Green Lantern (Volume 2) #60 is an issue of the series Green Lantern (Volume 2) with a cover date of April, 1968. It was published on February 27, 1968.
Synopsis for "Spotlight on the Lamplighter"
There is a new costumed villain that has appeared in Evergreen City, his name is the Lamplighter, and he has a specially treated lamp that grants him fantastic powers. His first crime is against the Quickway Loan Company, where he immobilizes the employee with his magic light stick and robs the company by melting their vault. When the employee recovers his mobility, he tries to call in the crime and is shocked to see that the bank vault is back to normal. The strange case gains the attention of the Evergreen Insurance company who sends their best insurance man, Hal Jordan, to figure out if there is any validity to the claim of robbery.
Hal decides to investigate as Green Lantern scouring the city to see if he can find a trace of this mysterious new villain. The Lamplighter reappears to rob a jewelry store, where he trapped the customers in ice casings, but he is interrupted by Green Lantern. The two combatants find that their similar powers make them a near-even match, but Green Lantern's superior skills manage to eventually give him the edge up, prompting the Lamplighter to give up his fight. Rushing out of sight, the Lamplighter disguises himself as a tree until the Green Lantern gives up his chase. Later, when the lamp's effects wear off, the Lamplighter reverts to his civilian guise, that of a blind man named Lee Carver.
Carver thinks back to the events that led him to become the Lamplighter. Originally a scientist, he was rendered blind when a blundering safety inspector was negligent in keeping a nuclear experiment safe, and it exploded in Carver's face. Before his accident, he created a weapon that works as a philosopher's stone, changing matter from one form to another. However, its effects proved to be temporary. Trying to solve this design flaw, he snapped into a fit of rage over his handicap, which led him to accidentally discover a new form of light that allowed him to see similarly to infra-red, which he dubbed "Ultra Light". He then decided to turn both inventions into crime. Compacting the devices in a staff fashioned after colonial lamplighters, he created a costume that would match his costumed namesake and begin his career in crime.
Completing his recollection, the Lamplighter sets his sights on an old pirate ship that has been pulled from the ocean floor, hoping to steal its material wealth inside. When the Lamplighter changes into his costumed guise, this sets off an alert that Hal Jordan had willed his Power Ring to warn him. Changing back into the Green Lantern, he rushes to the scene and battles the Lamplighter once more, and this time the villain is easily defeated.
Appearing in "Spotlight on the Lamplighter"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Lamplighter (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Arthur Blount (Single appearance)
- Cindy Corbett (Single appearance)
- Mr. Talbot (Single appearance)
- Ted and Gloria (a young couple) (Single appearance)
- Jabez Morley (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Evergreen City
- Evergreen Insurance Company
- Quickway Loan Company
- Elite Jewel Emporium
Items:
- Green Lantern Ring
- Lamplighter's Staff
Vehicles:
- Recovered Sunken Treasure Ship
Notes
- Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Green Lantern Vol. 4
See Also