of The DCU. This series also became notorious for the scene in which the assassin Shado rapes Oliver Queen, though it was mistakenly referred to as an affair by other writers in the years to follow.

After Grell left the series, it was reintegrated with the rest of the DCU just before Zero Hour. After Oliver Queen was forced to kill his best friend Hal Jordan as a part of that crisis, Oliver retreated once more to the Buddhist ashram where he went once before after accidentally killing someone.

It was here that a new character was introduced - an idealistic young monk and Green Arrow fanboy named Connor Hawke. Connor was later revealed to be Ollie's child by a previous relationship. Shortly after learning of their relationship, Oliver Queen died in a plane explosion. He gave his life to save the city of Metropolis and Connor became the new Green Arrow. Roy Harper, meanwhile, had become the superhero Arsenal. Connor joined the Justice League for a time but eventually sought the peace of the ashram once more. While there, he had visions which told him that his father was still alive.

The Green Lantern

What is a Green Lantern?
A Green Lantern is an officer of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. Most famous of the Green Lanterns are those who patrolled Earth, including Hal Jordan and Alan Scott.

A Green Lantern is equipped with an item that is regarded as one of the most powerful weapons in the DC Universe, called a Green Power Ring. The Power Ring enables its bearer to manifest their thoughts into hard-light constructs and other various properties only limited by the ring's amount of power and the user's willpower and imagination. The Power Ring is based on advanced technology rather than having its power magically derived.

Mainly, the ring is used for anti-gravity, to unleash torrents of energy, to translate alien dialects and to create hard-light constructs of any shape or complexity. Though, in the past, it has been unable to affect yellow-colored objects, this impurity has been overridden by Hal Jordan's power of will.

The ring must be periodically charged by contact with a Power Battery (a.k.a. Lantern) which in turn draws energy from the Guardians Of The Universe' Central Power Battery on the planet Oa, the central headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps at the center of the universe.

Oath of the Green Lantern:
Though not necessary, many Green Lanterns recite an oath while re-charging their Green Power Ring.  Some believe it aids them in re-affirming their strength of will.  Recitation of the Oath takes an approximate equal amount of time required to recharge the ring.  The most common oath used is as follows:

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.

The Green Lanterns of Earth:
While the title of Green Lantern is bestowed upon anyone in the Green Lantern Corps there are several superheroes associated with the Earth in the DC Universe (and the sector designated as sector 2814).

Alan Scott
Alan Scott was the original Green Lantern, and unlike the others his title had nothing to do with the Corps. His powers are derived from a magical artifact called the Starheart rather than the advanced technology that makes up the Power Ring. Alan originally came from a parallel version of Earth known as Earth-2. 

Hal Jordan
The first Green Lantern of DC's mainstream continuity's Earth, Hal Jordan was given his power ring by the dying Lantern Abin Sur when his spaceship crashed on Earth. Hal Jordan would be the first human Green Lantern of sector 2814. His first appearance was in Showcase #22 in 1959.

John Stewart
John Stewart was chosen to become the Green Lantern of Earth after Hal Jordan gave up his position and Guy Gardner was injured.

Guy Gardner
When Abin Sur's spaceship crash-landed on Earth his Power-Ring logged Guy Gardner away as a "backup" Green Lantern of Earth. Guy became a full-fledged Green Lantern after John Stewart. 

Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner was selected by Ganthet to be the Green Lantern of Earth after Hal Jordan was infected by the demon Parallax. For a short time he played the role of Ion, but has since then become a regular Green Lantern.

Robin Hood

Robin Hood was a Saxon noble, living near the castle of Nottingham. By various means he was forced into a life of banditry, using his cunning and skill-at-arms to relieve bishops, nobles, and servants of the king of gold and jewels levied from the oppressed peasants. Robin collected a band of supporters, his "Merry Men" around him, dressed in green. The members that never cease to appear are Robin himself, Maid Marian, Little John, and Friar Tuck. Along with being a middle-ages Communist, Robin spends his time fighting the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham, and, ultimately, King John, who had usurped the throne from the rightful King, Richard I (Coeur de Lion or Lionheart).

Prometheus

Prometheus was the Titan god of forethought and crafty counsel who was entrusted with the task of molding mankind out of clay. His attempts to better the lives of his creation brought him into direct conflict with Zeus. Firstly he tricked the gods out of the best portion of the sacrificial feast, acquiring the meat for the feasting of man. Then, when Zeus withheld fire, he stole it from heaven and delivered it to mortal kind hidden inside a fennel-stalk. As punishment for these rebellious acts, Zeus ordered the creation of Pandora (the first woman) as a means to deliver misfortune into the house of man, or as a way to cheat mankind of the company of the good spirits. Prometheus meanwhile, was arrested and bound to a stake on Mount Caucasus where an eagle was set to feed upon his ever-regenerating liver (or, some say, heart). Generations later the great hero Heracles came along and released the old Titan from his torture.