DC Special #20 is an issue of the series DC Special (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 1976.
Synopsis for "The Challenge from 5700 A.D.!"
This story is reprinted from Green Lantern (Volume 2) #8.
In the year 5700 AD, the Solarite Chairman Korlian Dasor is petitioning his fellow council members in the selection of a new Solar Director. However, he decides that they should choose somebody instead from the past, and suggests that they pick the Green Lantern of the 20th Century. Agreeing on this, Korlian explains there is one minor problem with their time travel technology: Anybody they take from their past has their memory wiped out when brought to their time. In order to counteract this they have selected a false identity for Green Lantern, that of Pol Manning, who is a space explorer who has a romantic relationship with Iona Vane. Iona reluctantly accepts this for the good of her civilization.
While in the past, Green Lantern is called to action when a giant sea monster appears in Coast City, but as Hal prepares to fight the creature, he suddenly finds himself transported to the future and has his memories replaced with those of "Pol Manning". Korlian tells Pol of the Zegors, highly evolved Gila monsters which have now gained the ability to fire eye beams that seemingly destroy whatever they touch. Going into battle as Green Lantern, "Pol" witnesses one incident and realizes that the humans subjected to Zegor eye beams aren't killed, they're shrunk down to microscopic size. When the council (along with Iona) is also shrunk down, Green Lantern purposely shrinks himself down to check on them.
Detecting a strange energy source emanating from the ground with his power ring, Green Lantern returns to his normal size and check it out. There he finds the energy coming from a Zegor base, and destroys the device that is powering the Zegor's eye beams. With their power gone, Green Lantern restores all the Solarites back to their normal size and they fight back the Zegor invaders. Green Lantern then uses his power ring to imprison them.
With his mission a success, the Solarites send "Pol" back to his own time, where he appears at the exact moment he vanished with his original memories returned (and no memory of his adventure in 5700 AD). Taking one the sea monster, he realizes that the monster is actually made of gold. And so with his power ring he creates a giant vial of Aqua Rega and melts the monster away. Afterwards the military tells him that the creature was created from an unknown form of radiation. Green Lantern rushes home when he realizes that his power ring is out of power, which strikes him as odd because so far as he knew his ring was only recharged hours ago, little knowing about the future he had an adventure in.
Appearing in "The Challenge from 5700 A.D.!"
Featured Characters:
- Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) (First appearance as Pol Manning)
Supporting Characters:
- Iona Vane (First appearance)
- Korlian Dasor (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Zegors (First appearance)
- Sea Monster (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Raf Tamin (Single appearance)
- Vance Barnard (Single appearance)
Locations:
- 20th Century
- 58th Century
- Star City (First appearance)
Items:
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for "Riddle of the Frozen Ghost Town!"
This story is reprinted from Green Lantern (Volume 2) #2.
After saving his fellow co-worker, Eskimo mechanic Thomas "Pieface" Kalmaku from some ruffians, Pie tells him that he is leaving the company to return home to Alaska. Pieface explains that his father and another explorer James Dodds had found a gold mine and had split the map to prospect it at a later date. When his father fell ill and died, he passed Pie his half of the map. Because his family was poor, Pieface went to Coast City to search for Dodds, and got a job at the Ferris Aircraft Company for money. When he tries to show Hal the map, he suddenly realizes that the men he scuffled with had stolen it. As Green Lantern, Hal helps Pieface, by making a copy of his half of the map by pulling the information out of Pie's subconscious mind. Taking Pie up to Alaska, they begin searching for the gold mine, and run into the crooks who stole Pie's original half of the map. After a quick scuffle, where the crooks freeze Green Lantern in a block of ice. Green Lantern frees himself and easily defeats the crooks, G.L. and Pie then find the mine which Pieface knows will be able to support his people. Returning to the states, Pieface reveals to Hal that he knows that he is Green Lantern because he noticed both have the exact same fighting style. Instead of wiping Pieface's mind with his power ring, Hal instead decides to let Pieface remember as he is someone Hal can trust with his secret.
Appearing in "Riddle of the Frozen Ghost Town!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Carol Ferris
- Tom Kalmaku (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Duke Danfield (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Jimmy Dawes (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
- Kal Kalmaku (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
- Weeper (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for "Once a Green Lantern - - Always a Green Lantern!"
This story is reprinted from Green Lantern (Volume 2) #30.
Summoned to the planet Oa by the Guardians of the Universe, Hal Jordan is dispatched to the planet Korugar to convince the Green Lantern there, Sinestro's replacement, to continue being a Green Lantern after they decided to resign from the position.
Arriving on Korugar, Hal is shocked to find that Katma Tui is a woman, as she is the first female Green Lantern he's met. Asking her why she wants to cease being the Green Lantern, she recounts a past adventure in which she defended Korugar from a gigantic amoeba and she fell in love with a local scientist named Imi Kann.
When another giant amoeba terrorizes Korugar, both Hal and Katma Tui work to defeat the creature. Afterwards, to decide once and for all which is more important to her, she and Hal create a machine to determine if she is more devoted to loving Imi Kann or being a Green Lantern. When her loyalty shows that she is more loyal to the Green Lanterns, she decides to stay with the Green Lanterns. After the decision is made, Hal returns home.
Appearing in "Once a Green Lantern - - Always a Green Lantern!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Thomas Kalmaku
- Katma Tui (First appearance)
- Guardians of the Universe
Antagonists:
- Giant Amoeba (Dies in flashback)
Other Characters:
- Imi Kann (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
See Also