First, let me say that I’m am absolutely ecstatic to learn that a Green Lantern movie is in the works. GL has long been my favorite superhero, and I’ve said multiple times (maybe not here, but in RL) that if there was ever a superhero perfectly suited to CGI, it’s GL.
Yeah, they pretty much have to do Hal Jordan. He was the “original” (overlooking the Golden Age GL, Alan Scott) and most famous, and is widely considered among the GL Corps to be “the greatest GL ever”.
Guy Gardner was detected by Abin Sur’s (the dying alien who gave his ring to Jordan) ring and considered equally qualified for the job; the ring chose Jordan simply because he was geographically closer and time was of the essence. Gardner was eventually made a GL himself, as backup to Hal Jordan. Gardner was introduced in the late '60s.
John Stewart was introduced in the early '70s, being made Jordan’s backup while Gardner was in a coma.
No, that’s incorrect. Some characters are simply more famous than others. I’m not even talking about Moms here, I am talking about people within the target demographic. Before the X-Men came out most people in the target demographic would be able to tell you who Wolverine is for precisely the reason Justin_Bailey points out. Even as a member of the Justice League, Green Lantern is a secondary character at best, he’s not Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman. He’s more on the level of say, Storm or Gambit.
That being said, a Green Lantern movie doesn’t excite me. Superheroes with godlike powers are uninteresting. His power will be limited by the filmmakers imaginations. Really someone of that level of power should not have to struggle with problems that the average person can comprehend. The only interesting portrayal of a godlike character in a superhero film ever was Dr. Manhattan in the Watchmen as he struggled with one last comprehensible motive, whether or not he even cared about the human race at all.
Storm or Gambit don’t have nor had their own title (at least, beyond a short run). Green Lantern (the non-Alan Scott version) has had over 400 issues published, not counting his involvement in team-up or other tertiary titles (like Green Lantern Corp). He’s one of DC’s top 5 characters, and Green Lantern ranked the 9th most popular title sold in June 2009 (6th in May).
Without getting into why I think some of Gil Kane’s early work (with Sid Greene, I believe) was good, even great, can you please tell me which comic artists you did like, and why?
I’d say quite the opposite.
People are kind of fuzzy on who the hell Green Lantern is, but the name is known and kind of familiar - even if he gets mixed up with Green Hornet.
People not into comics didn’t know a thing about Iron Man. (They did, however, know a thing about Robert Downey Jr. which is where this casting gets iffy.)
Based on what? I’d argue that even low level Batman family scrubs like The Riddler are recognized by the public much more than the Green Lantern.
To comic book readers, he’s a star, but he has never appeared outside the comics in any major way (aside from a few appearances in the DCAU). He’s a non-entity as far as the normal movie-going public is concerned.
EDIT: I’d also argue Iron Man was a much bigger deal, again, because of appearances in Marvel animated shows of the early 90s. Also, the Iron Man trailer is one of the all-time great trailers (owing a lot to Downey here), I don’t know if a Green Lantern movie could do that.
I was thinking specifically of title characters, not villians, etc. Historically, Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman, the Flash and Green Lantern are their top 5 franchises. Currently, I’d put Green Lantern at #3.
Regardless, looking back at previous Iron Man trailer threads, there were plenty of people who had absolutely zero idea who Iron Man was, but wanted to see the movie because the trailer rocked. I don’t see any reason why a kick-ass trailer for GL isn’t possible.
I always looked at Green Lantern as being the opposite of Superman’s story, in a way: A human is chosen by fate to go among aliens and fight for us. I just hope they incorporate some of the cop-drama that’s made recent issues of the Corps so good IMHO.
I imagine he’s going to become even more prominent soon, seeing as how the whole Blackest Night summer crossover event is centered on the Green Lantern mythos.
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.
Also interesting to me is the fact that every Green Lantern’s ring functions differently, depending on the skills and personality of the wielder. Hal Jordan’s constructs tend to take the form of “the right tool for the job.” Guy Gardner goes more for simple energy blasts (and curiously, his is the only ring that makes sounds to accompany the blasts). John Stewart, trained as an architect/engineer, actually builds his constructs piece-by-piece from the inside out. Kyle Raynor, an artist, creates constructs that are equally form and function.
Which may be why I could never get into GL to much of a degree.
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?
In a way, it’s like Batman and Superman team-ups - once Superman enters the picture, either someone has to have kryptonite somewheres or Batman is superfluous. If Superman can go faster than light, then the bad guys should never get a chance to do anything untoward. Why doesn’t his super-hearing pick up them plotting to rob First Bank of Metropolis before they even get into the getaway car? And simply transplanting the flaw into a movie doesn’t help - at the end of the first Superman movie, he reversed time to save Lois Lane. Heck, if he can do that, he can do anything, and the rest of the action is not necessary.
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.
Who I have no faith in. If anyone can do well with it, it’s Legendary, but still, I see some hokey bullshit along the lines of Fantastic Four, Transformers or Alien vs Predator where they try to find some way to make people feel like their plucky mortality is some sort of gift. That it’s not the powers but the power of their humanity that wins the day. :rolleyes:
Yeah, that’s cool and all but I don’t see it translating well to a two hour film.
I’m curious as to how they are going to manipulate his costume for the film. It’s exceptionally faggy.*
*No offense to the gay members of the forum, I hope you know what I mean on the scale of FABULOUS!!! to faggy.
Heh, even on the scale of pro-Wrestlers some dress better than others. If Batman is the Undertaker then Green Lantern is the Ultimate Warrior or Hulk Hogan.
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.