Green Lantern: “In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night
Green Lantern (2011)
No evil shall escape my sight
Let those who worship evil’s might
Beware my power, Green Lantern’s light!”
A plane is falling out of the sky. The pilots fight to regain control as the passengers pray for a miracle. The plane jerks to a stop. The passengers see a green… catcher’s mitt? What the hell?! Tendrils of green light connect the mitt to a flying man. The passengers relax, realizing that Green Lantern has saved them.
You think going green’s tough? Tell that to Green Lantern. He’s an interstellar cop, a superhero, and a co-founder of the Justice League. So who is he? How did he become a Green Lantern? Why is he even called a Lantern when his powers come from a ring? Let’s find out.
Scene Select
First Flight: Green Lantern’s Backstory
Senator Hammond : “Hal Jordan. Worst pilot I’ve ever seen, or the best. Not quite sure.”
Green Lantern (2011)
Hal Jordan : “I’ve been called both, sir. ”
There are countless Green Lanterns so we will focus on the main one, Hal Jordan.
Hal was a normal kid who idolized his father. Mr. Jordan was a test pilot who died in a plane crash, and Hal decided to follow in his footsteps, hopefully without the plane crash part. Hal became a test pilot, but soon became something even more dangerous.
During a test flight, Hal investigated a crashed ship. He discovered that it was a spaceship piloted by a dying alien named Abin Sur. The alien entrusted Hal with a ring and a green object shaped like a lantern before dying. Hal put on the ring and was transported to Oa, homeworld of the Green Lantern Corps.
Hal met the the Guardians of the Universe, the creators of the Corps, and learned that the Lanterns were intergalactic peacekeepers. An inspired Hal joined the Corps despite the commute. After being trained and assigned duty guarding Earth, Hal returned to home as the superhero Green Lantern.
Emerald Twilight: Green Lantern’s History
Parallax: “Time for a new start. Clean slate. A new universe. My Universe. Who knows? Maybe one universe… one world… won’t be enough.“
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time
Green Lantern defended Earth from every threat imaginable, from alien invasions to rampaging supervillains. During the invasion of Starro the Conqueror, he fought alongside The Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. After saving Earth, the group banded together to form The Justice League.
Hal was a Justice League member during a multi-story arc called “Emerald Twilight“. He suffered a breakdown, killed his fellow Lanterns, and died. A monster named Parallax possessed Hal and convinced him that his hometown had been destroyed by The Lanterns. An enraged Hal killed almost all of his fellow Lanterns before being freed. He eventually sacrificed his life to reignite the sun and atone.
Hal became The Spectre, a supernatural being animated from a recently dead person. Hal was eventually separated from The Spectre, brought back to life, and became a hero once more.
He helped rebuild the Corps and learned of a prophecy. The prophecy claimed that the Corps would be destroyed in a “War of Light”, which would lead to the Blackest Night. Hal realized that there were six other Lantern Corps out there and left to find them, hoping to avert the war.
Power Ring: Green Lantern’s Powers and Personality
Sinestro : “You’re impertinent, Hal Jordan. You’re rash, volatile, opinionated – It seems Abin Sur found another just like himself.”
Green Lantern
Hal’s power comes from his Power Ring and Power Battery. A Lantern charges a Ring by pointing the ring at the battery, which looks like a their namesake, and reciting their Corps’ oath.
A Power Ring lets Lanterns do almost anything as long as they have enough willpower. They can fly faster than light, are almost invulnerable, and can create objects from light that are limited only by their imagination. Different-colored Power Rings have different abilities and emotional requirements.
For example, a blue ring of Hope is almost powerless, unless paired with a green ring of Will, which makes it the most powerful. After all, what’s the point of hope without the will to make it reality?
Hal Jordan is cocky, arrogant, and kind of an asshole. He is also a hero. Hal is generally considered to be the leader of the human members of the Corps and the bravest superhero in the DC universe.
The Actors who played Green Lantern
Gerald Mohr – The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure
Michael Rye – Super Friends
Adam Baldwin – Justice League: Unlimited
Kevin Smith – Duck Dodgers
Dermot Mulroney – The Batman
Loren Lester – Batman: the Brave and the Bold
Josh Keaton – Green Lantern: the Animated Series, DC Super Hero Girls, Justice League Action
David Boreanaz – Justice League: The New Frontier
Cristopher Meloni – Green Lantern: First Flight
Nolan North – Justice League – Crisis on Two Earths
Nathan Fillion – Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, Justice League Doom, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
Ryan Reynolds – Green Lantern (2011)
Didya Get All That?
A space cop who knows how to accessorize.
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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