Friday, September 18, 2015

Green Lantern 75th Anniversary: Top 5 Fridays: Green Lantern Mythos Moments

Welcome back to another Top 5 Fridays:Green Lantern 75th edition. 

We have covered some of the greatest Lanterns and their villains, and it made me realize that the Lantern Mythos is probably one of the largest and most detailed story lines in all of comics. It has been full of epic stories and moments that really show how amazing the Lantern corps actually are. 

Today we'll be covering any and all ring wielder moments of all time. As usual, this is my personal list, so if you don't see a moment you like I apologize. Also there will be SPOILERS! Enough babbling, LET'S BEGIN!


5: Alan Scott vs. Darkseid

Remember Earth 2: Worlds End? That thing that destroyed Earth 2? Well it had its ups and downs, but then the ending happened and it made a lot of people upset. I was, of course, one of those people...but there was a moment that still made me go, "HOLY CRAP, THATS AMAZING!"
 Alan Scott gave up his humanity, which is sad, to become the complete Green Lantern. 

This wouldn't mean anything if it didn't allow him the connection to the all the natural forces of just his Earth. By the time he's ready to fight Darkseid again, he has the energy of all 52 Earths of the Multiverse at his back. 


He flies up to Darkseid and just wails on him until he KNOCKS HIM OUT! Superman hasn't even done that in the current continuity. This is the pinnacle of power the GreenLantern of Earth 2 has hit and while I would prefer him to have kept his emotions, it's still an amazing final stand for Earth 2.
If you wanna read my fanboy theory on Alan Scott's power, click here

4: Sinestro fuses with Parallax
During the final battle against the First Lantern, Sinestro takes Parallax into him for the first time, keeping control. The reason why I picked this moment over others is the fact the Parallax entity has come full circle. 

It started in Hal Jordan, the one person no one expected to succumb to Fear, then Ganthet, the person who guided the Earth Lanterns, then Kyle the "Last" Green Lantern. 


These people were driven by courage, and one by one ended up being forced out. The only one that actually was able to bond with him with ease was, you guessed it, Sinestro. The difference this time is that Parallax isn't in control--it's a mutual bond, and that mutual bond is enough to fight back against the First Lantern.  It’s an awesome moment that leads up to an epic battle!

3: Kyle Rayner becomes the White Lantern
White Lanterns are amazing. Straight up amazing. However, the White Lantern journey Kyle had to go through made his experience a whole lot better. He had to travel and train through every light of the emotional spectrum to gain his white light, rather than just take it when it came to the Blackest Night. 


It became a hero's journey for Kyle, only to prove that his final obstacle to mastering the final emotion came from the Guardian who started him on his journey--Ganthet. He could have been angry at Ganthet, but in the end he just admitted his fatherly love for him, allowing him to become the ultimate Lantern. It’s beautiful, amazing, and full of life.

2: Black Hand resurrects the Source Wall
I have met two kinds of people lately--people like me who loved the Godhead storyline, and the people who were "Meh" to it. However, there is one question that everyone had on their minds, "How do you fight New Gods?" How about with titans? 

That is when I saw Black Hand put his hands on the Source Wall, which had hundreds of titans trapped within. I couldn't help but think, "There is no way that is going to work, right? RIGHT?" Then it happened and I flipped out. 


It broke the rules of the Source Wall, but just look at the panel above! No one can really get mad at something so amazing! Sure, it only worked for a little while, but when we first see them come to life, it showed that the Lanterns, or at least Black Hand, was as powerful as any New God.

1: Green Lanterns vs. Parallax
I loved Green Lantern: Rebirth for a number of reasons. 

The art was fantastic.The writing was phenominal. But most importantly, it showed how important ALL of the Green Lanterns of Earth were. One thing I worried about with the Lantern crossover stories is that one lantern might get a bigger spotlight over the others. Here it showed the Earth Lanterns were equals, but also different. Despite it being Hal Jordan's homecoming, it was Kyle who sent Sinestro packing. Even though Guy exploded, he picks up himself and John to keep the fight going. 

The battle itself becomes even more interesting as it shows the fighting style and personality of each Lantern.  Whether it be Kyle's imagination, Guy's fiery will, John's attention to detail, Kilowog's imposing personality, or Hal's need to stay on target, every Lantern is just as important to the mythos as the others. They are equals. They are allies. They are family.

Thats it for the Top 5 Green Lantern Moments! What is your favorite ring-slinging moment? Leave a comment and I'll see you next time!

6 comments:

  1. Trying to think of my favourites that aren't on this list, and really, there's three;

    3. Blue Lanterns vs. The Reach: This scene had me wishing the BLs had their own series.
    2. GL Corps vs Alpha Lanterns: A fight that sees the manhunters? I'm sold.
    1. Hal returns as a Black Lantern: There was SO much impressive stuff in this scene. Loved it.

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    1. never seen 3 and 2, but 1 i would say would be the honorable mention. When I saw it I was like "DAAAAAAAAMMMMMNNNN" then the first lantern was just like K, come here hal and i went"SHHHHHIIIIIIITTTTT"

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  2. It might be lame but it started my obsession with anything Lantern... The events showing that there were other power rings in the universe along with their entities were simply AMAZING and I've been hooked ever since.

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  3. 5. One punch! (Justice League #5)
    4. John Stewart loses a planet (Cosmic Odyssey #3)
    3. Hal Jordan vs. Sinestro (Green Lantern #50)
    2. Simon Baz saves his brother-in-law (Green Lantern #16)
    1. Green Lantern/Green Arrow (Green Lantern #76)

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    1. I can't argue with anything on that list...though "One Punch" could be higher!

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