|
When I was growing up one of my favorite cartoons was 'Super Friends', with my favorite character being Green Lantern (Hal Jordan). Later, when 'Justice League' premiered I was happy that there would once again be a Green Lantern on TV, but I was disappointed it wasn't Hal. I don't have anything against John Stewart, but even as someone who identifies with Kyle Rayner the most, I just prefer Hal when it comes to which character most know as Earth's Green Lantern.
Now that we're finally at a point in comics where Hal Jordan is again the main Green Lantern of Earth the character has truly come to the forefront. Not just in the realm of Green Lanterns, but in the DC Universe overall. With that being the case it made sense that he would be one of the characters DC would choose to make a movie of. While characters like Superman and Wonder Woman would have a more obvious draw to the theaters after Batman, those movies need to be made more carefully as there is a fair amount of familiarity with the characters outside of just comic book readers. While not everyone in mainstream society who is familiar with those characters actually knows about them, they THINK they know about them.
Green Lantern had the type of movie potential for DC that Blade did for Marvel (with GL being a MUCH more important character in the realm of comics). While the Green Lantern mythos in the movie was not changed as much as Blade's was, there were enough changes to some general concepts to attempt to make the movie its own thing. This had mixed results. For many familiar with the character (such as myself), the movie was enjoyable . . . but disappointing because there wasn't "enough" done in connection with the comics (the big-screen version of Parallax was a perversion). The general audiences seemed OK with it at best, but it didn't connect with them either. As a GL fan it was heartbreaking to see it basically fall flat on both fronts. Then there was to come, a Green Lantern CGI cartoon. Once again I was excited, but also very concerned.
I'm not big on spoilers, so I rarely read about things that could take away from later enjoyment. Other than knowing the new cartoon was on the way, I've kept my exposure to information about it fairly minimal. I actually recorded the early showing of the first two episodes last year, but have held on to watching them until the series was actually set to debut fully. Now I've watched the first five episodes (with the first two being a two part story). Finally I have gotten some answers to things I was wondering about.
The first thing I was wondering was if this cartoon would be its own thing, or if it was considered to be an "unofficial" continuation of the movie. Right out of the gate it is quickly established that cartoon is not a continuation of the movie. Carol Ferris does not know that Hal is also Green Lantern. Plus, the costume that Hal wears is closer to his current comic costume (version prior to the New 52) than it is the movie version (thank goodness).
The other thing I was wondering was what Hal's exploits would be. Would he be running around the Earth in his hero role? Would he be out playing space-cop? Or, would there be an attempt to balance the two primary places he serves as a Green Lantern? For now it seems that we will be seeing Hal as a Green Lantern in space. For me, this is a great way to go. In the DC Universe Hal is one of the characters who regularly has exploits out in the universe away from Earth. This is a concept that has to be strengthened to really have an understanding of what a Green Lantern is. It's fine (and necessary) to know who Hal is, but you also have to know WHAT he is when it comes to him wearing the power ring.
This is as much as I'm going to discuss about 'Green Lantern: The Animated Series' for now. While I have watched all the episodes to air so far, I'm going to discuss my opinions and takes on what's happening next month. I really want to see if what I think is happening with the writing (how it feels more than the story elements) does turn out to be the case. However, I will say that if you are someone who is interested in the character and was at least a touch disappointed by the movie, then you should check out the new cartoon. We've already got some solid mythos references being addressed (current ones), and that makes me hopeful. The "Emerald Warrior" in animated form may just succeed where the movie failed.
|