<P> The first Green Lantern character, Alan Scott, was created in 1940 by Martin Nodell during the initial popularity of superheroes . Alan Scott usually fought common criminals in New York City with the aid of his magic ring . </P> <P> The Green Lanterns are among DC Comics' longer lasting sets of characters . They have been adapted to television, video games, and motion pictures . </P> <P> Martin Nodell (using the name Mart Dellon) created the first Green Lantern . He first appeared in the Golden Age of comic books in All - American Comics #16 (July 1940), published by All - American Publications, one of three companies that would eventually merge to form DC Comics . </P> <P> This Green Lantern's real name was Alan Scott, a railroad engineer who, after a railway crash, came into possession of a magic lantern which spoke to him and said it would bring power . From this, he crafted a magic ring which gave him a wide variety of powers . The limitations of the ring were that it had to be "charged" every 24 hours by touching it to the lantern for a time, and that it could not directly affect objects made of wood . Alan Scott fought mostly ordinary human villains, but he did have a few paranormal ones such as the immortal Vandal Savage and the zombie Solomon Grundy . Most stories took place in New York . </P>

When did the original green lantern come out