# Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691 "2009-07-11T18:18:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/61 "2009-07-15T01:01:00Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > There is no art without resistance of the medium. If Green Lantern is limited only by his imagination (and yellow things) than he hasn’t got much of an imagination, if the power ring is used only to make giant hammers and hands to grab the villains or whatever. This is the best you can think of, GL? > > The GL movie will be better if they can come up with some clearly defined limits on his powers - he cannot imitate anything living, for instance, or cannot use the ring to take life. > > It’s too bad, because Green Lantern has the coolest oath. > > Regards, > Shodan Actually, until a very short time ago, the rings were not able to kill, until it became a liability against a nasty bad guy. And apparently using the ring is hard enough, let alone being fancy. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Hey, if _Grayson_ ever got made, it’d easily be in the top-tier of superhero movies. Sure, Green Lantern looks like a guy in a black wetsuit with green racing stripes, but that’s just a budget thing. As long as he doesn’t wear the damn Robin getup through the whole thing. Worst Costume Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Sealemon2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sealemon2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sealemon2.0)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/62 "2009-07-15T01:03:54Z")
> [@](#): > > I could have sworn I just read an article about the script being written for the movie to be like a police procedural involving the Corps. Now I can’t find it. Was that an old revision? You might be thinking of the script to the GL animated movie that’s coming out. There was a behind the scenes feature on the Wonder Woman DVD that talked about it, and what you typed sounds very much how they described the movie. > [@](#): > > mswas, I’d hardly call GL’s powers “godlike”. The ring is simply a weapon, albeit a powerful and versatile one. Like any weapon, it can run out of ammunition or malfunction, or be taken away. It requires skill and intense training to use it properly and well. And the simple fact that it relies on the wielder’s willpower, imagination, and ingenuity means that it has limitations. As with anything, the success or failure of the stories comes down to the skill of the storytellers. EXACTLY. There have been a lot of really good stories told over the last few years where the yellow weakness is not used (Or used to a limited extent; skilled GL’s can overcome the yellow weakness through willpower). And that’s what GL’s main weakness is…willpower prevents a mortal from doing anything truly goldlike (Like moving a planet or dissasembling someone on the molectular level). At the same time, the reason Hal Jordan makes boxing gloves and scissors with the ring is because it’s easier to imagine a simple object than something like, a combustion engine. Also note that GL can be taken out by pretty much anythign that can break his concentration…sonic attacks, psyionics, drugs, gas, strobe lights flashing in the right frequency (Even a surprise flash bang grenade should do the trick). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/63 "2009-07-15T01:12:12Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > As long as he doesn’t wear the damn Robin getup through the whole thing. Worst Costume Ever. [Nonsense](http://www.catskillcomics.com/GrellOA/COSMIC%20BOY2008.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/64 "2009-07-15T01:15:49Z")
> [@Sealemon2.0](#): > > Also note that GL can be taken out by pretty much anythign that can break his concentration…sonic attacks, psyionics, drugs, gas, strobe lights flashing in the right frequency (Even a surprise flash bang grenade should do the trick). A couple years back in Kurt Busiek’s run on Action Comics, the Prankster momentarily took Hal Jordan out with ITCHING POWDER! Classic. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/65 "2009-07-15T02:22:53Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > [Nonsense](http://www.catskillcomics.com/GrellOA/COSMIC%20BOY2008.jpg). Seriously. [Robin’s not even in the running.](http://www.somethingawful.com/d/fashion-swat/comic-swat.php?page=1) ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/66 "2009-07-15T04:47:10Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > I’m curious as to how they are going to manipulate his costume for the film. It’s exceptionally faggy. Matter of taste, I guess. I’ve seen opinions elsewhere that Hal’s is one of the best costume designs of all time. > [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Actually, until a very short time ago, the rings were not able to kill, until it became a liability against a nasty bad guy. And lethal force is _only_ usable against those specific enemies - members of the Sinestro Corps. (Speaking of Sinestro, I guess that’s a leftover artifact of the more “innocent” 40s/50s/60s when nobody thought twice about giving a hostile alien a name — yes, “Sinestro” is the guy’s actual name, not his super-villian codename — based on a “dangerous” sounding word. Nowadays it just sounds ridiculous (waves at George Lucas), but guys like ol’ Sinestro are so embedded in the lore that the modern comic companies are kinda stuck with them.) > [@](#): > > And apparently using the ring is hard enough, let alone being fancy. From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > Green Lantern: Rebirth revealed that only a certain type of willpower can use the ring effectively, as evidenced when Green Arrow’s “cynical” willpower barely allows him to generate a single arrow and leaves him exhausted after this feat. > [@Sealemon2.0](#): > > EXACTLY. There have been a lot of really good stories told over the last few years where the yellow weakness is not used (Or used to a limited extent; skilled GL’s can overcome the yellow weakness through willpower). I like the change (which they’ve retconned into Jordan’s origin story). For those unfamiliar with the lore, it used to be that a Green Lantern candidate was chosen based on the fact that he/she _had no fear_. This has recently been changed, and now candidates are selected because they possess the _ability to overcome great fear_. (Which only makes sense, as fear is an essential survival trait.) This was tied into the “yellow weakness”, which was the result of the entity known as Parallax — the yellow personification of the emotion “fear” — being imprisoned inside the GL’s central power battery on Oa. The whole storyline involving Hal Jordan being possessed by Parallax involved Parallax being removed from the battery, thus virtually removing the yellow weakness. However, rookie GLs still suffer the yellow weakness until they have learned to master and overcome their fear, at which point the yellow weakness is also overcome. The whole yellow weakness thing was used to a ridiculous extent in GL’s early days. I have the Showcase Presents: Green Lantern trade paperback, which collects a large number of the original GL stories from the '60s. And “ridiculous” doesn’t even begin to describe it. A giant alien invades Earth and GL is the only hero in the vicinity? The alien is yellow! Mutated monster escapes from a secret government facility? It’s yellow! A fully-armed USAF fighter jet accidentally releases it’s experimental missiles over Coast City? The missiles are painted yellow! ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/67 "2009-07-15T05:41:32Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Hey, if _Grayson_ ever got made, it’d easily be in the top-tier of superhero movies. Sure, Green Lantern looks like a guy in a black wetsuit with green racing stripes, but that’s just a budget thing. Whenever they try to feature all the heroes like that, it inevitably sucks. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/68 "2009-07-15T10:22:47Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I noticed the same thing about Neo in _Matrix Reloaded_. Once he becomes The One, he should be able to casually bend the “reality” of the Matrix to his will. Stop bullets with a gesture, make enemies explode, etc. as formed the climax of the first film. Why, then, does he get into repeated kung-fu fights in _Reloaded_? By all logic, if someone attacks him, he should be able to kill them with a glance. > > Answer: because kung-fu fights are eye-candy. Killing people with glances ain’t. Because Neo’s powers are directly tied to his love for Trinity. Of course, they didn’t explain that until the confusing infodump at the end of Reloaded, so I thought the same thing you did. And, frankly, I’d have preferred the Matrix not be another “love conquers all” trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/69 "2009-07-15T15:20:10Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > And lethal force is _only_ usable against those specific enemies - members of the Sinestro Corps. Actually, it’s been changed _again_. Gloves are off against everybody, I believe. [geek] I’m wondering what the League will do when they find out he’s not neutered anymore[/geek]. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/70 "2009-07-15T15:27:25Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Actually, it’s been changed _again_. Gloves are off against everybody, I believe. [geek] I’m wondering what the League will do when they find out he’s not neutered anymore[/geek]. Which goes directly to my point. The ring can’t do interesting stuff because it’s hard? Only in stories in which they want that to be true. When needed, or when convenient, or when retconned, or when a new writer takes over, or when an editor forgets to check, it’s not true any longer. Don’t ever say that something in comics has to be so. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/71 "2009-07-15T16:21:23Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > [Nonsense](http://www.catskillcomics.com/GrellOA/COSMIC%20BOY2008.jpg). Black and white doesn’t do that one justice… SUPPOSEDLY, the white parts on his body and legs are cloth, but they were invariably coloured the same as the skin of his face. Cos doesn’t do well with costumes, on the whole, but that one is the worst he’s ever worn. (The Legion as a whole didn’t do well on costume designs - or street clothes! - during Grell’s tenure…) [The Pied Piper puts paid to the idea all gay men are good dressers.](http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/piper.html) Not that [his](http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/trickster.html) [teammates](http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/boomerang.html) [do](http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/weather.html) [much](http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/top.html) [better](http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/trickster2.html) [either](http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/magenta.html). (OK, the last two were never Rogues at the same time as Piper, but…) Then there’s [Rainbow Raider](http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/rainbow.html), [Crazy Quilt](http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Crazy_Quilt), [Captain Ultra](http://www.comicvine.com/captain-ultra/29-2501/), and other similar crimes against taste. [If you’re going to base a character on a Sean Connery movie, Zardoz is not the one to pick.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vartox) ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/72 "2009-07-15T21:40:40Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > [Green Lantern film appearance.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUmzR1J_C3s) > Just don’t blink. For people who have a life, and, unlike yours truly, can’t spend all day watching videos… The “don’t-blink” point is at **4:59.** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691.md?page=3)