RAKER QARRIGAT	BIOGRAPHY
	Created by Scott Beatty and Graham Nolan

Raker Qarrigat

PERSONAL DATA

Aliases: the Green Flame
Occupation: Green Lantern
Homeworld: Wolsoon
Space Sector: 38
Group Affiliation(s): Green Lantern Corps
Sector Partner: Kraken
Gender: Male
Eyes: White
Hair: Unknown
First Appearance: Green Lantern 80-Page Giant #3 (August 2000): "A Lantern Against the Dark: A Forgotten Tale of the Green Lantern Corps"
Creators: Scott Beatty and Graham Nolan

HISTORY

One of a handful of ring wielders in the early years of the Green Lantern Corps, Raker Qarrigat of Wolsoon was given the responsibility of bringing the emerald light of justice to the dark world of Apokolips. Raker Qarrigat was the third agent of the Guardians of the Universe to attempt to expand the Oan protectorate. The two prior attempts, the first by Unit 2761 of the Manhunters and the second by Kendotha Kr'nek of Binitrix, were never heard from again.

The power ring opened a passage from normal space-time to the realm of the New Gods. Raker Qarrigat cut through Apokolips' defenses and the Parademons sent to oppose him. It was not long before he had an audience with Darkseid himself and was demanding the surrender of Apokolips. Though the Green Lantern was confident in the might he wielded with the power ring, the Lord of Apokolips was not impressed. Darkseid reached out and crushed Raker's right hand, ring and all. Unlike his predecessors, the humbled Green Lantern was sent back to Oa to warn the Guardians that Darkseid was absolute ruler of Apokolips. Darkseid gave the crushed power ring to Desaad, to discover its secrets.

Arriving on Oa, Raker Qarrigat told his masters of the enemy they now faced. Under his recommendation, they began a massive expansion of the Green Lantern Corps. Each ring wielder was sent to recruit others to serve the Guardians. They were preparing for war.

On the jungle world of Suirpalam in Space Sector 312, Raker Qarrigat granted a power ring to B'Shi who in turn recruited the rock creature Ash-Pak-Glif. Each new Green Lantern recruited another. The Corps grew with each passing day. Raker Qarrigat trained the novice Green Lanterns in the use of the power ring. Alisand'r of Tamaran in the Vega system was just one of the Corps to benefit from the veteran Lantern's expertise. Over the course of two years the Corps had grown from a handful of Green Lanterns to a fighting force 3,600 strong, with representatives from each of the sectors of known space.

The day finally came when Raker announced the readiness of the Corps to the Guardians of the Universe. As expected, Raker Qarrigat was chosen by the Guardians to lead the invasion of Apokolips. Though they planned a surprise attack, the arrival of the Corps had been expected. Desaad had discovered the rings' vulnerability to the color yellow and prepared accordingly. Hordes of Parademons awaited the Green Lanterns. Fully two-thirds of the Green Lanterns were slaughtered or taken or taken prisoner in the ensuing battle. The Green Lanterns that were taken prisoner fared worse. They were tortured and killed, and like B'shi, their bodies were left as a warning to those that would oppose Darkseid. Raker could only watch as Darkseid snapped Alisand'r's neck.

The remaining ring wielders had retreated, entrenching themselves beyond the central fire-pit. They found their individual power batteries dangerously diminished. The Central Power Battery on Oa could not reach across the dimensional divide to sufficiently charge the smaller power batteries. Under Raker's command, the Green Lanterns gathered weaponry from their enemies. The Corps' final assault was a bloody hand-to-hand battle against the forces of Apokolips. When Darkseid appeared, Raker charged him, using both power ring and Parademon weaponry to fight his enemy. Darkseid remained defiant even though the Green Lantern held the upper hand. The war was abruptly ended by the arrival of the Guardians themselves.

The Guardians of the Universe offered a truce to Darkseid. The Guardians and their agents would leave Apokolips under Darkseid's control provided he did not interfere with the area of space protected by the Green Lantern Corps. Darkseid accepted, rather than face the unlimited power of the Guardians themselves. The surviving Green Lanterns were to be withdrawn from Apokolips, with the exception of Raker Qarrigat. Darkseid's one condition to the truce was the caging of Raker Qarrigat on Apokolips as a spoil of war. The Corps bid their leader farewell. Ash-Pak-Glif placed one hand over Raker's forehead and the other over Raker's right hand. Years later it would be revealed Ash-Pak-Glif had secretly given his friend a power ring and battery. Whether the Guardians knew of this transaction or not has yet to be determined. Concerned of possible dissension in the Corps, the Guardians expunged the events from the Great Book of Oa. As the Guardians departed, Raker Qarrigat was overwhelmed by the foul creatures of Apokolips. He survived and hid underground for years beyond number. - Green Lantern 80-Page Giant #3

It had been revealed that Raker Qarrigat preserved the 24 hour charge of his power ring over the centuries by use of a null chronosphere. He would only use scant fractions of seconds of power before preserving the energy once more. Striking from hiding and disappearing once more into the shadows, Raker's exploits began the legend of the Green Flame of Armagetto. - Orion #18

The Corps would be restored and went on to have a long and glorious history before its destruction in the late 20th Century due to the actions of Parallax. Kyle Rayner of Earth was given what was believed to be the last power ring. Raker's power ring, located in another dimension than the rest of the Corps, was not destroyed.

The day came when Rayner and Orion, the son of Darkseid, were ensnared by Desaad and stranded on Apokolips. Raker Qarrigat found the unusual pair. Orion had been badly injured and the Justice Leaguers were on the run from war hounds sent out by Darkseid. Raker believed, incorrectly, that the Green Lantern before him had been sent by the Guardians and Darkseid's rule would soon be at an end. He was disheartened to find out the truth. He had been forgotten and worse still, the Corps was no more and the Guardians were dead.

While the hunting parties searched for the fugitives, Raker told his tale to Rayner while he tended Orion's wounds. It was not long before the forces of Darkseid found them. They managed to escape, making their way to a Parademon hatchery. Raker Qarrigat revealed his power ring and battled the Parademons so Rayner and Orion could escape with the help of a Justice League rescue team. It appeared that Raker Qarrigat had been killed, but in fact he had survived. - Green Lantern 80-Page Giant #3

Months later, in an unrelated incident, an injured Orion returned to Apokolips. Raker Qarrigat found the fallen hero and used his ping to force the Father Box to tell of the New God's battle with the Ecruos. Orion had saved the universe, and Raker Qarrigat would risk everything to spare his life. Raker used the last seconds of his power to destroy a company of Apokoliptian firebelchers and transport Orion offworld.

Raker’s actions garnered a visit from Darkseid himself. The Lord of Apokolips “thanked” Raker Qarrigat for saving his son Orion, and explained why he had kept Raker alive for centuries. Raker’s actions as the Green Flame invoked fear within Darkseid's troops, which drew them closer together and kept them sharp. Raker inspired hope within the populace of Armagetto, which made them fight to stay alive, and remain useful to Darkseid. As far as Raker Qarrigat was concerned, one day the Hunger Dogs would rise up to destroy Darkseid, and work of the Green Lantern of Apokolips would be finished. - Orion #18

When Oa was restored and the Central Power Battery recharged, it appeared Raker Qarrigat found his power ring and battery fully functional. He learned of Kyle Rayner’s exploits in battling Amon Sur and the Black Circle Syndicate. Rayner had been unsuccessfully trying to enlist former Green Lanterns to help him take down the interstellar criminals.

Raker Qarrigat sent a construct of himself to convince former ring wielders to join Rayner’s cause. Voz, Reemuz, Shilandra Thane and the Green Lantern of Zymia were eventually persuaded to return to Oa and pledge their support to the Green Lantern of Earth and the restored-to-life Kilowog. - Green Lantern Vol. 3 #169

While Darkseid had previously let Raker Qarrigat operate freely, it appears Darkseid tired of his game of cat and mouse and moved to crush the hope Qarrigat had tried to instill on dismal Apokolips. Raker Qarrigat was captured and subjected to years of public physical and psychological torture. Once the Green Lantern Corps was restored, Raker was finally rescued from Desaad's dungeons by his new sector partner, Kraken.

While Raker is still trying to recuperate from all he had endured, he still continues on as a Green Lantern. Both he and Kraken were recalled from Apokolips to serve in the war with the Sinestro Corps. Battling on Earth to defeat the Anti-Monitor, the Green Lanterns pulled the Manhunters’ mobile base, Warworld, from the skies. It came crashing down upon the master of the anti-matter universe. Warworld's power core detonated as well as the Sinestro Corps’ Central Power Battery. Though the Anti-Monitor was not killed, he was gravely injured. Superman-Prime then took the opportunity to attack his hated foe by tearing apart his armor and throwing him into deep space. The Sinestro Corps and their allies were defeated.

After the war, Raker Qarrigat and Kraken were next seen on Oa where Kraken was one of six ring wielders to be selected as Alpha-Lanterns. Recognizing the good his partner could do as a more powerful Alpha-Lantern, Raker Qarrigat encouraged her to accept the honor. Sadly, one of the Alpha-Lanterns’ first actions involved the arrest, trial, and expulsion of Laira of Jayd, the Green Lantern of Space Sector 112.

Considering the recent events involving the New Gods, and the Alpha-Lanterns’ deployment to Earth, one can only speculate Raker Qarrigat’s reaction when he and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps learn Kraken’s mind and body has been subverted by Granny Goodness of Apokolips.

POWERS AND WEAPONS

As a Green Lantern, Raker Qarrigat possesses a power ring and power battery.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Raker Qarrigat in chronological order click here (2000-2011) and here (2011-present)

PROFILE REFERENCES

Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps Secret Files #1 (February 2008)

GLCWP NOTE

Darkseid vs. the Green Lantern Corps is a battle I'd been waiting to see and this story didn't let me down. It gave an interesting view of the history of the Guardians' agents, finally showing the Manhunters in action before their betrayal. The only thing that really got to me was the timeline, as it twists the Green Lantern Corps around the New Gods' history.

The DCU has obviously moved on since posting the original version of the profile on James "Lord Malovolio" Miller’s EMERALD DAWN website, and the latest version of Raker’s history has his troubles with Darkseid dating back centuries, not billions (or even millions) of years.

It had been reported that Scott Beatty would love to write a regular Raker Qarrigat Green Lantern title. Beatty promised to explain some of the plot threads left over from the 80 Page Giant. "Gil Kane was the king of sleek costume designs. His Silver Age Atom and Green Lantern costumes are still two of the best in the industry. In designing Raker (or "GLX" as I like to refer to him) I wanted to hearken back to the days of simpler designs and give Raker a real heroic look. Raker was always supposed to be the John Wayne of the GL Corps, so I wanted him to be a BIG man. The flame that runs down his back was a tip of the hat to the original Green Lantern and the Green Flame that powered his ring. Blue-skinned characters have always been a part of GL history (the Guardians, Manhunters, etc.), so I choose blue as his skin tone, which also gave him an "alien" appearance." More information here: class=comic http://www.scottbeatty.com/