Super TV: Green Lantern: The Animated Series

So, a little about my professional life. For those who don’t know, I work for the US Post Office. Due to the Christmas package demand, and at least one coworker that I’m 70% sure is intentionally skipping work, I’m averaging 11 hour days in the last week. And it’s only going to get worse. So, I might not have time to write too many posts this month, at least not until after the 25. But, I will try to get one or two of these buggers out before then. Also, given this limited time table, I haven’t had a chance to finish Luke Cage. My fault for not binging it earlier. Silly me. But, since I do want to write about something, I’ll shift my focus onto a show that I know didn’t get the credit it deserved, Green Lantern: The Animated Series. Let’s get to it.

It also had a really good opening soundtrack.

Green Lantern opens to a Green Lantern, just not Hal Jordan. This Lantern, M’Ten, is patrolling his sector of space when he detects a distress beacon. M’Ten responds, finding a small spaceship floating adrift. He encases the ship in a green energy bubble and prepares to free the pilot. Imagine his surprise when the pilot bursts forth from the ship, engulfed in red energy, and attacks. M’Ten is able to hold this Red Lantern, Razer, at bay… until his comrade Zilius Zox steps in. The two RL’s overpower M’Ten, killing him. Razer points out the futility of these sneak attacks of theirs, as the Green Lantern’s ring will just find a replacement, while Zilius rather gleefully points out that that just means that they’ll get to kill the new GL too. Who knew a guy that looks like a demented beach ball would be the glass half full type?

We then jump forward in time 18 months, and across the galaxy to Coast City, California, planet Earth. Test Pilot, and secret Green Lantern, Hal Jordan is testing a new prototype plane when an earthquake hits. Said quake causes a bridge to collapse, putting an oncoming train in danger. Hal sets the fighter jet onto auto pilot, and transforms into his GL form as he ejects from the plane. Do you think working as a test pilot becomes less fun when you can fly without a plane?  He flies in, creates a green energy construct of a bridge, and saves the train. Hooray! But, while Hal is out of the jet, it crashes into the side of a mountain. Billion-dollar jet, up in smoke. Less hooray. An hour later, Hal returns to his boss, Carol Ferris, frantically trying to set up a search and rescue party for him. Hal lies, claiming that the quake caused the plane to freeze up, and that he had to hoof it back to Ferris Air on foot. Bet he actually spent that hour at Caribou Coffee, or something. She’s relieved to see him alive, but she’s not too happy he crashed the jet. Shocking, I know. He suggests that they discuss things over dinner, she initially refuses but then relents, just as Hal’s GL Ring starts going off. His other bosses want a word, which is rarely good. Hal makes up a story about salvaging the black box from the downed jet, transforms again, and flies to the GL home world of Oa.

Once there, he greets his former GL Drill Sargent Kilowog and another GL, Salaak, who’s in charge of Audio-Visual displays, before being pulled into a tribunal. He’s in trouble because an alien diplomat claims that Hal punched him in the face. To which Hal responds, “I punched him in the stomach. I headbutted him in the face.” At least Hal is honest. One Guardian of the Universe, Appa Ali Apsa, clearly wants to see Hal punished. Hal explains that the diplomat was using his diplomatic immunity to run a slave ring, which another Guardian, Ganthet, points out has been substantiated by the local authorities. Hal’s trial is interrupted by M’Ten’s ring’s arrival. Salaak identifies it’s former wielder, which shocks Hal and Kilowog, as neither recognize the name. This is more notable for Kilowag, who’s in charge of basic training for all Green Lantern recruits. So, it’s simply not possible for a GL to exist that Kilowog hasn’t trained. Which is true, in normal Green Lantern space.

The main cast. From left to right: Kilowog, Hal Jordan, Aya,
and Razor. It's a good group.

The Guardians have Salaak pull up a map of the universe. They deliver some exposition about the GL Corps. The Guardians have the known universe sliced up into about 3600 sections of space, there is at least one GL per sector, and they protect peace and harmony using the Green Light of Will. Hal sums it up best, “This part we know.” Now we get to the new, and more interesting, stuff. M’Ten was what is known as a Frontier Green Lantern. The Frontier is made up of the sectors of space on the outer most edges of GL territory. Communications with the Frontier Lanterns is sporadic, at best, and it wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t. Frontier space is so far from the homeworld of Oa, that even flying at top speed, it would take a normal GL 18 months to reach it. Kind of hard to send back up when it takes nearly 2 years to get there. The Guardians also explain that, again due to distance, that the Frontier Lanterns only receive “limited” training from their power rings. While not directly stated, its heavily implied that this is the reason why Frontier Lanterns are getting hit, and so hard. Training via semi-magic ring not = to actual training from experienced individuals. M’Ten is just the most recent known fatality, dozens have been killed in the last few years, with their power rings either searching for new GL candidates or in route back to Oa. The Guardians are keeping the killings under wraps until they are sure what is going on. That’s the Guardians of the Universe for you, slow as molasses. In the arctic. Also, Appa Alli Apsa is of the, “I won’t believe there’s a problem until it is literally staring me in the face,” mind set, and seems to hold a lot of sway over his Guardian brethren.

Except one. Ganthet seems to side with Hal’s more “act now, think later,” mindset. Ganthet, seeing things are going to quickly devolve into a pointless shouting match, suggests that they all “take a coffee break.” While on said coffee break, Ganthet takes Hal and Kilowog on a quick tour of Oa’s more private sections, namely the hanger that houses the Guardian’s latest invention, The Interceptor. The Interceptor is rumored to be the fastest ship ever developed. It can travel through warp space, and needs an AI to calculate how to safely travel at such high speeds. It could, in theory, reach the Lantern Frontier in a few minutes. How convenient. Now, obviously, the other Guardians wouldn’t allow their new vessel out just yet, but, we also know that Hal isn’t known for his patience, either.

Later that night, Hal and Kilowog break into The Interceptor. Hal had planned on going alone, but Kilowog had guessed his former student's plan and assumed correctly that Hal would forget to bring spare GL batteries. Hal and Kilowog are introduced to the ships AI. Hal names her Aya, and, the after the introductions, convinces her to try a new game. It’s called… Joyride. They blast off, and just barely escape the Green Lantern’s security force. They warp across the universe, and interrupt a Red Lantern attack in progress. The RL’s are incredibly powerful, and actually start to overpower Hal and Kilowog. Hal is able to blast them after tapping into The Interceptor’s power core. It’s fueled by the Green Energy from the Central Power Battery on Oa. It gives Hal a minor boost. They save the Frontier Lantern, named Shyir Rev, and plan their next move.

Red v. Green? It's a Christmas themed battle!

The RL’s also return to their mothership, the flying asteroid Ysmault and their master, Atrocitus. Some arguing ensues, Zilias blaming Razor for the flub up, and Razor claiming their mission failed because Hal and Kilowog are much better GL’s then the locals. Atrocitus doesn't care for the bickering and threatens to kill them both if they fail again. Thankfully for the baddies, another chance emerges quickly. Razor is able to use a drone to track The Interceptor and then attack the GL’s. Said attack doesn’t do much, other than break the ships “Warp Coil” and plant a tracking device. The Warp Coil is what lets them travel at hyperspeed, thus stranding them in The Frontier. So not an ideal end to this mission. Rev takes them to his homeworld to repair the ship. Hal and Kilowog are able to have a moment of levity with Rev and his family. All the aliens have a good laugh at the silliness of Hal's secret ID hang up. Kilowog explains it best, "That thing on his face is called a mask. He wears it just in case some human sneaks aboard The Interceptor, while we're in space mind you, and goes 'oh my gosh, the Green Lantern from my planet is Hal Jordon. I'm telling everybody!" Keep in mind, being a GL in most of the universe is one of the highest honors a being can receive. Why keep that a secreet, am I right? Unfortunately, the moment of peace is rudely interrupted by the arrival of the Red Lantern's warship.

Atrocitus, being something of a Dangerous Irate Cruel Killer, drops a giant bomb onto the planet, and gives the inhabitants an hour to hand over Hal, Kilowog, and Rev. The team breaks into two, Hal takes on Atrocitus, and Kilowog and Rev try to stop the bomb.  Neither side is particularly effective. Atrocitus, with minor help from Zilias, overpowers and beat the snot out of Hal. Kilowog and Rev are able to reach the bomb's core, but Razor distracts them for too long to disarm it. Rev is able to form a construct, stopping the bomb from going off. Unfortunately, it's like holding a grenade without the pin. It won't well. Rev elects to keep the bomb from going off long enough for Kilowog to evacuate the planet. Razor returns and looks like he’s going to finish off Rev, but the FGL convinces the young RL that wholesale slaughter isn’t a cause worth fighting for. Razor flies off, leaving Rev to his fate.

Hal and Razor meet in the wreckage of the planet. They do battle, but it becomes clear that Razor isn't giving it his all. Hal quickly realizes that, in actuality, Razor is looking to be executed for his crimes. Hal, while furious at Rev’s death and the planet’s destruction, instead yanks off Razor’s ring, stripping him of his powers, and encases him in a GL bubble. Kilowag and Hal transport Rev’s people to another planet, watch Rev’s ring fly out to find a new host, and wonder as to what they’re going to do next. Stranded in the far reaches of space, all aide almost two years away, with one Prisoner of War and no means of holding him long term. Not a great end to their "quick" mission to the Green Lantern Frontier.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series is an excellent dip into the Green Lantern mythos. Hal is a hoot, being at times noble, and other times a cocky arrogant jerk. They also cover the fact that he seems to be compelled to flirt with anything that even remotely appears to be a humanoid female. Not going to lie, was a little surprised to see that. He gets into a lot of trouble with his “act firsts, think later,” mindset but it always seems to work out in the end. He’s the sort to give anyone a second chance, if there willing to work for it, like Razor does. Kilowog is also a lot of fun, he’s the straight-laced drill sergeant that mellows out a bit as the series goes on. I’m also surprised that his rather depressing backstory was left in as well. Kilowog is from a planet called Bolovax Vik, while he was away on a mission, the planet was obliterated. Billions of Bolovaxians were killed including Kilowog’s mate and children. This is a fate worse than death for a Bolovaxian, as they were a highly communal race. So yeah, he’s lonely, heartbroken, and is hellbent on stopping world ending disasters like the one that befell his world. He and Hal buttheads on tactics a number of occasions, but it’s clear that both characters respect the heck out of each other. He’s openly hostile to Razor, at first, but they later develop a respect for one another.

He's only slightly less red then he is angry.

Now let’s move on to the original characters for this series. Razor the Red Lantern is the Vegeta of this series. What do you mean that you don’t get that reference? Oh right, not everyone watches anime… Okay, quick digression. The long running series Dragonball has a habit of making major antagonist into heroes after their initial introduction. One of the best examples is Vegeta, originally introduced as psychotic mass murder that obliterated planets for fun, later became a begrudging but indispensable hero. Well… anti-hero. Razor follows a similar arc. He’s introduced as a vengeful young man, hellbent on revenge. GL Shyir Rev convinces him that fighting without a cause is just dangerous, and, later, interactions with Saint Walker the Blue Lantern convinces him that his rage is destructive more to himself than anyone else. He’s actually a character that actively tries to better himself as the series progresses, which is rare for cartoons, just saying. He also forms an… odd romance with our next character, Aya.

Aya is introduce as the AI of The Interceptor. She’s a very curious creature, constantly seeking out information that will help her better understand organic lifeforms and what it means to be a Green Lantern. Yeah, despite being a machine and not being chosen by a Green Lantern Ring, Aya considers herself to be a full-fledged member of the corps. In order to better fulfill the GL duties, she quick assembles a body for herself, using the Green Energy of Will to form the ‘softer’ bits like her face and hands. She pretty much drags Razor into being a hero. She puts it best, “it doesn’t matter what you want,” when Razor admits to wanting to be held prisoner so he could see visions of his late wife. She follows an interesting arc. Not going to spoil it, other than saying she is much more than a pretty face.

The villains are also pretty cool. For the first half of its only season, they did battle with the Red Lanterns, specifically the evil Atrocitus. The lord of rage has a powerful voice, a commanding presence, and more rage then a barrel of monkeys. What? A bunch of simians stuffed into a tight space, I’d be angry too. He’s also got a number of great quotes. “I am wrath. I am hate. I am righteous vengeance.” “When I saw that you only needed a nudge to become a truly hateful creature, I sealed your fate.” “When last we met, human, I had just concurred Oa. Now you find me… better rested.” Just to name the top three. He’s simplified from his comic incarnation, downplaying the tragedy in his character and playing up the sadistic and cruel side. He regularly beats on his minions, namely Zilius Zox. The evil beach ball is something of a punching bag. The Reds are slightly toned down from their comic incarnation. No mention of Red’s being mindless beasts, or their parasitic rings replacing their hearts and their blood with red energy. In fact, the only major downside of the RL’s ring in this universe is that it looks like it’s INCREDIBLY painful to remove the ring.   

All fall before the Anti-Monitor

Part two introduces a much, much more powerful foe. The Anti-Monitor. This sun consuming destroyer was banished to another dimension before the series start, where he devours every star. Upon his return, he reactivates the original servants of the GL corps, the Manhunters. These insane machines were originally trustworthy guardians of order, but later concluded that emotions were the root of all evil. And thus those who possess them must be destroyed. They slaughtered the home sector of Atrocitus, Zilius, Razor and the other RLs. So, yeah, not a great combination. Together the machines devastate the GL corps and consume more stars. Why? To fuel a trip back to the very beginning of time. In the DC canon, this is like the single greatest taboo that a cosmic being could break. Hal and co do their best against him, but lose a few friends along the way.

Overall, this was a great show that was unfortunately cancelled too soon. It introduced many a Green Lantern, from the bigs like Hal, Kilowag, Tomar Rey, and Mogo, to the smalls, like Ch’p the Space Squirrel and Salaak. They also introduce a majority of the other Lantern Corps, like the Red Lanterns, the Blue Lanterns, the Star Sapphires, and the Orange Lantern. Heck given that they also introduce Sinestro, and the yellow element that would later fuel his evil Sinestro Corps, they’d have only needed another season or so to do a Blackest Night adaptation. How awesome would that have been? Sure, they’d have had to tone down the violence and the zombies, but it still could have been awesome. And, despite being cut off early, it does end on a high note. I wish the story could have continued, but the ending is still fitting. I recommend this for anyone that likes the Green Lantern Corps, or is curious about this part of the DC Universe. Next time… I have a few ideas, we’ll see what gets finished firsts. 

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