Graphic Content
By Wally Flores Jr.

Last month I discussed some of my thoughts on the new Green Lantern cartoon, 'Green Lantern: The Animated Series. I mainly focused on what I was wondering about the show before starting to watch it. Two things that immediately jumped out to me were that the show was not a continuation of the movie in any way, and it looked like the show would concentrate on Hal being in space. Now, after watching the first nine episodes of the series, what have I learned? Quite a lot actually, and personally I think it's looking pretty good.

THE GREEN LANERN CORPS MYTHOS

Right from the start we get an idea of what elements of the Green Lantern Corps mythos were going to stay consistent. First, there was the establishment of the GLC. This is not some take of a lone GL. This is Hal Jordan as a member of an intergalactic police force. As opposed to the older Green Lantern concepts where nearly everyone wore the same uniform it looks like Green Lanterns can have personal spins on their uniforms. This is most obvious in Kilowog's costume having more of an armored appearance. Beyond that we also have the idea that the rings work off of a percent charge as opposed to the old "24 hour" rule. This works much better for adventuring. We also are shown that when Lanterns die their rings seek out replacements. I was wondering if that would be addressed and it was right from the start of the show. Plus, we've got little nods for fans such as the Book of Oa, the Guardians being emotionless jerks for the most part, Salaak being the right hand man of the Guardians, and Ganthet being different from the other Guardians by bending the rules (and caring about people).

THE RED LANTERN CORPS MYTHOS

The Red Lantern Corps mythos is mostly intact from the comics. We have Atrocitus as the leader of this corps. We have him starting the corps after his planet being attacked by the Manhunters. We have him blaming the Guardians and leading his corps on a mission of vengeance. One big change though is that the Atrocitus of the cartoon appears to have become the thing he hates. It seems that Atrocitus will go to any means to create in others the pain he felt at the hands of the Manhunters. He is not the Atrocitus that you can feel sorrow for to some degree. That role has been taken by the Red Lantern that has joined Hal and Kilowog, Razer. Also, rather than being based off of Ysmault, the Red Lanterns are based off of a space faring rase known as "Shard". Then of course there is the revised Red Lantern oath, but that was expected as the original would not carry over into a cartoon that was geared in any way towards youth.

STAR SAPPHIRE MYTHOS

Once again we have a largely intact mythos from the comics. The Star Sapphires are based on Zamaron, they are originally from Oa and left because they disagreed with the Guardians' belief of not having emotion, and they are led by Queen Aga'po. The overall vibe of the Sapphires is pre-Blackest Night though. They definitely seem to be influenced by the Predator on some level. This especially showed during the short-lived recruitment of Carol Ferris.

NEW TWISTS ON FAMILIARITY

There have also been some familiar faces in these first nine episodes of the cartoon. The Spider Guild - An enemy of the Green Lantern Corps in the comics, they started out running a prison for the Guardians in the area of Frontier Space that Hal and Kilowog ended up in at the start of the series. If they will show up again is unknown at this point. Mogo - While Mogo has passed in the pages of the Green Lantern comics, he is not only alive and well in the cartoon, he is a brand new member of the Corps. As with all other discoveries of that are happening during the series so far he is also in Frontier Space. Saint Walker - While not a Blue Lantern as of yet, Saint Walker has once again proved to be an engaging character. We may not know his origins, but the Saint Walker of the cartoon definitely has the vibe I wish the character did in the comic. Even without a ring, he has shown that he is a formidable fighter, and his monk-like musings will flow well into the life of a Blue Lantern. "All will be well" would not ring as a hollow statement or a catchphrase from this take on Saint Walker.

ISOLATED GROWTH

After all is said and done, I have to say that the biggest change from the comic (and movie) is the isolation that is being experienced by Hal. Luckily he has Kilowog with him to reinforce the idea of the Green Lantern Corps. Plus, the addition of the ship's artificial intelligence Aya and Red Lantern in recovery Razer really help create a more intriguing journey. Both Aya and Razer are our means to understanding this new animated Green Lantern universe. While Hal and Kilowog are also experiencing an element of the unknown, their training often kicks in and allows them to adapt to it. Aya and Razer keep the viewer rooted in the idea that the series is more than just a trip home. Overall, I'm really enjoying the series. They are introducing many foundational elements of the Green Lantern mythos. Kids who don't know much about Green Lantern are getting information that will carry them right over into the comics some day if they decide to be readers. Current readers can be satisfied when seeing those same elements being introduced in the show, even if they are slightly different takes on them. What I am looking forward to the most at this point is when the full impact of the "yellow crystals" will be felt. The group has come into contact with them a couple of times, but as of now there does not seem to be any awareness of the color yellow and how it affects Green Lanterns. The suspicion is building I think, but it may take the arrival of another corps for Hal and his team to truly become aware of the problem. I'm not sure what lies ahead for the rest of the season, but at this rate it should be fun. Hopefully the entire series will not be a slow journey home from a remote location of space, and this has all been done to introduce different elements of the Green Lantern mythos in a more "controlled" fashion. I'd really like to see the series get back to the more familiar territory of Oa at some point. After all, we're seeing all these other new corps showing up. It's only fair that we get some screen time for the Green Lantern corps too.

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