DC, and Marvel I guess, always struggle to develop new environment for legacy characters and this is especially bad with GL since we have 10 of them running around so asides of Hal (and maybe Kyle) nobody really got enough focus to develop his own villains and supporting cast.
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JesSimon had their own title, Jo had a maxi, and John etc were featured in GLC long enough to have developed some if the writers had wanted. And the ones that were used need other writers to come along and bring them back (anyone remember Effigy or Nero?) rather than constantly using Sinestro. I mean heck - bring back Flicker or Invisible Destroyer - old Hal foes who aren't being used and spread them around. But Sinestro and Hal have a special relationship.
Imo that likely has more to do with DC just not wanting the Lantern they happen to push to settle for scraps if you will. This isn't the same situation as Kyle who they had no choice but to give his own lore since they nuked Hal's lore prior to that. Here the mindset seems to be they don't want the default Lantern to come off as a lesser character if they're given lesser-known villains or lesser known heroes to pal around with. So naturally they will give them the rivalry with Sinestro, the friendships with Barry or Ollie, the founding JL spot in adaptations, etc. The only way those things don't happen is if Hal is perpetually positioned as the default Lantern which obviously hasn't been and never will be the case. Hence the things primarily associated with him will always be given to others every time DC gets tired of using him.
I never think of DC as a singular entity with an agenda (outside of big events) - that's giving them too much credit, imo. How is "settling for scraps" better than getting Hal's "hand-me-downs?" It can be seen either way. I think it just takes a writer to make a villain interesting. Atrocitus is relatively new, but Johns made him memorable enough that's he's been featured outside of comics multiple times. Thorne just had an opportunity to create a new and recurring nemesis for John in the latest run, but do you think he did? I don't DC was stopping him.
I didn't read the "Green Lanterns" title, but was there any standout villain there that someone else might find interesting enough to use again?
There was the "Phantom Lantern" who oddly enough also had history with Hal. They also had their own take on Volthoom.
While Hal has great willpower I do not…but it’s still an awesome statue
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"It's fun and it's cool, so that's all that matters. It's what comics are for, Duh."
Words to live by.
Because people won’t think of them as “hand-me-downs” if the first time they show up in theater or on HBO Max, they’re going up against one of the other Lanterns. The general audience doesn’t know what belongs to who, they’ll associate whatever they see with whoever is the Lantern lead. And all the cool stuff is Hal’s, it’s been almost 10 years since the end of Johns run and DC has failed to really continue building up their cosmic side.
For when my rants on the forums just aren’t enough: https://thevindicativevordan.tumblr.com/
Pretty much all they did in recent years was finally move away from the Emotional Spectrum stuff. Which they had no choice since they milked that cow to death and beyond, but their lack of direction with the cosmic side post-Johns has been painfully evident. Hence in adaptations you still see the Sinestro Corps and the Red Lanterns.
Last edited by Johnny; 07-02-2022 at 03:30 AM.
Last edited by Johnny; 07-02-2022 at 03:17 AM.
I haven't read Green Lanterns either, but I feel like Volthoom should, or could, be Jessica's main villain?
As for characters like Johns getting "hand-me-downs", I have seen few fans of his not liking it, but wide majority seems to be happy that Johns is finally the focus of an animated movie. Starve fan base long enough and they'll accept garbage, I guess.
Writing about comics https://bookofhsssh.blogspot.com