“In
brightest day, in blackest night,
No
evil shall escape my sight.
Let
those who worship evil’s might
Beware
my power, Green Lantern’s Light!”
Unless
you’ve made the underside of a rock your sweet and comfy home, some of—if not all of—these
words will no doubt tickle your memory. Whether it’s through comics or cartoon movies or
the 2011 Ryan Reynolds film-take on the Green Lanterns, I’m constantly amazed
at the number of people who recognize the phrase “Green Lantern”. No offense to Ryan Reynolds (whom I
profoundly respect), but it was Green Lantern: The Animated Series that
made me thoroughly and completely pledge myself to the Green Lantern
cause. I consider myself a Marvel girl,
passionate and proud…but when it comes to Green Lantern, I will always make an
exception. Allow me to show you why.
Characters.
You know Hal Jordan, of
course. The legendary Green Lantern of
our very own planet Earth; selfless, fearless—sometimes reckless—and funny to a
fault. He’s the leader of this brave new
band. (Hal Jordan. A leader. Who'd have thought that, huh?)
You might know Kilowog. Hal’s classmate, colleague, and second-in-command, this Bolovaxian is the Green
Lantern equivalent of a brute runaway tank—but don't let that fool you. He’s got a warm heart
under that crusty shell and plenty of military-grade smarts to catch you off guard with.
Allow me to introduce the new
blood. Razer, Red Lantern from the
planet Volkreg. By the time we meet him
he is a haunted, tortured soul and one of the newest recruits of the Green
Lanterns’ brutal and pitiless nemeses, the Red Lanterns. However, Razer is different from his fellow
Reds. He still feels pangs of doubt and
even guilt for the cruelties and atrocities committed by the Red Lantern Corps. When Hal apprehends him, he offers him a
choice: prison, or the path of turning over a new leaf. The choice Razer makes thrusts him into a
strange new crew and---dare he even hope—family.
And last but most definitely not
least, Aya. Aya was and still is the nav
computer and artificial intelligence of this motley Green Lantern crew’s ship,
the Interceptor. And she is also very much the rookie of the
group. Over the course of their first
few missions, Aya exhibits more curiosity and a genuine desire to be of help
than any other of her AI-kind, even going so far as to build herself a body
from spare parts and green Will energy to be “more human”. She demonstrates a great deal of compassion
and empathy for a mere AI, and she never hesitates to step in in any capacity
to be of service to her fellow Lanterns.
Real Issues.
This series touts itself as a “kid
show”, but it doesn’t shy away from grown-up topics.
Before there were the Green
Lanterns, the Guardians of Oa created the mechanical androids called the
Manhunters. They were supposed to be the
galaxy’s perfect police force: never swayed by emotion, only right and
wrong. But before long they began to
equate emotions with evil and deemed every emotional being criminal. As a result, the Manhunters spread terror,
death and destruction through the sector of space now known as the Forgotten
Zone. Although they were ultimately
destroyed and discontinued by the Guardians, by that time whole planets and
millions of lives had been lost.
Fearing that such a monumental failure on their part would destroy all
the good they were trying to accomplish, the Guardians silenced all record of
the Manhunters and buried the entire terrible tale. But—as they say—truth will out, and this
tragedy was the catalyst that created the Green Lanterns’ fiercest enemies, the
Red Lanterns. Eventually the Red
Lanterns’ rampage through the galaxy brought the truth to light, and the
Guardians were forced to face their greatest shame.
Tragedies like this are not
uncommon in “kid shows” like Green Lantern, but oftentimes the
facts and the tragedy itself is glossed over.
The creators of Green Lantern did the opposite by
validating the Red Lanterns’ cause—if not their actions—and holding the
Guardians accountable for this, their darkest secret. Appa Ali’Apsa himself—leader of the
Guardians—eventually acknowledged the whole of the Manhunters’ crimes and the
Guardians’ hand in them, and pledged to aid the Forgotten Zone and the Red
Lanterns in rebuilding their devastated sector.
The Story.
Great characters will make any
show—even a poor or mediocre show—a good show.
But when you couple that with a good story? It’s a combination that cannot lose.
What is supposed to be a
standard recon-and-rescue mission for Hal and Kilowog escalates into a great
deal more as they clash with the ruthless Red Lantern Corps and are subsequently
stranded on the far end of space, cut off from the Guardians and their fellow
Lanterns. Green Lantern is the tale
of Hal, Kilowog, Razer and Aya as they struggle to find their way home; lending
help along way to those in need.
Obviously I can’t give away more
than this for spoilery reasons. This show
spins together many themes: like redemption, forgiveness, finding oneself,
right and wrong and even the grey areas in between, finding and building a
family (not necessarily bound by blood), and hope, just to name a few. The vastness and complexity of the Green
Lantern universe would do the comics proud, and harks to both Star Wars
and Star Trek.
Like many great shows, Green
Lantern was canceled after only one season, much to the dismay and
despair of those of us who became its fans.
But even now—four years later—the fanbase is still strong and growing. To this day I miss and mourn the loss of Green
Lantern. It remains one of my
favourite shows of all time, and it shall always have a special place in my
heart.
Ever seen Green Lantern? Is there anything you like about it?
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