Green Lantern’s Powers In the DCU Already Fix a Major Problem With Ryan Reynolds’ 14-Year-Old Bomb

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James Gunn’s Superman is undoubtedly one of the most hotly anticipated comic book movies in recent memory. It isn’t just David Corenswet’s debut as the Man of Steel that has fans so excited for the film’s impending release, either, nor is it the star-studded cast including Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult, who will be making their own respective silver screen debuts as Lois Lane and Lex Luthor.

On top of the most obvious DC icons set to make their mark on the silver screen when Superman flies into theaters next month, the film will introduce audiences to the latest (often first) feature film iterations of a whole host of other fan-favorite comic book superheroes. Among them are Edi Gathegi’s Mister Terrific, Anthony Carrigan’s Metamorpho, and Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl. While these three are a veritable Justice League unto themselves, there is another who has caught the attention of the public like no other. And, whereas the thought of Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner gracing the big screen is already enough to draw some serious attention, the fact that he could make up for another Hollywood icon’s biggest superhero sin means that audiences simply cannot look away.

Why Ryan Reynolds’ Green LanternFailed to Impress Fans – Explained

The first live-action adaptation of Green Lantern was completely unconvincing in its own sense of creativity

To understand just how much Fillion’s upcoming appearance as Guy Gardner, better known as the Green Lantern, means for the wider Green Lantern franchise as a whole, the entire scope of its history in pop culture must be properly understood.

Whereas heroes such as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman never had any problem being translated for the small screen, the near-limitless scope of Green Lantern’s powers (not to mention the overwhelming amount of special and visual effects that would go into bringing them to life) meant that the latter was almost always going to be ahead of whatever film making technology any given era had to offer. At least, that was the case until the development of Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds, which bombed in theaters about as hard as it possibly could.

While Green Lantern was a solid enough endeavor on paper, its execution was far from impressive. Though there were individual aspects of Green Lantern that could have helped it achieve some success if given the chance, Green Lantern suffered from poor pacing, disjointed plot points, and an overt sort of juxtaposition that pulled viewers out of the experience for the worse.

Quite possibly the most egregious example of the latter came in the form of the powers wielded by Reynolds’ titular hero himself, or rather, how his Hal Jordan wielded those powers throughout the film. As Green Lantern, Reynolds’ version of Hal Jordan is seen leaning hard into what he is familiar with when it comes to conjuring and commanding any given energy construct. Although that in and of itself isn’t anything unexpected for any piece of media bearing the Green Lantern label, how the film’s constructs manifested was anything but crowd-pleasing.

Basic constructs like giant fists were certainly welcome and fall right in line with what fans have seen of the character for decades, yet a life-size Hot Wheels track and toy racecar elicited more groans from theater goers than anything else. Even when the film called up epic images of energy construct fighter jets and gattling guns, the unspoken rules regarding them being directly tied to Hal himself detracted from their impact, while the unimaginative and unnecessarily convoluted ways in which they were put to use only further enforced the fact that Reynolds’ Green Lantern was a dud.

How the Green Lantern Corps’ Powers REALLY Work in the Comics

The Green Lantern’s power is brilliant because it is so simple – which makes it impossibly complicated

In the world of DC Comics, the powers afforded to members of the Green Lantern Corps are limited only by their own individual imaginations and willpower. Through their Power Rings, these cosmic peacekeepers can conjure up any and every form of weapon, defense, distraction, and tactical supply necessary for any given situation.

Even if the Green Lanterns are not able to solve each and every single problem due to the few limitations that most Power Rings have, there has rarely been anything that the likes of Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner cannot come up with and command at a moment’s notice.

The sheer simplicity of think of a thing, will it into existence, tell it what to do has been at the heart of the Green Lantern franchise from the very start, and while the specific nuances and details behind such a power have changed and been redefined at various points, that most basic understanding has never been demonstrably altered. As such, fans have come to expect far more from a Green Lantern title than what they got in 2011.

The creativity was low, the implementation was mediocre at best, and what should have been an awe-striking display of power was instead a series of obvious callbacks to things viewers already knew about the character (as well as at least one piece of overt product placement dressed up as a daringly heroic end to a near-disastrous encounter). Of course, viewers have also grown accustomed to seeing different versions of Green Lantern show off their powers in animated productions, which come with neither the limitations nor expectations of a big-budget feature film.

Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner Could Perfectly Define the Green Lantern Corps on the Silver Screen

James Gunn’s Superman has the chance to make the Man of Steel a background player in his own movie – and it would be better for it

Guy Gardner won’t be Nathan Fillion’s first time playing a superpowered hero, nor will it be his first time playing a brash narcissist. That being said, his upcoming appearance in Superman will be one of his most important roles to date, albeit not when it comes to his own career.

Across the multiple trailers for Superman that have been released, viewers have seen Fillion’s Guy Gardner toss would-be assailants aside with the flick of a massive green hand that comes out of nowhere. Viewers have also seen him use beams of energy that are harnessed directly from his ring to form less confrontational constructs.

The part of all of this that stands out, however, is the ease with which Fillion’s Guy Gardner seems to call upon and command these constructs. Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern may have been an origin story replete with plenty of learning curves, but leaning into the idea that the already accomplished and seasoned Hal Jordan would handle his powers in such ludicrous fashion in no way helped the film, nor its leading character.

While that aspect of the story is one that the Green Lantern of Superman won’t have to worry about, it should not have held Reynolds’ Hal Jordan back as much as it did. Luckily, Superman audiences don’t have to worry about suffering through the same kind of experience when it comes to Fillion’s Green Lantern, and hopefully that will open the door to a more intriguing take on what future Green Lanterns will have to offer when they make their own DCU debuts in the coming years.

Superman is set to soar into theaters everywhere on July 11.

“}]] James Gunn’s Superman movie might be exactly the opportunity the Green Lantern Corps need to let their powers shine, and make up for one massive flop.  Read More