Hal Jordan: The Green Lantern Appreciation 2022

[NathanS]

I'd agrue he presented them a bit more like military than a police force but details I suppose.

[Vordan]

https://twitter.com/sampere_art/stat...DD5uCJUFYqRgBQ

[ducklord]

The thing of it is, until the Corps came back after Rayner, they were never really an army or a police force. They were 3600 wandering knights, patrolling their sectors as they sought fit, lonely little specks of green in an immense universe.

They only went to Oa when they were summoned by the Guardians (which they almost never were), and they almost never teamed up unless the Guardians told them to (which they almost never did). Oa itself was a tiny, almost empty planet that had the Central Power Battery, a small building for the Guardians (there's only 36 of them), and a small prison for intergalactic menaces that couldn't be held on their home planets.

The only massive team-up GL ever before the Crisis was the first time they fought Krona.

Frankly, that's the way I think it should be again. Knights errant, doing good deeds, always at the beck and call of the mysterious Guardians, who almost never beck and call. They wield the universe's mightiest weapon, so they almost never need ten of them to gang up on anyone. They're almost never an army, and they're certainly not cops.

(But seriously, why are there all those buildings on Oa?)

[Johnny]

https://twitter.com/sampere_art/stat...DD5uCJUFYqRgBQ

Anyone care to guess what doomsday scenario is Johnny thinking while looking at that semi smug look on Hal's face? No? I'll see myself out.

[ducklord]

The only massive team-up GL ever before the Crisis was the first time they fought Krona.

Nekron. I meant Nekron. Duh.

[Frontier]

https://twitter.com/sampere_art/stat...DD5uCJUFYqRgBQ

He draws a good Hal .

The thing of it is, until the Corps came back after Rayner, they were never really an army or a police force. They were 3600 wandering knights, patrolling their sectors as they sought fit, lonely little specks of green in an immense universe.

They only went to Oa when they were summoned by the Guardians (which they almost never were), and they almost never teamed up unless the Guardians told them to (which they almost never did). Oa itself was a tiny, almost empty planet that had the Central Power Battery, a small building for the Guardians (there's only 36 of them), and a small prison for intergalactic menaces that couldn't be held on their home planets.

The only massive team-up GL ever before the Crisis was the first time they fought Krona.

Frankly, that's the way I think it should be again. Knights errant, doing good deeds, always at the beck and call of the mysterious Guardians, who almost never beck and call. They wield the universe's mightiest weapon, so they almost never need ten of them to gang up on anyone. They're almost never an army, and they're certainly not cops.

(But seriously, why are there all those buildings on Oa?)

I like Corps. Camraderie.

[ducklord]

I like Corps. Camraderie.

There *is* something to be said, from a writing perspective, for the change to 2 GLs per sector - it allows for conversation. In olden times, if one was telling a tale of the Green Lantern Corps, one could simply slap thought bubbles all over the place for a solo wandering GL ("the Guardians sent me to investigate this planet that's suddenly belching toxic gasses, I wonder what I'll find," / "these primitives have obviously never seen an alien before, much less a Green Lantern..."). But in an era where thought bubbles are verboten, and even over-captioning is frowned upon, having a buddy GL around to chat with makes things a lot simpler.

Still, I miss the nomads.

[NathanS]

I've actually been a big Athurtian kick lately reading a lot of the old stories, and it's not like the knights didn't interact regularly. Sure they had solo adventures, but on top of that, they would often attend court, be called on for battles/sieges and tournaments Lots of tournaments. And they would have adventures with one another sometimes from the start other times running into one another before going their separate ways.

[ducklord]

I've actually been a big Athurtian kick lately reading a lot of the old stories, and it's not like the knights didn't interact regularly. Sure they had solo adventures, but on top of that, they would often attend court, be called on for battles/sieges and tournaments Lots of tournaments. And they would have adventures with one another sometimes from the start other times running into one another before going their separate ways.

Well, the knight metaphor only goes so far

[SebastianS]

To me, the heroes/police-military force difference is not about the number of GLs or how frequently their interact (although this aspect does have an impact). It is more of a thematic approach that relies on small details. Details such as the GL symbol being considered/seen as a badge, and being visually similar to a police siren, the idea of briefings/debriefings, standardized training for "rookies", sector safe-houses, "partners", procedures, GLs denominations (2814.1, 2814.2, etc), the Central Battery AI, codes (like Code 1011, etc), the laws, etc. Even Morrison himself pitched his run as a procedural series of "universal law enforcement" with the GLs tasked with "the daily grind of policing the universe", and "re-emphasizing the central idea of the Green Lantern Corps as an intergalactic police force".

[HsssH]

It is not like it has to be some hard rule that is enforced. 2 GLs per sector does not mean that they have to be together all the time because sectors are big. On the other hand if you want to you can definetely pair them up for a story or two. Same with the whole knights analogy, they can have solo adventures and a big team up every few years when someone like Krona wants to get his ass kicked. Or if it some political event lika United Planets in the current run.

I think that GL franchise in general can be very diverse, but we somehow keep pushing to one or another specific niche.

[Frontier]

I liked seeing GL's in mess halls together and palling around. The partnering gave us a lot of nice dynamics in the Johns-era GLC comics.

[j9ac9k]

I liked seeing GL's in mess halls together and palling around. The partnering gave us a lot of nice dynamics in the Johns-era GLC comics.

Honestly, it never made sense to me seeing a bunch of GLs just hanging out on Oa. (I was not a fan of Johns making the GLC so much like "beat cops" in general) Shouldn't they have all been in their sectors? Kilowog was a trainer, he had trainees and there's the Honor Guard, but otherwise why go all the way to Oa for lunch?

[SebastianS]

Personally, I feel like, while it absolutely increased the profile of the franchise, and had some good storytelling going in there, the Johns/Tomasi era end up hurting GL/GLC for its blatant thematic shift.

[Frontier]

Honestly, it never made sense to me seeing a bunch of GLs just hanging out on Oa. (I was not a fan of Johns making the GLC so much like "beat cops" in general) Shouldn't they have all been in their sectors? Kilowog was a trainer, he had trainees and there's the Honor Guard, but otherwise why go all the way to Oa for lunch?

To convene, report to the Guardians, meet up with old friends, and unwind a little?

Unless you would just use your home planet for that. I think the only GL's who are on Oa permanently are Salaak, Kilowog, and whoever is guarding the Science Cells.

Personally, I feel like, while it absolutely increased the profile of the franchise, and had some good storytelling going in there, the Johns/Tomasi era end up hurting GL/GLC for its blatant thematic shift.

I mean, it's how I was introduced to the franchise so I guess it's just the take I naturally gravitate towards.