Beacon is the name of two fictional characters published by
Big Bang Comics
''Big Bang Comics'' is an American comic book anthology series, designed to be an homage to Golden Age and Silver Age comics. Most stories in ''Big Bang Comics'' take place either on "Earth-A," during the 1960s, or on "Earth-B" during the 1940 ...
. The ''Beacon of Earth-A'' (Julie Gardener) is a
Silver Age character. The ''Beacon of Earth-B'' (Scott Martin) is a
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...
character. Both characters first appear in ''Big Bang Comics'' #3 (October 1994), and were created by Bud Hanzel, Chris Ecker and Steve Adams.
The characters are a pastiche of the Golden Age and Silver Age
Green Lanterns of
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. Scott Martin is equivalent to Earth-2's
Alan Scott and is named for him and his creator
Martin Nodell
Martin Nodell (November 15, 1915 – December 9, 2006) was an American cartoonist and commercial artist, best known as the creator of the Golden Age superhero Green Lantern. Some of his work appeared under the pen name Mart Dellon.
Biography Earl ...
, and Julie Gardener is equivalent to Earth-1's
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created in 1959 by writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and first appeared in '' ...
(although her name may also be a reference to
Guy Gardner, it is more likely a reference to
Julius Schwartz
Julius "Julie" Schwartz (; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various t ...
who was frequently credited as Julie Schwartz and
Gardner Fox).
Fictional character biography
Earth-A Beacon
Born in 1943, Son of German Priests Julie Gardener discovered the crystal after it fell to Earth. By holding it in her hand. Julie could summon up whatever powers she desired. She realized that with the crystal, she could be invincible or even immortal.
When she met The Beacon on Earth-B during the Criss-Cross Crisis, the two drew the energy from similar stars to bridge the void between the two Earths to prevent them from colliding.
In 1989, the Roundtable of America disbanded, with Cyclone / Overdrive crippled, the
Knight Watchman retired and The Blitz missing in action. The Hall of Heroes became a museum, and Julie Gardener moved from Gateway City to Capitol City to become its curator.
In ''Big Bang'' #4 (1994), an enemy of the Atomic Sub known as The Sub-Human returned to exterminate the Roundtable after a humiliating defeat by The Sub many years ago. In the process, he shattered The Beacon's crystal, causing her to die soon after.
Earth-B Beacon
Geologist Scott Martin discovered fragments of alien crystals in a cave that housed a massive underground city. The city itself was powered by the massive Ko-Dan crystal. Scott defeated the city's ruler Tyrnos in a battle of wills to gain control over a shard of the crystal, Scott won and the crystal embedded itself in his hardhat's lamp holder, and he later became The Beacon.
Powers and abilities
Both Beacon's use alien Ko-Dan power crystals as a weapon. The crystals emit different colours for different actions:
*Red - Absorb energy
*Green - Superstrength
*Yellow - Defense
When the Earth-A Beacon's crystal is shattered, a large explosion occurs as the energy begins to leak out. When all energy was released, all that remained was a pinkish-purple shell.
External links
International Heroes: Earth-A Beacon
Image Comics superheroes
Big Bang Comics
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