Morrison: My GL is going to be more about the day to day of being a space cop.

[Vordan]

I'd like to see a planet or inter-planetary or -stellar civilization tell Hal, the Corps, or the Guardians that they have no recognized, acknowledged, or legal authority whatsoever and to go screw themselves, WITHOUT being depicted as being evil, decadent, fascist, corrupt, etc. Not because I'm particularly libertarian, anti-government, or anti-authority, but because, well, who the hell are the Guardians to set themselves up as The Police Force of the Universe?

I’ve always thought it curious how many planets let a race of blue midgets enforce their law upon them. Gets even worse when relative newcomers like humans get to call all the shots and end up replacing the Guardians as leaders. I seriously doubt longstanding planet members would be happy having Hal (who went nuts and killed the Corps) or John (got a planet killed) as leaders of the GLC. Why wouldn’t one of their Lanters get to lead?

[mrbrklyn]

I’ve always thought it curious how many planets let a race of blue midgets enforce their law upon them.

I don't know where this idea comes from because that is not what the Guardians or the GL corps does. That is what Sinestro did.

[silly]

Whose laws do the guardians and the corps enforce? Do the Lanterns appear only in times of calamities? What if there is a civil war? Do they take sides or are totally hands off?

Morrison will have tons of material to play with.

[liwanag]

That kinda might be case with the Vega System.

and qward and apokolips i guess.

[j9ac9k]

Whose laws do the guardians and the corps enforce? Do the Lanterns appear only in times of calamities? What if there is a civil war? Do they take sides or are totally hands off?

Morrison will have tons of material to play with.

Morrison might well tackle this sort of stuff, but my interpretation of what I've read so far seems to indicate that he's more into the trippier cosmic aspect of Hal's job rather than bureaucracy and jurisdictions.

Personally, I liked it when the GLC were seen as a nonpartisan humanitarian organization. I know it became less intersting for writers, but otherwise it sounds like the kind of stuff Dox was always concerned with in LEGION.

[mrbrklyn]

Whose laws do the guardians and the corps enforce?

Nobody's. It is not what the GL Corps of the Gaurdians do.

[Talon1load]

Nobody's. It is not what the GL Corps of the Gaurdians do.

It is though. That’s why they catch villains and put them in science cells. It’s also why they call themselves space cops. What is that you think they do? If it’s something else then you must not have read much Green Lantern in the last couple of decades.

[mrbrklyn]

It is though. That’s why they catch villains and put them in science cells.

It is not. They don't rule over anyone or have any laws they enforce on planets.

[Talon1load]

They literally do. They enforce universal laws. They arrest people and imprison them. There are hundreds of issues of them doing just that.

[liwanag]

[liwanag]

[Dr. Ellingham]

Valid points on both sides.

The disconnect is related to the post-GL Rebirth take on Green Lantern, where they do speak about enforcing laws, often.

Pre-Johns, they simply helped mitigate disaster, suffering, and stop invasions, genocides, murder, thievery, etc. More like Star Trek, where the Enterprise goes around helping people. They don't submit themselves as valid law enforcement.

[Güicho]

It is not. They don't rule over anyone or have any laws they enforce on planets.

This^ they are Peace keepers. (and explorers)
They don't bring their own laws to bare, they respect that other civilizations may have differences.

If "GL's set the Law" has become the norm, they (creators) have really lost their way with this franchise.

[Mutatis_Mutandis]

This^ they are Peace keepers.
They don't bring their own laws to bare, they respect that other civilizations may have differences.

If "GL's set the Law" has become the norm, they have really lost their way with this franchise.

Completely agree with this. If GLs have become the ones who universally set the law (which in itself would be an enormously arrogant thing to do), then it's hard to see the Guardians and the GLC as anything else but an authoritarian fascist force who enforce their idea of law on everyone through violence (no matter how well-intentioned that may be).

[Scott Taylor]

They could be like the Anla-shok in Babylon 5. A peacekeeping force, answerable to an independent authority from any of the member worlds, and comprised of many if not most of the member races. And their main purpose is not to enforce laws, per say, but to fight the big galactic-level threats to all worlds, patrol space, and to make sure that if one race planned to attack the other, all would know about it.

Still like a police force, but not one that enforces specific laws or favors one culture over another.