BAZ Confirmed as 1st Arab-American GREEN LANTERN

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After months of speculation about his country of origin, it's now been confirmed that Baz, the mysterious new Green Lantern being introduced in September's Green Lantern #0, will be an Arab-American.

The confirmation comes from an unlikely yet reliable source:  Green Lantern writer and DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns is appearing on Sept. 8 at the Arab American National Museum in Detroit to mark the hero's debut, according to a story in the Detroit Free Press.

The article, which called the hero the "first Arab-American Green Lantern," is also the first DC confirmation of the character's name — "Baz"  — although Newsarama had previously reported the name from retailer-only solicitations.

 

Johns, who grew up in metro Detroit and is himself a Lebanese-American, will be visiting Detroit to also sign copies of Green Lantern #0 on Sept. 7 at local retailer Green Brain Comics.

Baz, who was first seen in DC's Free Comic Book Day issue in May, was later revealed in promotional images to be sporting an Arabic tattoo on his arm. Comic book fans began guessing that the hero was of Arab descent and possibly hailed from the Middle East or Asia.

 

However, the hero is now revealed to be an American, meaning Baz is the fifth American to wear the mantle of Green Lantern.

Next week's Green Lantern Annual #1 has been touted as a game-changing issue for the Green Lantern franchise, kicking off the "Third Army" event that crosses into all four Green Lantern-related comics. It presumably clears the way for Baz to debut as the new Green Lantern of Earth in Green Lantern #0.

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