Will the uninitiated be alienated?

[Chris Wallace]

I've had several conversations over the past week with people who didn't grow up reading comics but consider themselves superhero fans-i.e., those who only know what they see in movies & TV-and the same comment keeps surfacing; "I thought Green Lantern was supposed to be black." Now I know where this is coming from. Because if you're under, say, 25 and don't read comics, then this is likely to be the only GL you're familiar with.

I'm wondering if putting Stewart in the JL series was a counter-productive move in retrospect. I always felt like they did so for the sake of having a black character on the show. But was it the best move in the long run?

 

[dnno1]

First of all, I'm not buying the point that the idea of using Stewart in JL and JLU was counter productive and would impact any other enterprises within the franchise. A lot of people are aware of the brand and know that Green Lantern's are not only black. Yes, the reason why they went with Stewart in the animated series is for inclusion, and for that matter that is what Green Lanter is about. This is why they chose to use the marketing slogan "Anyone Can be Chosen".

 

[Steyin]

Well I'm 25, haven't really read many GL comics, and honestly didn't care too much for Stewart's character on the JL cartoons. However, his inclusion in the show got me into GL (more so the idea of the corps) when JL first aired, and has made me interested in discovering Jordan and other Corps characters. So all in all, without Stewart on the show, I would have never delved into the GL world as I had.

If Hal were used in place though.....I can't really say how my interest would have been. Its funny really, because people like to compare themselves to superheroes, or to who they are like. I've always said I'd want to be most like Bats, but have the personality and looks of Spidey, yet thanks to JL I realized that if heroes were real, I'd definitely be a Green Lantern; so it got me into the whole mythology. Hal being used probably would have had a similar result...but in terms of the show I don't think his characterization would have meshed as well as Stewart's.

 

[GhostPoet]

The uninitiated will be entertained....OR THEY WILL DIE!









or be slightly confused. Either one.

 

[Doc Samson]

Not at all, being a Hulk fan, I know that the majority of the general audience only knows of him from the TV show. And while it's bad in some cases because those fans have a slanted view of the character (When the first movie came out my gf at the time couldn't understand why they didn't just use another bodybuilder or how he could jump so high) it nonetheless proved to be very successful.

Even more recently, I'd venture to guess that most of the people who watch the Iron Man movies weren't terribly aware of him prior to that. If they can manage to make GL as exciting and epic as they should, it will be huge no matter the cursory knowledge of the audience. And that's the beauty of these films nowadays, it's a whole new gateway to introduce these properties to the masses that simply wasn't possible before the technology caught up to speed.

 

[Chris Wallace]

People STILL say that stuff about the Hulk, Samson.

 

[Octoberist]

In theory they could use Stewart in place of Hal as Earth's first GL. But I think, the whole dynamic with Sinestro will be different. It could work.

Also, you have to think that, the fans of Justice League cartoons..they were 4-5 years ago while Geoff Johns' run of Green Lantern has been ongoing since 2004. The people who saw it liked it have moved on since then. What's the stats? Because you don't want pizz off the larger fanbase, you know?

So when you read "I thought Green Lantern was black" from like, twitter, obviously it's not stem from anything deep or geeky. Once they do some research, they're be "okay" with Hal.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Well I'm 25, haven't really read many GL comics, and honestly didn't care too much for Stewart's character on the JL cartoons. However, his inclusion in the show got me into GL (more so the idea of the corps) when JL first aired, and has made me interested in discovering Jordan and other Corps characters. So all in all, without Stewart on the show, I would have never delved into the GL world as I had.

If Hal were used in place though.....I can't really say how my interest would have been. Its funny really, because people like to compare themselves to superheroes, or to who they are like. I've always said I'd want to be most like Bats, but have the personality and looks of Spidey, yet thanks to JL I realized that if heroes were real, I'd definitely be a Green Lantern; so it got me into the whole mythology. Hal being used probably would have had a similar result...but in terms of the show I don't think his characterization would have meshed as well as Stewart's.

Theoretically speaking, they could have used Hal and just written him the same way Stewart was written. It wouldn't be the first time a character was adapted to fit the show/story.

 

[dnno1]

Theoretically speaking, they could have used Hal and just written him the same way Stewart was written. It wouldn't be the first time a character was adapted to fit the show/story.

Hal and Hawkgirl a hot item? I don't think so.

 

[Steyin]

Theoretically speaking, they could have used Hal and just written him the same way Stewart was written. It wouldn't be the first time a character was adapted to fit the show/story.

True, but then it wouldn't actually be Hal (and one wouldn't know that unless they read the comics and understood his character).

 

[The Guard]

People who truly watched the show should know there are a TON of Green Lanterns, of all colors, shapes, sizes and backgrounds. If they don't know enough to know that, then let's face it, they're just ignorant of Green Lantern lore and the movie will set them straight.

 

[terry78]

Hal in the JLU is basically a hybrid of Flash and Batman, so it would have been redundant. Having Stewart on there as the no-nonsense military guy worked for the dynamics of that team.

 

[Doc Samson]

People STILL say that stuff about the Hulk, Samson.

Yeah absolutely, but without that show, his popularity wouldn't be what it is, so it's a catch-22. Hopefully GL will fall more on the side of Ironman, where his big introduction to the world will be a pretty accurate interpretation

 

[Chris Wallace]

True, but then it wouldn't actually be Hal (and one wouldn't know that unless they read the comics and understood his character).

It's been done before. Robin on the Batman series may have been called Tim Drake but he came into the show acting very much like Jason Todd. And this was behind a Dick Grayson who had Tim's costume and computer skills. Writers can take liberties like that.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Yeah absolutely, but without that show, his popularity wouldn't be what it is, so it's a catch-22.

This is true. But then it's also true of Batman. Then again, I've heard the bodybuilder argument from comic fan and TV fan alike, so I don't know what to make of that.

Hopefully GL will fall more on the side of Ironman, where his big introduction to the world will be a pretty accurate interpretation

Yeah, hopefully. Even as a lifelong Marvel fan I would still like to see DC prove they're not a one-trick pony.

 

[Webhead2006]

umm didnt we already have a thread to talk about things like this?