Green Lantern has been a staple of DC Comics history for decades, but the 2011 Ryan Reynolds-led movie didn't fare well among most audiences. Nevertheless, the mythology is getting a second chance in 2020 thanks to the DC Extended Universe, as revealed back in late 2014 during the franchise's initial slate announcement. Fast-forward to last week, when it was reported that David Goyer and Justin Rhodes are writing Green Lantern Corps, and that the story will see Hal Jordan and John Stewart teaming up in a "Lethal Weapon in space" styled story.
Now that things seem to be progressing faster on Green Lantern Corps, it's a good time to start speculating on what the movie could look like. We've already provided suggestions on how DC and Warner Bros can make Green Lantern Corps perfect, and today we have our top picks for best villain candidates, keeping in mind this story will revolve around multiple ring-slinging protagonists and that most, if not all, of the action will take place away from Earth.
Sinestro Corps
Mark Strong's Sinestro never had the opportunity to fully cross over to the dark side, so Green Lantern Corps shouldn't wait on making their Sinestro a villain. But why stop there? For the last decade, the Korugarian has been leading his own army of ring-slingers: the Sinestro Corps, a.k.a. the Yellow Lanterns. Using the same Qwardian technology that Sinestro has been using for years, the Sinestro Corps members' rings are powered by fear, and only individuals who are capable of instilling great terror into others are selected to wear such a ring. While most of the Corps are filled with despicable creatures, Sinestro sees his Corps as the only way to instill order throughout the universe, something he believes the Green Lantern Corps failed with. So in his eyes, he sees his Corps as a force for the greater good, making them the perfect foil for the next Green Lantern movie. Using the Sinestro Corps in Green Lantern Corps also opens the door to adapt Parallax, the fear entity, correctly this time around.
Manhunters
Before the Guardians of the Universe used the Green Lantern Corps as their police force, they entrusted protection of the universe to the Manhunters, an army of robots devoid of emotion. For a long time the robots served their purpose well, but they rebelled against their masters, and in the present day, they seek only to destroy the Guardians and the Green Lanterns. During Geoff Johns' run on Green Lantern, the Manhunters' rebellion was retconned to being triggered when a glitch that led to them wiping almost all life within Sector 666 after believing them to be evil. For Green Lantern Corps, it would be great if the Manhunters were to resurface after thousands of years to carry out their revenge plan, this forcing the Guardians to tell the Green Lanterns about their predecessors after keeping the robots secret for so long.
Red Lantern Corps
The Red Lantern Corps are powered by rage, the most uncontrollable force of the emotional spectrum. Its leader is Atrocitus, one of only five survivors from the Manhunters' Sector 666 slaughter. With his family and everyone he cared for dead, Atrocitus' anger grew until eventually he killed the other Inversions (his fellow survivors) and created the first Red Lantern ring and battery so he could exact revenge on the Guardians of the Universe, Sinestro and any others who had wronged him. The Red Lanterns are the most violent of the various Corps, and with some exceptions (like Atrocitus), most of its members are mindless and animalistic, driven purely by rage. Green Lantern Corps could follow a similar path as the short-lived Green Lantern: The Animated Series by having the Red Lanterns be the first organization from the emotional spectrum to target the Green Lanterns, namely because Atrocitus holds them responsible for everything bad that has happened to him.
Krona
Krona is an Maltusian, the same species as the Guardians of the Universe, but while the Guardians usually look after the well-being of all life, Krona is focused on gaining more power for himself. His obsession with learning the origins of the universe, along with embracing all emotions unlike the stoic Guardians, resulted in his turn to the dark side to commit horrible acts. For instance, remember that glitch that caused the Manhunters to wipe out Sector 666? Krona was the one who programmed in that glitch. Whether he's relying solely on his intellect, is manipulating the emotional spectrum or has the powers of Entropy, Krona is not only one of the Green Lantern Corps' most dangerous enemies, but also a threat to the entire DC universe. Krona already appeared in Green Lantern as the unnamed Guardian who was controlled by Parallax, but for Green Lantern Corps, he needs to be properly identified and implement a revenge plan against the Guardians for banishing him long ago and interfering with his experiments.
Larfleeze
Long ago, Larfleeze, a.k.a. Agent Orange, was corrupted by the orange light of avarice, so much so that he's the only one who wields its power. That's right, there isn't an Orange Lantern Corps because Larfleeze's greed prevents him from sharing anything that is his. Instead, he uses constructs of the victims he's "consumed" as his personal army. Larfleeze was already a creature who craved material possessions before he gained control of the orange power battery, but now it's all he exists for, and no matter what he takes, it will never be enough. In the comics, the Guardians of the Universe also made a deal with Larfleeze for him to keep the orange light as long as he stayed within the Vega sector (and he also had to give up a box containing Parallax, but that's another story), but when intruders tried to take is power thousands of years later, he saw that as a slight and became angry. Green Lantern Corps could take that same approach for why his reign of terror begins.
Mongul
There are two Monguls in the DC Comics universe: the original and his son, the latter seen above. There are some differences between the two, but both of them are known as mighty and powerful warriors who run the gladiator planet known as Warworld. Both also make use of the Black Mercy, a plant that incapacitates its foe by trapping them in a coma where they live in their perfect dream world. Although Mongul II has history with the Sinestro Corps, we suggest that Green Lantern Corps' Mongul doesn't have ties with the emotional spectrum at all. He's strong enough on his own, and Warworld is enough to pose a threat to Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Warworld is mobile, so in the midst of patrolling Sector 2814, our heroes could conceivably be trapped there and have to use their remaining green energy to defend themselves against enemy combatants. Once Hal and John break free, they can stop Mongul from trying to take over Earth.
