Rename / Guess the trope (Newer Crowner 12.30): Green Lantern Ring

The name seems kind of bad. Even the people who know the trope-naming material are puzzled by the name, I guess. The title suggests it's a kind of ring, not that it's a superpowers trope. And I guess less than 50% of tropers don't know enough about the current Trope Namer for the name to be beneficial to the wiki.

Renames aren't done only because there's misuse. A name that just doesn't make sense (like Super-Octo-Pudding-Whatever, now known as Word Salad Title) is also a rename candidate to improve wicks and search results.

Now, if you excuse me, I'm going back to the Understatement sinkhole thing.

Yes, certainly rename. The redirect right now is Highly Adaptive Powers.

Highly Adaptive Powers was added for better searching, which is a compromise to avoid having to fully rename the trope. Sometimes renames are vetoed because they are intensely popular with bringing people to the wiki. You search for Green Lantern Ring on google and tv tropes is on the second page.

And yes, misuse is the number one reason why we rename, followed closely by innaccurate names (such as if Green Lantern Ring wasn't an example of the trope, rather than the MOST FAMOUS example of the trope). The reason is that what constitutes a bad name tends to be subjective, but a name that is popular and used properly is a good name regardless of opinions or feelings.

It's not really about adaptability as much as versatility. Swiss-Army Superpower?

No. While I think Swiss Army Superpowers would be perfect, you can count the time until someone who's been living under a rock for the last decade would complain that they don't get the reference, and rather than... you know... looking something up, they'd start a TRS thread.

I like the name. I'm not a fan of the comics but I get it because of cultural osmosis. Besides, its got good wicks.

You know, at least in France, basically nobody aside from Comics fanatics (and there aren't a ton of them there) know about Green Lantern (unlike, say, Batman, Superman, or Spiderman). And I wouldn't be surprised this would be the same case in several other European countries. TV Tropes shouldn't be limited to the U.S.

edited 9th Sep '11 6:43:02 PM by AceNoctali

Then they can learn something new. Nobody outside the wrestling fandoms know what the hell Heel–Face Turn alludes to, but they learn, and then it makes sense.

Said argument could be used for the Japanese-named tropes, and you know they currently aren't in good standing.

That is my argument for the Japanese named tropes. Along with other things I'm not going to expand on here. If you care, PM me and I'll happily rant at you about it.

It's got pretty good wiks. I don't think this is on the same level of versatility as something like Flight, as it tends to be a Story-Breaker Power.

Bumping 'cause we gotta clean up old discussions; my opinion is rename to Swiss Army Superpowers because the current name sounds like the source of the powers, not the powers themselves, even if you do know the source material. Plus, it'd go well with Swiss-Army Weapon.

edited 18th Oct '11 8:39:23 AM by Yinyang107

Compromise: Green Lantern Superpowers

I hate compromising on these sorts of issues. You don't really solve the problem fully and come up with an answer that will probably never be improved upon again. Either something is wrong with the name or it isn't. Personally, I could go either way on this one, either saying to rename it completely or to leave it alone. But the halfway point annoys me.

edited 18th Oct '11 10:56:37 AM by Arha

Actually, "Green Lantern Superpowers" would be innaccurate to the trope. The trope is "a power or ability that has a great degree of versatility," of which is the concept that a Green Lantern ring is limited only by the imagination of the wearer. Green Lantern Superpowers is basically Combo Platter Powers "flight, protective fields and constructs."

Vote for switching to Swiss Army Superpowers.

edited 18th Oct '11 12:28:03 PM by Earnest

the force shield, flight, and everything all come from the ring, too.

I agree.

Green Lantern Ring is a good name. It's a trope that predominantly would only be found in the superhero genre, so a superhero reference is fitting. Saying that those uninitiated to comics don't get and so it must be tossed is like saying because there are folks unfamiliar with plays means we should toss out the names Apostrophe or French Scene. (Wait, redlinks? Why don't we have these?)

Okay, let me try that again... it'd be like those unfamiliar with videogames wanting to change the names of Platform Hell or Insurmountable Waist-Height Fence because the uninitiated don't get it. If you have interest in a trope that you don't instantaneously understand in all its scope (including the permutations of aversions, subversions, etc.), from the name alone, you will read the page to find out more. Or I hope you would. That's how I've learned so much from this site about genres I normally would never touch with a ten-foot pole.

Extremely flexible ability is not something limited to the superhero genre.

To prove my point: One Piece, Tsukihime, To Aru Majutsu No Index, Fate Stay Night and Mahou Sensei Negima all contain examples.

edited 18th Oct '11 2:13:12 PM by Arha

Are you serious? If you've never heard of Green Lantern, this name means nothing more than "some sort of ring" (which it isn't).

And Green Lantern is a lot less known than Superman, Batman etc., at least internationally.

edited 18th Oct '11 4:10:33 PM by DoktorvonEurotrash

It's a superpower trope, right? Or am I not getting it? If a story has a character with super powers, doesn't that mean it falls into the superhero category, regardless if it's western comics, anime, novels, or whatever?

If I am off base, then I take that point back.

Sure, I'm serious (or as serious as you can be about this sort of thing.) There are plenty of perfectly good names on this site that may slightly veer into Fan Myopia, but are vastly superior to most other alternatives. I'm not saying that this name broadcasts the meaning of the trope as effectively as, say, Power Of A Character That Can Do Many Things, but the merits of the current name outweigh the drawbacks. Again, this site is a great way for someone to expand their pop culture vocabulary.

On the flip-flop, this site also shows very little tolerance for anime-inspired trope names, so there may be an argument there.

EDIT: Oh, also, if a name change does go through, may I humbly suggest something along the lines of Conveniently Adaptable Power, just to give it that extra touch of snark.

DOUBLE EDIT(!): A cursory check of the works featured on the page show a subtle shift in definition in some cases where it is a background energy force, like The Force, that characters figure out how to utilize in wildly inventive ways. Take the Dragonball Z Ki entry as an example.

edited 18th Oct '11 5:21:53 PM by ArtemisStrong

Superhero genre generally refers to western comics. It's kind of like saying Hercules is a superhero.

Your second edit would be an indication of misuse based on what powers the Green Lanterns or something. Thus, I'm moving to the rename side of the fence.

edited 18th Oct '11 5:23:56 PM by Arha

He is! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_%28Marvel_Comics%29

No, seriously, I get what you're saying. I was just trying to get at whether it's a super power thing, or just any old ability (like knife-throwing or Sherlock Holmes' deductive powers.)

And the more I look at the examples, the more misuse I see. Like the Chuck entry.

Well then, that seems like sufficient evidence to move to a rename crowner, which is here.

If you feel I have misrepresented either side of the argument, feel free to touch it up a little.

edited 18th Oct '11 5:30:52 PM by Arha

I don't know if the Chuck example (on the page) is wrong after all. My first thought was yes, since I was thinking of the literal Green Lantern-type powers. But according to the description, its merely any "intentionally vaguely defined power." Which...okay, the Chuck example is very borderline, since saying his power is a Green Lantern Ring is like saying the internet is, but my point is that this trope may be more broad than first assumed.

So, the question is: Do we want this to be limited to literal "Make anything with your mind" Green Lantern-type powers (in which case the name is fine), or "Vague enough so that the writer can get away with pretty much anything" (which probably needs an entirely new name)?