With 7,200 Green Lanterns to choose from – not to mention alternate universe and continuity versions, as well as ones from the future and past, it’s a little difficult to narrow things down to the ten best of all time. So sadly, fan favorites like Ch’p and Bzzd didn’t make the list. Neither did original style Green Lantern Alan Scott, merely because he’s not part of the Green Lantern Corps. But we did narrow it down to ten, and here it is – the definitive, non-arguable list of the ten best Green Lanterns of all time:
10. Green Lantern 2029
Yes, I realize bumping Lanterns like Tomar Re off the list for a character who only appeared in the little read mini-series Last Days of Animal Man will piss some people off… But he’s a freakin’ floating whale with a Green Lantern ring on his belly. That’s just cool, people.
9. Ganthet
You know that moment in any cop movie when the Chief gets pissed off enough to come out from behind his desk, straps on a gun, and hits the streets with his top cops? That’s Ganthet, to a “T.” The Guardian of the Galaxy has teamed up with his Corpsmen various times, and recently even renounced guardianship in order to become the Green Lantern of Oa. As the oldest living Green Lantern, he’s like Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry, if Eastwood, tiny, blue, and imbued with cosmic power. So basically, just like Eastwood.
8. Hal Jordan
If this list was based on in-continuity characters telling Green Lanterns they were the best of all time, Hal Jordan would be number one, followed closely by Sinestro, Abin Sur, and Sodam Yat. But this is a list of Green Lanterns who are actually the best, and “Highball” Jordan is kind of an uptight a-hole… Though he does always save the day when the chips are down.
7. John Stewart
To most kids who grew up watching Justice League Unlimited, John Stewart is their Green Lantern. And though he’s been reduced to fourth banana in recent continuity, the intense, honest military man is still one of our favorites – particularly in the great, underrated Mosaic series of the 1990s.
6. Hannu
First of all, the big, stone Green Lantern just looks cool, craggy, hard, and unstoppable, so he’s got that going on. But he also comes from a warrior race that doesn’t believe in using weapons (because they’re made out of stone). So when Hannu ends up in a situation where he actually HAS to use his ring, you know the stakes are bad. Not to use an Eastwood metaphor again, but Hannu is like Eastwood in any number of movies, where when he finally pulls his gun… It means something.
5. Salaak
Ch’p’s best friend – and please don’t ever make me write the possessive of “Ch’p” again, please – Salaak is a multi-armed warrior charged with dispatching the Lanterns, and keeping the Book of Oa, a record of everything that’s ever happened. Like Hannu, Salaak doesn’t act until he absolutely has to, preferring to passive-aggressively stew than voice his displeasure. So you know when he goes against the Guardians, or steps into action, that the ring has hit the lantern, so to speak.
4. Kilowog
Everybody’s favorite hard-ass drill sergeant, Kilowog is the ultimate trainer, putting ever Green Lantern who comes to Oa through their paces. The most quotable Lantern – what fan hasn’t accidentally called someone a “Poozer” one time or another? – Kilowog is also, outside of the Earthers, probably the most heroic Lantern in history, willing to sacrifice everything to save his students.
3. Guy Gardner
Sure, Guy Gardner’s a-hole exterior hides… An even bigger a-hole inside. But below that is a Lantern who will never, ever give up on his friends, and will protect the Universe with every last breath. Plus, he’s actually funny – most of the time. He’s the dude at a bar, who punches you, buys you a drink, and three hours later, drops you, stone cold drunk, on your doorstep. It’s rare to see a character in comics who stays a jerk, while growing deeper and more complex. Gardner has made it work.
2. Kyle Rayner
It’s rare when the Poochie-fication of a character actually works, but it totally did with Kyle Rayner. Rather than the earnest, Silver Age Hal Jordan, backed up by thousands of Corps members, and knowing what his job and destiny was, Rayner was given a ring by a dying Guardian, left alone as the last Green Lantern. Sure, he’s got the much maligned crab mask, but Kyle Rayner was more creative, more new, and more exciting than any character reboot deserves to be. Particularly when paired as the new kid on the block in Grant Morrison’s spectacular run on Justice League, Kyle shined as one of the best Lanterns – ever.
1. Mogo
Who else could have been number one, other than the planet-sized Lantern created by Alan Moore? No other Lantern quite speaks to the possibility of what’s possible in comics than Mogo, who manages to convey emotion, character, and heroism, despite not having a face, and never saying a single word. He was recently killed off during the War of the Green Lanterns, and that’s a shame – the DC Universe won’t be the same without him.
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