This is the first Silver Age Green Lantern story ever written!

Hal Jordan had a fine reputation as an ace test pilot whose remarkable ack of fear was known to all his associates! But Hal never dreamed his reputation was so wide - Spread out that an unearthly being would single him out to recieve the greatest gift in the universe! SOS Green Lantern!

Abin Sur, an alien as well as Green Lantern of Sector 2814, lay dying in his crashed spacecraft, somewhere in the southwest, U.S.A. He knows he has little time left, and it is his duty to pass on his power ring to an earthman who is worthy, just as he would have to do on his homeworld of Ungara. He commands his battery of power to find someone on this planet, if there is anyone, who is without fear. A bolt of energy comes out of his power ring and retrieves Hal Jordan. Jordan walks into the craft and finds Sur lying on the ground, too weak to sit up fully. Jordan worries about Sur's health, but Sur assures him he is going to die. Helping him would only waste time, and Sur needs all the time he can get to brief Jordan on how to be a Green Lantern. He uses his power ring and determines that Hal is honest, so he may become the next Green Lantern of Sector 2814.

Abin Sur explains to Hal Jordan that the power ring has only one weakness--the colour yellow. Due to an impurity in the metal used to fashion the battery of power, explains Sur, the ring becomes powerless over any object which is coloured within the yellow area of the colour spectrum. He also notes that if this impurity is taken out, the battery of power loses its power.

Spoiler!

We now know, however, that the yellow impurity was Parallax, a yelow being of pure fear that was trapped within the power battery on Oa. Since Green Lanterns are all without fear, they cannot know fear, and thus, cannot overcome it. Just as willpower is represented by green on the colour spectrum, yellow represents fear. As Green Lanterns cannot overcome fear, they also cannot overcome yellow.

Abin Sur also explains that the ring must be charged in the battery of power. It is effective for a convenient 24 earth hours. Then he died.

Hal Jordan, now wearing the Green Lantern uniform he obtained from Abin Sur, disposes of the rocket and the corpse, just as Sur requested. He tests out the ring's limits, finding that it is limited only by his imagination and willpower. He can do virtually anything! But to keep himself and his family safe, he adopts a secret identity, calling himself Green Lantern, after the look of the battery of power.

"And in time, I hope to make Green Lantern a name to be feared by evildoers everywhere!"