Lanterns Feels Like a Vertigo Take on the Green Lantern Mythology

 Spoilers abound.

Lanterns is an amazingly well done show. It is also confusing for me.

This is because is a well done show based off of DCs main cosmic mythos, but filled with things I usually don't want in my comics-  adult themes, language and situations, along with some really dark moments. (The language was excellently, used however.) Also for the main "cosmic property" it is primarily a street level detective story in a small farm town. 

However, it does all of those things while being true to that Green Lantern mythology, while constantly having important references to events, locations and individuals from the comics. Therefore, while it shouldn't work in the genre and tone its using. 

Somehow it does.

This is first and foremost a show about people. It is not a show about super powers. And when dealing with the limited budgets of television, that is the way to go to get a quality product. Given it's success, we may get a lot more powers in Season Two. However, early plans indicate they're going to be smart and leave the over the top spectacle for the movies and continue focusing on people for the small screen.

John Stewart is true to his post JLU cartoon comic book personality of being a former Marine Sniper yet also a detail oriented architect. John has a very strong sense of what's right and wrong, and also has a strong focus on doing things his own way. This was his show, and he was spectacular as the lead.

Hal Jordan matches his "greying at the temples" crotchety, older hero version from the pre-Emerald Twilight comics, with the flashbacks eluding to a more traditional version. 

Meaning- Yes, he could be annoying (or in fact, an enormous ass at times), frequently dumb as a fork in some ways, but he's still a, iron willed and fearless hero who somehow manages to do the right thing. He did figure out everything that was going on, including who his own murderer was. 

(I'm sure he'll be back. Sinestro already pointed out it was possible. I don't care that the creators said his death is too important to John's story to reverse. I've been reading comics a looong time. Bucky and Jason Todd were frequently called the only exceptions to "no one stays dead." Those characters are THRIVING.

Later add on- And they're already talking about a stand alone Hal series besides Lantern season 2 that will introduce Mogo! See?)

Perhaps it is how good a job the actor did, or more likely because of the stage of life I have reached, but I am a large fan of the older, grouchier version of this character.

Guy Gardner is a jerk, but a jerk by choice who is also a hero. This is the version of the character I prefer. His appearances were very brief, but I feel he could easily develop into the same "big brother" role for John or other heroes he held for Kyle in the comics. I hope they do expand on everyone referring to Guy as a "gym teacher." He started as a social case worker and then worked in physical education with children who had disabilities. There are reasons under his jerk exterior why the Lanterns and other heroes put up with him.

All three of them displayed the core ability of a Green Lantern, willpower. They all demonstrated this in different ways, but it was central to the stories of this series. They also did a good job of showing this without ever explicitly stating it.

The show is done as a multi level mystery, and also told non-linearly with multiple flashbacks to allow the reveals to come naturally and in an interesting manner. 

This is a dark show, and not in just the color palette or the minimal number of constructs and superhero costumes used. The source of John's anger was a reaction to his parents bullying him into being fearless in order to be worthy of the Green Lantern Corps. Meanwhile, the demonstration of Hal's indomitable willpower was his ability to resist the depression the men in his family are genetically disposed to which led his father and grandfather to cause the plane crashes that took their lives. 

And yet they still threw in references to Green Lanterns Mogo (the planet) and Ch'ip (the squirrel).  The tone did vary wildly, and yet somehow it all worked. There was a quick Carol Ferris appearance, who was awesome, as she is in most universes. And that's not only because it gives us hope of Star Sapphire arriving. (We're going to need her after they left Sinestro on a planet completely permeated with fear causing chemicals, after giving John a fear tainted battery. Hey, what could go wrong?)

They retooled the Manhunters as well, instead of blue faced red robots, they copy whatever beings live on the planet they infiltrate. Instead killing with raw destructive power as they seek to punish those they've deemed guilty (just about everyone), they help the locals in ways that create powerful feelings of gratitude and debt, building up a defense around themselves before going into attack mode. They still mostly don't care about the people now willing to help them, and will sacrifice many of them immediately. However, there is a lot building off the central theme of the show about overcoming "programming" whether that be literal of figurative. There were Manhunters in the comics that overcame the way the Guardians programmed them and became super heroes. Just sayin'.

I thought it was effective but pretty bold to have the huge blow off, action packed conflict in Episode 6, and allow the true payoff of the show to be handled in quieter, emotional moments in the final two episodes. 

We did get to see some aliens and other planets, befitting the cosmic nature of the Corps. Even those were shown in a down to earth way.  Watching this show reminded me of what Russel T Davies said in The Writers Tale. With all the superheroes, aliens and wild action scenes, the most important moments were people sitting at a table, talking.

I'm not really sure how the tone of this show fits when placing characters from it into the next Superman film. Then again, it worked with the other DC television entries. 

I do feel bad for the kids who discover Green Lantern in that film, and then won't be able to  watch this show for quite a few years. That will continue to be the nature of these giant shared universes with varied target audiences. As long as the quality holds up on both fronts, I'm fine with it.

The Green Lantern concept has evolved so much over the years. It's probably why I don't buy the comics anymore. (That along with a staggering lack of room.) John updating his oath to "embracing fear" after all the references to being fearless as self destructive and mentally unhealthy is accurate and makes sense in modern context. (Hal did give us a reciting of the the original one, and we've definitely seen variations in the oaths before.) But it is yet another change to the central mythology.

The ring originally had a 24 hour charge, Kyle changed that to more like a "gas tank." Again, practical and logical, but a change. Now, I believe, in the comics Hal has created a ring forged of his own willpower and running out of charge isn't an option anymore.

The initial, Silver Age, Green Lanterns were chosen because they were honest and fearless. Honest sort of faded away over the years. Embracing fear in the new show is similar to the "overcoming fear" that Kyle highlighted in the comics that was used in the movie, becoming even more prevalent post Rebirth and Nu52.

The yellow weakness was purged with Parallax around the same time. 

The core concept of the Corps is strong enough to withstand all those changes and still thrive. But its gotten hard for me to keep up. At least the Guardians are still untrustworthy, Machiavellian folks. Sadly, the one Guardian in the show took on a human form, and was facing the other way when she revealed her "true face." Maybe next season well get the lecture hall of robed, little blue folks.

In spite of the changes, or -based on how this show was awesome and handled things so differently- perhaps because of them, I hope Lanterns gets a second season. There are so many ways they could go with these characters, both directly following up to threads from this story, or breaking new ground. 

I'm looking forward to seeing how this version of John interacts with Superman and the rest of the DC gang in the movies.  It's been too long since we've had a Green Lantern around DC gatherings. A Lantern acting on his own outside the Corps has been done, but never quite like this. 

“In brightest day, in darkest night,

I'll embrace my fear.

I'll do what's right.

I choose this ring,

I choose this fight,

In service to this lantern's light.”

You know what? 

It works.

Footnote- "Vertigo" was (and is again) the line of DC comics aimed at mature readers, with more adult content in the stories. Also (originally anyway) a lot of the top writers putting out content with quality well above the regular comic book lines were drawn to that freedom.

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