Who's This? A Vegan space cop.
The facts: The so-called Green Man started life as a Green Lantern, appearing in a "Tales of the Green Lantern Corps", uhm, tale at the back of Green Lantern #163 (May 1982, see below). But coming from a world in the Vega system, he could not patrol his own Sector, by order of a non-interference agreement between the Guardians and the Psions. But he did visit it anyway, and was thrown out of the Corps. So he joined the Omega Men (making him one of the few core members not created by Marv Wolfman - Todd Klein and Dave Gibbons instead did the honors). It's with this team that he died (in Invasion #1). Infinite Crisis brought him back without explanation (some claim it's a different Green Man from the same species), and now once more a Green Lantern, he became an Alpha GL (the Corps' brainwashed internal affairs department). In 2012's Green Lantern Corps #8, when ordered to kill a Green Lantern, he took his own life after shirking off the brainwashing, and killing his fellow Alphas.
How you could have heard of him: I doubt cameos in the live action GL movie or the animated Green Lantern: First Flight would register, but seeing how popular GL comics were under Geoff Johns, and the Green Man's many appearances there, I'd say he's at least in the Top 20 of recognizable Lanterns.
Example story: Green Lantern #164 (May 1983) "Hero" by Todd Klein and Dave Gibbons
When a caravan of "space gypsies" (oh boy) is threatened by a destructive space anomaly, it's up to the Green Man to help the Blue People out. And he knows his business: This is "another anti-matter leak"... I guess Qward isn't cleaning up after itself or something. The twist: The caravan (or at least, its leader) refuses his help. It's against their code. The gods have placed this evil in their path and they must face it bravely and alone.
But if there's one thing you should know about the Green Man, it's that he's a rule breaker. His career is littered with instances of his disobeying authority figures, whether his own anti-individualistic society or the Guardians. So he'll find a way to at least bend the rules here.
He turns the leader's son, Gretti, into a Green Lantern, but there isn't much time to train him. At best, our hero is a chaperone.
They manage to close the hole, or Gretty does, though note the umbilical that keeps him powered. How much of this was accomplished through the Green Man's nudges? Doesn't matter, so long as his people are safe.
Gretty is celebrated, and it looks like the Green Man doesn't care if he doesn't get any credit. It was never about that.
Gretti is left with the wrong impression that he gets to keep the power (though he does get to keep the uniform and a dead ring), but is set right when he fails to use it to take revenge on a rival. Easy come, easy go, and the Green Man isn't rogue enough to start minting GLs all by himself!
Who's Next? A kinky locksmith.
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