World Does DC want Green Lantern to be a villain?

[GutterTalk]

Spoiler Warning for DC vs. Vampires and Dark Knights of Steel

I'm two issues into each of these comics and I just found it funny that in both series they picked Green Lantern to be a main villain. It seems that the "Green Man" in DKoS is Green Lantern, not sure which version, and Hal Jordan has been killing heroes in DCvV too.

Admittedly, I haven't read much Green Lantern, but he doesn't seem like the first pick to twist to be a villain in these alternate reality stories. I would've gone with Aquaman, or Black Adam if we are using recent Justice League members. Does Green Lantern have a darker side I'm not aware of? Seems like DC really likes making him the bad guy. Although, for DKoS at least, Green Man could still turn out to be in the right. He isn't an outright villain yet like DCvV.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

Yeah after Emerald Twilight and the whole Parallax storyline, I’ve viewed Hal Jordan as the Darth Vader of the DC Universe. Think about it, he’s basically the ‘chosen one’; the greatest Green Lantern around which nearly all the major storylines revolve around. He then becomes disillusioned by the Guardians of the Galaxy (like the Jedi council) and massacres his own comrades like Vader and Order 66.

Kyle is the Luke Skywalker of the DC Universe. A New Hope.

I got into Green Lantern in the late 90s, so I’ll always have a soft spot for Hal as Parallax and Kyle Rayner. I would love to see Hal Jordan’s Parallax arc unfold onscreen.

 

[Lantern Venom]

Spoiler Warning for DC vs. Vampires and Dark Knights of Steel

I'm two issues into each of these comics and I just found it funny that in both series they picked Green Lantern to be a main villain. It seems that the "Green Man" in DKoS is Green Lantern, not sure which version, and Hal Jordan has been killing heroes in DCvV too.

Admittedly, I haven't read much Green Lantern, but he doesn't seem like the first pick to twist to be a villain in these alternate reality stories. I would've gone with Aquaman, or Black Adam if we are using recent Justice League members. Does Green Lantern have a darker side I'm not aware of? Seems like DC really likes making him the bad guy. Although, for DKoS at least, Green Man could still turn out to be in the right. He isn't an outright villain yet like DCvV.

Based on recent events in the main title and the solicits for the upcoming JL event, I doubt that we'll see Hal turn villain again anytime soon. DC has plenty of alternate, villainous versions of GL that they could play with, vampire Hal being the most recent, but none of the titular Lanterns seem to be getting set up for an event that would cause one of them to go rogue.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

Tom Cruise is perfect for Hal. He has the range to play both the greatest Green Lantern and Parallax. Ideally, a Green Lantern franchise would introduce Hal as GL in the first film, and then the second film would detail his descent, and then the third film would be about his redemption.

Hal Jordan is the Anakin Skywalker of the DCU.

 

[The Batman]

Tom Cruise is perfect for Hal. He has the range to play both the greatest Green Lantern and Parallax. Ideally, a Green Lantern franchise would introduce Hal as GL in the first film, and then the second film would detail his descent, and then the third film would be about his redemption.

Hal Jordan is the Anakin Skywalker of the DCU.

No...no, he is not.

There's a reason why so many fans hated Hal turning evil. There's a reason why that decision was retconned and Hal was brought back to heroic status.

Hal being evil was never a good idea, just a slap in the face to one of DC's most iconic heroes.

Not only that...Sinestro is right there, the original, and best version of "GL turned evil".

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

YMMV, but in my view, he is definitely DC’s Anakin Skywalker. 90s Green Lantern was the ****. The Emerald Twilight saga predates the prequels, but it’s an important piece of the characters history, and serves as a touchstone, a great entry point for new fans, and it’s the definitive 90s story for the character in the same way that Knightfall and Death of Superman are for Batman and Superman.

Hal Jordan and Anakin Skywalker are the disgruntled greatest members of a council of intergalactic peacekeepers. They disagree with some members of the council for their emotionless views and approaches to situations. This emotional frustration combined with the catastrophic loss of Coast City/Padme eventually boils over, and they go rogue, killing multiple friends and members of the intergalactic peacekeepers. Eventually, a young new hope (Kyle Rayner/Luke Skywalker) rises to take the mantle as the newest member of the once great peacekeepers and take down the power mad tyrant. Upon their defeat, both Anakin and Hal realize the error of their ways and are able to be remembered as heroes, in spite of their many mistakes.

If WB wants to use Hal Jordan as Parallax, my vote goes to Tom Cruise.

 

[The Batman]

The Emerald Twilight saga predates the prequels, but it’s an important piece of the characters history,

So is the 2011 movie.

and serves as a touchstone, a great entry point for new fans,

So much so, that DC promotes it on a regular basis--oh wait, they don't.

and it’s the definitive 90s story for the character in the same way that Knightfall and Death of Superman are for Batman and Superman.

No, it's not. DC never retconned Knightfall or Death of Superman. They still regularly promote those stories and will either adapt or reference both stories in other media. They don't do the same for ET. The closest they came was the GL movie, which took Johns' conception of Parallax and left out the ET stuff.

You can like ET all you want, but it does not define the character the way you want it to. It's like defining Wonder Woman mainly by the era where she had no powers and essentially became an Emma Peel ripoff.

 

[Lantern Venom]

Tom Cruise is perfect for Hal. He has the range to play both the greatest Green Lantern and Parallax. Ideally, a Green Lantern franchise would introduce Hal as GL in the first film, and then the second film would detail his descent, and then the third film would be about his redemption.

Hal Jordan is the Anakin Skywalker of the DCU.

Don't get me wrong, Emerald Twilight was a groundbreaking story, and I'd love to see it adapted. Kyle Rayner is my favorite DC character, and pretty much everything from Green Lantern Vol 3 from issue 48 to 181 was perfect. So I'd like to see it adapted as well, but I don't think the movie format is the best way to bring it to life.

Part of the reason that ET was so believable is due to Hal having been GL for the better part of 35 years. Hal had been at odds with the Guardians at other points before ET, so his disenchantment wasn't something that was completely new. The destruction of Coast City just pushed him over the edge because he felt that his long, dedicated service had only resulted in catastrophe. That kind of scenario, and the emotional connection from readers, would be hard to replicate in a single movie.

A TV series would be a better fit. If viewers were introduced to Hal for multiple seasons and grew to like him, his "heel turn", so to speak, would be shocking.