Simon Baz, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, created by writer Geoff Johns and artist Doug Mahnke. Baz is an officer of the Green Lantern Corps, an extraterrestrial police force. The character made his debut in 2012 following DC's 2011 company-wide relaunch as part of its Green Lantern story arc "Rise of the Third Army", in which he replaces Silver Age hero Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern of Earth's sector.
Prior to his debut, the character made an unnamed cameo in The New 52 Free Comic Book Day Special Edition #1. DC later added Baz to its flagship team-up title Justice League of America in 2013. Baz is a Lebanese immigrant, and currently resides in Dearborn, Michigan.
Publication history
Simon Baz was created by Green Lantern writer Geoff Johns and artist Doug Mahnke. He is the first Middle-Eastern member of the Green Lantern Corps. Simon's heritage and hometown are both influenced by Geoff Johns, who is half-Lebanese, and a native of Detroit, Michigan.
Fictional character biography
Early life
Simon Baz is a Lebanese immigrant child living in Dearborn, Michigan. Growing up, Simon and his sister Sira were both persecuted due to their ethnicity. As a young adult, Simon got involved in street racing and eventually car theft; the former put his brother-in-law in a coma in the hospital. Simon is fired from his job and, in a moment of desperation, he steals a car. While trying to evade the police in the stolen vehicle, Simon finds out that there is a bomb in it. Simon drives the van into the abandoned car factory he was laid off from, knowing that no one would be hurt in the explosion. The resulting explosion is seen as an act of terrorism by the authorities, and Simon is brought in for questioning. As Simon is being interrogated, Hal Jordan and Sinestro's rings fused and form a malfunctioning Green Lantern Power Ring that finds Simon and selects him as the new wielder, flying him away from captivity. With their suspect gone, the federal agents interrogating Simon contact Amanda Waller about the situation, a transmission Cyborg of the Justice League picks up. Cyborg relays the transmission to Batman and asks if anyone has spoken to Hal Jordan since he quit the League. Meanwhile, Simon lies on the ground, knocked out, while elsewhere, the Third Army begins to spread.
Rise of the Third Army
After waking up, Simon turns over a new leaf and helps stop the Third Army. However, he eventually runs into the Justice League, being wrongfully accused of taking Hal, hostage. The Justice League track down Simon, but he is not willing to fight them until Batman tries to remove Sinestro's ring from Simon's finger. In doing so, the ring goes into defense mode and attacks the League. In a panic, Baz retreats and meets with his sister. Sira is able to track down the original owner of the van leaving Simon to try and clear his name. After finding who was involved of the bomb plot, the Third Army attacks the house and kills the terrorist and an FBI agent (who was one of the federal agents interrogating Simon before).
Green Lantern B'dg arrives looking for Hal Jordan. B'dg helps Simon retrieve the dual message left by both Hal Jordan and Sinestro in his ring, which reveals that the Guardians of the Universe have gone insane and are now replacing the Green Lantern Corps with their Third Army that will eventually take over the Universe. It is also revealed that Sinestro is responsible for Simon's selection as a Green Lantern as he chose someone who was very much like himself. He also wanted his recruit to be the one to finally destroy the Guardians of the Universe. Simon learns how to recharge his ring by retrieving his Lantern in the Coast City Graveyard. After learning that his ring's charge could die on him, Simon takes a gun with him as a precaution. He learns from B'dg that his ring might be able to wake his brother-in-law from his coma. They head to the hospital where Simon is able to heal the damage to his brother-in-law's brain. Simon and B'dg then rescue Guy Gardner from prison. After defeating the Third Army that was sent after Guy, they all meet on the moon where Guy is sent to Oa to stop the Guardians and Simon and B'dg enter the Book of the Black and come face to face with Black Hand.