| MYRWHYDDEN | BIOGRAPHY |
| Created by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane |
Art by Gil Kane
PERSONAL DATA
Occupation: Sorcerer
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Base of Operation: Unnamed planet, later a microworld, now mobile
Gender: Male
Height: 3' 7.5"
Weight: 67 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: White
First Appearance: Green Lantern Vol. 2 #26 (January 1964): "The World Within the Power Ring!"
Creators: Gardner Fox and Gil Kane
HISTORY
Sometime around the late nineteenth/early twentieth century, The Guardians of the Universe sent Green Lantern Abin Sur of Ungara to a world dominated by the sinister sorcerer known as Myrwhydden. The mage needed to cast spells in rhyme to battle the Green Lantern, so he was gagged by the ring wielder and defeated. Abin Sur reduced Myrwhydden to submicroscopic size and dropped him inside the power ring, into a barren world created by the Ungaran's will.
Years later, Myrwhydden's powers slowly returned. The mage created a magical paradise inside the ring, and was soon ready to destroy his captor. He created an evil, magical counterpart of Abin Sur and sent this creation to battle the Green Lantern. Myrwhydden did not know Abin Sur had died, or that the magical creation fought Abin's successor, Hal Jordan.
The Green Lantern of Earth was surprised to see another Corps member on Earth. He was shocked to find it was Abin Sur. The Ungaran tried to crush Jordan with a power ring hammer and anvil before the magical image disappeared.
Jordan realized "Abin Sur" was not a real Green Lantern, as the alien's ring did not glow when he sent the hammer and anvil at him. It seemed whoever sent the "Green Lantern" did not know Jordan was the new ring wielder. The Green Lantern of Earth asked his power ring for information on Abin Sur's foes.
Jordan took the offensive, transporting himself to the world of Myrwhydden. The mystic menace captured Green Lantern in a magical sphere, believing his enemy was helpless without his power ring. He was surprised to hear Jordan casting a spell to free himself.
The two fought a magical duel, but Myrwhydden got the upper hand. He knew the magical land better than Green Lantern and tricked the emerald crusader into falling off a cliff. A rockslide appeared to batter the hero, leaving him helpless. Myrwhydden lifted a rock to crush his foe, but found it changed into a balloon. Green Lantern had only pretended to be a magician, as long as he was in contact with his power ring he could control it. Myrwhydden was too terrified to let go of the balloon, fearing a deadly fall.
Green Lantern willed the mage to remain silent. Without a voice, the mystic could not cast his spells. - Green Lantern Vol. 2 #26
Ever scheming, Myrwhydden experimented with shells he found in the world of the power ring. Over time, he discovered he could mimic a human voice by creating a crude wind organ.
The mage used his organ to make contact with magical objects beyond the power ring. The Coins of Magus had been owned by the ancient Roman sorcerer Simon Magus and had been imbued by magic. Myrwhydden ordered the coins to create demons from their carved faces.
The ancient coins had been stolen a few years before and hidden by the thief to wait his return from jail. Upon digging up his stolen loot, Chuck Cullen was angered by the disappearance of the designs on the silver coins. He was surprised to find the creatures from the coins were alive and would serve him. A Roman warrior, an owl, a chariot, and a bull were waiting Cullen's word.
Cullen started a crime spree in Coast City which attracted the attention of Green Lantern. The emerald warrior had no effect over the magical creatures, they were invulnerable to his attack. Fighting the Roman warrior, Jordan tried another tactic, but the Green Lantern was soon their helpless prisoner.
The creatures took Green Lantern within the power ring to face Myrwhydden. The mage was ready to order Jordan to set him free, but to do so he had to remove his spell of invulnerability. That was the only thing Green Lantern had to hear. Revealing himself as the Roman warrior, Jordan knocked out Myrwhydden. The clever hero had changed minds with the Roman warrior right before "Green Lantern" was knocked unconscious.
To prevent any further threat from Myrwhydden, Green Lantern erased the wizard's memory of who and where he was. Myrwhydden would not be a threat for some time to come.
Years]] later, the Guardians of the Universe upgraded the Green Lanterns' power rings. The programming of Hal's old power ring was downloaded into the newer model. Myrwhydden was transferred in the process. Presumably, the transfer restored Myrwhydden's memory.
A few months afterwards, Jordan defended a starship that had fallen prey to energy leeches. The space parasites quickly turned their attention from the starship to the Green Lantern and his power ring. Jordan was having great difficulty defending himself from their onslaught as they were siphoning the energy from his power ring. He changed his tactics by throwing his trailer truck loaded with a cargo of explosives at the energy leeches. Jordan would ultimately run the space creatures off with a blast of heat from his ring.
Unknown to Jordan, Myrwhydden had been drawn out of the power ring by the energy leeches. The evil mage began to regain his normal size but would have died had not Green Lantern exploded the truck at that moment. The explosion provided enough oxygen for Myrwhydden to survive in his reduced state as well as the opportunity to take the power battery. Myrwhydden used the power battery to propel himself to a small planetoid where he created a time accelerating mist with his magic.
When Green Lantern could not find the battery in the wreckage of his truck, he used the power ring to trace the battery's residual energy trail to the planetoid. Entering the mist, Green Lantern was unaware time was passing much more rapidly than normal. By Myrwhydden's design, the ring would run out of power long before Green Lantern had expected.
The wizard conjured up yellow hued mythical beasts as a delaying tactic. His emerald foe realized he was fighting someone aware of the ring's limitations and became suspicious of the ease in which he bested the creatures.
When he confronted Myrwhydden, the power ring ran out of energy. Myrwhydden gloated, telling him of the details behind his defeat. Furthermore, he would use the stolen power battery to augment his power making him invincible. Myrwhydden believed Green Lantern was bluffing when he said the Guardians had been alerted to the theft of the battery and therefore cut off its power.
To prove his enemy wrong, Myrwhydden would use the battery's energy to kill the Green Lantern of Earth. When the wizard removed the power battery from its clear yellow casing a second Hal Jordan snatched the battery from him and freed the captive Green Lantern. Jordan revealed he had scanned the mist and learned of its time accelerating powers. Once he was aware the mist was part of a trap, Green Lantern created an energy duplicate with half his power. It remained outside the mist until Green Latnern sent a mental signal.
The wizard was so surprised by the ring wielder's subterfuge he was unable to concentrate long enough to make a mystic chant. Green Lantern defeated Myrwhydden and gagged and bound his foe.
Believing Myrwhydden was too dangerous to keep carrying around in his ring, Green Lantern took took Myrwhydden to the Guardians of the Universe for imprisonment.
The Guardians of the Universe would take away Myrwhydden's strength, leaving him without enough energy to use his magic. For months, Myrwhydden was helpless until he was revived by waves of power, created by Hal Jordan when Jordan used his will power. Myrwhydden forced Green Lantern to expend more willpower, making the mage stronger.
Green Lantern had saved the Freeminds of Garon from enslavement by an alien race known as the Headmen. Dorine of the Freeminds was in love with Jordan, but he was soon to leave. Jordan invited Dorine into his spaceship, his home while he was exiled from Earth by order of the Guardians. Twenty four hours had passed since he last recharged the ring, but he could not find the power battery.
Myrwhydden took control of Green Lantern's starship, giving the ring wielder the idea the ship had turned against him. The evil magician kept the power battery away from Green Lantern, forcing his foe through a gauntlet of perils. Launched into space, Green Lantern and Dorinda found they had another companion. A small boy from Dorinda's group had snuck on board to explore. The threesome tried to get to the power battery, but the boy was killed after stepping through an airlock and being sucked out into space. There was nothing Dorinda or Green Lantern could do but watch.
The traps were getting deadlier, but the battery was in sight. It was blasted through an airlock, but Green Lantern followed it out into space. He recharged the power ring and halted the starship.
Returning to Aoran, Jordan swore to find the killer of the small boy. At that instant, the Green Lantern vanished, leaving the power ring behind.
Myrwhydden brought the Green Lantern inside the power ring, to a mythical world designed from Hal Jordan's fantasies. The world was inspired by the "sword and sorcery" books Jordan read when he was younger. The characters were based upon the feelings of Jordan. The emerald crusader fought as Haljor the Barbarian, wielder of the Powersword.
Haljor was the captain of the royal guard of Ferron. He resigned from his post King Caarl's wishes. Haljor's old friend Thomal was sent to bring the barbarian to an audience with his majesty the king. Caarl knew Haljor would not raise the power sword against Thomal, a warrior dressed in yellow.
Caarl sent Haljor to rescue Princess Caarol from unknown captors. The barbarian loved Caarol and agreed to the task. He was accompanied by Dorinda, a fellow warrior who loved him.
The powersword led the two fighters to the Castle Oan, home of the three-headed wizard Guardon. The blue skinned wizard gave Haljor the powersword to serve, an honor he had accepted.
Guardon had taken Caarol to focus Haljor on his duties. The wizard intended to keep Caarol beyond Haljor's reach. Haljor turned against his master, to rescue Caarol. Guardon would kill Dorinda and Caarol to have Haljor serve them forever.
The wizard collapsed the castle on top of the trio, Dorinda was crushed under the fallen stone. Guardon moved to kill Caarol but found the sharp edge of the powersword instead.
Haljor was ready to plunge the blade deep in Guardon's throat, but he relented. Despite the cruelty of his master, Guardon gave Haljor's life meaning. The world of Haljor faded away.
Myrwhydden had failed, the barbarian fantasy was designed to sap the rest of Jordan's willpower. The slaying of Guardon would have given Myrwhydden the last burst of willpower needed to escape. The evil mage was not finished yet, as he could keep Green Lantern in the ring forever, and he would eventually find a way to make Jordan utilize his will.
Left with no alternative, Jordan planned to take his own life. The Guardians would discover his death and track down Myrwhydden to the ends of the universe. The magician was terrified by the thought of the Guardians' intervention and released Green Lantern from the spell.
Returning to Oa, Hal Jordan under went a "psycho-drama" to test his capabilities as a Green Lantern. Other members of the Corps took part in the simulation, including Green Lanterns Arisia, Droxelle, Eddore, Galius Zed, Kaylark, Krista, and Meadlux. The Guardians were concerned the Green Lantern of Earth's will power was shattered by the evil magician. The test concluded, Jordan was judged fit to remain as a Green Lantern.
After the so-called Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Guardians of the Universe ordered the Green Lantern Corps to round up dozens of cosmic criminals. It appears Myrwhydden was removed from the power ring and incarcerated in an Oan Sciencell.
The Guardians reunited with the Zamarons and left for another dimension. The Green Lantern Corps was given independance and left Oa. The Sciencells prisoners remained to serve their sentences.
Sinestro broke out with the help of the sentient Space Sector 3600. He carved a path of destruction across the universe before he was stopped by the Green Lanterns.
Held on the Earth's moon during the Millennium event, Sinestro reached out with his mind to find an ally. He and Myrwhydden vowed to help each other escape their imprisonment.
Sinestro guided Myrwhydden's actions, causing the Green Lanterns to battle Myrwhydden's magic on Earth, while Sinestro funneled their green power to Oa. The influx of green power allowed Myrwhydden a brief taste of freedom before he was locked away again. He had freed Sinestro, but the Green Lanterns' deadliest enemy was subdued by one of the Chosen. Both villains remained captives for the rest of the Millennium event. How Myrwhydden gained magical power from the emerald light remains a mystery.
Myrwhydden and Sinestro were later taken to Oa. The mage was returned to his Sciencell while the Green Lantern Corps gathered to decide the fate of Sinestro.
The former Green Lantern was tried and convicted of many charges, including genocide. The Sciencells could not contain Sinestro's villainy, so the Corps voted on a more permanent solution.
Sinestro's execution led to the collapse of the Central Power Battery. The power rings of the Green Lanterns were being reabsorbed by the implosion. The loss of green power was a boon to the Sciencell prisoners, as their cells opened, giving them the opportunity to claim vengeance on the powerless Green Lanterns. Myrwhydden planned to make a quick escape while the former inmates fought the Green Lanterns.
Using his powers to create a space-bound barge, Myrwhydden found he had picked up a passenger. Goldface had hopped aboard, but their ship was overturned by Salakk. Myrwhydden whipped up a sandstorm to keep the Green Lanterns at bay.
Hal Jordan entered the Central Power Battery and halted the complete collapse. Returning to his comrades, Jordan was the last of the Green Lanterns with a working power ring. His ring transformed the ground of Oa into prison walls. The escapees were later returned to their cells.
The Green Lanterns returned to their homeworlds. Appa Ali Apsa remained on Oa as the sole caretaker of the ancient battery. The isolation slowly drove him insane. He started in on the prisoners, forcing mind merges and killing them for their refusals. Though the prisoners of the Sciencells were eventually released, the fate of Myrwhydden has yet to be revealed.
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of Myrwhydden in chronological order click here
PROFILE REFERENCES
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #16 (June 1986)
GLCWP NOTE
Thanks to the contributions of Andrew A. Poe, Nick Vector and Gregory B. Tiede I've finally bridged the gap between Green Lantern # 41 and # 164. Andrew, Nick and Gregory each sent information regarding Adventure Comics #460 which I finally managed to get a copy of. Adventure Comics # 459-460 were to be the start of a GL feature in that anthology book but the cancellation of the Aquaman series meant the loss of GL's feature.
Myrwhydden somehow managed to escape the Guardians' imprisonment by GL2 #164. This might have been due to the Guardians' loss of power during Tales of the Green Lantern Corps # 1-3 which also led to the escape of Evil Star as noted in Green Lantern Vol. 2 #159. Personally, I think the Guardians were just throwing threats at GL during his exile in space.
The "advanced power ring" story that stems from Myrwhydden's attack on Hal does offer some possible threads that could be followed.
One theory (proposed by Mr MGL) for Hal's change to Parallax involves the actions of Myrwhydden. While I admit to initially being skeptical of this idea, I find it does have some solid points.
According to WHO'S WHO '85 # 16, Myrwhydden is pronounced MUHR-whih-den.