Green Lantern is the beacon of hope and willpower of the DC Comic book universe. As one of the world’s most endearing and idealistic superheroes, Green Lantern holds one of the most powerful weapons in the whole universe in his right hand. With the power to literally harness the willpower of all sentient life in the universe, Green Lantern has defeated countless, immeasurably strong foes and vanquished evil out of the universe multiple times. But he too is a flawed creation just like any other character from the comic books with a long enough history. We have identified a pattern – the older the superhero is, the dirtier is his or her past. Green Lantern is one of the oldest superheroes ever. So naturally, he too must be hiding several deep and dark secrets. Presenting – 10 surprisingly weird Green Lantern facts DC Comics is trying to hide from you!!
10. Daffy Duck is a Green Lantern!!
We start with the weirdest and the most bizarre fact associated with the Green Lantern saga. We all know Daffy Duck, the lisping, quacking maniac that gets into all sorts of hilarious troubles just because of his stupid pride and ego always getting into his head. In Duck Dodgers, a 2003 animated series featuring the Looney Tunes superstar, a dry cleaning mix up with an ‘unknown stranger’ leads to Daffy Duck ending up with the Green Lantern power ring. The episode is a hilarious one yet featured several characters from the Green Lantern mythology. The concept was bizarre yet was a treat to watch.
9. He used to be a traveling Toy Salesman
We know. Hal Jordan is the freaking Green Lantern. Him running around the neighborhood selling toys to children would be an absolute disrespect to the mantle of the Green Lantern. But that is exactly what happened in the 1970s. Hal Jordan became this angry, temperamental guy with a lot of angst and no outlet to vent it out. He left his high paying job and first became an insurance claim adjuster. Then he became a Toy salesman. He was not successful in either. People thought the Green Lantern will now meet its sad demise due to poor approval ratings. Then the legendary “Hard Travelling Heroes” saga, where Hal was teamed up with Oliver Queen, changed all that and helped him return back to his former glory.
8. Wood is his kryptonite
We kid you not. The very first Green Lantern aka Alan Scott got his powers, not from the Green Lantern power ring. The ring he wore was not a scientific tool but a magical one. The Star heart was the amalgamation of all magic that the Guardians of the Universe locked up in a faraway corner, fearing that magic was the root cause of all evil. That magic materialized into a ring and found his way to Alan Scott. It allowed him to conjure literally anything he wanted. The only catch was that anything that is made of wood can nullify it. That is right! All you need is a tree or a stray twig to catch the Green Lantern off guard.
7. The ‘Women in Refrigerators’ pop culture trope
After the end of the grueling Emerald Twilight Saga, the world was almost devoid of any green Lanterns. One of the last and final rings that were forged in the furnaces of Oa was given to Kyle Rayner, one of the last Green Lanterns of the Universe. Kyle was a struggling artist and he had trouble grasping the full extent of his responsibilities. It was his girlfriend Alex DeWitt that helped him realize how important a responsibility he has. But then disaster struck when Kyle found Alex’s dead body stuffed inside a fridge. Major Force, a low-end Green Lantern villain, was the murderer. The trend of using female character deaths to sensationalize a story began with a Green Lantern issue.
6. His sidekick was a racist caricature
Tom Kalmaku is an Inuit Mechanical engineer that has always been at the side of Hal Jordan whenever he needed help. As an ally, he is invaluable. But he has a very racist element attached to his past. In the older times, when people were too insensitive to care about racial stereotyping, comic books were like a mirror of social mentality. Kalmaku had a nickname then. He was lovingly called “Pie-face” by the Green Lantern. Some things can never be forgiven. Given Kalmaku never got justice for what he had to go through, this is one of those things.
5. Rot Lop Fan – the Blind Green Lantern
The Green Lanterns are tasked with protecting all corners of the universe, no matter how far or remote they are. One of those regions is called the Obsidian Deep, a region of space where there is no light. All residents of the Obsidian Deep are blind and do not know what ‘colour’ means. How would you react if we say that a guy who cannot even distinguish between green, red and yellow or any color for that matter became a Green Lantern? Katma Tui is that region’s GL. He learned how to use the ring by basing the ring’s powers on sound, rather than light. He calls the Green Lantern Corps the F-Sharp Bell Corps.
4. He had a crossover with Ridley Scott’s Aliens franchise
In 2000, a crossover arc called Green Lanterns versus Aliens was released. The story was a two-part arc which happened simultaneously in the past as well as the present. It involved veteran Lantern Hal Jordan and the latest Lantern recruit Kyle Rayner. The story showed the alien Xenomorphs in all their glory, fighting the Green Lanterns. A lot of death and destruction happened. Though it was not canon, it was still an engaging and scary storyline.
3. Hal Jordan is actually a Korean War Veteran
It was in the year 1959 when Hal Jordan was brought into the DC Comic book universe. He was an air force test pilot for the United States and served in the Korean War. As the years passed by, that aspect of his past was quietly let go and was almost forgotten until The New Frontier saga again pushed that element into the comic book panels. His carrier as a Korean War pilot helped shape his rough and distant personality a lot. For the fans, it was a welcome gesture.
2. John Stewart was the first black DC Superhero
As part of diversity inclusion, DC took a major step when they introduced the fierce architect John Stewart as the Green Lantern, replacing Hal Jordan for the role. For an entire decade, John Stewart held the mantle. He was not only the first Black Superhero of DC Comics but also the first African American to be given a power ring. John Stewart’s popularity took a turn for the better after he was featured in the Justice League series by Cartoon Network. He is rumored to be coming to the Big Screens in the planned Green Lantern movie.
1. Guy Gardner is a jerk because of a head injury
The reason Hal Jordan was chosen by Abin Sur’s ring to become the next Green Lantern and not Guy Gardner was that Hal was closer. Otherwise, the roles would have been reversed. Nevertheless, Guy Gardner still became a Green Lantern. He was a sweet and genuinely kind guy back then. It was not a surprise why Guy was chosen by the ring. But things soon changed after Guy Gardner suffered multiple injuries to the head and went into a coma. The minute he woke up from that coma, he had a drastically different brash and self-centered personality and took enjoyment out of tormenting the bad guys and making life generally hell for his allies. It is kind of weird when you see it – the most popular quality of Guy Gardner – his brazen nature – happened because of brain damage!
The last movie to be featured under the DCEU banner was Aquaman. The official film synopsis for the movie reads:
Once home to the most advanced civilization on Earth, the city of Atlantis is now an underwater kingdom ruled by the power-hungry King Orm. With a vast army at his disposal, Orm plans to conquer the remaining oceanic people — and then the surface world. Standing in his way is Aquaman, Orm’s half-human, half-Atlantean brother and true heir to the throne. With help from royal counselor Vulko, Aquaman must retrieve the legendary Trident of Atlan and embrace his destiny as protector of the deep.
The first movie to be made under the DCEU banner is Man of Steel. The official film synopsis for the movie reads:
With the imminent destruction of Krypton, their home planet, Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and his wife seek to preserve their race by sending their infant son to Earth. The child’s spacecraft lands at the farm of Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha (Diane Lane) Kent, who name him Clark and raise him as their own son. Though his extraordinary abilities have led to the adult Clark (Henry Cavill) living on the fringe of society, he finds he must become a hero to save those he loves from a dire threat.
