While there are plenty of superhero identities that have been shared by multiple individuals in the DC Comics universe, there are literally thousands of Green Lanterns active at the same time. They all have one thing in common: their green rings allow them to fly, survive in space and forge amazing physical constructs using their immense willpower and imagination. The Green Lantern mythology has been explored in various movies, TV shows and video games, and now it’s time for the DC Universe to point the spotlight on these ringslingers.
The DCU is emerging from the ashes of the DCEU to create a new shared continuity for the public, comprised of numerous upcoming DC movies and upcoming DC TV shows. It’s already been confirmed the Green Lanterns will have a presence in this franchise, namely through the Lanterns TV series. So let’s go over 32 Green Lanterns that could appear in the rebooted DCU, starting with three confirmed to be on the way.
Hal Jordan
Although not the first superhero from Earth to go by Green Lantern, Hal Jordan is the first human who was recruited into the Green Lantern Corps. Although there was a brief stint where he was controlled by the parallax entity and became a villain, Hal has otherwise been one of the more prominent DC superheroes, and he’s often depicted as a founding member of the Justice League. Ryan Reynolds played him in the 2011 Green Lantern movie.
John Stewart
When John Stewart was introduced to the comics, he was selected to become Green Lantern because Guy Gardner, Hal Jordan’s previous backup, was injured. These days, though, he’s arguably the most well-known Green Lantern after Hal, if not more so, which is in large part thanks to the character being spotlighted in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, two of the best animated TV shows of all time. John protects Earth alongside Hal in Lanterns, with the show marking his live-action debut.
Guy Gardner
Guy Gardner will be the first Green Lantern featured in the DCU, as Nathan Fillion plays him as a member of the Superman cast. As already mentioned, Guy was originally Hal Jordan’s backup as a Green Lantern in the comics, but like the other human Lanterns, he eventually started operating as a regular superhero. He’s best known for his brash and cocky personality, and was also one of the founding members of the Justice League International.
Kyle Rayner
When the Green Lantern Central Power Battery was destroyed by the Parallax-corrupted Hal Jordan, thus resulting in the Green Lantern Corps being wiped out, one of these green rings managed to be saved. That ring was bequeathed to an artist named Kyle Rayner, and for several years, he was the only one holding down the Green Lantern mantle. Kyle stuck around when the Corps was reformed as an Honor Guard, like Guy, and there was a period of time when he could harness all of the emotional spectrum as a White Lantern.
Simon Baz
Simon Baz was the first Green Lantern to be introduced during the New 52 era. His original ring was a fusing of Hal Jordan’s and Sinestro’s rings after they’d disappeared during a fight with Black Hand, and it selected him to be its wearer while he was being interrogated by authorities for a factory bombing. But even after Hal and Sinestro came back, Simon continued to operate as a Green Lantern, and eventually he learned to rely solely on his ring while in the field and stopped carrying a gun to use in case of an emergency.
Jessica Cruz
Originally Jessica Cruz was forcibly taken over by the Ring of Volthoom, which belonged to the late Power Ring from Earth-3. Jessica was already in a bad way mentally, as she’d been traumatized when she saw her friends being murdered during a camping trip a few years earlier. Fortunately, the Earth-3 power ring was destroyed and Jessica was selected immediately afterward to become a Green Lantern. For a time, she was partnered with Simon Baz when they were selected to protect Earth by Hal Jordan.
Alan Scott
Although Alan Scott was the first Green Lantern to be introduced in the comics, he’s not actually a member of the Green Lantern Corps. That’s because Alan, who became a superhero in the 1940s and helped found the Justice Society of America, uses a ring forged from a metallic meteorite that’s based on magic rather than science. The origins of Alan’s ring were later tied back to a Corps member called Yalan Gur, and rather than having a yellow impurity like most of the Corps’ rings once had, Alan’s has a weakness to wood.
Sojourner Mullein
Sojourner “Jo” Mullein was introduced as the lead character in the Far Sector comic book miniseries, being assigned to the title location, which is the farthest out the Guardians of the Universe’s jurisdiction goes, for one year. After the miniseries concluded, Jo started to be highlighted in the main Green Lantern comics. Unlike other power rings, Jo’s recharges slowly over time rather than needing to be recharged with a battery.
Abin Sur
Abin Sur was the Green Lantern of Sector 2814, meaning Earth was among the planets under his protection. While the circumstances in which Abin was gravely injured and crashed on Earth differ depending on the continuity, the end result was the same. With his dying words, he tasked his ring with finding a worthy successor, and Hal Jordan was selected.
Sinestro
Sinestro is chiefly known as one of the Green Lantern Corps’ greatest adversaries, and he’s specifically Hal Jordan’s arch-nemesis. His yellow power ring granted him the same abilities as a Green Lantern’s, but is harnessed through fear rather than willpower. But before his turn to the dark side, Sinestro was a Green Lantern who was kicked out of the Corps for his iron-fisted methods, though he was forced to temporarily become a Green Lantern again at the end of the War of the Green Lanterns storyline.
Kilowog
Just because someone is chosen to be a Green Lantern doesn’t mean they automatically know how to use their ring and are ready to protect the inhabitants of their sector. Someone needs to train them, and Kilowog is just the Green Lantern to do it. Outside of the human Green Lanterns and Sinestro, Kilowog is arguably the most well-known member of the Corps, frequently joining his comrades in battle when he’s not keeping busy as a drill sergeant.
Salaak
Salaak was quickly established as a follower of rules and protocols when he was introduced, and following the reformation of the Green Lantern Corps in the mid-2000s, the Guardians of the Universe chose him to be the organization’s senior administrator and keeper of the Book of Oa. However, when necessary, he’ll go back into the field to fight alongside the other Green Lanterns.
Katma Tui
When Sinestro was booted out of the Green Lantern Corps, Katma Tui, another native of the planet Korugar, was chosen as his successor. She would go on to later go on to train John Stewart when he took over being Sector 2814’s main Green Lantern after Hal Jordan resigned. Katma and John then fell in love and married, but she was killed by Star Sapphire at a time when she wasn’t using her ring.
Arisia Rrab
In a strange breaking of the norm, Arisia Rrab comes from a family of Green Lanterns, including her father. After he and her uncle died, Arisia became Sector 2815’s Green Lantern, albeit only as a teenager. She had a crush on Hal Jordan, and after subconsciously using the ring’s power to age her body, they formed a romantic relationship but ultimately broke up. Arisia was later partnered up with Sodam Yat.
Sodam Yat
Sodam Yat is a Daxamite, a race of beings descended from Kryptonians. This means that in addition to wielding the power that comes with a Green Lantern ring, he also has the same kind of abilities Superman has when under a yellow sun’s light, like super strength, super speed, and heat vision. As if all that wasn’t enough to cement him as a heavyweight, there was a period when, like Kyle Rayner before him, Sodam became the vessel for Ion, the entity that embodies willpower.
Ch’p
No, a squirrel wasn’t chosen to be a Green Lantern. Ch’p comes from the planet H’lven, whose denizens just happen to look like those furry rodents. Ch’p was stationed on Earth for a while, though he had such a bad time on Earth because the squirrels on Earth aren’t sentient that he eventually went home. Bd’g died when he was crushed by a yellow tractor trailer… seriously.
Mogo
Since this is a sentient planet we’re talking about, it’s safe to call Mogo literally the biggest member of the Green Lantern Corps. Along with his Lantern powers, Mogo is capable of altering his own weather and surface conditions and plays an integral role in distributing rings to their new wearers. He also served as the Corps’ headquarters at a time when Oa wasn’t being inhabited.
Soranik Natu
When the Green Lanterns Corps was reformed, a surgeon from the planet Korugar named Soranik Natu was chosen to be the Green Lantern of Sector 1417. Soranik later learned that she was the daughter of Sinestro, and her mother was Arin Sur, Abin Sur’s sister. Although Soranik initially detested her father, she eventually followed in his footsteps by donning a yellow power ring and becoming the leader of the Sinestro Corps.
Tomar-Re
When Hal Jordan joined the Green Lantern Corps, he formed a friendship with Tomar-Re, who protected the neighboring Sector 2813. Tomar-Re played an indirect role in the creation of Superman, as he failed to stop Krypton, one of the planets in his sector, from exploding. When the Crisis on Infinite Earths event happened, he came out of retirement to aid the Corps once more, but he was killed by the supervillain Goldface.
Ganthet
Ganthet is arguably the best known of the Guardians of the Universe, distinguishable by being less stern than the others in that group and the one who gave Kyle Rayner his ring. As a Guardian, Ganthet already wields tremendous cosmic power, but during the Blackest Night event, he inducted himself directly into the Green Lantern Corps and stayed there until the beginning of the New 52.
G’nort
As one can presume from an anthropomorphic dog-looking alien, G’nort has mainly been used as comic relief in the comics, but what he lacks in intelligence he makes up for in courage and bravery. He was later revealed to be cousins with Lafleeze, the sole member of the Orange Lantern Corps.
Isamot Kol
A Lizarkon from the planet Thanagar, Isamot Kol was selected to become a Green Lantern right before he was going to be executed for killing a superior officer because he was going to surrender to the enemy. He frequently butted heads with the Rannian Vath Sarn because their two worlds were at war, but they eventually formed a friendship. He died when Oa’s Central Power Battery was blown up.
Vath Sarn
Vath Sarn was recruited into the Green Lantern Corps around the same time as Isamot Kol, and as already mentioned, the two did not get along at first. Making matters worse, they had to partner up to protect their shared sector, but over time, they overcame their differences, to the point that Isamot, who’s capable of regenerating his limbs, had his own two legs surgically grafted onto Vath after he lost his legs during Blackest Night.
Bzzd
Ironically, Mogo’s sector partner is the smallest Green Lantern, but despite his stature, he has just as much willpower as his comrades and often makes giant-sized constructs. Bzzd died in battle against Mongul II.
Hannu
Unlike other Green Lanterns, Hannu, who protects Sector 2, doesn’t use his ring except for traveling and staying alive in space. He instead prefers using his own strength when fighting enemies, though he made an exception during the Sinestro Corps War and broke out some constructs when going up against The Anti-Monitor.
Boodikka
When Boodikka was recruited into the Green Lantern Corps, she quickly became adept at using her ring but was criticized by other members of the organization for being undisciplined and having a problem with authority. Boodikka was one of the Lost Lanterns, i.e. a group of Corps members who Hal Jordan left to die when he was Parallax. Boodikka later became one of the cybernetic Alpha Lanterns to police the Corps, i.e. make sure no Green Lanterns were performing illegal actions with their rings.
Green Man
Coming from the planet Uxor, where individualism isn’t a thing, there was a being who longed for his own identity, so when he was offered the chance to join the Green Lantern Corps, he accepted and chose the name Green Man. Despite being shown killed by Durlans during Invasion!, he later resurfaced and was partnered up with the robot Stel and then became an Alpha Lantern.
Chaselon
Chaselon is a sentient crystalline being with 13 senses rather than six. He’d been a Green Lantern for quite some time when Hal Jordan joined, and after the Corps was reformed, he was among the first brought back. Chaselon joined the Alpha Lanterns Corps, but he was killed by the Black Lantern Corps during Blackest Night.
Varix
Varix came from the planet Naktos, whose people are so dedicated to justice that a murder has not been committed on the planet in 74 years. So naturally that made him a good fit to be a Green Lantern, which in turn resulted in him becoming an Alpha Lantern. However, that came to an end when he sided with John Stewart over his decision to kill a fellow Green Lantern who was about to reveal crucial information to an enemy. The other Alpha Lanterns were going to execute John, But Varix helped him and the other Green Lanterns destroy them, then destroyed himself.
Ke’Haan
Once Kilowog’s second-in-command, Ke’Haan was the first Green Lantern to be defeated when Hal Jordan was corrupted by Parallax. Rather than dying, he became one of the Lost Lanterns, who’d fallen off the grid when they were captured by the Manhunters. Even after rejoining the Corps, Ke’Haan despised Hal for what he’d done, and they never made peace, as he was killed by the Anti-Monitor during the Sinestro Corps War.
Larvox
Similar to Green Man, Larvox comes from a world where there are no individuals, but becoming a Green Lantern allows it to break off from the pact. Larvox can only communicate with his fellow Lanterns using its ring, and while it spent some time as a Darkstar, it embraced the emerald light of willpower again when the Corps was reformed.
Galius Zed
From fighting Krona and Nekron to surviving Crisis on Infinite Earths, Galius Zed participated in many of the Green Lantern Corps’ greatest battles. Like Larvox, he also became a Darkstar, but he was later killed by Fatality, a warrior who was exacting on John Stewart because he failed to save her homeward, Xanshi, from being destroyed.
