« | »

Oath-a-palooza.

Thursday, August 7th, 2008 @ 12:00 am | Green Lantern, What Were They Thinking

Alan Scott’s oath, despite “continuity”, was what would eventually be Hal’s oath (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).

They went through a bunch of others first. Here are some I came across:

In issue 7 of his self-titled comic, he uses what would become the “Earth-2″ Green Lantern oath.

A personal favorite, I might add.

Then three issues later, they start mucking about with the oaths again, giving us the “modern” one.


I only had a handful of issues, so I may have missed some variants.

Which do you guys like best?

  • Share/Bookmark

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Metz77
    Like Your Obedient Serpent, I'm rather fond of the F-Sharp Bell's oath, which is probably because Alan Moore penned it.
  • The 'Earth-2' oath was indeed the first one Alan used and appeared from his first or second appearance in All-American Comics. I think it's better than some of the others he tried out, but not as good as the 'modern' one.
  • Daffy Duck's was a favorite of mine:

    In blackest day or brightest night
    Watermelon, cantaloupe, yadda-e-yadda
    Erm...superstitious and cowardly lot
    With liberty and justice for all!
  • LittlePig
    The classic, natch - as noted above the rhyme makes it.

    but after hearing John Stewart invoke it in Justice League… whoa.

    Phil LaMarr does great work as John, but I'd like to hear him do it as one of his other noted characters, Hermes Conrad (Futurama).

    "In Brightest Day, In darkest night, mon..."
  • Amake
    In brightest day, in darkest night
    No evil shall escape the might
    Of the Hal Jordan Punch

    What?
  • HellRazor
    Two can play at that game!

    "In blackest dark, in brightest day
    My ring makes bad guys run away!
    I swear to stop all evil fellows
    (except the ones with costumes yellow)"
  • onion3000
    "I'll use my ring to do some good
    unless something is made of wood
    it's power change - no explanation -
    as often as this incantation"
  • HellRazor
    "Let my lantern's light penetrate the evil. Because the evil can not stand the light. The green light. The green light of my ring. The green ring of Green Lantern. Green Lantern's green ring light!"
  • sackett
    Is GL in a sekt or some kind of dictatorship, similar to what US under Bush started to look like?

    what do you mean “started”?

    I meant to write “is starting” instead of “started” since it is ongoing process, but my boss got into the room before I could finish editing my post

    Guilty conscious??

    If you guys think this is a dictatorship....

    letting it go....letting it go...this is NOT a political forum

    just do some of us the same courtesy....

    Back on topic.....

    I like the modern oath best....but the infrequency in which Alan Scott recited his made it special, too.
  • Your Obedient Serpent
    I thought that Alan used the "shed my light over dark evil" in his origin story, too, but I might be wrong.

    And... of the ones above, I have to say that "In brightest day" works best for me. A few years ago, I might have voted for one of the others, but after hearing John Stewart invoke it in Justice League... whoa.

    Still, I have a fondness for Rot Lop Fan's oath:

    "In loudest din or hush profound,
    my ears catch evil's slightest sound.
    Let those who toll out evil's knell,
    beware my power:
    The F-Sharp Bell!"
  • madwoman
    to jon snow: sorry, noooooo detailed explanation needed, thanks.
  • Paradox
    As a kid I liked Hal's version, but as an adult I find it kind of sing-songy and weak. I'm now more drawn the "Earth-2" version more, although...doesn't it always sound like it's the second half, and we never get to hear the first?
  • Andy
    My favorite was from Comic Cavalcade #1 in 1942:

    "Let all power and triumph be mine in whatever right I do!"
  • Jon Snow
    madwoman:I meant to write "is starting" instead of "started" since it is ongoing process, but my boss got into the room before I could finish editing my post. Sorry for the confusion. Or mayhaps you expect detailed explanation?
  • Naryldor
    Yep, the modern one is the best by a long shot.
  • Anderson
    I agree, the old one sounds like his going to brainwash people.
  • madwoman
    Jon Snow said: 'similar to what US under Bush started to look like?' what do you mean "started"?
  • Joel
    It occurs to me that the different oaths may account for the different powers/weaknesses. Everyone knows that spells have to be spoken properly to work properly. That or the writers weren't paid enough to worry about continuity.
  • Jeff
    Vastly prefer the modern oath, it's alliterative rhyming nature gives it a ring the others can't match.
  • Jon Snow
    "Setting all minds right" sounds terrible. Is GL in a sekt or some kind of dictatorship, similar to what US under Bush started to look like?
    Also, what's so wrong with the mystery, that light of GL has to pierce through it, in the same way as it pierces through darkness?
  • HellRazor
    Wow, I never knew the golden age GL ever used the modern oath.

    The modern one is the best. Most of the others sound convoluted and just don't have that "ring" to 'em. (Get it? Ring? Thanks, ladies and germs, I'll be here all week).
  • Shiai
    Speaking of the well-known oath, legendary SciFi author Alfred Bester is generally credited with creating it, but after hearing about that for years, he finally revealed that he hadn't...it had already been established in the comic before he had ever begun writing GL stories in the 40s.
  • Dierna
    Does Alan Scott even do the oath anymore what with his star heart and all??

    I like the modern one. The other ones are like "May the darkness never darken the darky dark dark dark...."
blog comments powered by Disqus