Eric Knowles (Earth-Two)

Tin Soldier
Mainstream Universe‎, 1930s-1950s
Gallery
Real Name	Eric Knowles
Main Alias	Tin Soldier
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Public Identity
Citizenship	American
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Hair	Black · balding
Origin
Universe	Earth-Two
Creators	Carmine Infantino
First Appearance	Green Lantern Vol 2 #88 (March, 1972)
Last Appearance	Green Lantern Vol 2 #88 (March, 1972)

Eric Knowles was the Tin Soldier, a Golden Age Green Lantern villain.

History

Eric Knowles was a toymaker who carved two Green Lantern statuettes which the hero gave to two boys who won his tolerance essay contest. The hero also took the boys to the circus. At circus, mysterious living toys led by Tin Soldier steal the belongings of the audience. Green Lantern try fight the toys, but is knocked down by Tin Soldier with a giant wooden yoyo . After that, Green Lantern and the police try to lure Tin Soldier with the announcement of an emerald in Miffany Salon that have belonged to Genghis Khan. As expected, Tin Soldier and his toys try to steal the emerald, but the police and Lantern are there waiting for him. Tin Soldier escapes making his toys explode, but GL manages to keep one of these unharmed, discovering that it is a robot controlled by radio signals. Using equipment in his studio, GL tracks the source of radio waves by its wave lenght. The Emerald Knight manages to find the villain when he would break through the roof of the Diamond Die Factory with a giant spinning top. The bandit knocks down GL other time using a fist-shaped jack-in-the-box, and tie him to the giant top. The top, with GL tied to it, is thrown on Diamond Die roof, smashing a hole through . A astonished Tin Man is confronted by the Master of Light, who managed to break free from the top before the fatal moment. This time, Tin Man's toys hold the hero so that he can be crushed under a stamper, but Alan uses his ring to stop it. Sending the toys with a punch over Tin Soldier, GL turns off his radio belt, and the other toys stop with its actions. Unmasking the villain, he is revealed be Eric Knowles.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

• Artistry (toymaking, carving)
• Electrical Engineering: He could create human-sized, radio-controlled toys.
  

Paraphernalia

Equipment

• Radio belt: dials on this belt were used to radio-control his toys.

Notes

• enemy of Green Lantern (Alan Scott)
• The story "The Menace of the Marching Toys", where Tin Soldier debuts, was an unpublished Golden Age Green Lantern tale originally intended for the never published Green Lantern Vol 1 39 (1949), but only published in Green Lantern Vol 2 88, 1972.
• This version of Eric Knowles (Earth-Two), including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series. Even though versions of the character may have since appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.

Related

• 1 Appearances of Eric Knowles (Earth-Two)
• 1 Images featuring Eric Knowles (Earth-Two)
• Quotations by or about Eric Knowles (Earth-Two)
• Character Gallery: Eric Knowles (Earth-Two)

Footnotes

Green Lantern Villain(s) This character is or was primarily an enemy of the Green Lantern of Earth, or the Green Lantern Corps as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Green Lantern Villains."