Recent Green Lantern Retcons

[shaxper]

I'll begin by admitting that I haven't followed Green Lantern since Emerald Dawn II, but I've just finished reading #1-8 of the new series and am attempting to make sense of all the new (and admittedly cool) revisions they're making to the Green Lantern mythos.

Please stop me if I'm wrong or confused about any of these, and feel free to add your own as the new series progresses:


- The ring now works on yellow. I'm still not sure how or why (was this revealed in "Rebirth"?)

- The ring needs constant recharging: GL always had to recharge, but the first 8 issues of the new series have been full of mid-battle low energy readings and a more frequent need to recharge. Perhaps this is the writer's way of giving GL a new weakness that isn't quite as silly as yellow.

- The ring now has a voice, intelligence, database of knowledge, and a direct link to Oa and the other Green Lanterns.

- The Green Lanterns are now more like actual intersteller police officers, citing violations of laws in the book of Oa, recording evidence, and holding trials on Oa.

- The ring is constantly recording the events encountered by its GL for future reference (I'm sure this one is going to turn problematic for Hal soon, as foreshadowed by Green Arrow in #7).

Anything else?

[Mike Smash!]

I'll begin by admitting that I haven't followed Green Lantern since Emerald Dawn II, but I've just finished reading #1-8 of the new series and am attempting to make sense of all the new (and admittedly cool) revisions they're making to the Green Lantern mythos.

Please stop me if I'm wrong or confused about any of these, and feel free to add your own as the new series progresses:


- The ring now works on yellow. I'm still not sure how or why (was this revealed in "Rebirth"?)

The ring still has a yellow weakness, but now that its origin is known, it can be overcome with experience. Rookie Green Lanterns still have big problems with yellow.

- The ring needs constant recharging: GL always had to recharge, but the first 8 issues of the new series have been full of mid-battle low energy readings and a more frequent need to recharge. Perhaps this is the writer's way of giving GL a new weakness that isn't quite as silly as yellow.Not a retcon, just something new. The rings charge like Kyle's "gas tank" ring did. You use power and it drains it a bit. That's why you see them ask the ring for an power check.

- The ring now has a voice, intelligence, database of knowledge, and a direct link to Oa and the other Green Lanterns.This is nothing new. The Green Lantern Corps rings have always done this. It was only Kyle's that didn't, because the Central Power Battery had been destroyed.

- The Green Lanterns are now more like actual intersteller police officers, citing violations of laws in the book of Oa, recording evidence, and holding trials on Oa.They've always been space cops, but they're just playing it up more nowadays.

- The ring is constantly recording the events encountered by its GL for future reference (I'm sure this one is going to turn problematic for Hal soon, as foreshadowed by Green Arrow in #7).I think this is new, though the rings have always been capable of this sort of thing.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I like chatty power-rings. They're a great way of getting exposition out as quickly as possible for newcomers, without making the hero spout it all the time. And particularly like that Kilowog's ring calls people "Poozers".

I called a guy a Poozer once. That's the day I got my fanboy merit badge.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

- The ring is constantly recording the events encountered by its GL for future reference (I'm sure this one is going to turn problematic for Hal soon, as foreshadowed by Green Arrow in #7).I think this is new, though the rings have always been capable of this sort of thing.

The ring always did this. Hal was able to view the last moments of Abin Sur's life again becase his ring had recorded his entire life, including every mission he'd ever performed, like when Abin Sur fought gangsters in 1920s Chicago.

I really like all the neat little details that Johns is adding to the rings and their various capabilities.

One of the particularly interesting tweaks is that the painted on uniforms are giving off their own temperatures. The green shell is hot, the black shealth is cold...sometimes. I don't know what the hell that means, but it sure sounds cool. Johns is very good with that kind of stuff.

[Forefinger]

The ring always did this. Hal was able to view the last moments of Abin Sur's life again becase his ring had recorded his entire life, including every mission he'd ever performed, like when Abin Sur fought gangsters in 1920s Chicago.

I really like all the neat little details that Johns is adding to the rings and their various capabilities.

One of the particularly interesting tweaks is that the painted on uniforms are giving off their own temperatures. The green shell is hot, the black shealth is cold...sometimes. I don't know what the hell that means, but it sure sounds cool. Johns is very good with that kind of stuff.
I guess them talking to the rings can be cool, but sometimes it's just annoying.

Hal's ring battery is always running on low. I don't like them being that vulnerable to that kind o fweakness. The constant power checks get annoying.

The thing with the uniform......just weird. What purpose does that serve?

I'm hoping that at some point the "upgrades" that Kyle made to his ring when he was Ion will become evident. His ring wasn't supposed to run out of power.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I guess them talking to the rings can be cool, but sometimes it's just annoying.

Hal's ring battery is always running on low. I don't like them being that vulnerable to that kind o fweakness. The constant power checks get annoying.

Re-read the old Silver Age issues. Hal was running low on power half the time. There were even a series of Zero Hour stories devoted to them because they did so many.

And the empty gas tank gave us Hal recharging his ring with a robot's head. Dude!

[Forefinger]

Re-read the old Silver Age issues. Hal was running low on power half the time. There were even a series of Zero Hour stories devoted to them because they did so many.

And the empty gas tank gave us Hal recharging his ring with a robot's head. Dude!
I'll admit that was pretty cool. I dropped Hal's GL but I may pick up the trades.

[Ian J.N.]

The biggest tweak, in my mind, is to the requirements in becoming a Green Lantern. "Fearless" has been rephrased as being able to "overcome great fear" with Parallax representing that great fear. So when a GL overcomes the yellow weakness, he/she/it is realizing the potential for which he/she/it was chosen.

Honesty factors into the selection process, but it is no longer a defining requirement. (Case in point, there was a flashback scene in GL:Rebirth that had Hal fibbing to his landlady.)

You could argue that this isn't really a retcon, and that the requirements became misinterpreted due to an intergalactic, millenia-long game of telephone, but Hal's origin sequence has certainly been revised:

"You have been chosen for one reason. Among many others. You are a man that will overcome great fear."

What's interesting about the retcon is that Kyle Rayner was always a legitimate Lantern. That he overcame Parallax's influence means he was indeed capable of overcoming great fear, and thus worthy of the ring... but we all knew that anyway. :)

[Kevinroc]

The biggest tweak, in my mind, is to the requirements in becoming a Green Lantern. "Fearless" has been rephrased as being able to "overcome great fear" with Parallax representing that great fear. So when a GL overcomes the yellow weakness, he/she/it is realizing the potential for which he/she/it was chosen.

Honesty factors into the selection process, but it is no longer a defining requirement. (Case in point, there was a flashback scene in GL:Rebirth that had Hal fibbing to his landlady.)

You could argue that this isn't really a retcon, and that the requirements became misinterpreted due to an intergalactic, millenia-long game of telephone, but Hal's origin sequence has certainly been revised:

"You have been chosen for one reason. Among many others. You are a man that will overcome great fear."

What's interesting about the retcon is that Kyle Rayner was always a legitimate Lantern. That he overcame Parallax's influence means he was indeed capable of overcoming great fear, and thus worthy of the ring... but we all knew that anyway. :)

I heard Geoff Johns speak about this at a con once. This was based off a scene from Grant Morrison's JLA run. Kyle is told he will become a great Green Lantern because he knows fear.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I think Fearless sounds cooler than Overcoming Great Fear, but I guess it keeps the nit-pickers at bay. I mean, yeah, nobody is truely without fear. Its a survival skill everybody needs to live. Hal always had fear, one big fear of defeat that washed all the other fears away.

Although I've read some versions of the origin where Abin Sur commands his ring to find him "a man born without fear", I don't even know what that means. How can you be born without a basic human emotion? Are GLs genetic flukes of nature or something?

[Capt USA]

I think Fearless sounds cooler than Overcoming Great Fear, but I guess it keeps the nit-pickers at bay. I mean, yeah, nobody is truely without fear. Its a survival skill everybody needs to live. Hal always had fear, one big fear of defeat that washed all the other fears away.

Although I've read some versions of the origin where Abin Sur commands his ring to find him "a man born without fear", I don't even know what that means. How can you be born without a basic human emotion? Are GLs genetic flukes of nature or something?

there was an episode of law and order criminal intent where the criminal didn't have any fear....of course he was a psychopath/sociopath so I'm not sure that is a great trait to have for an interstellar police force.

I always imagined that the defining characteristic for a green lantern is a strong belief of right/wrong or something like that. Guess that doesn't really work too well though (sinestro has that belief)

[The Wayner]

I like chatty power-rings. They're a great way of getting exposition out as quickly as possible for newcomers, without making the hero spout it all the time. And particularly like that Kilowog's ring calls people "Poozers".

I called a guy a Poozer once. That's the day I got my fanboy merit badge.

I'm right along with ya! And if that's all it takes to get the fanboy badge, well... I've been in the club for quite a spell, too.. ;)

Funny thing, though, is have you ever met someone---outside of a con---that understood the GL reference?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I'm right along with ya! And if that's all it takes to get the fanboy badge, well... I've been in the club for quite a spell, too.. ;)

Funny thing, though, is have you ever met someone---outside of a con---that understood the GL reference?

I'm a teacher, so I call some of my kids poozers. They think its hillarious. Because it has "poo" in it. And poo is comic genius if you're under 12 years old. Doubt any of them will be catching the GL reference anytime soon though...although Kilowog has shown up a few times on JLU, so I guess there's always a chance.

[Alex L]

Although I've read some versions of the origin where Abin Sur commands his ring to find him "a man born without fear", I don't even know what that means. How can you be born without a basic human emotion? Are GLs genetic flukes of nature or something?

Humans are born without fear. All fears are learned.

[/zen]

[Captain Smith]

There seem to be some built in fears according to analyses of phobia types, falling, strangers, etc.