Abin Sur
Abin Sur is a male alien superhero that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Abin Sur was a male alien who came from the planet Ungara.
He had a sister who was known by the name of Arin Sur. (Green Lantern v4 #45)
His Green Lantern predecessor was an individual named Starkaðr who was killed by the villainous murderer Devlos Ungol. (Legends of the DC Universe v1 #20) As Ungara's first Green Lantern, he served as a champion to his people and had used the energy of his Power Ring to power the technology in the system. (Green Lantern v2 #107)
At some point, a criminal by the name of Iroque was responsible for the murder of Abin Sur's daughter. (Green Lantern v5 #9)
During one patrol, he learnt of a ship had crashed on the planet Ysmault that contained a single survivor and through his power ring he was briefed about the history of the Empire of Tears. Once there, he encountered Qull of the Five Inversions who gave him three secrets that included the location of the crashed survivor for rescue, the legend of the Blackest Night and that Abin Sur would die when his ring would fail him. (Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual v1 #2) In the aftermath, he came to question some of the secrets that the Guardians kept from the Corpse but they refused his inquiries leading to a point where he was given compulsory time away from his duty. During this time, Sinestro attempted to persuade his friend to end his obsession but Abin was determined to learn more. Around this time, he introduced his sister to his friend Sinestro with a relationship sparking between the pair. (Green Lantern v4 #45)
One of his missions led him to the planet Nok that was being besieged by slavers who intended to turn it into a slave center for their operations. Sur helped in protecting the planet from the invaders with the aid of a native member of Nok known as Natromo. Together, the pair travelled deep into the world where they discovered the Indigo Light of Compassion of the Emotional Spectrum that had been used to coat weapons and enemies struck by them suddenly were overwhelmed with remorse. After the defeat of the invaders, Natromo remained behind whilst his people disappeared into the jungle with him and Abin Sur becoming allies who forged the first indigo power ring. Abin Sur later departed and returned with the murderer Iroque who was forcibly given a power ring causing her to feel remorse for her crimes. Afterwards, he began getting other criminals and murderers that were outfitted with indigo power rings in order to create the Indigo Tribe. The Indigo Tribe was created an army to combat a threat prophesized in the Blackest Night that said that the greatest danger to the Green Lantern Corps was the Guardians of the Universe. (Green Lantern v5 #9)
In 1873, he was wounded in a battle in deep space and landed his ship on Earth whilst machines healed his body. Whilst in a coma-like state, he used his Power Ring to bring an agent to act for him and it found Daniel Young who was a Sheriff in Montana. Sur had the ring select Young as his temporary replacement in order to bring outlaws to justice. After Daniel completed his task, the ring left his finger and returned to Abin Sur who had healed and departed the planet. (Green Lantern v2 #149) In 1882, he returned to Earth in the Arizona desert where he was initially attacked by a trio of bandits until they were chased away by U.U. Marshal Henry Lee Jordan. Jordan befriended Abin Sur and suggested he blend in to avoid trouble as the Ungaran sought the capture of Ungol. (Legends of the DC Universe v1 #20) In 1928, a particularly powerful human gangster named Al Magone had come to power with the danger he posed leading to him being designated a cosmic enemy where Abin Sur was dispatched to apprehend him. The Ungaran easily defeated the human crime boss and took him to the Oan's Prison Planet to be kept there for his crimes. (Green Lantern v2 #55) In 1942, he arrived on Earth in pursuit of a Venusian Mind Worm that was in the form of a bio-suit construct and battling the human superheroes Bulletman along with Starman. The pair were struggling against the invader until Green Lantern Abin Sur arrived where he defeated the alien and removed the worm inside from the bio-suit. To hide his presence from humans, Abin Sur wiped the memory of the encounter from Bulletman and Starman's mind. (Power of Shazam v1 #36)
Around this time, World War II had erupted on Earth but despite the conflict Abin Sur was prohibited by the Guardians from intervening. However, a captive mercenary named Dask N'oir had escaped from the Sciencells with a cache of forbidden weapons with him intending to sell it along with his services to the planet's Nationalist Socialist Party. The Oans charged the Ungaran with preventing the sale and with covering any extraterrestrial evidence from the Earthlings. He arrived when the human mysterymen Alan Scott and Jay Garrick had encountered the extraterrestrial mercenary with them being defeated leading tot he Ungaran intervening. However, N'oir used a special weapon that engulfed Sur's ring with a yellow substance preventing it from operating. However, the Green Lantern managed to recover Alan Scott's ring which was effective against yellow coated objects whereupon he battled the alien mercenary and defeated him. He then returned the ring to Alan Scott where he wiped his and Garrick's memory of the alien encounter as per his mission orders along with healing their wounds before departing the world with newfound respect for its superheroes. (Green Lantern Corps Quarterly v1 #8) Sur was the Green Lantern responsible for apprehending Tybalt Bak'sar for destroying the planet Zapher that killed its 8 billion inhabitants. The Guardians sentenced the criminal to a prison planet where he vowed revenge against the Ungaran. Bak'sar was freed by the Weaponers of Qward who outfitted him with weapons along with yellow armour to attack their hated enemies the Green Lanterns. Tybalt was pursued by Abin Sur to the planet Earth where he intended to use the Power Ring of Alan Scott to aid him. During the battle with the terrorist, the Martian Manhunter intervened but he did not trust the Green Lantern either. The alien terrorist freed himself where he overwhelmed the Martian Manhunter with fire but Abin Sur saved the Green Martian at the risk of capture. Bak'sar nearly killed the Ungaran who was narrowly saved by the Martian Manhunter who developed a newfound respect for the Green Lantern Corps. Afterwards, the Corpsmen departed Earth with the captive Tybalt in order to return him back to his prison. (Martian Manhunter v2 #21) Many years ago, he was dispatched by the Guardians to a world dominated by the sorcerer Myrwhydden with the pair battling one another. Abin Sur managed use a construct to silence the magic wielder and used his Power Ring to shrink him into the device where he was trapped in a barren world created to serve as his prison. (Green Lantern v2 #26)
There had been different accounts of Abin Sur's death due to changes in reality:
- One mission of Abin Sur involved him checking the planet Athmoora whose inhabitants should have been in the atomic age but were instead perpetually stuck in the neo-medieval stage. This was because of a race of energy beings known as the Larifars that had stunted their developing by robbing their intelligence. This saw Sur went to the Larifar home world where he imprisoned the entirety of the race but the Green Lantern was not aware that a single member of their kind named Balzona was another world waiting for his comrades. Balzona learnt of the Larifars and terrorizes Abin Sur's home planet in retaliation as he sought to free his people. Sur agreed to do so but stated that his Power Ring could not bring free them in time and he along with Balzona went aboard a ship to his homeworld. During the journey, they passed through a radiation belt allowing the Ungaran to charge his ring whilst Balzona was distracted and he imprisoned the Larifar in his Power Ring. However, the yellow radiation belt negated his power and Abin Sur could not prevent it from being damaged as it crashed to Earth. (Green Lantern v2 #16)
- A further one had him being pursued by the alien Legion that sought revenge on the Guardians of the Universe for the death of his race. This saw Abin Sur crashing onto Earth where he died from his injuries with his ring passing onto Hal Jordan. (Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn v1 #1)
- Another involved him returning to Ysmault in order to learn of the danger of the Black that was mentioned in the Blackest Night. From the demons, he learnt that the planet Earth would be the source of this danger and ended up taking Atrocitus to guide him to the one that would be responsible for the Blackest Night. Whilst on his ship, fear affected him that weakened his constructs allowing Atrocitus to break free from his chains and causing the ship to crash. (Green Lantern v4 #30)
Legacy
Due to giving all to the Corps, Sur was given an everlasting reward of being placed within Emerald Space. (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1 #9) Sur's death was not known to his homeworld of Ungara with the inhabitants deprived of their champion. (Green Lantern v2 #107)
In the Blackest Night, Abin Sur and his sister Arin Sur were resurrected as members of the Black Lantern Corps after their bodies were animated by black Power Rings. (Green Lantern v4 #47) During his battle with Sinestro, Green Lantern Hal Jordan used his newly forged Power Ring to unleash the full power of will against his foe leading to the destruction of both him, the Korugarian and Warworld. In the aftermath, his Power Ring sought to search for its wielder and went to Nok whilst Jordan himself was shunted into Emerald Space where he met Abin Sur. (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1 #9)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He re-evaluated his view on Earthers as he had arrogantly belittled them for not being worthy of being heroes but this changed after encounter two members of the Justice Society. Among the history of the Corps, he was regarded as the one with the purest record and strongest will. (Green Lantern Corps Quarterly v1 #8)
Powers and abilities
If wounded, he was able to get machines to help repair his body whilst he spoke through his Power Ring. In such times, he could lend the ring to another to act as his agent and advise them through the Power Ring until he recovered. (Green Lantern v2 #149)
During the Blackest Night, Sur's body was animated by a black power ring turning him into a Black Lantern. (Green Lantern v4 #47)
Notes
- Abin Sur was created by John Broome and Gil Kane where he made his first appearance in Showcase v1 #22 (September–October 1959).
Alternate Versions
- In Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl v1 (1998), a world was shown without Kal-El as Superman or Bruce Wayne as Batman with Barbara Gordon as Batgirl and Kara Zor-El as Supergirl. They were the lead superheroes of the Justice Society that consisted of a still living Abin Sur as its Green Lantern.
- In Superman: Red Son (2003), an Elseworld's Earth showed Abin Sur's craft crashing at Roswell where he died shortly afterwards. J. Edgar Hoover arranged for the alien and his ship to be secretly hidden at Area 51. In 1978, John F. Kennedy arranged for Lex Luthor to be allowed inside the site to examine the wreckage in order to develop weaponry for use against Superman who was the ruler of Soviet Union.
- In Superman/Batman v1 #15 (2005), the timeline was altered by the actions of the Legion of Super-Villains who sought to change history by raising Superman and Batman. It was shown that they were responsible for killing Abin Sur and preventing him from selecting a replacement Green Lantern.
- In Flashpoint: Abin Sur - The Green Lantern, an altered timeline of events showed that Abin Sur never died and remained as a member of the Green Lantern Corps. During these events, the Blackest Night came to pass and Sur served as the Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814 when he was dispatched by the Guardians of the Universe to recover the Entity hiding on Earth. Whilst traveling to Earth, his craft was damaged by a laser forcing him to crash land on the planet. Sur survived where he approached Hal Jordan but was taken into custody by Cyborg and the United States government for questioning for his arrival on their world. Initially, he agreed to aid the heroes in the Amazon/Atlantean War but declined when Batman refused to do so. He later was attacked by Sinestro who revealed had learnt from Atrocitus's prophecy of the Flashpoint and the prior timeline. The Korugarian intended to alter the timeline to change it according to his liking where he cut off his friend Abin Sur's hand causing the Power Ring link to be severed. However, the ring went onto his other hand where he used it to defeat and imprison Sinestro. The Guardians later contacted Abin Sur demanding the return of the Entity but Abin Sur refused after he had heard about the Flashpoint. As a result, the Oans dismissed Sur from the Corps and commanding his Power Ring find another wielder once it ran out of power. Abin Sur joined the battle in Europe when a cataclysmic earthquake began with the Ungaran driving into a crevice just as the ring began to run out of power. In that moment, the Entity bonded with Abin Sur where he saw a vision of his sister telling him to truly experience life instead of only living it. This saw him become the White Lantern who flew off into space to try and heal the damage done to Earth.
- In Justice League v2 #26 (2013), the Earth-3 Abin Sur was the host of the ring that contained the malevolent entity known as Volthooom. When he crashed on Earth, he convinced this world's Hal Jordan to take the ring and laughed at how he had passed the cursed ring to a new host as Abin Sur died.
- In The Muliversity: Society of Super-heroes: Conquerors from the Counter World, Earth-20 had Green Lantern being Abin Sur who never died and remained as a member of the Green Lantern Corps. His costume resembled that of previous incarnation of Alan Scott Green Lantern's costume with a more devil-like appearance though he was an alien. He as dispatched to Earth where he joined Doc Fate's Society of Super-Heroes where they battle the invasion of their world from Vandal Savage of Earth-40.
- In Superman: American Alien v1 #6 (2016), an alternate Elseworld setting was shown where Abin Sur was alive. He and Tomar-Re found a young Superman who had gone into orbit but was struggling to breath in space. Abin Sur told Tomar-Re that Clark Kent was a Kryptonian to which Kal-El wanted to know more about his origins. However, Sur said that Earth had not been annexed into the Green Lantern Corps and therefore he could not reveal this information. He then proceeded with wiping Superman's memory of the encounter and returned him to Earth.
In other media
Television
- In Superman: The Animated Series, the character appeared in the episode "In Brightest Day" where he was voiced by actor Peter Mark Richman in an uncredited role. He was a Green Lantern with his ship being attacked by Sinestro leading to it crash landing on Earth with Abin Sur suffering fatal injuries. Sur hid his Power Battery and sent his Power Ring to find his successor. Superman arrived at the scene where he tried to save him but Abin Sur's last words was for Kal-El to save the new Green Lantern before his body vanished.
Film
- In Green Lantern: First Flight, the character made an appearance in the animated film where he was voiced by Richard McGonagle. His appearance had somewhat more alien features such as horn-like appendages on his face and him possessing only four digits on his hand. As a Green Lantern, he was dispatched by the Guardians of the Universe to take part in an undercover investigation of Kanjar Ro who had managed to uncover the location of the yellow element and stole it. After witnessing the event, Sur was discovered by one of Kanjar Ro's henchmen who mortally wounded. The injured Ungaran was forced to steal a starship that would later crash on Earth. The dying Abin Sur commanded his power ring to find a successor with it choosing Hal Jordan who became the new Green Lantern as the Ungaran died.
- In Green Lantern, Abin Sur appeared in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Temuera Morrison. He was a legendary member of the Green Lantern Corps who had fought the fear entity Parallax and imprisoned the creature in a tomb on the planet Ryut in the Lost Sector. By the modern day, he received a distress to aid the plant Vintara but it was consumed by Parallax before he could arrive. During transit on his ship, his vessel was attacked by Parallax with Abin Sur being mortally wounded but managed to reach an escape ship that was sent to the nearest inhabited planet. He sent a distress call to the Guardians warning them of Parallax when his ship crashed on Earth with Abin commanding his ring to go through the selection process to find a replacement from one of its natives.
- In Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, Abin Sur appeared in the animated film in one of the anthology stories where he was voiced by actor Arnold Vosloo. It was later established that he had died but that his Power Ring passed on to Hal Jordan.
- In Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, the character made a cameo appearance in the animated movie. It was shown that in the Flash altered timeline that was inadvertently created by Barry Allen that Abin Sur never managed to pass on his ring to a successor. Instead, hs body an vessel were confiscated by the United States government. During the war between Atlantis and Themyscira, Hal Jordan saw the corpse of Abin Sur at a U.S. military base where he was given orders to pilot a craft to drop a nuclear bomb on the Atlantean army.
Video games
- In Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, Abin Sur was mentioned in the video-game tie-in of the movie. His funeral was conducted on Oa with his son Amon Sur attending to pay his respects to his father. This event was disturbed by a large invasion by the Manhunters of the planet.
- In Injustice 2, Abin Sur was referenced in gear items available for Green Lantern and also mentioned in dialogue interactions in the fighting video game. Atrocitus stated that he was responsible for killing Abin Sur who was Hal Jordan's Green Lantern predecessor..
Appearances
- Showcase:
- Green Lantern:
- Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual:
- Legends of the DC Universe:
- Martian Manhunter:
- Green Lantern v5:
External Links
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