Green Lantern is making its way back to live action - but which Green Lantern will appear this time around? With the announcement that a Green Lantern series is in development for HBO Max, fans of DC’s science fiction stalwart are rejoicing. Following the disappointing 2011 Green Lantern film, the character has remained in cinematic limbo, and always seemed too expensive a prospect to join the CW’s Arrowverse. But HBO’s money, talent, and promotional muscle have Green Lantern fans optimistic about the character’s onscreen future for the first time in nearly a decade.
A central question still remains, however - which Green Lantern will headline the series? While there are literally thousands of Lanterns to choose from, there are seven major human Green Lanterns, one of whom will likely be the star of the new show. There are good arguments to be made for most contenders on the list, though some are obviously better fits for a TV show than others, with cleaner origins and more compelling supporting players.
So who’s likely to earn an emerald ring from HBO Max? We’re breaking down every major contender and how they might fit into the new series.
Alan Scott
The first Green Lantern, Alan Scott, has surprisingly little connection to those who would follow. Created in 1940 by Bill Finger and Martin Nodell, Alan Scott was a railroad worker who discovered a mysterious green rock with magical properties. Alan fashioned the rock into a lantern and ring; the ring could create whatever Alan could conjure, and the lantern would recharge the ring. As was customary for heroes at the time, the ring had a strange weakness - it was completely ineffective against anything made of wood. Alan would go on to be a founding member of the Justice Society of America, and has played a prominent role in the DC Universe on multiple occasions over the years, often serving as something of an unofficial mentor to the other Earth Green Lanterns.
Alan Scott, it should be noted, is in no way affiliated with the Green Lantern Corps. Beyond the differences in origins, Alan even looks different than the other Green Lanterns, with a largely red and purple color scheme, and a dramatic cape. If Alan is to play a role in the HBO Max series, it will likely require a hefty retcon of his origins. The in-story reasons for the differences between Alan and the other Lanterns tends to vary with the era, but the real world reasons for the discrepancies are much clearer.
Hal Jordan
When DC rejuvenated their superhero comics in the late 1950s - generally referred to as the beginning of the Silver Age - Green Lantern was significantly overhauled. The main character was now Hal Jordan, a cocksure test pilot who found himself selected to be a member of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic police force. Hal’s ring worked mostly the same way as Alan Scott’s; it could create anything, limited only by the user’s imagination and willpower. A silly yellow weakness would eventually be retconned into the ring bearer’s ability to overcome fear. Hal’s power was granted to him by the Guardians of the Universe, ancient little blue men of unthinkable power and questionable morality.
Hal Jordan has been the flagship Green Lantern character for the majority of the franchise’s existence, and was of course selected to headline the 2011 film starring Ryan Reynolds. That film failed on many levels, but perhaps its worst misstep was adding a layer of self-doubt and angst to the generally hyper-confident Hal. It seems highly likely we’ll see Hal again in the HBO Max series; not only does his personal origin most elegantly set up the world of the Green Lantern Corps - including the closest ties to the franchise’s main villain, Sinestro - but most of the others human Green Lantern have their origins tied directly to Hal. That includes a longtime fan favorite who gained fame in a slightly unusual way…
John Stewart
One of the first major African American superheroes, John Stewart was created in the 1970s to serve as Hal’s backup when he was away from Earth or on a sabbatical. The character’s very existence was revolutionary, but he wouldn’t really come into focus as a character until the 1990 series Green Lantern: Mosaic, which saw him serve as the guardian of a patchwork of civilizations after an insane Guardian transplanted them from their homeworlds to the Guardians’ home planet, Oa.
But even more so than Mosaic, John Stewart has been defined by his appearance in the 2001 Justice League animated series. That show ran for five seasons and gave John some of his best stories, including a star-crossed romance with Hawkgirl. Most modern iterations have seen John fill the role of Hal’s partner, rather than his backup, with one of them patrolling Earth and the other in deep space. If there’s going to be more than one human Green Lantern in the HBO Max series, it seems likely one of them will be John Stewart.
Guy Gardner
Hal Jordan’s original alternate, Guy Gardner was originally a pretty bland character. It wasn’t until he suffered brain damage in an accident and awoke with a new, incredibly abrasive personality that Guy came into his own. A cornucopia of macho stereotypes, Guy is driven by his love of women and booze more than his desire to do the right thing. He has a massive inferiority complex when it comes to Hal, and is constantly antagonizing his fellow Lantern.
Despite all of his considerable personal shortcomings, Guy is one of the most capable and confident ring bearers, and serves as part of the Green Lantern Corps Honor Guard. For many years, he was even the Green Lantern member of the Justice League, where his most notable contribution was getting punched in the face by Batman. He may not be the ideal hero, but Guy will still get the job done in style.
Kyle Rayner
As sales lagged in the early 90s, DC decided it was time to overhaul Green Lantern. Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps were written out; Hal, driven insane by the destruction of his hometown Coast City, went on a murderous rampage that took out Sinestro, the Guardians, and most of the other Green Lanterns. One Guardian, Ganthet, survived, and used the last bit of his power to bequeath the final power ring to a seemingly random human, artist Kyle Rayner. With no one to train him, Kyle had to learn how to be a hero all on his own, and in the process uphold a legacy he barely realized existed.
Hal’s insanity would later be retconned to the influence of an elemental fear parasite called Parallax, and both Hal and and the Green Lantern Corps would return. However, unlike some other ’90s replacement characters, Kyle was welcomed into the new Corps- and was even given the title of “torchbearer,” for keeping the green flame alight during the franchise’s dark ages.
Simon Baz
Granted a power ring essentially by accident, Simon Baz is perhaps the most unlikely Green Lantern. A Lebanese-American from Dearborn, Michigan, Simon spent most of his life being persecuted because of his ethnicity, and has led a decidedly more checkered life than most of the other human Green Lanterns. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the character was his decision to wield a handgun along with his power ring, though he’d finally lay that weapon down after a chat with Commissioner Gordon.
Simon was the first new human Green Lantern created for the 21st century, and his mixture of real world resonance - Simon lives in this shadow of post-9/11 America - and moral ambiguity make him the perfect emerald representative of a complicated era.
Jessica Cruz
The latest human character to wield the ring, Jessica Cruz began her story as Power Ring, the evil, Earth-3 version of Green Lantern. She’s not from Earth-3, however; after the previous Power Ring was killed in the main continuity, his ring honed in on the traumatized Jessica’s palpable fear, and selected her as its new bearer. Jessica was initially unable to overcome the ring’s evil intent, but she eventually broke free of its influence and was deemed worthy of a Green Lantern ring.
Admittedly something of a raw cadet, Jessica and Simon Baz had their charging batteries fused together by Hal Jordan in an effort to help them develop as a team while they stand guard over Earth. Cruz may seem like a longshot to show up in the HBO Max series, but Green Lantern is a franchise surprisingly lacking in compelling female human characters. Jessica breaks with that tradition, and a version of her in the new series could be an interesting wrinkle.
Next: Green Lantern is Turning Evil Again (Yes, Really)
