As a product of the 80’s comic scene, Guy Gardner was (and still is) my favorite Green Lantern. And I have no real reason to like the guy, pardon the pun. He’s obnoxious, egotistical, and a bit of a danger to everyone around him. Those might be the very reasons why I like him, but I wouldn’t call those admirable traits.

Guy has had a rough go, costume wise, in his career. Some of his choices…hmmm, not so much. So, while they might not be as hideous as the title suggests, let’s take a look at some of Guy’s “shoulda-zigged-when-he-zagged” costume missteps.

1. Classic

While there’s really nothing wrong with the Joe Staton-designed costume, you have to point to the top of this dude’s hair and wonder, “Double u, tee, eff.” I went to school with plenty a bowlcut (and plenty a mullet, while we’re at it), but there is no good reason for a superhero to have one. A supervillain? Maybe. In looking back at it, I wouldn’t be surprised if Guy’s bowlcut was there to make us think this guy is a jerk. The way the front offsets his eyebrows…it gives his face a square shape and almost acts as a mono-brow above his actual brow. A mono-brow gives the look of no emotion, hence a villainous shape. Despite the fact that I’m not a fan of the haircut, it does work with the character, if you follow my extremely convoluted and oddball logic.

2. Yellow Ring Slinger

They took his ring away, but not his attitude! I’ve always been on the fence on this one. It’s certainly indicative of it’s time period (dude, where was YOUR leather jacket?!), and for the times, it wasn’t as bad as some jacketed ensembles (looking at you, Wonder Woman), but it was far from the best (hello, Kon-El Superboy). Again, I contend that villains should only wear a bowlcut, and I stick by my guns that visually, it’s what gives Guy an edge, but what really drives me a little to not liking this one is…we’ve seen Sinestro Corps uniforms. That’s basically what Guy is at this point in his career; a Yellow Lantern. He’s barely wearing yellow (to be fair, at this point in history, Sinestro was barely wearing yellow, too). My take? I would have somehow mixed this look with that of a Weaponer of Qward:

3. Warrior

To explain how this happened would make me appear even crazier than I probably already look, but…Guy drank “Warrior Water” (I kid you not) which activated dormant alien DNA within his bloodline and turned him into the Last Vuldarian, patent pending. It’s a stretch, but it happened. This look is just…if you thought the leather jacket was over the top, this takes everything 90’s and adds tattoos…because there wasn’t enough going on here. If I remember correctly, the look was inspired by Native American war paint (although I can’t remember where I heard that). And yeah, that’s in here…somewhere. Who can tell with those Liefeld guns coming out of his arms?

4. Back in Black…and Green

Not much different here from his original togs (NOTE: In his first appearance, Guy wore a traditional Gil Kane GL costume, but for the sake of this article, we’re calling his Crisis on Infinite Earths costume the original). Except…hello haircut! You might notice what I’m talking about in regards to the bowlcut and his more modern haircut here. It’s hard to consider a haircut part of a costume, but look at what a difference it makes. Guy’s smirk doesn’t look as threatening as it did before. It looks…almost charming. He’s finally the Han Solo to Kyle’s Luke Skywalker.

Before we move on, I have to make note of his Green Lantern Corpse costume:

Taken from a three issue run by Keith Champagne and Pat Gleason early on in the Green Lantern Corps comic (Issues 7-9, pre New 52), this was a storyline specific costume that, while not big on design, was really cool storywise.

5. Red Right Hand

I never geeked out so hard as I did when I saw this. It made perfect sense. Guy Gardner, a character full of rage, HAD to be a Red Lantern at some point. I just love the way it takes the original and makes some subtle tweaks in red. And to take it one step further…Gleason gave him a faux-hawk, making his transformation into a jerk complete!

Who was the Blue Lady?

from the Public Domain Super Heroes Wikia

Lucille Martin, an adventurous novelist, was returning from a vacation in China when she met an elegant Chinese lady. This lady asked Lucille to safeguard a package for her. In the event that she should be meet with foul-play, she was to deliver the package to Chin Liang in Washington, DC. The lady also gave her a bluebird-shaped ring which was said to grant superpowers to the wearer. One night, the power went out, and Martin knew that people had come for the package. While hiding in her bedroom, she began playing with the Bluebird Ring, but it fell off and she then stepped on it in the dark. This released some of the gas within it, which Lucille breathed in, not noticing until it was too late. The gas she inhaled gave her the strength of ten men, resistance to up to .38 caliber bullets, and heightened reflexes. The effect lasted for at least a day.

Note: Check out the RetroFix and final design after the jump! – Chris A.

The RetroFix

Click to enlarge.

Patrice Martinez: For the character’s origin, I thought that keeping the Blue Lady’s original Golden Age story works very well. Working journalist Lucille Martin is tasked to bring a mysterious blue bird ring from China to Washington, D.C. But along the way, she discovers that the ring exudes a special gas that gives her the strength of ten men and semi-invulnerability for a full day. Owing to her natural curiosity as a journalist, Martin begins investigating the origins of the ring and discovers that it was created accidentally by a Chinese chemist. The chemist hid these powers in thee ring to avoid it being taken by the Chinese Army and the local mafia, confiding it to his daughter before disappearing. It was the chemist’s daughter that gave the then-unknowing Martin the ring with the task to deliver it out of Chinese hands and to Washington, D.C. to be given to an American colleague of her father’s. Taking the name ‘The Blue Lady,’ Martin fights against those who wish to seize the ring while also working to uncover the long-term effects of the gas the ring exudes.

For the design, I took the symbol of the blue bird related to the ring and reflected that in the mask; however, that is the aspect that caused me the most trouble.

For the costume itself, I first tried to create one that was very close to the Golden Age look. With the blue color, I also thought the small cape/wing shape would be great but it didn’t satisfy me completely. Finally, I realized that the suit needed to be more stylized. I removed the cape and made it a cross between the Black Widow and the Falcon.

The Final Design

We asked Anka about the design, and here’s what he said:

This was done as part of a series of daily bust redesigns. I attempted to adapt Ocean Master’s previous versions into something that wasn’t super corny that could actually be taken seriously as a villain. I adopted a lot from the Young Justice version, which I feel was the best out of his already existing designs.

Thomas had something to say about his redesign, so here it is:

Talk about a character that gets SCREWED. Mutant, not a mutant, Valkyrie, not a Valkyrie. I can do this one thing with my powers…no that’s boring, lets get her to do this power. Now I tote guns. *sigh* Sheesh, lady sit down and have a cup of tea.

So as far as *I* Know (thanks wiki) Dani’s been restored to Valkyrie status again, sorta. WHATEVER. THIS Dani is the Herald of Hela. Much like the Silver Surfer, Dani must answer the call of her Mistress.

Her look has pulls from Valkyrie, Sif, and Hela. The waves in her armor is to represent flight or air, the skulls for the lost dead that she must seek out, and her chest insignia is Hela’s headdress design. Of course, Dani has some of her Native American details like her feathers and the necklace. Armed with a ‘big sword’ and her bow and arrows, she’s a force to be reckoned with.

She’s even got the skull eye thing going, but you probably can’t see that.

Here’s what Fummo had to say about the redesign:

It’s not really much of a change, really. Definitely no re-imagining this time. I literally just took some of the key costume elements and tried to make them look less ridiculous. I combined the poofy shirt and cape into one, long coat, turning that spiky collar thing into raised lapels. I wanted him to look half shaman, half victorian occultist: hence the forehead marking and victorian cravat, waistcoat and knee-high boots.