DC Comics General

I happen to have written my doctoral thesis on how much I don't like Hal if anyone is interested.

...go on.

Oh God not again.

Listen, I get it.

I don't hate Hal myself. I think he just needs something to get him a better rep.

I mean, how many people cared that much about John Stewart before Justice League upped his profile. I didn't even know he was a thing.

Kyle had his run while Hal was dead / evil / The Spectre. And Guy...I don't know what Guy did, he but apparently did it real well.

Hal is in need of something to get people to see him as more than boring guy who's not the other cool Lanterns. I think that show was it, and cancelling it was a huge mistake.

I just want the guy to be seen as more than just someone in the way the way fans seem to regard him.

I honestly think he has a fine enough rep.

Here’s a revelation, all the GL’s have their fans & thus their detractors. I have seen people call John & Kyle boring & Guy a one-note asshole. They are not as widely beloved & Hal as widely detracted as you think. It’s what happens when you have such a diverse roster, people have their favorites.

There are plenty of people who buy in to Hal being the Greatest GL & plenty of people who don’t. Hal’s done some good shit, the GL cartoon was good, the animated GL movies were fine films, & his fight against Atrocitus in Injustice 2 when he recites the oath was pretty dope.

There’s also the fact a good portion of John’s popularity comes from his role in the Justice League cartoon. If Guy was in it instead of John, plenty of people would be calling Guy their GL.

Edited by slimcoder on Apr 21st 2019 at 3:31:09 AM

Guy was the main GL rep in the Justice League for nearly a decade. It's where he got popular in the first place.

Edited by kkhohoho on Apr 21st 2019 at 6:15:18 AM

Where he was a comic relief jerk.

Then apparently his super 90s Warrior series did the thing where he became a much more complex and likable character.

That kind of runs into the Geoff Johns issue.

Yes, Hal is in desperate need of something to make him stand out above the others with more personality and interesting qualities.

OR...

You could use THEM as the Green Lantern.

What exactly is Kyle’s thing besides having disastrous romantic relations?

He's a laid back, easy-going dude who isn't always sure what to do with his life, but he keeps on going regardless.

He's got one of the best character concepts in all of comics, being an artist given the power to create anything his mind can come up with.

Apparently his time with the League really raised him up a bit. He initially did take a bit of guff for replacing Hal post Emerald Twilight from what I've heard.

There's also the fact that he's was a bit of desperate choice in universe.

Ganthet's Exact Words on deciding to give him the ring were You'll have to do. He was basically given one of the most powerful weapons in the universe because it was thought there wasn't anyone better.

I do not see that very often from him.

He just looks sad now.

Is Parallax obliterating the Corps still a thing that happened?

I feel like that’s a general concept/archetype.

Edited by slimcoder on Apr 21st 2019 at 5:42:28 AM

Yes and it's a kickass one. It's the kind of thing that is best represented in sequential art.

Kyle Raynar basically is Peter Parker in terms of being a working class normal college kid sort of character in the DCU.

I have to say I don’t see much of that side from him.

All I see of him is more or less just about him being the chosen White Lantern who can command the entire Emotional Spectrum.

...... Well I guess there’s Omega Men where he’s clearly out of his depth in dealing with an awful space revolution.

Edited by slimcoder on Apr 21st 2019 at 6:14:57 AM

Are you trying to say that Kyle's nothing more than a bland archtype like everyone's saying Hal is? Because that's what I'm getting here.

Well they are all archetypes, it’s just up to the writers to make interesting stories out of them.

Though I haven’t seen much of Kyle being the Everyman because most of his stories recently have been focused on him becoming a Godlike entity.

Though to be honest I’m not that into the Everyman character.

Edited by slimcoder on Apr 21st 2019 at 6:24:24 AM

Guy is a stupid asshole, but he's our stupid asshole, and he's still trying to do the right thing.

In that case, why not go back and read the earlier stuff where he is an everyman?

Guy really knows how to light up the room. Plus his bromance with Arkillo was sweet.

Shame Kyle ruined it.

Oh yeah that is true.

There's two collections of all of the Rayner run from when he was the only Green Lantern and got into fistfights with Hal.

Gail Simone mentioned that DC comics managed to make a surprisingly awesome character in Alex Dewitt that was enjoyable, relatable, and had a great relationship with her protagonist—then kill her in two issues.

She said that summarized why a lot of superheroes had severe issues with female readers.

I know this is not on the same level but I did dislike how the Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps Allaince was terminated primarily due to a personal lovers spat between Soranik Natu & Kyle.

That & the fridge bit is why I will forever associate Kyle Rayner above all else as the "Disastrous Romantor" of the GL's.

Motherfucker got fucking branded while he was dumped. Like Goddamn I think that's a first in relationship implosions.

Edited by slimcoder on Apr 21st 2019 at 8:53:48 AM

There was something weirdly sexual about both times one of the starring Green Lanterns of Earth got their asses beat by the heads of the Sinestro Corps. Kyle got branded and dumped and Hal got punked by Sinestro, who has such absolute power over the being that once consumed Hal's entire mind that it's basically his Pokemon, and Hal was left sitting weak and impotent in a crater while his gal flew off with the man who just trounced four kinds of shit on him.