10 Lanterns We Want to See on Green Lantern: The Animated Series
We’ll admit it, we’re surprised at how good Cartoon Network’s Green Lantern: The Animated Series is. Or at least how good it was until Cartoon Network pulled it and the rest of the DC block for a few months. However, kicking off with an overarching story that not only sent Hal Jordan and Kilowog into deep space with a Red Lantern, but also making that particular brand of ring-slinging bad guys was a surprising move and one that offered plenty of great episodes both original and pulled from fairly recent comics.
They also get major points for featuring some pretty fantastic cameos with the recent return of the series. Hal met up with the always cocky Guy Gardner on Earth in the first episode back and then dealt with Ch’p, Larvox and Chaselon on Oa. They even added everyone’s favorite fish-chicken alien, Tomar Re, to Hal’s team as they head off to fight the looming threats of the Manhunters and the Anti-Monitor.
But we’re geeks and these few Green Lanterns just aren’t enough. We’re guessing that more Lanterns will join in on the Anti-Monitor fight as it builds towards what we assume will be the season finale, but there’s plenty of room for other GL appearances. Here’s the top ten we’d like to see and even a few suggestions on how to get ’em in.
10) Rot Lop Fan
An Alan Moore creation, Rot Lop Fan took a completely new look at what it takes to be a Green Lantern, literally. The Guardians send GL Katma Tui to the lightless Obsidian Deeps where she encounters Rot Lop Fan, who has proven himself worthy of the mantle. However, he has absolutely no concept of light and therefore no idea what “green” or “lantern” means. Thinking quickly, Katma Tui dubs him an F-Sharp Bell (note his logo) and all is right. Rot hasn’t appeared much in the comics, but this would make for a great one-off episode.
9) Simon Baz
Sure we know almost nothing about him and he’s the Green Lantern who feels the need to carry a gun, but aside from that Simon Baz would make an excellent addition to the animated series Corps. The latest GL of Earth in DC’s New 52 initiative, Baz just scored his ring in Green Lantern #0, but as one of the only Lebanese-American comic characters around, he’d bring an interesting perspective to Hal’s TV adventures.
8) Stel
Hailing from the world Grenda, Stel is a sentient robot whose bravery is only outsized by his moving parts. He’s served as a Lantern since his creation back in 1991. While GL: TAS might have the market pretty well covered when it comes to robotic GLs, it would be cool to see one with a little more experience. The great thing about Stel is that he can always go through a cool upgrade to help blast away the baddies.
7) Voz
One aspect of Oa we haven’t seen quite yet has been the Sciencells, the Guardians’ answer to jail. That means we also haven’t seen the warden of the big green house, Voz. Voz might look like like a teddy bear, but when the Red Lanterns broke out, Voz did his best to go yard on Vice, though it wasn’t enough. We’d like to see him get the spotlight in the animated series with an eye towards bigger things when trouble eventually comes to Oa.
6) Jack T. Chance
With a name like Jack T. Chance, you’ve got to be something of a badass. Luckily for this GL, he is and was even before getting the ring. Jack comes from a world dubbed Hellhole which he defended old west sheriff-style until getting recruited into the Corps. You’d probably have to take out the part where he fights the bad guys with his rings and then shoots them dead with a gun, but otherwise he and his world would make for a cool new setting in an upcoming episode.
5) Torquemada
As if wielding one of the most powerful weapons in the cosmos wasn’t enough, Torquemada is also a highly accomplished magician, making him one of the more powerful corpsmen around. Bringing him into the fray could open up the world of GL: TAS to a whole new group of stories. Think Doctor Strange in space and that’s what we have in mind.
4) Ash
Ash’s claim to fame is that he’s the Green Lantern vampire hunter, making him like space Buffy without the quips. Full-on vampires might be a little too intense for a Cartoon Network show, but DC’s done it before with that Batman Vs. Dracula, so who says it can’t work with Green Lantern?
3) Raker Qarrigata
Raker Qarrigata got the short end of the stick when it came to sector assignments. Instead of someplace easy like Earth, he got saddled with Apokolips, the worst place in the universe, thanks to its ruler Darkseid. His loss can be our gain, though as it’s always fun to see Jack Kirby’s New Gods designs rendered in a different mediums like CGI. Make this one a multi-parter and get all the big guns in there as well from Darkseid and Highfather down to Desaad and Lightray. Green Lanterns versus New Gods needs to happen.
2) Von Daggle
Shape-changing Durlan Von Daggle has only appeared in one early Green Lantern Corps storyarc and has never been referred to again. Daggle ran a black ops subsection of the GLC called The Corpse. When on missions he and his crew don’t use power rings or batteries. Instead they’re issued discs that give them all the power of the ring, but only for a limited time. Hal or Kilowog could easily take on some kind of secret threat with ol’ Von.
1) Mogo
The largest Green Lantern by far, Mogo is an actual living planet. Created by the Watchmen creative team of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons in the short story “Mogo Doesn’t Socialize,” Mogo has become a very important player in the GL mythology since Geoff Johns took over back in 2004. He’s acted as a kind of planetary shrink for the on-duty officers, but has also jumped into the fray a few times. Perhaps the Anti-Monitor will offer enough of a challenge to get Mogo to play a part. Bonus points will be awarded if his diminutive partner Bzzt joins him.