Make Each Green Lantern Unique

[DrNewGod]

Now, we all have our reasons that our fave Green Lantern is best. Their powers ain't one of them. Green force constructs and flying all a result of thinking real hard.

So let's assume that The Ring is more an extension of its user, than a standard-issue gizmo, and works a bit differently for each GL. What can a given Lantern do that's unique, and what can't they do?

[Riv86672]

Hal Jordan - Something very much like The Ray; as a pilot he’d be all about speed and high energy output.

Guy Gardner - Would be a super strong invulnerable flying brick w. energized fists for extra damage.

Kyle Rayner - Pretty much what he’s always been. He’s all about using his imagination to create things.

[sifighter]

Let’s see there are about 7 of them so let me think.

Kyle was Ion so I believe he should be able to harness the most pure version of the green lantern energy which make his powers last longer and stronger.

Hal has done a lot of crazy stuff with his ring, including making it and joining it with multiversal lantern batteries. That makes me think with that kind of power Hal should be able to open forth portals to other worlds and be permanently connected to the green spectrum/never lose power.

Simon Baz should keep his healing ability

For Guy I was thinking that a nice callback to his Warrior days that any weapons he make become permanent,ie his constructs do not disappear.

John should have Guardian level abilities because he was one at one point, meaning anything guardians can do with the spectrum so should he.

Jessica Cruz I feel should have some ability left over from her time as Power ring which I guess would be since she overcame fear in herself so she should be able to depower Sinestro Corps rings.

[Agent Z]

John would prioritize "heavy" constructs. Shields, walls, armor, tanks etc.

[DrNewGod]

A thing I think should be unique to Alan is walking thru walls. Also, take him back to his abilities being solely effective against minerals, and not organics.

Guy should be Brute Force. Telekinesis and force fields.

Hal's constructs should be simple (spheres, fists, etc), but he should also be able to pre-program effects and create durable constructs (ala his Silver Age comics)

Stewart, as befits an architect, should create elegant, complex constructs. Almost Rube Goldberg level. Unless he gets angry, in which they turn into "GL Smash!" bolts or force fields.

[Quinlan58]

Baz should be a Blue Lantern. It'd fit with the healing powers he had in his debut and the capacity to calm Red Lanterns he showed in the Humphries run.

[SecretWarrior]

Their constructs should just draw from their personal backstories. That alone should make them unique.

John is an architect, so references to that or to symbols of creation generally should be the go-to (i.e., (battle)hammers, fire, rebars, girders, construction equipment, wrecking balls, chains, mazes, etc.). That part of his background should also help him to identify weaknesses in support structures, allowing him to use his environment to his advantage. Van Jensen and Bernard Chang did a good job of this on their GLC run.

John is also a marine sniper, so references to that work as well (i.e., sniper rifles, tanks, gattling guns, knives, explosives, and pretty much anything else commando-related).

John's social activist background may not come through in his constructs, but it still gives him a diplomatic approach as a Green Lantern.

This approach not only works for human GLs but also alien ones too.

You can further diversify them by the role they play in the Corps-- Leadership, internal affairs, SWAT/cavalry, counterterrorism, intelligence, exploration, disaster relief, forensics, etc.

[bat39]

I think Hal would be the best flier of the bunch. Expect him to be the fastest and most agile when it comes to manuevering during aerial combat or while facing ground-fire. His attacks and constructs would be simpler - the boxing glove construct would be his trademark move.

Kyle goes in for really complex and imaginative constructs. Expect him to create monsters to fight monstrous threats or literally construct a supermax-level prison to trap an enemy combatant. Or recreate the Titanic if he needs a ship to transport a whole bunch of people.

With John I tend to lean towards his military background more than his architectural one, so I think he'd mostly stick to straightforward attacks with power beams, wielding the ring as a weapon more than anything else. But he would still have some constructs - maybe a bit more complex than Hal's but simpler than Kyle's. His constructs would be more functional than anything else though.

Guy's use of the ring would be more in terms of blunt force. Expect battering rams and boxing gloves. His constructs are simple but really powerful.

As far as Alan goes, I'd play up the more 'mystical' aspects of his powers, since his ring is more mystical than science-based, despite a common origin. He'd use it more for stuff like turning invisible, walking through walls, possibly even hypnotizing people. He'd also use it to manipulate matter. I'd play up the weirdness of his powers a bit more.

Don't know much about Jessica or Simon.

[Jon Clark]

Didn't we get something like this in Rebirth although that was prior to the New 52 Lantern. I remember Guy's ring being "sparky" like it was always just barely under his control. Anyhow, my take:

Hal: the simplest practical constructs. He makes a giant green hand that grabs things, punches, or catches falling objects. He makes a big green bubble to carry things or create a protective field. As someone else sated he is a natural flyer- being able to outperform any fellow Corps member except those whose natural abilities include flying.

Guy is similar to Hal in the simplicity of his creations, except that Guy is a bit more weapon prone. Guy's creations include more big mallets, maces, spikes. Guy also is more likely to use his ring as pure unshaped force. Guy also has the biggest power range. Guy's attention and ego cause him to at points lose concentration if he is bored or to underestimate what it takes to subdue/restrain an opponent. On the opposite end if Guy is really motivated his creations are among the most powerful in the Corps.

John is the most technical of the Earth based Lanterns. His creations are actual working machines. If he makes a "gun" with his ring you can see every component from the trigger to the firing pin to the rifling in the barrel. If he creates a pair of wings they will duplicate the aerodynamics that such wings would need. The more fully he visualizes the mechanical principles involved the better huis ring creations perform.

Kyle's ring creations are as detailed as John's but more a matter of style than function. If Kyle creates a giant hand the way Hal does, Kyle's will more closely resemble an actual hand. Kyle is also prone to using old Warner Brother's bits like giant anvils and sticks of TNT as part of his repertoire.

[Lightning63]

I always got the feeling that Jess would opt for shields and energy beams.

[abetterday]

I'm not sure which Green lantern would be suitable to do this but I always thought that the Fibonacci sequence of the universe could make a good subject matter in comics. Since the Fibonacci sequence in mathematics refers to the metaphysical explanation of codes in our universe it would have to be someone that's kind of analytical like a cyborg.

I would also like to see a race of alien Green Lanterns with different skin tones. the melatonin in each of their different skin tones affects how powerful their Green Lantern energy is. The one thing that I have noticed about the Green Lantern Corps is that there are no Black aliens among their members. There should be an all Black planet out there somewhere.

[lemonpeace]

off rip, let's make sure this is understood, my setup means not everyone is gonna be a rank and file Lanterns. some of them won't even be Greens.


Kyle - while my first instinct is to just make him Ion or White Lantern again, that much unconditional power would make it harder for lesser writers to create compelling stakes. so, in lieu of that, he'll stay a GL and still have his typical anime and manga inspired constructs but, due to his time as Ion and White Lantern, I'd have him take on the role of the caretaker for the emotional enitities. so he'd have his Green Lantern powers but he can amp his constructs with the different entities; something like Silva from Shaman King or Nacht from Black Clover.

Guy - Guy I'm less hesitant to move away from the Green. Guy was at his best when he was a Red Lantern so I would take him back to leading his own (lawful) faction of the Red Lanterns. he'd have the refined construct creation of a GL with his Red Lantern plasma constructs and i'd lean into the rage empowerment aspect of the reds. have it give him more of a physicality boost the angrier he gets, so he can fight like a Hulk or a berserker; incorporate more hand to hand brawling and smashing.

Jessica Cruz & Simon Baz - yeah I'm living in the past a little here but hear me out: we pair them back up but Simon is a Blue Lantern. Blues are at their best in the presence of Greens, so we take Jess (who's before the female face of Green Lanterns) and Simon (who has a natural affinity for healing and emotional intelligence) and we explore that green/blue dynamic with the dynamic duo of the Green Lanterns. Simon would work like a Paladin type with his visually distinct blue constructs and cleansing/healing powers, and Jess would have the ability to output more sturdy and powerful constructs due to his amp; plus they'd have the unique distinction of combo attacks.

John - I'll always advocate for the idea of John being a Guardian but one who's actively in the field dealing with the big threats they'd usually send multiple Lanterns to deal with. the tattoo ring/human power battery was a perfect powerset distinction because he could essentially function as the Blue Marvel of the Green Lantern Corps. couple that capacity difference with his style of combat focusing on sniping and building constructs from the inside out (meaning their basically exact replicas), that should make John unique enough. plus, John was been known to read the Book of Oa and he knows the language of the spheres, so as a Guardian you could add an added layer of cosmic otherworldliess to his construct designs and concepts.

Hal - with the others' niches firmly carved out, Hal can just continue being standard as the template. he's Hal so he doesn't have any fancy add-on, he just does impossible things with his ring; making him as an aspirational figure in relation to the standard Lanterns.

[WonderScott]

I always liked Johns’s approach that their constructs were very unique to them and how their minds approached things.

[TheRay]

Hal: Highball
John: Darkstar
Guy: Warrior
Kyle: Oblivion
Alan: GL
Simon: Emerald Gladiator
Jessica: Limelight