Charlie Vicker was an actor who portrayed Green Lantern in a TV show on Earth. Charlie enjoyed his fame and happily threw himself into the life of a playboy television star. After one particularly grueling night of partying, Charlie was too hung over to show up on set so his brother Rodger had to go on as his stand-in. Unfortunately for Roger, a group of various space criminals, led by former Earth criminal Al Magone, mistook the television Green Lantern for the real thing and attacked during a live broadcast. The criminals were ones previous imprisoned by the Green Lanterns on a special timeless criminal planet who had banded together and launched simultaneous attacks on Green Lanterns across the galaxy. By the time the real Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) arrived on the scene, the defenseless stand-in was dead and the criminal responsible was gone. Charlie was overcome with grief and blamed himself for his brother's death. He demanded that Hal Jordan bring him along in his hunt for the murderer responsible, so that Charlie could avenge his brother.